Lithium and respoidl made me gain weight made my hair thin and caused me to feel nervous
I'd like to welcome you to the bipolar forum. I would also like to ask you to please refrain from telling people the medicines they should be taking. I understand where you are coming from and I feel sometimes to a 99 percent certainty that I know what a person is thinking or that I am sure that I know the medicines they should be on but all we can do is tell our experience with certain medicines and recommend meds that people may talk to their dr about.
My psychiatrist never recommended lithium, mainly because it is toxic. Risperdone is the drug you should be taking alongside Epival ( mood stabilizer).
Why does the Lithium Scare you?
I'm not a Psychiatrist but my Psychiatrist stopped lithium because I had mixed and rapid episodes. The idea of my therapy is stop high moods then control low moods.
Go to see your Psychiatrist and ask him to give you another mood stabilizer. He may give you one or more mood stabilizer.
Take your meds each time. Don't stop it.