Thanks for bringing this to the forum Bluecat, it's good to know about it xx
I started on Lithium while I was living in Melbourne, which is about 3 centimetres above sea level, then moved to Canberra which is about 600 metres above sea level. The increase in altitude means an increase in the intensity of sunlight.
I was probably told, in those early days, that Lithium use increases sensitivity to light, but somehow that slipped my mind...
Until I got to Canberra.
My rule of thumb used to be half a day out in the sun and you've had enough.
Used to be.
The first two years were a nightmare - 15 minutes and I could see my skin changing colour. I found it difficult to look, from a dark-ish room, out a window if it was sunny. Pretty close to the first things I bought were sunglasses and a broad brim hat.
There was a point there where the doctor's advice to get out and get some fresh air seemed like a cruel joke, but I've improved, over the years.
What I hated was that the bulk of the internet's information on Lithium was American - different pills, different doses, and most people either ignored the side effects or glossed over them. Expect for one one lady to whom I am eternally grateful - she wrote, simply, When you've got to pee, you've got to pee. They don't write that on the box of tablets!
It's been the better part of 16 years, now. Last night I read some stuff I wrote back in 2000, and it was familiar; they were my words, but it wasn't who I am, now.
I changed. I think, I hope, for the better.
Thank you, Tas.
It's going to sound odd no matter how I put it, but I try to be a better person than I think I am.
