[pedagogue]

Lithium will take awhile to titrate up (increase in dosing) to a level that stabilizes your daughter (effective therapeutic dose). If the doc goes too quickly there can be more side effects, so it is usually the lesser of two evils to take a bit longer and deal with the short term issues, hoping that stabilization will be longer term. Lithium has a lot of literature behind it and it can be effective once the right dosing is reached. I'd trust in your doctor and make sure to keep them in the loop over the coming week/weeks. Is your daughter seeing someone on an individual basis for therapy? Many community mental health centers offer sliding scale services for people, which can be really helpful when someone is trying to re-adjust to daily life. A few learned coping skills from therapy can go a long way. It can also be helpful for the family members as it can be a very stressful time in the household, and it is nice to have an ear of someone who may be able to help.

Best of luck.