> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://orange-healing.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What I Experienced in 2024: I Finally Learned What Really Happened to Me - URL: https://orange-healing.ghost.io/what-i-experienced-in-2024-i-finally-learned-what-really-happened-to-me/ - Published: 2025-04-28T15:21:04.000Z - Updated: 2025-04-28T15:21:04.000Z - Author: Summer - Tags: My Story ### When the new year began, this was my situation: ### **BALANCE** When I was discharged from the hospital: - I couldn’t sit upright without falling to the sides. - I couldn’t stand on my own. - My torso trembled violently. - My head constantly shook side to side, back and forth. **Now:** - I can sit upright. - My head tremor has lessened. - I can stand independently and walk on my own (though I still lose balance). - I have significantly improved control over my torso tremor — I still tilt to the sides sometimes, but I recover more quickly. - I used to struggle to take a full step with my right leg; now both legs step more evenly. - Walking on soft surfaces (balance pads, grass) is still challenging, but there is some improvement. --- ### **COORDINATION** My hand-eye coordination was almost non-existent. For example, I couldn’t catch a ball if it was thrown to me. **Now:** - I can sometimes catch a ball, although I still miss it occasionally. - I can type on a keyboard (hitting the correct keys). - I can text on my phone (accurately hitting the letters). - Using both hands at the same time is still difficult. - Clapping is hard, but if I do it slowly, I can manage. --- ### **SPEECH** While in the hospital, I couldn't speak at all. When I was discharged, only a few words would come out — my voice sounded like a baby’s and was very faint. **Now:** - I can pronounce words correctly. - My voice is deeper. Sometimes I hear glimpses of my real voice. - My voice sounds louder and stronger. - I have started using more natural intonation and emphasis. - I speak faster now, though I am still dysarthric. --- ### **MY HANDS** My biggest struggle was — and still is — with my dominant hand, my right. When I first came home, I couldn’t feed myself, brush my teeth, or even hold a cup. Writing was completely impossible. Showering alone was out of the question. **Now:** - Despite persistent tremor, I can feed myself, brush my teeth, and hold a cup. - I can use my phone and laptop. - I can write — badly and slowly, but I can. - I can do some painting and coloring — again, badly, but I can. - Doing makeup is still very difficult; my hands shake when brought to my face. - Stirring soup or similar tasks remain tough. In short: **my hands have shown the least improvement, despite all my efforts**. --- When lithium was discontinued, I saw noticeable improvement in both my balance and speech within the first month. However, because my mood stabilizer changed (I started taking Depakine), I also began to experience increased appetite and emotional detachment. In January alone, I gained 3 kilos — thanks to endless chocolate. Then, my physiotherapist changed, and I had to adapt to a new program. I was training six days a week, two hours a day — it was exhausting. Sometimes I could literally feel my brain burning. I kept going with stable exercises, but my progress was still painfully slow. --- In June, I finally dared to walk outside with a cane. But one day, as I was leaving a supermarket, an automatic door closed on me, and I fell badly. I split open my forehead. After that, I developed a severe fear of walking outdoors. I stayed at home for months, terrified to walk again. It crushed my morale. I felt like I wasn’t healing at all. In desperation, I decided to see one more doctor — a very famous and highly respected neurologist. He quickly dismissed previous suggestions about FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) and said: > "Your problem is not psychological. You have **cerebellar dysfunction**." He reviewed my medical records: - My lithium level during the initial illness was 1.19. - Since I hadn’t lost consciousness, he believed it was consistent with **lithium intoxication**. - Lithium toxicity combined with high fever could cause ataxia — and it was even written in the drug’s prospectus as a known side effect. --- Researching lithium toxicity shocked me. It explained **everything** I had gone through. The name of the condition? **SILENT syndrome** — *Syndrome of Irreversible Lithium-Effectuated Neurotoxicity.* --- I had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2015 and had started lithium then. Now, looking back, I curse that day. --- Toward the end of the year, I had the chance to travel to Dubai. I consulted another neurologist there to get a second opinion. He reviewed my MRI scans and bloodwork — and he was puzzled: > "At your age, such severe ataxia shouldn’t happen." He suspected either **vitamin E deficiency** or **copper excess**, because both can cause ataxia. But tests showed neither vitamin E deficiency nor copper excess. **It was all because of lithium.** --- \*SILENT syndrome (*Syndrome of Irreversible Lithium-Effectuated Neurotoxicity*) is a rare condition where lithium treatment causes permanent neurological damage even after the drug is stopped. Symptoms often include: - Tremor - Ataxia (loss of balance and coordination) - Dysarthria (speech difficulties) - Cognitive impairment - Visual disturbances It typically occurs after lithium toxicity, and symptoms can persist even after blood lithium levels return to normal.