Orange Healing

Living With Ataxia, SILENT Syndrome & Neurological Recovery

Featured · Aug 14, 2026

It was lithium. The diagnosis is SILENT syndrome.

For years my doctors and I looked for a cause. It is now confirmed: the ataxia I live with was caused by lithium toxicity — SILENT syndrome, irreversible lithium-effectuated neurotoxicity. I was taking lithium for bipolar disorder, exactly as prescribed.

So this blog changes with it. I'll write more about bipolar disorder — the diagnosis, the medication, the years before the poisoning — alongside everything already here on ataxia, rehabilitation, and daily life.

It was lithium. The diagnosis is SILENT syndrome.
Written by Summer33 articles

Coming up

Upcoming
01Sep
Community

Support group — first invites

A small first gathering for the waiting list.

New here? Two ways in.

Two short reading paths — three posts each. Take the one that matches where you are.

See the full reading path →
Apps

Tools I am building for recovery

Small tools that grew out of this blog. Try Oculis and Peripheral Vision here in the browser — free, no account, no app store.

OculisPrototype

Eye movement, balance, and cognitive-motor exercises for neurological rehab.

Peripheral VisionPrototype

Timed peripheral vision and color-switch drills. Sound on; tap when the target appears.

Opening soon

A support group is coming.

A private, kind space for people living with ataxia, SILENT syndrome, and bipolar disorder — and the people who love them. Somewhere to ask the questions clinic visits are too short for.

47 people are already on the list
Request a spot →