Jaime Lowe started taking lithium when she was 17, after a manic episode landed her in a psychiatric ward. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and for more than 20 years, the drug has been her near-constant companion. 

“It’s hard to know if lithium is actually -- like, if it dampens my personality, or if it normalizes my personality, or if it allows me to just sort of be who I am,” she says.

But now the drug that keeps Jaime sane is also making her sick. She faces a choice that’s not much of choice at all: an eventual kidney transplant, or giving up the drug.