Britney Spears said she was forced to take lithium against her will in her court hearing

• On Wednesday, Britney Spears told a judge about her experience under a conservatorship.
• Spears said her therapist forced her to take lithium, a drug used for mood stabilization.
• The pop star said she felt "drunk" while on lithium.

Britney Spears told a court on Wednesday that she was forced to take the mood-stabilizing drug lithium while under a conservatorship.

Spears's testimony the details of her conservatorship, which gave her father financial and legal control of her life since 2008. Spears said during the court hearing that was "traumatized" as a result of her managers' and doctors' treatment plans, and the forced medication regimen made her feel "drunk," according to transcripts. Nurses also watched Spears and refused to let her leave home for a month, the pop star said.

Spears said her therapist changed her medication after she refused to perform

While preparing for her fifth season of Las Vegas performances, Spears says she refused to perform a new show.

During the hearing, Spears said that a few days later, her therapist sat her down and said he'd received calls that she was skipping her medications and "not cooperating" in rehearsals. Spears said her therapist's statements were false.

The next day, the therapist started giving Spears lithium as a new medication, Spears said in court. She told the judge she started to feel unwell on the new regimen.

"He took me off my normal meds I've been on for five years. And lithium is a very, very strong and completely different medication compared to what I was used to," Spears said during the hearing.

She also said she felt "drunk."

"I couldn't even have a conversation with my mom or dad really about anything," Spears said.

Lithium is commonly used as a mood-stabilizing drug for people with bipolar disorder. It's also used off-label for depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Potential side effects for taking lithium include dry mouth, nausea, rashes, drowsiness, and unsteadiness while walking. If a person takes lithium for long time periods, they could develop kidney or thyroid problems.

When Spears told her father about the side effects she experienced, he didn't seem concerned, she said. Instead, he told her she didn't pass a psychiatric exam and would soon be sent to a rehabilitation program, she told the court.

Now, Spears is asking the court to end her conservatorship.