Lithium is a naturally occurring substance. As a prescription medication, lithium reduces chemicals in the body that cause excitation or mania. Lithium carbonate is a salt that was first approved in the United States in 1970 to treat manic depression (bipolar disorder). Today, lithium carbonate remains a commonly used medication for this illness. Lithium carbonate is prescribed for the prevention of suicide and deliberate self-harm in patients with mood disorders.

Lithium orotate is now available without a prescription
Lithium orotate has been marketed as an alternative to lithium carbonate. As this natural supplement, lithium is joined with an orotate ion, rather than to a carbonate ion. There are a number of companies that sell lithium orotate.

Lithium Orotate and Alcoholism
Lithium orotate in the treatment of alcoholism and related conditions.
Alcohol. 1986 Mar-Apr;3(2):97-100. Sartori HE.
The subjects were 42 alcoholic patients (33 males and 9 females) who were treated with lithium orotate during an alcohol rehabilitation program in a private clinical setting for at least six months. They derive from a total number of 105 patients who received this treatment initially, while the remainder discontinued the treatment within six months. The data were collected from a private practice record and the follow-up varied between six months and 10 years. The 42 patients studied displayed a multitude of complaints in addition to chronic alcoholism. These included liver dysfunction, seizure disorders, headaches, hyperthyroidism, affective disorders. Meniere's syndrome, liver and lung cancers. Thirty-six of the 42 patients studied had been hospitalized at least once for the management of their alcoholism. Lithium orotate was given, 150 mg daily, with a diet low in simple carbohydrates and containing moderate amounts of protein and fat. In addition, calcium orotate (for hepatic involvement), magnesium orotate, bromelaine, and essential phospholipids (for cardiac problems), and supportive measures were instituted, if required. Lithium orotate proved useful as the main pharmacologic agent for the treatment of alcoholism. Ten of the patients had no relapse for over three and up to 10 years, 13 patients remained without relapse for 1 to 3 years, and the remaining 12 had relapses between 6 to 12 months. Lithium orotate therapy was safe and the adverse side effects noted were minor, i.e., eight patients developed muscle weakness, loss of appetite or mild apathy. For these patients, the symptoms subsided when the daily dose was given 4 to 5 times weekly.

Comparing Lithium Carbonate, Lithium Chloride, and Lithium Orotate
Lithium orotate, carbonate and chloride: pharmacokinetics, polyuria in rats.
Br J Pharmacol. 1976 Apr;56(4):399-402.
1 The pharmacokinetics of the lithium ion administered as lithium orotate were studied in rats. Parallel studies were carried out with lithium carbonate and lithium chloride. 2 No differences in the uptake, distribution and excretion of the lithium ion were observed between lithium orotate, lithium carbonate and lithium chloride after single intraperitoneal, subcutaneous or intragastric injections (0.5-1.0 mEq lithium/kg) or after administration of the lithium salts for 20 days in the food. 3 The findings oppose the notion that the pharmacokinetics of the lithium ion given as lithium orotate differ from lithium chloride or lithium carbonate. 4 Polyuria and polydipsia developed more slowly in rats given lithium orotate than in those given lithium carbonate or lithium chloride, perhaps due to an effect of the orotate anion.

Lithium and Bipolar Disorder
Lithium is used to treat manic episodes of manic-depressive illness. Lithium helps to prevent and control symptoms of mania such as hyperactivity, rushed speech, poor judgment, reduced need for sleep, aggression, and anger.

Lithium has a wide range of uses
Lithium is sometimes prescribed by doctors for purposes other than those commonly used. Lithium has mood stabilizing effects and is quite useful in manic-depressive illness. Recent studies suggest lithium can be used in the treatment of acute brain injuries (e.g., ischemia) and chronic neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, tauopathies, and Huntington's disease). Consistent with this novel view, substantial evidences suggest that depressive illness is not a mere neurochemical disease, but is linked to gray matter atrophy due to the reduced number/size of neurons and glia in brain. Importantly, neurogenesis, that is, birth/maturation of functional new neurons, continues to occur throughout the lifetime in human adult brains (e.g., hippocampus); the neurogenesis is impaired by multiple not-fully defined factors (e.g., aging, chronic stress-induced increase of glucocorticoids, and excitotoxicity), accounting for brain atrophy in patients with depressive illness and neurodegenerative diseases. Chronic treatment of lithium, in agreement with the delayed-onset of mood-stabilizing effects of lithium, up-regulates cell survival molecules (e.g., Bcl-2, cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, Grp78, Hsp70, and beta-catenin), while down-regulating pro-apoptotic activities (e.g., excitotoxicity, p53, Bax, caspase, cytochrome c release, beta-amyloid peptide production, and tau hyperphosphorylation), thus preventing or even reversing neuronal cell death and neurogenesis retardation.

Lithium Side Effects
Lithium side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, slurred speech, drowsiness, or weakness.

How is Lithium Available?
There are several different brands of lithium dispensed as tablets, capsules, or liquid. Some examples include Lithobid and Eskalith CR.

Lithium use during lactation and breasfeeding
Nursing mothers who are on lithium therapy may safely breastfeed their infants if the daily dose of lithium is less than 800 mg a day, and if the infant is completely healthy. Perhaps the first month or two of life the infant may also be bottle fed a little so that the amount of breast milk with lithium exposure is less. Lithium does cross over into breast milk but in small amounts.

Ideal lithium blood level for the treatment of bipolar disorder
In the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder doctors should try for serum lithium levels of 0.5 to 0.7 mmol/L, while higher levels may benefit patients with predominantly manic symptoms.

Lithium and lithium orotate Questions
Q. Can Lithium carbonate be used with sex products such as tongkat ali, horny goat weed, tyrosine, or SAM-e.
   A. Caution is advised when using lithium with supplements that have a stimulatory nature.

Q. Lithium orotate seems to be an excellent mineral for several thing least of which would be the help of anxiety / bipolar alzheimers, and general brain function.

Q. I was wondering whether Dr. Sahelian has done any research or experimentation with the mineral compounds lithium aspartate, dosage 5 mg., and/or lithium orotate. Jonathan Wright, MD raves about it in his newsletter as an inexpensive aid to prevent Alzheimer's as well as alleviate depression and mood swings. Solaray makes lithium orotate sold at health food stores, There's also a supplement sold online called Serenity that contains it. As a follower and loyal fan of Dr. Sahelian's products, and as one who respects and listens to the doctor's feedback, would really like to know what his opinion of lithium aspartate is.

Q.  I have been reading lately of the mineral lithium aspartate and that it supposedly is good for dementia, Alzheimers etc. Can you tell me if lithium aspartate is a positive help for these conditions.
   A. We did a search on Medline in October 2007, and could not find any human studies with lithium aspartate and dementia or Alzheimer's. We found on lithium aspartate clinical study.

Lithium aspartate in the treatment of chronic alcoholic patients with brain damage--a controlled study
Nervenarzt. 1991 Mar;62(3):182-6. Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, Mannheim.
The efficacy of lithium aspartate in reducing alcohol consumption was examined in a double-blind, placebo controlled cross-over study. Subjects were male alcohol-dependent in-patients with organic brain disorder of moderate or severe degree. There was no evidence of different responses to lithium apartate and placebo treatment.

Q. Dear Dr. Sahelian, I've read your book, Mind Boosting Secrets and have found it very useful. My husband has a condition where he cannot take antihistamines, anticholinergics, over the counter cough remedies, or nicotine. He used to smoke and it made him very irritable and gave him insomnia (I attribute this to increased dopamine levels). In 1986 his doctor gave him a prescription antihistamine for a bad cold and my husband "went off the planet" and ended up in the ER after he developed delusions. The drug wore off in a few hours. After that, whenever he got stressed at work, he would start smoking and drinking huge amounts of coffee and would get very wired and irritable. Then he would realize (with my help) what was happening and get himself back in balance by stopping the caffeine and nicotine. I am a former nurse and I watch his intake of supplements and medications carefully. But in 2001 we both got a very bad flu. I was sleeping for about 20 hours a day for several days. My husband was taking care of me, though he was very sick himself, and unknown to me he started drinking huge amounts of Theraflu as he thought it would help him feel better. Then he took tylenol with codeine (it had been prescribed to him for another problem). He went off the planet again, unfortunately at work, and when his boss called me, I had to have my husband taken to the hospital. He was admitted to the mental health ward and kept there for 9 days. The care at the hospital was truly awful. They told me he was bipolar and put him on high doses of Depakote which nearly killed him. The doctor said it would help him sleep, but instead he couldn't sleep at all and they wouldn't believe him. I called the doctor and pretended I was in total agreement with him and got him to release my husband to me. That night my husband insisted on taking a regular dose of Depakote --against my better judgment--and he went up like a kite. Started screaming at me that he felt terrible. He was itching all over and his skin was very red. He appeared to have slight jaundice visible in his eyes. His pulse rate stayed at 160 to 180 for several hours. I contacted his doctor, and the doctor's brilliant advice was to lower the dosage from 3 pills to 2. Needless to say, I threw away the Depakote and found a real doctor. I was very, very fortunate in that I found a psychiatrist who agreed with me. He said if my husband had taken much more Depakote it would likely have killed him. One of his brothers is diagnosed bipolar and has been on lithium for about 20 years. I told our new doctor that I would like to try supplements and dietary changes to help my husband and that we would avoid the drug form of lithium if at all possible, since we'd seen what it did to his brother. The doctor agreed to monitor the situation while we gave that strategy a try. My husband now takes a green source multivitamin, choline, fish and flaxseed oil, and B vitamins, including sublingual B-12, as he seems to have trouble absorbing B-12 from diet alone (he got depressed and lost his appetite and a blood test showed a B-12 deficiency). The supplements and change in diet worked great until 2004 when my husband had an eye exam. The eye doctor put a huge dose of the dilating drops in his eyes and my husband developed severe insomnia and went manic within just a few weeks and started smoking again. This time it took nearly 4 months to completely stabilize him and get him off the cigarettes. I told him that as he gets older he has less tolerance and less ability to quickly clear drugs from his system. Anyway, his psychiatrist prescribed clonapin, but that didn't work, made him very detached and cold. Then the psychiatrist recommended that I take my husband out of town to a quiet place, no phone calls, no computer, no noise, as all the activity was "feeding the process." We went away for a week and the rest cure worked. But at that time I also discovered the most valuable supplement of all-- lithium orotate. My husband now takes lithium orotate as needed throughout the day. He usually has 2 or 3 a day, more if he feels unusually stressed, for example if there's a lot of overtime at work. I also take one tab at bedtime as it helps me sleep. The lithium orotate dosage in the 135 mg. tab is 5.8 mg and we use the LifeLink brand. My son's friend uses it also. He had just quit smoking and was "going crazy," and I told him about the lithium. He said it worked great, took the edge off the cravings and he was finally able to quit successfully. My husband is very pleased that he is able to stay well with just the supplements and the LifeLInk lithium orotate. He is more content than he has ever been, does not suffer from anxiety and depression the way he used to, and has been able to avoid smoking. Now I accompany him whenever he goes to any health professional and I make sure they don't give him anything that might cause an adverse mental reaction. Not easy, since sometimes they are very insistent, but my husband and I both believe we have a right to question our health care and make our own health decisions. Thanks for all the great information in your book and on your site.
   A. This is very interesting, thank you for sharing the lithium orotate experience with us. We are somewhat concerned about the lack of research and safety of lithium orotate and wish some organizations would do testing to see if lithium orotate leads to any renal harm or kidney toxicity. Has your husband experienced and lithium orotate side effects?
       Q. There don't seem to be any lithium orotate side effects for my husband. In 2005 he worked a lot of overtime of up to 70 hours a week for a period of 9 months (he is a computer programmer). The project was a "do or die," in other words produce or lose the contract. In the past he would not have handled the stress well and would probably have taken up smoking again and developed severe insomnia. But he did fine. In fact, everyone on his team remarked that he stayed very calm and focused and was the lead problem solver while they were all nervous and worried about not meeting deadline. At review time, he was the only team member to receive the maximum raise. He had one physical exam since starting the lithium orotate and all blood and urine tests were normal. PSA well within normal limits. Total cholesterol about 150. A month ago he had a gallstone attack after eating some very spicy food. Other than slightly elevated liver enzymes which the doctor said were caused by the gallstone problem, tests were normal. MRI showed enlarged bile duct, but didn't find any stones. The doctor believes the stone passed. Also, recently my husband has had problems with hypoglycemia. But he has not been following his healthful diet. He eats a high carb breakfast (cereal) and was eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, bananas for his afternoon snack, and a soft drink on the way home. I explained to him that he is putting himself at very high risk for diabetes and probably dementia and he has agreed to go back on the more healthful diet he was on before (lots of vegetables, some grains, fruits, eggs, and a little meat) and to avoid all sweeteners except stevia.

Q. Do you know whether claims that Lithium aspartate or Lithium orotate are effective in the treatment of
Alzheimer's disease are valid?
   A. I have not seen studies regarding the treatment of Alzheimer's disease with lithium orotate or lithium aspartate.