Lithium (Orotate) 5mg by Pure Encapsulations

This is a low-dose mineral supplement for adults who, with their clinician, have decided to add a small amount of lithium to support emotional wellness, the purpose stated on the label. It is not prescription lithium and it is not a replacement for it: prescription lithium is a medicine given at far higher doses, monitored with blood tests, for conditions a supplement is not meant for. If you take prescription lithium or any psychiatric medicine, or think you may need one, do not use this product without your prescriber's explicit agreement.

Lithium is a naturally occurring element found in trace amounts in drinking water and some foods. Here it is bound to orotic acid as lithium orotate. The capsule also provides N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), an amino acid derivative the body uses to make glutathione, one of its main antioxidants. Research on low-dose lithium is early: most of it is observational, and controlled trials of supplements at this dose are few. Claims that orotate is absorbed better than other lithium salts are not well supported.

Each capsule provides 5 mg of lithium and 200 mg of NAC. The label directs 1 capsule daily, with a meal, or as directed by a health professional, and warns not to exceed the dose your health professional recommends. Do not take more in the hope of a stronger effect. Take it at a consistent time and keep your fluid and salt intake steady, because dehydration and sudden changes in salt intake alter how the kidneys handle lithium.

Lithium is cleared by the kidneys and can affect the thyroid, and the label recommends that anyone taking this supplement have kidney function monitored regularly. Do not use it if you have kidney disease or a thyroid condition unless your clinician approves and follows TSH, Creatinine and eGFR (Creatinine). Diuretics, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and ACE inhibitors and related blood pressure medicines raise lithium levels in the body. The label says it is not to be taken with antidepressants unless a health professional advises it; the same caution applies to every other psychiatric medicine. It is not to be taken during pregnancy or while nursing. NAC can intensify the effects of nitroglycerin; tell your clinician if you use it.

Do not expect a noticeable shift; if this product does anything for you, it will be subtle and gradual over weeks. Tremor, unusual thirst, frequent urination, nausea or mental fogginess are reasons to stop and call your clinician, even at a low dose. If low mood, anxiety or changes in behavior are affecting your life, that calls for a clinician's assessment, not a supplement. Compared with magnesium or omega-3s, which people also consider for emotional wellness, lithium has a narrower margin for error.