Lithium (orotate) 20mg by Vital Nutrients

Lithium orotate is a mineral supplement that some adults take for general mood and nervous system support. This one is best used with a clinician who knows your kidney and thyroid history and your medicines. It is not prescription lithium and cannot replace it. If you have been diagnosed with a mood disorder or take any psychiatric medicine, do not start it, stop your medicine or swap one for the other on your own.

Lithium is a naturally occurring element found in small amounts in drinking water and food. Here it is bound to orotic acid, and each capsule supplies 20 mg of lithium. That is more than many lithium supplements provide and still well below prescription lithium, which is dosed many times higher and managed with regular blood tests. How small amounts of lithium act in the body is not settled, and the idea that the orotate form is absorbed better or reaches the brain more easily has not been shown in people.

The label directs 1 capsule daily with a meal and says not to exceed that dose; the bottle holds 90, and it is labeled for adults only. Drink plenty of fluid with it. Lithium leaves the body through the kidneys and follows sodium, so dehydration, heavy sweating, vomiting, diarrhea or a sudden low-salt diet can raise the level in your blood. For use beyond a few weeks, ask your clinician about checking TSH, Creatinine and a Lithium level.

Do not use it if you are pregnant, trying to conceive or nursing, or if you have kidney disease or a thyroid condition, unless your clinician has agreed. Several common medicines slow the kidneys' clearance of lithium and can push levels up: diuretics (water pills), NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and ACE inhibitors and related blood pressure medicines. Never combine it with prescription lithium, and ask your prescriber before taking it with antidepressants, antipsychotics or other psychiatric medicines. Stop and seek care for tremor, nausea, diarrhea, unusual thirst, frequent urination, drowsiness or confusion.

Keep expectations modest. Evidence for lithium supplements in healthy adults is limited, drawn mostly from population studies of lithium in drinking water and a few small trials, so there is no reliable timeline for an effect. If you and your clinician see no benefit after 2 to 3 months, stop. Lower-strength lithium orotate products are a more cautious starting point for most people; this strength makes the most sense when a clinician has chosen it.