6 replies to this topic

[nickdino]

Hi, i want to try lithium as a supplement more than as to medicate myself. A low dose. After days of searching i decided to try lithium orotate, supposedly better uptake than carbonate and less dangerous than aspartate. I wonder though if there is an extended/slow release low dose version available. Is that even needed with the orotate form?

[nickdino]

Another thing, who knows which products actually contain lithium? Lithium forum people told me that otc lithium orotate doesn't contain what its supposed to contain.

[jack black]

Why do you need extended release?
Anything I have bought from Swanson works as advertised, so I trust them.

[tunt01]

There is no extended release lithium formulation, because its clearance from the body is approx. 24 hrs.

Edited by prophets, 26 September 2016 - 12:25 PM.

[gamesguru]

Not too keen on enteric coatings, but I think they're wrong about the orotate.  The tabs do contain a small amount (120mg, 5mg elemental), but according to mice studies, three times as much ends up in the brain as compared with the common carbonate form used in pharmaceutical preparations.

Rat brain and serum lithium concentrations after acute injections of lithium carbonate and orotate.
Kling MA, Manowitz P, Pollack IW. (1978)

Eight hours after intraperitoneal injections of 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0m equiv Li kg-1, the serum and brain lithium concentrations of rats were significantly greater after lithium orotate than after lithium carbonate. While little serum lithium remained at 24 h after injection of 2.0 m equiv kg-1 lithium carbonate, two-thirds of the 2 h serum lithium concentration was present 24h after lithium orotate. Furthermore, the 24 h brain concentration of lithium after lithium orotate was approximately three times greater than that after lithium carbonate. These data suggest the possibility that lower doses of lithium orotate than lithium carbonate may achieve therapeutic brain lithium concentrations and relatively stable serum concentrations.

[Christinae]

Thanks for clearing that up, which brand of orotate would you recommend? On reddit there were talks of that many times the otc products may not contain lithium at all.

[gamesguru]

 

The investigation, led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, focused on a variety of herbal supplements from four major retailers: GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreen Co. Lab tests determined that only 21 percent of the products actually had DNA from the the plants advertised on the labels.

I'm sure some of the products (perhaps most) are bogus, but it is doubtful the scandal has affected lithium to any greater degree than ginkgo.

 

which brand... would you recommend?

 

all i know is swanson is "sheeple approved" on amazon, so basically i know nothing?