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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by linkadge on August 25, 2007, at 13:26:12
Whenever I read the webpages of proponents of lithium therapy, I see arguments such as: Certain States having higher lithium levels in water have lower rates of suicide, homicide, etc etc.
If this is true, then might a comparitivly low dose of lithium be helful, ie 75mg-150mg or less?
Could such a low dose have a benificial effect (even if small) on mood in general.
Any thoughts?
Linkadge
Posted by becksFLA on August 25, 2007, at 14:15:04
In reply to ultra low dose lithium still helpful?, posted by linkadge on August 25, 2007, at 13:26:12
would be nice, I wouldnt mind staying on 300 or so. Wouldn't have any adverse effects that I did at higher doses.
Posted by Phillipa on August 25, 2007, at 23:34:23
In reply to Re: ultra low dose lithium still helpful?, posted by becksFLA on August 25, 2007, at 14:15:04
Well ll years ago I worked with a pdoc had PMS at the time and said to him yesterday I might have liked your tie today with PMS it's ugly. He said you know why not take l50mg of lithium and mix in water and take a half for PMS. Never did but this doc was great he didn't believe in levels well high ones of course but lower that what is considered theraputic he did he went by how the patient acted and felt. He also took lithium. Bipolar. Nicest man I ever worked with. Phillipa
Posted by dewdropinn on August 28, 2007, at 9:12:54
In reply to ultra low dose lithium still helpful?, posted by linkadge on August 25, 2007, at 13:26:12
The great thing with lithium is that you should be able to determine it's efficacy quite quickly. I noticed a calming, antidepressant effect even at 150mg, and would have stuck with it were it not for the fact that it exacerbated a mild seizure disorder that was previously undetected (e.g. it didn't induce anything that wasn't already there, but it exacerbated the disorder to the point that it became clear that something neurological was afoot.) The orthomolecular pioneer, Abram Hoffer, is oft cited as recommending 150-300mg of Lithium for a host of mood disorders.
If you want to gingerly test the waters, you may want to pick up Lithium Orotate, which is readily available as an over-the-counter supplement. Personally, I don't buy the manufacturer's claims that the orotate formulation is exponentially more bio-available than Lithium Carbonate, which in turn enables patients to take exponentially lower doses of elemental lithium, realize the same benefits as those taking high doses of Lithium Carbonate, and thereby avoid all side effects -- and my personal experience with Lithium Orotate and Lithium Carbonate is consistent with this (I would need to gobble up 10 or so 10mg Orotate pills to get the same effect at a single 150mg Eskalith pill.) All this notwithstanding, Lithium is Lithium, and Lithium Orotate does indeed contain Lithium, so it may deliver a sufficient amount of the mineral to provide you with a sense of what Lithium has to offer. It's also a relatively safe way in which to test the waters in lieu of taking the standard issue 150mg pills. I suspect the very low 150-300mg dose of Eskalith will provide you with a much better "feel" for the drug/mineral, but you may hit the jackpot with the ultra-low dose of elemental lithium delivered by the over-the-counter supplement, so it's well worth giving it a whirl. So long as you avoid 1 or 2 of the more ambitious supplement peddlers, lithium orotate is fairly cheap -- and in my experience, the cheap stuff is the same as the expensive stuff. So, this is one of the rare not-much-to-lose, much to gain type of psycho-pharm experiments. Hope this helps -- and best of luck!
Drew
Posted by tgo on August 29, 2007, at 16:31:07
In reply to Re: ultra low dose lithium still helpful?, posted by dewdropinn on August 28, 2007, at 9:12:54
I tried lithium orotate years ago and it made me irritable. Any ideas why? Do you think lithium low dose could still help me or would also make me irritable? Any ideas?
Posted by linkadge on August 29, 2007, at 20:23:12
In reply to Re: ultra low dose lithium still helpful?, posted by tgo on August 29, 2007, at 16:31:07
There was a discussion not too long ago about the propenisty of lithium to cause irritiability in some people.
Linkadge
This is the end of the thread.
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