Ok be aware that lithium taken on an empty stomach is absorbed less than when lithium is taken with food. P.S. really old reference.
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HahahaâŚI eat cheese before bed and knock down my supplements with whole milk.
Thanks for the heads up.
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ACE inhibitors do the same (it may also be the mechanism of Telmisartan raising lithium)
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Very interesting. Maybe some of the claimed health benefits of taurine could be due to that. By increasing the levels of lithium in the body, you get more of the benefit from lithium intake in the diet or even from supplements.
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Yes, and EXCELLENT find @Curious !!!
I was taking 1mg of lithium, but then when I learned an sglt2 might decrease it 50-70% ish, I started taking 2mgâŚ. and then, this week I ordered 5mg based on all the new data, knowing my effective dose might wind up being around 2.5âŚBut eureka, I take 6g of taurine daily so who the heck knows- Iâm getting whiplash 
I did ask about labs for lithium the other day but it was brought up that often labs are designed for people on high dose for BPD, so our low levels might not register.
Watching this space closely!!!
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I am not a chemist, so this question is extremely naive (perhaps appropriate for my first post).
If lithium orotate and lithium carbonate are both salts, and both dissolve upon contact with water into their constituentsâlithium ions and the corresponding orotate and carbonate ions, respectivelyâwhy should there be any difference in how strongly the lithium ions from these salts bind to amyloid in the brain?
I know the Harvard paper showed this empirically in the mice they studied, but it still seems odd to me.
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They are both not v soluble
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Thanks. That would explain it.
The acid in the stomach should dissolve them though.
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Yes! Cheese for the fat content and satiety, but I use a casein shake instead of whole milk.
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Thanks to those who posted the heads up on the lithium orotate supplements and the question about whether the â5mgâ denotes the amount of lithium or lithium orotate. I am coming to the conclusion itâs probably just lithium orotate. The marketing verbiage on the Doublewood bottle says âJust 5 mg of lithium orotate may help support âŚâ, and the facts box says âLithium (as lithium orotate) 5mgâ, not âLithium (FROM lithium orotate) 5mgâ. Both suggest just 5 mg of Li Orotate, such that one is getting a fraction of a mg of Li.
I notice there is lithium chloride salt available (about 15% Li by mass). And there is orotic acid powder available. In solution, at physiologic pH, the carboxyl group on orotic acid should deprotonate yielding the orotate anion, and lithium chloride should produce the Li+ cation. At which point I donât see how that is distinguishable from lithium orotate in solution.
So can anyone sanity check my chemistry with regard to the idea of supplementing lithium chloride + orotic acid as a means of being sure one is getting as much lithium as one intends?
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I would just buy the KAL brand version of lithium orotate, which is what I use. They are an extraordinarily reputable brand with decades of experience, and the ingredients label is very clear â Lithium 5mg, as lithium orotate.
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Yes, the KAL brand seems superior. Thatâs what I will be using from here on out. Thanks to everyone who helped spot this!
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I buy Swanson lithium orotate with 5 mg elemental lithium. From the web page (âŚâ5 mg Elemental Lithium 60 Veg CapsââŚ)
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A confounder is that orotic acid has pharmacodynamic actions of its own, either biochemical for example as a pyrimidine precursor, or physical-chemical interactions, such as increasing urate excretion. A design with LiOr/LiC/Or/LiC + Or/Placebo would have been more convincing. Also see here that brain concentrations of Li in rodents do not seem to differ when Li given as carbonate or orotate, though that is a different question, though somewhat related.
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Both KAL and Swansonâs lithium orotate are legit according to ConsumerLab. Canât go wrong with either.
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Just a heads up that caffeine and coffee reduce lithium levels.
From Gemini:
Consuming coffee while taking lithium requires caution, as caffeine can affect lithium levels and the effectiveness of the medication, especially with sudden changes in intake. Caffeine interacts with kidney function, which influences lithium levels, so maintaining a consistent caffeine intake is important. Abrupt reductions in caffeine can raise lithium blood levels, potentially leading to toxicity, while increases can decrease levels.
You may want to avoid taking lithium with coffee as it will reduce itâs effectiveness. Not to mention SGLT2IS.
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Good find Chris.
I take my 10 mg Lithium Orotate at bedtime with other supplements and whole milk.
Taurine and Creatine in my morning coffee.
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FWIW, I reached out to Double Wood and here is their response: âThe 5mg dosage refers to the elemental lithium.â
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LATTICE results have just been published: ClinicalTrials.gov
- California Verbal Learning Test II: better on Li
- Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised: worse
- Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite Composed of Memory and Other Cognitive Tests: ?
- Cerebral Cortical Gray Matter Volume: smaller decline
- Hippocampal Volume: impressive increase! (vs decrease in placebo)
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