Nice!
I have been taking – 10 mg Low-dose lithium orotate daily for about 2 years.
We had the discussion in July 2025 of how many mg’s you actually get in your supplements. Some on this site were getting way to little - or almost nothing.
My Brand.
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I have been taking 1.0 mg EOD with dinner. I can’t resolve the conflicting evidence on the issue.
I am a member of the AAAS but apparently that does not get me past the paywall for this article.
This is similar coverage via AAAS. I can PDF if nothing else works.
https://www.science.org/content/article/could-lithium-stave-alzheimer-s-disease
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Just remember that if you take an SGLT2I, it will flush out a large amount of Lithium. So if you take an SGLT2I you need to take around 10 mg a day like @Agetron.
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FWIW…
It is 10mg of elemental lithium.
That would be 2x capsules (130mg X 2) total 260mg of lithium orotate the brand shown above to get 10mg of elemental lithium.
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Thank you for the heads up @DeStrider. I have been taking 12.5 mg Empa for the past year primarily as a renoprotective but did not increase my lithium. The preliminary research I did after reading your message suggests that the typical low dose taken as a bet against AD should be increased by 20-35%.
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…as long as you are not taking Telmisartan, because that one has the opposite effect from SGLT2i wrt. lithium - it spares it, so your lithium dose effectively increases.
But one should be careful with jumping to conclusions about lithium and dementia. If SGLT2i flush lithium and yet they also lower the risk of dementia, what does that tell you about the importance of lithium relative to SGLT2i - certainly seems to even leave the possibility that they are protective because they get rid of lithium, or lithium is relatively unimportant if not harmful. Meanwhile telmisartan increases lithium retention and is also protective against dementia. Hmm… whether you lower lithium or increase it, you achieve dementia protection - looks like lithium really just doesn’t matter for dementia. Maybe.
Bottom line what we need are some solid outcome studies focused on lithium in humans for dementia. Right now it’s just a bunch of speculation. YMMV.
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Arggh! Thanks. I am taking 80 mg TM. And, yes, I’ve been contemplating the divergence of the possible interpretations relating AD, SGLT2i, and Li.
On the TM/SGLT2i balance, a very quick take using Brave’s AI engine, the last paragraph suggested:
Net balance
The two effects partially cancel, but not symmetrically:
- SGLT2i side: proximal Li loss is slightly amplified (no RAAS rescue)
- ARB side: distal Li retention + reduced GFR still operate
The likely net result is a smaller lithium decrease than SGLT2i alone, but not fully neutral. The ARB’s lithium-sparing effect is generally described in the literature as modest (the 1995 rat study of losartan actually showed no change in lithium handling in normotensive animals, while clinical case reports of ARB-induced lithium toxicity are real but uncommon and delayed by weeks).
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Strange as it may seem, the idea that lithium, a simple metal, might have a role in treating and/or preventing dementia is starting to gain traction. Starting next month, lithium orotate, a type of lithium salt, will be tested for the first time in people with early Alzheimer’s disease in a clinical trial at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. This comes on the back of research published last year by Bruce Yankner at Harvard University and his colleagues showing that lithium orotate reversed memory loss in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia.
I am not taking lithium orotate for now, because there are no reliable clinical trials and there is too little useful information. But it’s worth noting that SGLT2 inhibitors can effectively clear it from the body and offset the negative effects of lithium. Plus, epidemiological studies show that areas with higher lithium levels in tap water have lower all-cause mortality. So I am not afraid of it either. I would consider drinking lithium water temporarily.
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The brains of people with AD have abnormal protein deposits called amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Despite much progress in understanding AD, there is still uncertainty about how the disease develops. Previous research has found that the balance of metals in the brain may play a role, but the nature of this role has been unclear.
A research team led by Dr. Bruce Yankner at Harvard Medical School set out to explore how metal ions—charged atoms of metals—might affect brain function and AD. The researchers first looked at whether metals in the brain differed in those who have mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or AD. In MCI, which precedes AD, people have more difficulty thinking, remembering, and reasoning than normal for people their age.
The scientists analyzed post-mortem brain samples to quantify 27 metals in certain parts of the brain. They compared levels from dozens of people with AD, with MCI, and with no cognitive impairment. The results were published in Nature on August 6, 2025.
The team found significantly lower levels of naturally occurring lithium in the prefrontal cortex of people with MCI and AD. The prefrontal cortex, which controls memory and decision-making, is prominently affected in AD. None of the other metals were significantly altered in people with MCI.
Rest of the article
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/lithium-levels-tied-alzheimers-disease-dementia
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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1981.tb00788.x
Around-the-clock determinations of the patients’ renal lithium clearance showed about 20 % lower values during the night than during the day.
Could taking lithium at night work better?
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Amazing info on this thread, thanks all. Since you guys are way above my paygrade LOL on these subjects I was wondering what else we might need to take to counter any effects our meds might have. I take daily:
1.Telmisartan 40mg (my BP is fine 110/70, just take it for longevity)
2. Empagliflozin =25mg (SGLT2)
3. Ezetemibe =10mg
4. Pitavastatin=2mg
5. Metformin SR =1000mg
6. Acarbose 25mg with each meal
7. LDN 4.5mg
8. Cialis 5mg (used to do daily until @CronosTempi scared me LOL, and now do it 2 times per week)
Do any of you @CronosTempi, @RapAdmin, @RobTuck , @Joseph , @Agetron , @desertshores think I need to take something (i.e. vitamins or minerals) to counter depleting effects (if any) of my med stack?
Thanks,
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I don’t think we know how much lithium it flushes out exactly with respect to how much lithium orotate to dose. It appears to be more speculatory
No, there was research done on it and the amount was measured. It was measured to be about 35%.
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I am 38, taking 5mg lithium along with 10mg empagliflozina every days, guessing I need to up the dose a bit.
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The fact that the lithium orotate AD protocol is entirely speculative at this point places a rational limit on the precision attainable for any accommodation for TM and/or SGLT2i. Taking both in a full dose? Increase however much LO you had already decided to take by 20-30%. Taking only SGLT2i? Maybe increase it by 35%.
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Keeping in mind @Kelman1, that I lack relevant expertise and, even if I had it, there are many unknowns that might modulate my thoughts. Speaking only of your stack-driven needs, the only generally recognized supplement is B-12 and I would definitely recommend investigating that issue. There is some lab data suggesting that acarbose reduces calcium and B-6 availability but the amount is reportedly trivial. The same can be said for ezetimibe and fat soluble vitamins and supplements, such as astaxanthin. Again, likely trivial. Reduced circulating CoQ10 is mechanistically plausible with any statin but your low dose suggests not.
None of this goes to an optimal supplement stack, irrespective of you current list. There are several discussions on the larger question.
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Thank you @RobTuck for taking the time to respond. I really value your input and always find it helpful. It just so happened that I decided to check B12 level (on my last lab work) and thankfully it showed optimal at 701. I also started taking CoQ10 and Astaxanthin (thanks to suggestions from you and others on these boards) about 6 months ago. I don’t think I’ve ever measured B-6 but I do take Vit B complex 2-3 times weekly, Subjectively I feel it helps with energy. Used to take it daily but started giving me upset stomach especially when taken without food. Calcium seems good and always falls right in the middle of the normal range.
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I actually take all my supplements (lithium included) and crash in bed… letting them do their magic on a resting system.
Same with rapamycin… Once a week… post evening workout and a high protein dinner… take 6 mg rapamycin and rest of supplements- then sleep.
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Do you happen to remember where you found this research?