Mental Health
Here’s How Lithium Orotate Helped Elaine Defeat Bipolar Disorder.
I explain the promising benefits of this helpful trace mineral for mental health based on my reviews and years of experience.
Elaine’s Sad yet Inspiring Story
I met Elaine (a computer engineer) in a client’s workplace years ago. During our first meeting, she sounded terrific. We quickly clicked. Then, as we had a lot in common, we exchanged business cards.
A month later, I visited the same workplace. This time Elaine looked depressed. She did not show any interest. I thought I had made a mistake. I used to take things personally in those days.
I asked her whether she was alright. She just answered, saying, “whatever.” Then, surprisingly, she was cheerful again in another meeting and took me for a coffee when she revealed her secret.
Elaine was experiencing the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, her condition was not diagnosed and treated correctly. Unawareness of the symptoms and available therapies caused her unnecessary suffering. She was hesitant to seek support.
Interestingly, bipolar disorder was one of the subjects I studied in the early 1990s. Elaine’s words resonated with me. I shared my literature review to give her a perspective. She enjoyed learning about the condition.
Moreover, she decided to obtain help from qualified healthcare professionals. Then we lost connection for a year as I was assigned to another client at the time.
In some of the case studies, I read about the use of lithium orotate in treating bipolar. Elaine had never heard about it. But she decided to discuss it with her family doctor and wanted to be referred to a psychiatrist.
In our next meeting after a year, Elaine looked fabulous again.
She said it worked, hugging me with joyful tears. My memory failed. I couldn’t comprehend what worked.
Finally, she said, “the mineral you mentioned in our previous conversation.”
When she explained, the penny dropped. I understood that a mental health specialist treated her condition with lithium orotate.
Our conversation came to my consciousness. However, I was not sure lithium orotate would be so effective for bipolar at that time. I thought it was just a possibility.
When Elaine mentioned her suicidal thoughts had disappeared after the treatment, I was intrigued to research this trace mineral in detail. She inspired me to investigate it further. Then, I met many people who used it successfully.
Bipolar disorder is widespread globally. For example, according to the World Health Organization, bipolar disorder affects 45 million people worldwide.
Mental Illness Policy Organization points out that “2.3 million people (nearly 1% of the population) are affected by bipolar disorder in the US.” It is a severe condition that requires the attention of healthcare professionals.
I introduced bipolar disorder in an article titled Challenges of Dealing with Duality of Bipolar Disorder.
In the following sections, I summarize my findings on the effectiveness of lithium orotate in the literature. I also briefly mention why I include this molecule in my biohacking and mental health kit as a powerful supplement.
Summary of My Findings on Lithium Therapy in the Mental Health Literature
When reviewing many clinical and analysis papers, I discovered the promising value of lithium therapy for various mental health conditions.
Lithium is heavily researched. For example, when we check PubMed, we will find over 66,000 scientific reports about lithium in English.
Even though mental health professionals have used lithium carbonate for many years, the focus of the literature was on the orotate form of lithium.
Overall mental health literature covers benefits such as brain health, healthy mood balance, cell regeneration, reducing effects of depression and anxiety, alleviation of insomnia and migraines, and increased cognitive function such as memory, focus, attention, and task switching.
In addition, a few papers touched on strengthening the immune system, improving blood-sugar metabolism, and contributing to bone health. These analyses were inconclusive, so I did not focus on them.
Most mental health studies highlighted the effectiveness of lithium in bipolar disorders. The emphasis was on aggression, homicide, and suicidal thoughts.
Here is a summary of highlights in my research journal for interested readers who might follow the links and read the papers to understand the value of this trace mineral for mental health.
Reviewing eight studies conducted in the last 28 years, a paper in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry highlighted:
“Mounting evidence on people who live in areas where the land or water supply is relatively lithium-rich have lower rates of mental illness (e.g., suicide, aggression, or homicide) compared to areas where the land or water supply is relatively lithium poor.”
In the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, a paper titled Lithium in unipolar depression and the prevention of suicide concluded:
“The massive evidence showing a reduction in morbidity on lithium treatment suggests that systematic long-term lithium treatment of unipolar depression could considerably lower the suicide rate.”
Another paper, after three years in the same journal, summarized “available evidence and clinical considerations regarding the use of lithium augmentation in acute and maintenance treatment of unipolar and bipolar depression.”
This placebo-controlled study published in the Biological Trace Element Research investigated the effects of nutritional lithium supplementation on the mood of former drug users and has concluded that:
“Lithium at the dosages chosen had a mood-improving and stabilizing effect.”
A follow-up study in 2016 previously showing the inverse association between lithium in drinking water and male suicide on Kyushu Island confirmed that “trace lithium was inversely associated with male suicide after adjustment of climatic factors.”
A 2019 epidemiological study on Biological Trace Element Research informs that:
“Lithium compounds have been widely used in psychopharmacology, particularly in the treatment of the bipolar disorder. Their normothymic and neuroprotective properties, when used at high doses, have been well established.”
The paper also points out that “a number of observations suggest that environmentally relevant lithium doses may also exert beneficial health effects, leading to a decrease in the rate of suicides and levels of violence.”
A 2021 review on Brain and Behaviour titled “lithium orotate: a superior option for lithium therapy” provided a comprehensive analysis of the molecule’s historical background and potential use for practitioners.
My Experience of Using Lithium Orotate
I don’t have bipolar symptoms. However, I experience excess stress giving me excitability and occasionally affecting my mood and mental energy.
Learning about the effectiveness of lithium orotate on chronic stress intrigued me to try it. Anecdotes in biohacking communities were overwhelming.
Some papers highlighted the importance of lithium deficiency in some geographies and populations. For example, getting it from food or water might be difficult. It exists in both animal and plant sources in tiny amounts.
After learning about its efficiency in mental health and discussing it with my trusted advisors in the health communities, I decided to try lithium orotate, which comes in low doses.
The confirmation in this scientific paper reassuring that “there have been no reported cases of death or severe side effects in more than 40 years of lithium orotate use in the United States and Europe” reinforced my decision.
However, there is a risk for “the elderly people who have had previous kidney or thyroid problems, and individuals who have ‘normal’ kidney and thyroid function but with an underlying pharmacogenetic susceptibility to lithium-induced renal or thyroid impairment.”
Another study in 1986 investigating lithium orotate in the treatment of alcoholism and related conditions confirmed that the use of 150 mg daily for six months caused only minor side effects such as “muscle weakness, loss of appetite, or mild apathy.”
As I knew that lithium in high doses could be toxic, taking a five-milligram amount looked safe to me. I decided to try it as fixing a deficiency could have benefited me.
As lithium orotate was not available publicly in Australian health stores, I ordered it from a reliable health shop in the US. I also found out that it was available over the counter in many countries. Thus, purchasing it during my travels was not a problem.
When I tried it, the first dose blew my mind. Nevertheless, the subsequent doses did not have the same effect. I assumed my body needed it in a small amount for some biochemical activities. Therefore, successive doses were not as effective.
I felt my stress melt after 24 hours when I got the first dose. It was only five milligrams. When my stress was too high, I used to have difficulty sleeping. But that day, I slept beautifully.
The next day, I had a clearer mind. I felt calm and composed.
After using it for a month daily, I gave a break for a month. The next dose also made a noticeable difference in mental clarity.
After a while, I found the sweet spot of a five-milligram dose weekly with trial and error, providing the desired effect.
However, if I face a stressful situation, I top up and see a difference within 24 hours. After using lithium orotate in low doses, the most significant benefit for me has been resetting my neurotransmitters and balancing my hormones.
Since I started using lithium orotate, I did not experience any extreme anger, even amid very challenging situations.
After several years, I haven’t experienced any noticeable side effects. Therefore it is a powerful supplement in my mental health kit.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Elaine was the first person who benefitted from it in my circles. But later, I found many people used it effectively. The testimonials highlighted mood stabilization, brain defense, and stress reduction benefits.
Like many trace minerals, lithium, in small doses, seems essential for the brain. Lithium orotate appears to be a safe version while providing an adequate bioavailable amount.
I understand from the literature that people with neurological issues appear to have this mineral less in the body. Therefore, supplementation might be working. With the addition of orotate, lithium seems to be more bioavailable.
However, while self-supplementing, we must be careful with trace minerals as the body needs a tiny amount of them to function.
Any trace mineral passing the threshold might be toxic to the body. Therefore, it is wise to obtain advice from qualified healthcare professionals before using them as supplements.
Recognizing symptoms of bipolar manifesting as manic, depressive, and mood episodes is vital.
Manic episodes depict high energy and loss of touch with reality. Depressive episodes might show low energy, reduced motivation, and loss of interest in everyday activities. Finally, mood episodes show fluctuations and might take several days.
During these episodes, patients might have suicidal thoughts.
Mental health conditions, especially bipolar, adversely affect the lives of millions of people.
Thus, if you or your loved ones experience symptoms, it can be invaluable to seek advice and obtain support from qualified mental health professionals who might diagnose the conditions and offer timely treatment.
For example, specialized psychiatrists can assess risks by checking symptoms and medical and family history. Then they can create a timely treatment plan using medication, psychotherapy, or a combination.
You can learn more about the benefits of lithium orotate from a publicly available video presented by Dr. Mark Millar.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
I also wrote about other valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.
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