Known brand names include No current brand name for immediate-release lithium carbonate; marketed as generic capsules and tablets. Lithobid is the extended-release brand, which is not covered here..
A mood stabilizer taken by mouth for bipolar I disorder, both to treat manic or mixed episodes and to prevent new ones. It has a narrow margin between helpful and toxic levels, so blood levels are checked regularly.
No one knows exactly how lithium steadies mood, though it is described as calming abnormal activity in the brain. After it is swallowed, the gut absorbs all of it, and it spreads through the water in the body without sticking to blood proteins. It is not broken down, and the kidneys filter it into the urine but take most of it back along the way.
Blood levels peak within about 3 hours of a capsule or regular tablet, and it takes about 18 to 36 hours for half of it to leave the body. The full benefit on mood may take 1 to 3 weeks or longer to appear. Because the kidneys control how much stays in the body, dehydration, long bouts of sweating or diarrhea, fever, kidney problems, and some drugs can push its level up. Toxic levels sit close to helpful ones, so a rise can tip into lithium poisoning, and it can also lower sodium, which adds to that risk.
Lithium is a mood stabilizer for bipolar I disorder, an illness that brings episodes of depression and episodes of mania, a frenzied, abnormally excited mood. It calms manic and mixed episodes, when mood runs extremely high or swings between highs and lows. Taken long term, it also helps keep new episodes from coming back.
It is taken by mouth by adults and by children 7 years and older. The label approves it for use on its own as the treatment for bipolar I disorder. It can help control the illness but does not cure it. Its safety and effectiveness have not been shown in children younger than 7.
A fine hand tremor, passing a lot of urine, mild thirst, and nausea early on are what people notice most, and it can make the thyroid underactive. The label treats lithium toxicity as the main danger: diarrhea, vomiting, a coarse tremor, unsteadiness, drowsiness, and slurred speech that can progress to confusion, seizures, and coma. It also warns about kidney problems, low sodium, high calcium, heart rhythm changes, and serotonin syndrome.
A clinician may order these while someone is taking it.
This is the boxed warning, the warning the FDA label prints first.
Lithium toxicity. Toxicity tracks closely with serum levels and can occur at doses near the therapeutic range. Do not start treatment unless prompt, accurate serum lithium testing is available.
Sources: [1]