hi, I just bumped a thread I wrote on the subject.

It would be helpful to know a bit more about you - are you BP1 or BP2? How often did you cycle pre medication? How long have you ben on meds? Have you had any episodes while on lithium carbonate?

I'm assuming you are aware of the issues of elimination of lithium when given as lithium orotate? That was from rat studies. Will you be getting regular blood tests?

the other things to be aware of that you may not have come accross which came out of my research on the wholesalers sites
is the variance in active ingredient dosage.

another wider issue is around the control of the various fillers used for "suppliments" and problems with packaging at the retailer end.

some of these are covered in my post here

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Bipolar-Disorder/forum/Treatments/19106817-lithium-orotate-facts-and-myths

Hi Curious, I'm honored to get a reply from you. I have followed your posts on Orotate and followed your sources. I am aware of the problems with Orotate, and don't expect it to be a miracle. I've just decided after much research that:
1. It's an untested resource, and in mental health we could use more information
2. Supplements are unstable, so the only information I have to go by is results claimed by other people with my same diagnosis
3. After so many decades I have come to the point where living with the side effects is affecting my life negatively on a large scale. I am willing to take a chance - a careful chance.
4. Even if the experiment is on myself, I can be impartial about the results.

Your questions. I am BP II, Rapid Cycle. My cycle pre-meds was every six weeks (approx. 2 weeks normal, 2 weeks manic, 2 weeks depression).
I have been on meds close to 15 years. Mostly Lithium. Lithium has been very good at stabilizing my mood, for the most part.
I will have episodes on Lithium if the trigger is powerful enough, or there are a lot at one time.
I would not be running this experiment if not under the care of a doctor. Both my general MD and my psychiatrist are aware, I have set up strategic appointments for the initial part of the medication change. There will be blood tests, and I will have urinalysis strips at home for regular checks of my kidney function. I already have an exit strategy for if there are any signs of problems. Plus, I realize this may not work at all.
Dealing with bipolar has made me into a very structured person, I'm going into this eyes wide open. The only reason I'm putting up a blog at all is I would have loved to have as much information as possible when I began my research. Who knows, maybe there could be something here. Maybe we just need more research, more testing. I'm in a unique position to do so and with the history I have with my drs I feel safe.

Do not think I am promoting Orotate. My blog will have many disclaimers. I'm just trying to put forth more information, based on my desire to find something that works better for my life. I am a huge believer in medication for bipolar disorder and don't think anyone should mess around with what works.

I would love to be able to site you, or use some of your links, but only with your permission. You have a lot of good, useful information.

Thanks for the hug. :)

hi, I'm fine with being cited and the links quoted.

Might be nice to have a link to the Bipolar board too - others reading your blog might not be aware of us.

Looking forward to reading how you get on.

hi, not sure if you will pick this up - just had a look at your blog. Glad it's going well - I may of missed it but what will be your dose of lithium oroate?

Hi, sorry about the delay in response, I have been away on vacation. The amount I decided to take, after discussion with other BP2's who claimed to have been on Orotate for a period of over 1 year, was 15 essential mg of Lithium. This is a different amount of Orotate, depending on the brand. The brand I decided on was Pure Encapsulations, which has 5emg/200mg per capsule. So I am on 15mg essential Lithium/600mg N-Aceytl-L-Cysteine.

So far my blood tests show that I have

...

(the forum doesn't like the "Less than" symbol, I've just figured out!)

...less than 0.1 Lithium in my system, which is apparently what a normal person would show. So there is no longer approx. 0.6-1.0 Lithium floating around in my bloodstream. Of course, neither my psych or I know how my body is processing the Lithium with Orotate as the carrier, but so long as my organs are functioning and I am not cycling she is content to let me continue the experiment.

Thank you for your continued interest! I will continue to blog, but only once a month from now on. But I'm happy to engage in any conversation about this topic, especially now that it's become personal.

ok, thanks for the update. I'll keep looking at the blog.

still looking :)

not sure I can comment on your blog.

You are right a psychiatrist isn't a GP but they should be experts in the effects of the medication so they do have that knowledge.

Given kidney problems have been discounted are you going to talk to a GP about the symptoms?

acuriousfish: Not sure there is much to comment on, really. Other than anxiety and some paranoia :) things seem to be going pretty smoothly. In a couple of months it will have been a year. I expect to keep close watch for at least another year, but I don't know that I will continue to blog about it. I will continue to keep a journal - but at this point it really looks as if the only "solid" information I will be able to gather from this experiment -if any- will be obvious only in retrospect.

I did give my GP the lab results and told her what had been going on. Because the symptoms had abated and the labs were clean, she did not feel the need to follow up with anything other than what my psych had already done.

Right now I am glad I conducted this experiment. It has made a difference in my life. Of course, time will tell if I am forced to change my mind. If so, I will post. Thank you for reading, and I will continue to do the same.

good to hear things are going well :)