That'll depend on you. Could be a week, could be month or more. I feel that it started working fairly quickly for me, but I started it when I was fairly stable. After going a year with no mania I KNEW it was working!

it takes quite a while, it needs to build up in the blood to a theraputic level. its kinda a long term drug, not a quick fix. i take an anti-depressent aswell as lithium. hope it works out for you x

Most mood stabilizers take 6 weeks to two months to be fully working in your system. But as you can see, it will begin to help you immediately.

depends on your body. They do, or should be doing, blood tests to see what the Lithium level is in your blood. They then up or down it depending or where you are.

Lithium is also in salt form and is thus processed by the kidneys,thus dehydration and over hydration can effect it and its effects.

my doc says up to 3 months

You are not looking in the right places..Goole Litium,WebMD,Ask a Patient Medicine Rating,Drug Library Digest.
Litium has been the standard treatment for over 50 years.There is mounds of info on it ,and it's sucess,and side effects.
At the bottom of this DS page is a common treatment medications list.Litium is there.At the top of this DS page ,there is a section,where you can look up drug treatments,and how DS users rate them.

Use Google..type in Litium,the Mayo clinic has good refrences.
Go to Ask.com,type in Litium or bipolar.....there are page upon pages of info on Litium.
I would be a great many people on DS have or have taken Litium.
Litium is taken for bipolar ,and unipolar depression.....the info is out there in bucketfulls..go find what you need to know..it's there.

After 2 weeks it was just starting to help me a little, but I had to stop b/c my thyroid got funky. Anyway, my pdoc said at least 1 month for the full effect (I guess I'll never know).

Finaly reached my theraputic level after almost 5 months.I did start to feel better after 8 weeks.

i took it but had to get off becuase of the effect it has on the kidneys and my kidneys dont work all that well so the dr took me right off of that... not that it was doing me any good anyways..

Hi. I started taking Lithium 3wks ago and I was feeling pretty in control for about a week...no crying at all, I was also taking an anti-depressent with it for my Bipolar. 3 days ago my bpdoc took me off anti-depressent and I have been a mess ever since...I have CRASHED big time again!!!..I have uncontrollable crying and hopeless feelings. But for a whole week before this my brain felt calm and peacful compared to the rapid cycling I had for months before taking Lithium. My bpdoc thinks this mood stabilizer will work for me in the long run without taking anything else....I have a couple of awful side effects also...I am extremely worn out all the time and I vomit at least a couple of times a day but I have heard this is a small price to pay for the balance Lithium brings into your life. So I would say yes it has started working but seems like since I've stopped my other med my brain chemicals are all messed up again!!! Hope it works for you. Love and Prayers Ramona xoxoxoxo

It only took a couple weeks for me. Alot quicker than some things like ssri's. Seems to have helped alot, up until a few days ago.

I found this using Google:
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Lithium.htm

How long does it take for lithium to work?

"For lithium to reach its maximum effectiveness, two to three weeks are often required. To control severe mania, healthcare providers will often prescribe other medications while waiting for lithium to take effect. When the manic symptoms improve, the other medications may eventually be stopped or lowered. However, in many cases, people need more than one medication to maintain longterm stability."

Are you on anything else and is this a prescription from a phyciatrist or a health care provider?

I was told Lithium helps control mania and I'm usually depressed so it didn't help me. I took it with Desipramine. Of course we all respond differently to meds.

My sister has been using her family doc to get meds for bipolar and depression but there is no followup and I think he is giving her the wrong stuff.

I'm on Lithium and an antidepressant so I can't really say but my pdoc told me 3-4 weeks (that could simply just be when I would feel the first effects though). I've currently been taking it for 2 weeks and I feel good. But I was begginning to feel good about a week before I started taking it.

I took it and it took about 2-3 weeks for me. It was difficult for me to maintain my level though.