Lithium Orotate (Natural Supplement) for Fluctuating Tinnitus, Mood Swings, Depression, and Anxiety?

Okay so I had a lot of irritable thoughts, fluctuating emotions, restlessnes, anxiety...etc.. for a few days this week. It is a combination of things, for example the tinnitus but also other things as well. I think I have some kind of issue in the winter when it is darker outside and bright lights inside which messes with my brain. For example, being outside in darkness and be calming but going inside afterwards with bright lights or flourescent lights can really mess me up and make me depressed, moody, irritable etc. I guess its like my body produces hormones to prepare for the night time and sleep and then the bright lights come in and then my body says, oh wait it isn't night and maybe produces other hormones. At any rate, it seems that if I calm myself down before sunset and then remain calm to sleeping I can at least avoid some of the big mood swings and irritability.

Anyways, I took some Lithium orotate which I think I got at a local supplement store. You can also get this on Amazon. I wasn't expecting it to do much but then about 30 minutes to an hour later I stared to feel more calm. It also seemed to affect my tinnitus. Later I took another one and it seemed to just "calm" my brain down and I could think rationally. Keep in mind I have had T for a while so I doubt most people would feel this calm right away. It seemed to have an affect on tinnitus as well.

Lithium is supposed to be a mood stabilizer and can calm people but it also has an anti-depressant affect. From what I understand, the orotate form is much safer to take and allows you to take lower doses, but you would have to read up on it to make sure. What it seemed to do for me was not only calm me down but when I thought of something that was bothering me before and causing me anxiety, it felt like it prevented adrenaline from going through my body (no fight or flight type feelings). I have no idea if this is what it is doing, but that is what it felt like. I doubt it would do this for everybody the first time they take it because I am also on another medication and have had T for a while but I figured I would put this out there in case someone wants to look into it. I guess time will tell if it will benefit me long term. I'm wondering if this will help me be able to calm down about T and be more rational on a more consistent basis.

One thing I will admit though, I do like that feeling of a little adrenaline rush (or whatever it is) as long as it doesn't get to out of hand so maybe I could reduce it and see what happens. I also read that Lithium can help with circadian rhythms.

I would not expect it to calm down people that are very upset about T right away but maybe it could help after taking it for a week or so. You might want to ask a holistic doctor for dosages and safety issues.

 

Okay, so I took it again today and did get somewhat of a calming feeling. I can see this being helpful for people who feel as though they are on the edge or having a "flight or fight" response. For whatever reason I did not take it much this past week except for last night and this afternoon. Its quite possible that if taken daily for a week or so I could notice other changes.

Some notes so far:

1. A side effect that has happened every time this supplement has kicked in for me is that it has a drying effect on the eye. After a while, this seems to lessen for me. Therefore, if this happens to you and you wear contacts, you will need to get some rewetting drops. If you don't have contacts, you may need some safe form of moisturizing eye drops. I am wondering if this could be lessened or eliminated by taking Omega 3's, fish oil, or eating more fish. Omega 3 fatty acids are known for helping dry eyes for many people.

2. I took it today on an empty stomach and seem to have an upset stomach for just a bit. It is quite possible that taking this with food might be a good idea to hopefully do away with this. By the way, if you take fish oil, it is definitely best to take it with food or something similar could happen.

3. This may not be an instant fix for some people but it might be that a week after taking it, it could help.

4. I do not know the consequences of taking lithium orotate long term and if it does work for people, it seems they will need to put some mental effort by stopping the negative thinking or using some positive thinking.

Taking it today, it seemed like I was able to "work through" some issues and reason with myself. I would think of something I wanted my mind to start believing and my brain was "accepting" of it if that makes sense. I have no idea if other factors are involved in that but so far it does seem that lithium definitely has a calming effect and interestingly enough has seemed to lower my tinnitus a little. I wouldn't recommend it though if you are going to a theme park or some other situations because there are times you want more "adrenaline" pumping.

I may come back an update more later but wanted to share this with you all in case there are people that are really having a bad time and may want to try something to help.

Disclaimer: Be sure to research it yourself first and ask a pharmacist or doctor if it is okay for you to take. Be sure to weigh the risks and benefits and it is quite possible you may not even need as much as the recommended dosage.

 

Can you give us a update? Are you still taking the Lithium Orotate?

 

Well....I can't remember why but I stopped taking Lithium Orotate a while back. Its possible because I was doing better and didn't want a slightly sedating effect. That and the slight dry eye effect were the only two side effects I noticed.

 

@Florida John I started taking it per JasonP's advice and it definitely works almost exactly how he described. Much better than 5HTP or St John's. The one I'm taking is Advanced Research 120mg tablet but only 1/4 tablet 2x per day - only a very small dose is needed. In higher doses it can effect the kidneys or liver, I think.

It actually works on evening out glutamate when it's too high or too low. This is why it works well for bi polar but I think when we have fluctuating T it kind of makes you feel bi polar because it can drastically effect your mood from on day to the next. If you try it, I hope it helps.

 

Well, I think I'm going to start trying this again and see what happens. On my regular regimen, I became kind of irritable but wasn't extremely depressed. Also, my T had increased. I took a couple of CNS depressants to relax which worked, but didn't lower my T. Because of the relaxation, I slept more which can cause depression. The depression can cause fatigue which leads to more sleeping. Of course focusing on T worsens it as well as the rememberence of other times being depressed. I became totally destabilized and hit extreme depression. I guess I will see what happens and should be able to report back here.

The problem is, I'm also trying to ween off klonopin but maybe that's a bad idea. Cal18, are you still taking this? How is it working? If you stopped, what happened while you were on it?

 

Do you still take antidepressant? Is your depression from T or did you already have it.

 

I already had mild depression but mostly anxiety. I can't take the antidepressant because it caused my body to freak out. Still just taking the orotate.

 

Hey John, been taking for a couple of nights now. It seems to be helping me be more calm at the moment. I feel like I can habituate to T a lot better with this. Also, last night, I woke up with a very negative thought and emotion and within 5 seconds it seemed, the thought brought up normal emotions and the disturbing emotions went away. It was very interesting. Tonight, I was kind of irritable, I had the feeling like I had been awake for 24 hours. This could be due to the fact that I am trying to get off klonopin or some other reason. I took 5mg of Lithium orotate and within 30 minutes I was feeling a lot calmer. The only side effect I noticed was a slight dry eye again. Its possible that "normal" people might not notice much of an effect. I guess I can see what happens in the future.

 

I know the benzo you are trying to get off of is because of long term problems but would you say it was helping you deal with tinintus? wish you the best!

 

It would help if I did not have tinnitus because it's relaxing. However since it is a CNS depressant it can cause me to have depression sometimes due to the t annoyance.

 

I highly recommend this anyone who's mood has been destabilized due to tinnitus. Only small amounts are needed. I take 1/4 of a 4mg tablet, 3x per day (broken into 4ths). It also acts on stabilizing glutamate which is nice as well. If you're especially scared of the risks associated with antidepressants this may be the thing to try first.

 

Any body still taking it ? Could you, please, give an update.

Thanks very much.

 

Article that explain a bit more detail about Lithium. Nice thing is that there are reference backing up to each statement.

https://selfhacked.com/blog/the-benefits-of-lithium/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3172812/#!po=6.47059

Neuroprotective action of lithium in disorders of the central nervous system

Chi-Tso CHIU and De-Maw CHUANG

Additional article information

Abstract
Substantial in vitro and in vivo evidence of neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of lithium suggests that it may also have considerable potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions. Lithium's main mechanisms of action appear to stem from its ability to inhibit glycogen synthase kinase-3 activity and also to induce signaling mediated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This in turn alters a wide variety of downstream efectors, with the ultimate effect of enhancing pathways to cell survival. In addition, lithium contributes to calcium homeostasis. By inhibiting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated calcium influx, for instance, it suppresses the calcium-dependent activation of pro-apoptotic signaling pathways. By inhibiting the activity of phosphoinositol phosphatases, it decreases levels of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, a process recently identified as a novel mechanism for inducing autophagy. These mechanisms alow therapeutic doses of lithium to protect neuronal cells from diverse insults that would otherwise lead to massive cell death. Lithium, moreover, has been shown to improve behavioral and cognitive deficits in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, including stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, fragile X syndrome, and Huntington's, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's diseases. Since lithium is already FDA-approved for the treatment of bipolar disorder, our conclusions support the notion that its clinical relevance can be expanded to include the treatment of several neurological and neurodegenerative-related diseases.

Keywords: brain-derived neurotrophic factor, CNS disorders, glutamate excitotoxicity, glycogen synthase kinase-3, lithium, neurodegenerative diseases, neuroprotection

 

@Cal18 has taken it and she said it has helped her mood.

 

I second this statement. If you get lithium orotate, do not get the kind in capsules. Get the ones in tablets so you can break them up and take the smallest dose that helps. If you get capsules then to reduce the amount, you would have to open it up and dump the powder out which is very wasteful and takes more time.

 

EatMoTacos, Thanks a lot for this interesting information.

 

Jason, I thank you very much for your reply and all the information provided.
I'll buy the tablets and I'll take them the way you sugest. I really need to improve my mood, I hope lithium orotate will also help my tinnitus and sleep. I will update if it works for me.
Thanks again for your time.

 

You are welcome. I hope you get some relief.

 

Hi Anima, did it help any?

 

Hi, Jason.
I haven't trayed it yet. I ordered some "Vitamin Research" capsules from Amazon and never got them. I keep enquiring if they got lost in the post or whatever. This had never happened to me before because they usually send oprders by registered post.
I feel frustrated because I was longing to try it and see what happend. Bad luck, but never mind, I'll order some more and I'll update as soon as possible.
Regards..

 

If you order, don't get the capsules, get the tablets so you can break them in half if you need to.

 

I gotta try these for sure!

What dosage would you recommend @JasonP ?

 

Good question. I'm not sure. Its kind of different for everyone. You might want to start off with half a 4.6mg (or 5mg) tablet and see how you do. @Cal18 would probably know better. I haven't ever taken them long term. I might look into them again though. It's hard because I am taking so much as it is right now and I don't want to overdo it.

One other thing. If you take Lithium Orotate go ahead and drink a glass or so of water with it (and you may want to take it with food). It's possible that the lithium could cause a little dehydration.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Hey Anima, it's been a while. Did you ever try the lithium orotate?

 

Hi TheDanishGirl, I was curious, did you ever try the Lithium Orotate? I just got some active melts and am taking it again for now.

 

Okay, I want to put a little update on here. I have been taking Lithium Orotate for around 1 and a half to two weeks. I'm not exactly sure the dosage I need to take yet but it really seems to be helping me have "normal" moods. I didn't take it this morning and wasn't doing so well...I had some negative thoughts but I just took my second tablet (first was late this afternoon) and I'm feeling better. Unfortunately, I am also taking a medication called Lamictal so I don't know it is interacting with it or not. Today I bought the "activMelt" form by Kal which is a lemon and lime flavored tablet that dissolves in your mouth. The reason I got it was because it seemed like I was getting gas sometimes when I swallowed a capsule form of lithium orotate (wasn't by Kal). Anyways, even though I haven't taken much everyday there have been times where negative thoughts have come into my mind (normal for me on some days - not a lithium orotate side effect) but they haven't overtaken me and caused me extreme anguish. I may go for 1 tablet, 3x a day tomorrow and see how that goes.

Btw, I have been diagnosed with a "mild" bipolar but I could see this possibly helping people who have anxiety or depression. If you want to learn more and how it affected others, just look up the supplement on Amazon and read some of the reviews. It is produced by different manufacturers.

 

Need to do an update here. I have to concur with Cal18 at least for my body. Too much of the lithium orotate has side effects for me. I tried it for a bit around one a week and I did fine. However, I wondered if it would help my tinnitus more if I took more...I ended up the past couple of days taking 3 or 4 a day. Bad idea...The third time I took it, I started experienced sweating and feeling off. I went to get something to eat and felt better afterwards...not sure it was low blood sugar or something else. I also got nausea. I am, however, also taking a drug called Lamictal which may have an interaction with it, I'm not sure.

Having a mild bipolar, I need something to calm me down. I was given Trileptal, Neurontin, and Klonopin. I took small doses of these medications which would only calm me down if I took them BEFORE I took my Lamictal and once I took my Lamictal the effect was greatly diminished. If I took them after my Lamictal dose, they would have hardly any effect. With the Lithium Orotate I was able to take AFTER my Lamictal dose and it has helped calm me down every time. Just one 5mg pill. To me this stuff has been powerful. Perhaps I can try what Cal18 did and split the pill up. It's unfortunate but there is no way I know what the right dosage is for me unless I experiment.

 

@JasonP 3-4 lithium orotates per day is A LOT. I have tried a lot things in the past with no success and didn't expect anything from the LO. I had taken a half pill as one of my first doses and noticed my mood had picked up considerably about 2 hours later and I realized that's why.

I get where you're going with that though. Sometimes prescription meds tend to be effective simply because they're stronger... just be careful