Posted by Dr. Bob on September 30, 2003, at 19:26:45
In reply to Re: Lithium Orotate « BarbaraCat, posted by Dr. Bob on September 13, 2003, at 15:58:58
Re: Lithium Orotate BarbaraCat
Posted by Rob25 on September 30, 2003, at 14:46:37
In reply to http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030912/msgs/259679.html
Lithium orotate works very well for me in completely managing my bipolar disorder. You had posted that:
> But anyway, on to the Lithium Orotate question.
> I think it just doesn't work the way they say it does, especially for people with BP illness. Perhaps it's >good for the neuro protective qualities for people without BP, but not for us.
I'm interested in this topic because of my experience with lithium orotate. I'm interested in hearing who it does not work for and wondering what the different factors involved are. It does work extremely well for me. I would have possibly ventured a guess that maybe it doesn't work for those who have previously been on Rx lithium, since that was your case. Except the friend of ours who told me about lithium orotate had swtiched from lithium carbonate straight to lithium orotate. She is also doing very well, which is why she recommended it to me.I was not doing particularly well on anything. I have a long history with this illness. I'd been on a number of med cocktails. When I began on lithium orotate, I had been on depakote and wellbutrin. Of everthing I have taken, lithium orotate has worked the best for me. Maybe I'm more sensitive to side effects or something and some of those other meds would have worked fine if I had been able to tolerate the side effects. I'm not sure.
Anyway, I'm just interested in what the different factors involved are that make a difference because I know that lithium orotate can work extremely well. Is BP subtype a factor? I am BPII but our friend is BPI. What other factors might be involved I wonder? Of course, the bottom line on all this stuff is that we are all different and nothing works for everyone.
The truth is, I'm gearing up in case one of our kids turns out to be bipolar also. We don't know anything like that yet, but I know it is a distinct possibility as my father was bp as are other relatives on his side. In case we have to deal with this, I was thinking that lithium orotate was the answer to the whole bp problem with it being so easy to use with the no side effects and such good results. I've always said I'd never put one of our kids through what I had to go through and with lithium orotate, they wouldn't have to go through all that. But then I see a post like yours where it just plain didn't work and I start to wonder why.
I'd be very interested in any thoughts you or anyone else might have regarding this.
Rob
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Re: Lithium Orotate BarbaraCat » Rob25
Posted by BarbaraCat on September 30, 2003, at 15:47:05
In reply to Re: Lithium Orotate BarbaraCat, posted by Rob25 on September 30, 2003, at 14:46:37
Hi Rob,
It simply didn't work for me. I ran out of lithium carbonate due to my mail order prescription getting lost among other snafu's. After two weeks I was getting decidedly hypomanic and at week three my order of orotate arrived the same day as my errant prescription finally arrived. I decided to take the orotate instead because carbonate was probably out of my system, I was mildly hypomanic, and felt it would be perfect testing conditions, plus I just wanted to see because of my high hopes for it.I took 120mg Serenity 3x/day. Hypomania escalated for another week into a rather wacky mania that was alot of fun but very expensive - a thousand dollars worth of gardening stuff and plans for a major landscaping rehaul - this during a time when we were out of work and barely scraping together mortgage. A week or so later, now up to 2 pills 3x/day I began to descend into a nasty mixed-states depression. I gave it about 1/2 week or so but it became painfully clear that the orotate was not working. Mixed states depression is a place I never need nor want to visit again. Carbonate brought me back in 1 week and was definitely not the orotate finally kicking in. I know the differenc in how carbonate feels.
Perhaps I was expecting too much in asking it to put the brakes on an escalating manic episode. Maybe if I'd been on an even keel and slowly replaced the carbonate with orotate I could have eased into a successful transition. But the fact was, that when push came to shove it did nothing for me and I believe I gave it a fair chance - almost 3 weeks at double the recommended dosage. Maybe BPs need 2-3 times the recommended dosage, but then, why, if you're taking the same amount as carbonate at 3 times the cost?
One of these days I'm going to try to reduce and then quit the carbonate and am planning to bolster my system with orotate (I still have a few bottles left) before stopping carbonate. That will be another kind of test and hopefully I can sustain a therapeutic base with orotate.
Sorry if you mentioned this, but have you ever taken carbonate? Are your BP symptoms severe? Mixed states for me is a hell I would do just about anything within ethics to prevent. It is a psychotic nightmare and for me, I think I might need something stronger. But that's just me. - BarbaraCat
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Re: Lithium Orotate BarbaraCat
Posted by Rob25 on September 30, 2003, at 17:16:14
In reply to Re: Lithium Orotate BarbaraCat » Rob25, posted by BarbaraCat on September 30, 2003, at 15:47:05
No, as I mentioned I had never been on lithium before. Actually, my pdoc wanted to try me on it since I wasn't doing that well on anything. But the toxicity issue and the constant monitoring plus all the side effects people tend to get put me off. I seem to do poorly with side effects.
Am I severe? Well, I'm not psychotic where I hear voices, etc. But although I hate to say it, I made life absolute hell for my family. Although I'm so glad my wife stayed with me because I really love her and the kids, she could have (maybe should have) left for very good reasons.
Our friend who recommended lithium orotate to me though is BP and was often psychotic and does well on it also.
I hate this illness and I hate the thought of my kids maybe getting it. That's why I have to say I was disappointed to see that the lithium orotate was a total washout for you. The few people I know who have used it all have done well. Here I was thinking it was the answer that would help almost everyone. I guess I was being unrealistic because nothing does that. I guess I was just looking for the ultimate answer that would make it so my kids never have to go through what I went through or put anyone else through it. Maybe because lithium orotate worked so well for me it will also work for them because we will have similar conditions, who knows?
Rob
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:259704
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20030903/msgs/264576.html