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A Checklist for Patients Taking Lithium:"1. Take the medication on a regular basis as prescribed by the doctor. Ask the doctor for instructions on what to do if one or more doses are missed. Unless the doctor advises otherwise, do not catch up on a missed dose by doubling the next dose. This may produce a dangerously high blood level of lithium."
http://www.healthieryou.com/lithium.html

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All About Lithium, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of New York City, Inc :"Lithium carbonate is the drug most commonly used to treat bipolar (manic/depressive)illness. Valproic acid and Tegretol are also frequently used, sometimesin combination with lithium. There are different brands of lithium in tablets,capsule, & liquid form: Lithotabs, Lithane, Lithonate, Eskalith, Cibalith,& Lithobid. Lithobid is a slow release version that helps diminish sideeffects. Lithobid may cause diarrhea. Lithium is usually effective in thetreatment of the manic phase & in acute bipolar depression. It servesas a mood stabilizer and is helpful in 70-80% of bipolar patients."
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Lithium.htm

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Lithium--Detailed Narrative, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill :"Lithium carbonate - a salt - came to be regularly used to control manic depressive illness in this country in the 1960's. Today it is the most commonly used medication to treat bipolar (manic-depressive) illness. There are a variety of different brands of lithium dispensed in tablets, capsule, and liquid form: Lithotabs, Lithane, Lithonate, Eskatlith, Cibalith, and Lithobid. Lithium is helpful in 70 percent to 80 percent of bipolar patients, making it one of the most effective psychiatric medications available."
http://www.nami.org/helpline/lithium.htm

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Lithium Interactions, Drugstore.com:"Some studies have found that people taking lithium long-term who have high blood levels of folic acid respond better to lithium.2 3 Not all studies have confirmed these findings, however."
http://www.drugstore.com/guide/Drug/Lithium.asp

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Lithium carbonate, INDICATIONS, rxlist.com:"Lithium carbonate is indicated in the treatment of manic episodes of manic-depressive illness. Maintenance therapy prevents or diminishes the intensity of subsequent episodes in those manic-depressive patients with a history of mania. Typical symptoms of mania include pressure of speech, motor hyperactivity, reduced need for sleep, flight of ideas, grandiosity, elation, p.o. judgment, aggressiveness, and possibly hostility. When given to a patient experiencing a manic episode, lithium carbonate may produce a normalization of symptomatology within 1 to 3 weeks."
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/lithium_ids.htm

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See also: Anti-depressants, BuSpar (buspirone), Celexa (citalopram), Paxil (paroxetine), Venlafaxine (Effexor), Zoloft (sertraline)

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