Lithium (Oral Route)

Free

E-newsletter

Subscribe to Housecall

Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

Lithium (Oral Route)

US Brand Names

Description

Lithium is used to treat mania that is part of bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness). It is also used on a daily basis to reduce the frequency and severity of manic episodes. Manic-depressive patients experience severe mood changes, ranging from an excited or manic state (e.g., unusual anger or irritability or a false sense of well-being) to depression or sadness.

It is not known how lithium works to stabilize a person's mood. However, it does act on the central nervous system. It helps you to have more control over your emotions and helps you cope better with the problems of living.

It is important that you and your family understand all the effects of this medicine. These effects depend on your individual condition and response and the amount of lithium you use. You also must know when to contact your doctor if there are problems with using the medicine.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although these uses are not included in product labeling, lithium is used in certain patients with the following medical conditions:

• Cluster headaches.
• Mental depression.
• Neutropenia (a blood condition where there is a decreased number of a certain type of white blood cells).

This product is available in the following dosage forms:

• Capsule
• Solution
• Tablet, Extended Release
• Tablet
• Syrup

Copyright © 2013 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.