Similarities Between Lithium Carbonate And Bipolar Disorder

Lithium Carbonate and Bipolar Disorder
Lithium is a naturally occurring element that is refined to treat certain psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder. Lithium is a naturally formed element, and can be found in many foods. The element has various forms such as lithium carbonate, lithium orotate, and lithium aspartate (“The Science and Practice”). The differences in lithium lie within the effects of salt on molecular weight, and the percentage of lithium. Lithium carbonate specifically is used to treat manic-depressive disorder as a mood stabilizer. Bipolar disorder is a brain disorder that can affect mood, activity levels, energy, and task completion. There are various types of bipolar disorder, and the severity can vary for any given
Since lithium carbonate targets glutamate receptors, it can be used to treat a broad range of severities of bipolar disorder. When an individual is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, there are some signs of mania that can be treated with lithium carbonate. When an individual is experiencing mania they can feel irritable, display poor judgment, conduct inappropriate social behavior, and have increased energy. Lithium carbonate is said to be effective for adults and children that are above the age of twelve (“Pros and Cons”). With the availability of lithium carbonate to be given to as young as twelve years of age, this allows manic episodes to be regulated at an earlier age. This could also allow the body to slowly reduce headaches that follow manic episodes. Another benefit of lithium carbonate is helping patients become more rational and balanced (“Pros and Cons”). This ultimately means that their decisions will be made more in terms of cognition rather than from impulsion. It is important to feel in control over one's emotions, and with the ability to regulate the frequency of manic episodes at twelve could benefit that individuals entire
Since lithium has strong effects on an individual it is prescription only. One con is the drug can take awhile for the individual's body to engage in the decrease the glutamate receptors (Cafasso). This can be somewhat frustrating for the individual because of the need to stabilize moods certain days compared to others. Having to wait for medicine to become effective can prolong irritability. Some other setbacks of the drug is vertigo, acne, restlessness, weight gain, vomiting etc. (“Pros and Cons”). The most imperative effect from lithium carbonate is the toxicity levels. The difference between the dosage of aid and toxic is relatively small. Most people are prescribed a set amount of lithium at a safe blood level dosage. The safe dosage is 0.6 and 1.2 milliequivalents per liter (Cafasso). The toxicity can happen once it reaches about 0.3 more than 1.2 milliequivalents per liter. According to Healthline, it is easy for an individual to overdose on lithium carbonate when not monitoring dosage, mixing with other medications, or dehydration (Cafasso). Even with regulation, an individual is still at risk to take too much, or can wake up feeling increased side