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Understanding lithium lab results

Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: Jul 26 7:19pm | Replies (12)

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Hi. My LO gets his LiO at bedtime, so his blood draw (that yielded the <.3 results) was done more than 12 hours after dosage----who knows if that's significant. The earlier draw (when it was <.1 and he was getting 5mg versus 20) was done with the same timing.
He continues to decline; it's impossible to know how much he would have declined, absent the lithium. But I see no adverse effects whatsoever. So despite it not being a "fix", we'll continue to do it.

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Replies to "Hi. My LO gets his LiO at bedtime, so his blood draw (that yielded the <.3..."

@annedallas
I believe you’ll find that the reference range you give is for people being treated with massive amounts of LiC for Bipolar Disorder. (See Wikipedia: Lithium(medication)). Dr Yankner (Harvard) and Dr. Greenblatt (Psychiatrist who routinely prescribes low levels of LiO) have both stated that the levels of LiO being considered are too low to show up on a standard Lithium blood test as they are 500-1,000 times lower than the bipolar Rx.