What is Lithium carbonicum?
Lithium carbonicum is a homeopathic remedy made from lithium carbonate, a white mineral salt. Homeopaths give it for joint pain, gout, and some bladder and urine complaints. It is a single remedy, not a mix.
It is made by diluting the salt again and again, with hard shaking at each step. At 30C, the usual strength sold in shops, none of the starting salt is left. You are taking sugar pellets or water that once touched a much weaker mix.
Here is the short verdict. Trials do not show that this remedy works better than a dummy pill (placebo). Long use in a tradition is not proof that something works, and this page reports both things side by side.
One warning matters most. Lithium carbonate itself is a real prescription drug. Very low homeopathic strengths, such as 1X to 6X or a mother tincture, can still hold a measurable amount of it, so they are not the same as a 30C pellet.
How does Lithium carbonicum work?
No one has shown a way this remedy could act on the body at 30C. There is nothing of the original salt left to act.
Homeopathy works from an old idea called "like cures like". The thought is that a substance which causes symptoms in a well person can, once made very weak, help a sick person with those same symptoms. Chemistry and biology do not support this idea.
Homeopaths also claim that shaking leaves an imprint of the salt in the water. No test has found such an imprint. When people feel better, the likely reasons are placebo, time, a long and caring consultation, or other care they are getting.
What forms does Lithium carbonicum come in?
Common forms include: - Sugar pellets or pills, sucked under the tongue - Liquid drops in water and alcohol - Powders or crushed tablets (triturations) at low strengths such as 3X or 6X
Strengths are written as X (each step is 1 in 10) or C (each step is 1 in 100). 6C, 12C and 30C are the ones most often sold. LM or Q strengths are used by some practitioners.
Where it comes from:
Lithium carbonicum entered homeopathic use in the 1800s, after the metal was found in 1817. Early homeopaths tested it on healthy volunteers and wrote down what they felt.
Those notes point to joint pain, gout, headache linked to joint pain, and burning or scanty urine. It has stayed a small, second-rank remedy in homeopathy rather than a daily staple.
In regular medicine, lithium carbonate took a different path. It became a prescription drug for bipolar disorder (a mood illness with high and low swings). The two uses are not linked, and one does not support the other.
Who should avoid Lithium carbonicum?
- Never stop or lower prescribed lithium, or any other prescribed medicine, in order to use this remedy
- Do not use any strength below 12C or 24X (including mother tincture, 1X, 2X, 3X and 6X) unless a doctor is watching you, because these can hold real lithium
- Do not use low strengths that hold real lithium if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, as lithium can harm a baby in the womb
- Do not use low strengths that hold real lithium if you are breastfeeding, as it passes into breast milk
- Do not use low strengths that hold real lithium if you have kidney disease, thyroid disease (a problem with the gland that sets your body's pace), or a heart-rhythm problem
- Do not use low strengths that hold real lithium if you take water tablets (diuretics), anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, or blood pressure drugs called ACE inhibitors or ARBs
- Do not use this instead of urgent care for chest pain, severe joint swelling with fever, or blood in your urine
- Do not give it to a baby or young child without advice from a doctor
- Avoid the sugar pellets if you have a milk sugar (lactose) allergy, and avoid the liquid drops if you must stay away from alcohol
- Do not rely on it to treat gout, kidney problems or any mood illness
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor if joint pain and swelling keep coming back, or if a joint is hot, red and very painful. That may be gout or an infection, and both need treatment.
Get care the same day for a fever with joint swelling, blood in your urine, passing very little urine, or pain in your side or back.
Call emergency services for chest pain, trouble breathing, a fast or odd heartbeat, or fainting.
If you have taken a low-strength product that holds real lithium and you feel shaky, very thirsty, sick, drowsy or confused, stop it and get medical help straight away.
If you take prescribed lithium, keep your blood tests and speak to your doctor before adding anything new.
4.8
