This Common Pill Causes Chronic Kidney Disease

This drug is often given out like candy, prescribed as a life-long treatment option.

And because it’s effective, people often continue to take it without consulting their doctor about whether they should take a pause or change their dose.

And, according to a new study in the Bengal Journal of Psychiatry, this is a big problem.

Because this drug causes Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

Lithium is one of the few effective treatment options for bipolar disorder. It can reduce both manic and depressive episodes and lower suicide risk. This is why many doctors prescribe it for long periods.

No one really understands how lithium works, but it is thought to strengthen connections between nerve cells in areas of the brain involved in regulating mood and behavior.

But medical scientists have known for decades that it has some serious side effects, including the destruction of kidney and thyroid function, tremors, muscle weakness, poor concentration, and memory problems.

Researchers from Bankura Sammilani Medical College issued a warning regarding chronic kidney disease after conducting a review of the scientific literature.

The main problem is that lithium is prescribed for years at a time. This creates a real danger that it might become toxic to organs like our kidneys.

The concentration of lithium in our bodies depends partly on the amount we take and partly on the amount our kidneys manage to excrete.

As we age, our kidneys filter out smaller and smaller amounts of waste product. This is called the glomerular filtration rate. This is a relatively normal part of aging. However, in people who take lithium, this decrease in kidney function is particularly dangerous.

Lithium is one of the waste products that your kidneys need to remove from your body. If they remove less of it as you age, lithium toxicity can become an issue.

So, what are the consequences of lithium toxicity in your kidneys?

1. Lithium lowers the glomerular filtration rate even further, which, in turn, leads to even higher levels of lithium in our bodies.

2. When your kidneys start to retain sodium instead of excreting it, which happens when you are dehydrated, suffer a high fever, or consume too little salt, your kidneys start to reabsorb waste products from their own tubes. These waste products include lithium, which then accumulates in your kidneys.

3. Some very common drugs, such as blood pressure medications, caffeine, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, cause your kidneys to secrete less lithium and thereby cause a buildup of lithium in your kidneys.

4. In addition to lowering the glomerular filtration rate, the accumulation of lithium in our kidneys can also destroy kidney cells, up to the point where the kidneys cannot function at all.

This is another reminder that we should think carefully before we stuff drugs down our throats.

I’m not saying you should not take lithium if your doctor prescribes it. But you should make sure you’re using the absolute lowest dose your doctor recommends. And follow up every few years to check if you need a dose change.

The good news about CKD is that your kidneys can easily restore themselves if they get support from the simple lifestyle changes explained here…