Currently, lithium is used to treat a variety of disorders including cluster headaches, alcoholism, and Grave’s disease. Contact your doctor if you have any concerns about medication or food interactions that might occur while you take lithium.© 2005-2020 Healthline Media a Red Ventures Company. Levels of 3.0 mEq/L and higher are considered a medical emergency.People taking lithium need to carefully monitor how much they take it and when. This delay can lead to long-term problems. Acute-on-chronic … Toxicity can occur if you take a large dose of lithium at one time. Match. Lithium is most commonly u… Acute toxicity occurs when you swallow too much of a lithium prescription at one time. The most commo… The reason for this is that lithium accumulates in the bodily tissues.Chronic accumulation also means that symptoms can last for days, weeks, or even months after the person stops taking lithium, as it takes time to leave the bodily tissues.Lithium tends to accumulate the most in the brain and kidneys. Untreated cases of lithium toxicity can also lead to permanent complications, such as brain damage, kidney damage, and Lithium toxicity is fairly common in people who usually take medications containing lithium. The most common electrocardiographic finding is T-wave flattening. What's a safe, effective dose for one person may be toxic to another. People who do not develop nervous system symptoms usually do not have long-term complications. However, it has a very narrow therapeutic index, meaning that toxicity can develop at dosages close to those that are ideal for treatment.Due to this, it is relatively easy and common for people taking lithium to develop mild toxicity through, for instance, taking an extra pill or not staying hydrated enough.Not everyone responds to lithium the same way, meaning that the dosage that causes toxicity can vary among individuals.Aside from the severity of the overdose and individual medical factors, most cases of lithium toxicity fall into one of three categories, depending on how they occur:This type of toxicity occurs when someone who usually does not take lithium takes a large dose, either by accident or intentionally. Anorexia. Gravity. Our website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Spell. If you take lithium, make sure you talk to your doctor before using:Mild lithium toxicity is often difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to those of many other conditions. The standard therapeutic range for serum lithium levels normally falls between To diagnose toxicity in a person who normally takes lithium, doctors should take their serum levels 6 to 12 hours after their last dose.A doctor may also check the person’s blood levels for several other chemicals or hormones that have an association with lithium toxicity, including:To confirm the diagnosis or better understand the extent of the toxicity, a doctor may also order tests to assess or monitor:In some cases, doctors may also use brain imaging to help diagnose lithium toxicity.Most people who recognize the signs and symptoms of lithium toxicity early and seek treatment recover fully. Severe lithium toxicity happens at a level of 2.0 mEq/L and above, which can be life-threatening in rare cases. All rights reserved. Test. STUDY. Lithium, or lithium carbonate, is an active ingredient in some drugs that treat mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder.Overdose can cause symptoms that range from mild to … What are the symptoms of Lithium Toxicity? However, moderate to severe lithium toxicity is a medical emergency and might require additional treatment, such as stomach pumping.If you take lithium, make sure you know the signs of an overdose and keep the number for poison control (1-800-222-1222) handy in your phone. Acute toxicity often causes immediate gastrointestinal symptoms, while other symptoms tend to develop over several hours as lithium moves into tissues and cells without prior lithium stores.Acute-on-chronic toxicity occurs when a person who regularly takes lithium takes too much of it, either accidentally, deliberately, or because they received the wrong dose.The symptoms of acute-on-chronic toxicity can vary from mild to severe, depending primarily on how much more lithium the person has taken compared with their regular dose.Chronic toxicity occurs when a person who takes lithium in the long term undergoes a change in how their body eliminates or absorbs lithium.Other medical conditions, especially kidney conditions, are usually responsible for this change.