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Medicines and supplements

Supplements to avoid with lithium

Written by the Full Measure editorial team, which sells supplements. Approved for publication by the Full Measure owners. Updated .

Drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed below. How we write these

Quick answer

Ask your pharmacist or doctor before combining. The lithium label and NIH document 3 supplement groups: calcium, iodine and electrolyte products. Lithium levels depend on salt and fluid balance, long-term lithium can raise blood calcium, and iodide taken with lithium may lower thyroid function. Your pharmacist can check your own products.1,2,3

Key facts

  • MedlinePlus asks for the right amounts of fluid and salt during lithium treatment, and the label tells patients not to change the amount of salt in their diet.1,4
  • The label says that if heavy sweating occurs, extra salt and fluid should be given only under medical supervision.1
  • Long-term lithium use is associated with raised blood calcium, and the label asks for blood calcium to be monitored regularly.2
  • The lithium label lists iodide preparations as an interaction that may lower thyroid function.3
  • MedlinePlus names sodium bicarbonate and anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen as nonprescription products that may interact with lithium.4

What is lithium prescribed for, and why do salt and minerals matter?

MedlinePlus describes lithium as a medicine used to treat and prevent episodes of mania in people with bipolar disorder, and places it in a class called antimanic agents. Its page says to follow a proper diet during treatment, including the right amounts of fluid and salt.4

That diet instruction is the reason supplement questions for lithium start with salt and fluid and not with vitamins. None of the three documented entries is a vitamin: they are minerals and salts, namely calcium, iodine and electrolytes.

Do electrolyte powders and drinks matter with lithium?

Ask your pharmacist or doctor first

Lithium levels depend on salt and fluid balance. The lithium label tells patients not to change the amount of salt in their diet, and says that if heavy sweating occurs, extra salt and fluid should be given only under medical supervision.1

On the medicine's label

The electrolyte card is about balance. The label's concern is a change in how much salt you take in, and an electrolyte drink or powder is one way people change it. Read closely, the label does not forbid salt or fluid: it asks that the amount not be altered on your own, and that extra salt and fluid for heavy sweating come under medical supervision.1

Can calcium or iodine supplements matter with lithium?

Your doctor may want to check on you

Long-term lithium use can raise blood calcium, and NIH notes that taking calcium supplements with lithium could add to that risk. The lithium label asks for blood calcium to be checked regularly.2,5,6

Expected from how the two work, not shown in studies

The calcium card is tagged monitor and expected. The label's sentence is about lithium itself raising blood calcium over time, with a request for regular blood calcium checks. NIH extends that to calcium supplements by reasoning, not by a trial, which is why the basis is expected.2,5

Ask your pharmacist or doctor first

Iodide taken with lithium may lower thyroid function. The lithium label lists iodide preparations as an interaction and asks prescribers to watch for an underactive thyroid, and the potassium iodide label gives the same warning.3,7

On the medicine's label

The iodine card is the more direct one. Both the lithium label and a potassium iodide label raise the combination, and the lithium label asks prescribers to watch thyroid function. Read the Supplement Facts panel of any multivitamin for iodine or iodide and take that panel to your pharmacist.3,7

What else do MedlinePlus and the label name for lithium?

MedlinePlus's lithium page names two nonprescription products that may interact: sodium bicarbonate, and anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen. It also suggests talking to your doctor about drinks that contain caffeine, such as tea, coffee and cola, and asks you to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all vitamins, nutritional supplements and herbal products.4

For a supplement outside these names, the sources checked do not address it. That is not a finding either way, so ask your pharmacist.

What do monitor and ask first mean for lithium?

The three cards split two ways. Calcium is tagged monitor and expected, meaning the source asks for a level to be watched and reasons from how the two work. Iodine and electrolytes are tagged ask first and on the label, meaning a medicine label itself raises the point. No card carries the tag avoid.

What to ask your pharmacist if you take lithium and supplements

  • Do any of my products contain iodine, iodide, calcium or sodium?
  • How often should my blood calcium and thyroid function be checked?2,3
  • What should I do about fluids and salt in hot weather or after hard exercise?1
  • Does the caffeine in my coffee, tea or cola matter for me?4

Questions people ask

Can you take vitamins with lithium?

The sources checked document calcium, iodine and electrolyte products for lithium. They do not address most other vitamins, and that is not a finding either way, so ask your pharmacist before adding any.1,2,3

What are the supplements to take with lithium?

No source checked gives a list of supplements to take with lithium. The documented entries are cautions about calcium, iodine and electrolytes, so talk to your pharmacist or doctor before adding anything.4

What should you not take with lithium?

The lithium label names iodide preparations. MedlinePlus names sodium bicarbonate and anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and the label asks that your salt intake stay the same. Ask your pharmacist about anything you buy over the counter.1,3,4

What vitamins interact with lithium?

None of the three entries is a vitamin: they are calcium, iodine and electrolytes. A multivitamin can contain minerals like these, so ask your pharmacist to read the label of yours.1,2,3

What vitamins not to take with lithium?

The sources checked do not tell you to avoid a vitamin by name. They ask for caution with iodide and calcium products and for steady salt intake. Anything else is not addressed, which is not a finding either way, so ask your pharmacist.1,2,3

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Sources

  1. Lithium carbonate tablets and capsules: prescribing information (Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA). DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Published September 10, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.
  2. Lithium carbonate tablets and capsules: prescribing information (Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA). DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Effective August 16, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.
  3. Lithium carbonate tablets and capsules: prescribing information (Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA). DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Effective August 16, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.
  4. MedlinePlus. Lithium. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Last revised April 15, 2017. Opened 2026-10-11.
  5. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Calcium: Fact Sheet for Consumers. Updated September 14, 2023. Opened 2026-10-07.
  6. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health. Calcium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Updated June 22, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.
  7. Potassium iodide oral solution (saturated): prescribing information (Emerald Therapeutics). DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Effective August 25, 2026. Opened 2026-10-07.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.