Lithium Carbonate
Brand names: Lithobid, Lithium Carbonate, Lithium Carbonate Er
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 839,099
- Medicare drug cost
- $9.8M
- Average cost per prescription
- $11.71
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 23,753
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Lithium Carbonate Extended-Release Tablets are indicated in the treatment of manic episodes of manic-depressive illness. Maintenance therapy prevents or diminishes the intensity of subsequent episodes in those manic-depressive patients with a history of mania. Typical symptoms of mania include pressure of speech, motor hyperactivity, reduced need for sleep, flight of ideas, grandiosity, elation, poor judgment, aggressiveness and possibly hostility. When given to a patient experiencing a manic episode, Lithium Carbonate Extended-Release Tablets may produce a normalization of symptomatology within 1 to 3 weeks.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated January 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNING Lithium toxicity is closely related to serum lithium levels, and can occur at doses close to therapeutic levels. Facilities for prompt and accurate serum lithium determinations should be available before initiating therapy.
The FDA’s strongest warning on a label. It doesn’t mean the drug is unsafe for most people; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before stopping or changing any medicine.
Who prescribes it
- Psychiatry 44.5%
- Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners 29.5%
- Nurse Practitioners 7.3%
- Family Medicine 4.8%
- Internal Medicine 4.7%
- Physician Assistants 4.1%
- Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2.1%
- Geriatric Medicine 0.8%
- Neurology 0.4%
- General Practice 0.4%
- Addiction Medicine 0.2%
- Hospitalist 0.2%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions fell 12% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Montana +9%
- New Hampshire +3%
- Idaho +0%
- Utah −0%
- Arizona −1%
- Alabama (smallest change) −25%
- Louisiana (smallest change) −21%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 3 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Coupler LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 450 mg | yellow round tablet, 11 mm, scored to split in 2 | 224 G BREAKLINE |
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 450 mg | yellow round tablet, 11 mm, scored to split in 2 | 224 G BREAKLINE |
Pd-Rx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 300 mg | brown round tablet, 10 mm | 54 107 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
No FDA-reported recalls since 2020.
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.