Magnesium update

It might be the brewer's yeast that's bothering you.

 

I think it is safe to say that Mag is proving to be beneficial in several ways. Reduction in heavy head and pressure, reduction in migraines, better quality of sleep (although I've never had sleep issues).

 

Update:

Everything I have listed above has been working great for migraine prevention, including working out for an hour (at least) a day.

I've narrowed my triggers down to two things that no amount of dietary, supplement or lifestyle change can eliminate.

(1) Changes in barometric pressure will affect my balance, but don't trigger otehr symptoms.

(2) Chemicals are the worst offenders. EVERYTHING hits with exposure to cleaning products, perfumes, industrial strength cleaning products. I don't know what the heck to do about that.

I've kept a log and made charts of what happens when and chemicals do me in every time.


I started work in a new place. They cleaned everything from top to bottom with industrial strength, cheap, dilute and use cleaners....I'm already dying here.

 

*and use scented cleaners.

 

Ran out of magnesium a week ago and have had a dull ache behind my eyes since then. Coincidence? Maybe. I get more today so will post results.

 

How long before you know for sure? I hope it's just a day or two, max. Feel better quick, K?

 

Thanks. I'm good. It was just a dull ache behind the eyes, nothing major. The new brand has 500mg in 2 capsules. I take 3 capsules. It knocks me out at bedtime. I'm not sure why.

 

Magnesium Citrate update:

After 4 months on a daily dose of 600mg of Magnesium Citrate (The Vitamin Shoppe brand), I had to stop taking it. Why? It landed me in a near collapse situation and a rushed visit to my PCP with a terribly slowed down heart rate (53 bpm), very low blood [low for me] pressure (98/53), extreme exhaustion, bad episodes of dizziness, inability to walk in a straight line, muscle weakness, constant rubbery legs, loss of appetite, chronic fatigue, extreme brain fog, muscle tremors on the inside.

I don't have the results of my electrolyte test as yet since this occurred earlier this week.

It happened progressively over a 4-month period. Initially, I thought I was just tired. Then I thought it was the usual MM/MAV kicking. Soon I was blaming it on the weather, hormones, food, allergies. The irony is that magnesium is a muscle relaxant and has a very calming effect on the nervous system so....I never felt anxious, my heart never beat fast, my thinking was very slowed down and I really didn't feel myself. I guess if I did drugs, I'd say it was akin to being in a doped state of mind 24/7.....yuck.

I quit magnesium completely. 3 days later, I am back to feeling my normal self again. Bad news is that it really worked with migraine pain management so 2 days after quitting it, I was hit with a monster headache. But, my muscles don't feel weak, my brain fog is gone, I don't feel exhausted, I can keep my eyes open without the feeling of heavy eye lids and eyes. My focus is back, my BP is back to it's normal level, my heart rate has gone back to normal.

Supplements, minerals, vitamins ARE medicinal. That's why we take them but they are not without side effects. They do interact with medication, they do help but they can also cause harm. BE CAREFUL!

Clearly, this is just my experience. Loads of people take much, much higher doses of magnesium and do great. Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker (which is why I can't take meds for migraines that are calcium channel blockers) so it did what is was supposed to do except that my body make up just couldn't handle it. When I lowered the dose to 400mg and only took it at night, it had the same effect.

I won't know for sure if it was magnesium citrate that did this number on me unless I try it again. I will let a month go by and then get back on it again at the same dosage, same brand, same time of the day. If there is a repeat, then I'll know for sure this was it.

I've been pretty unsuccessful with VMS. I try them but they do me in after a few months. It's not the fillers or binders or whatever else, it's the actual component that my body can't take in high doses or for lengthy periods of time.

I eat well so for now, I'm going to stick to getting my nutrients from food.

I have also been taking B-12 (sublingual methylcobalamin) for the last 4 months. I can't say it's doing me good or not. I think it's not doing anything.

 

What I have learned (mainly thru all of my mom's medical issues) is that there is a VERY fine line with vitamins. Whether it is calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc.....too low can be critical and cause issues; too much can cause issues.

Did they run bloodwork and tell you what your magnesium level was versus standard? It is possible that you need "some" just not as much as you were taking.

I also just did a quick search and found a couple of articles saying that you should take a B-complex supplement while taking magnesium as the B's help regulate how much magnesium your body will absorb.

Glad you are o'k.

 

Nope. Can't. B-Complex does a number on me after a while too. I take calcium and D3 on a regular basis but am taking a break from those too.

Mine isn't an argument for or against vitamins, supplements and minerals. It's just a report on the effect some VMS have on me.

I still went to work, got about my daily business and kept my commitments - just with an added burden. I get the results of my electrolyte blood work back on Monday but I doubt it's going to show anything bizarre. MY body reacts this way to 600mg of magnesium citrate because my BP runs low anyway and I don't have a very fast heart rate to begin with.

It's possible that mag has nothing to do with this. That's why I'll give it another try in a month and record any reactions.

A close friend was on Natural Calm magnesium powder and felt like death warmed over. Yet I know two people on this forum who take high doses of Mag for heart arrhythmia and do great with no side effects.

I'm not dissing magnesium in the least bit but if anyone here is on it and started to feel the way I did, don't attribute everything to MM or MAV....analyze what you take/do/breathe/drink/eat on a daily basis and be your own scientist.

 

Good heads up. Im having periods of full on low energy and Im not sure what to attribute it to. Its just another variable to keep aware of.
My MAV stuff continues to be improved but im also well into the trigger diet and on 150mg of Topamax so I cant give credit to any one variable.
I didnt go about this very orderly or scientifically. Oh well. When you are hurting reason sometimes gets a back seat. Reading Heal Your Headache early on may have helped me be more systematic or maybe not,IDK.
As an aside regarding mag I do feel I am sleeping better and deeper. Also, I feel an overall deeper level of daily realaxation but that may also be from not suffering from the MAV stuff so much. I finally see a neurologist in December and by then Im not sure what they will offer me. Its ver hard here to see one that has expertise in MAV/headache etc.

 

I experienced that too but everything was much deeper and more amplified i.e. needing lots of hours of sleep and feeling way too relaxed for what is my "normal." I'd go for my usual 3 to 5 mile walk and not even a mile into it, my leg muscles would feel limp, not tired but overly relaxed. Even my thinking was slowed down.

Moreover, it gave me orthostatic hypotension. I have the (bad!) habit of sitting on my hauches when I write on low tables, or unload the dryer or I dunno, small stuff like that, but when I'd stand up after being in that position, my vision got blurred and I'd get bad dizzy for a few seconds and have to hold on to something. I also had bradycardia.

The worst were the inner muscle tremors. I'd feel as though I was shaking but on the inside...in my arms, my legs, my calves and my head. Sleep was awesome, top notch quality (because of the muscle relaxation)...except that I could sleep for hours and hours and still feel like I could sleep more. I guess you could say it was similar to being on a prescription muscle relaxant.

Like I said, it could be any number of things. I started following a low sodium diet (about 5 months ago) and don't salt my food at all. It tastes much better to me that way, but the combo of low so and high mag could have been too much for me or maybe mag citrate is not the right type of mag for me.

I never could do Verapamil, like several people take for MAV, because it is a calcium channel blocker too just as magnesium citrate is. Also, mag citrate never gave me a runny tummy like a lot of people on mag experience. On the contrary, my stomach always felt like I'd eaten 10 bricks.

My suggestion to those who take Verapamil would be too be careful not to add magnesium supplements to your daily diet because it exacerbates the effects of the drug....kinda like taking alcohol with Xanax.

I see a neurologist/neuromuscular specialist toward the end of October. He is also a migraine specialist. I will ask him about magnesium and its effect on me. I like the fact that it did help me with migraine/headache control, as well as muscle pain and if I can find a type/brand/mag-cal ratio that doesn't have the bad effects, I'd take it.

Someone from mvertigo had suggested I take propranolol (Inderal) for migraine prevention and I am so thankful I didn't. It's a beta blocker and well, has the same effect as calcium channel blockers i.e. it slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and works on some people to abort migraines.

If your migraine medication is making you feel zoned out, giving you orthostatic hypotension, lowering your energy levels, causing you brain fog, making you feel as though you could sleep and sleep and sleep and just generally putting you in a doped up state of being, QUESTION IT. Don't assume that it's just a part of MAV or MM. It may not be.

Forums like this one and others are fantastic for sharing experiences and comparing notes. I will say what I used to often say in the past here - one person's medication (or VMS) may be another person's poison. I can't tell you how many times I've read a post saying take 240 mg of Verapamil and your migraines will disappear or take Vitamin C until bowel tolerance and then some more and you will be symptom free. NO! Don't. Everyone's physiology is different. Everyone's neurological make up is different.

Consult doctors (or naturopaths or whomever it is you see for your health), listen to your body, tell your doctor that XYZ is making you feel like crap (if it does) and don't assume it's just part of having a vestibular or neurological disorder. More importantly, don't take OTC drugs or VMS without researching how they might make YOUR body feel just because someone on a forum or in a health magazine or on the Dr. Oz show said so.

 

Intrepid,

Any suggestions on exactly how to do this, how to "research" how any over the counter drug or vitamins, minerals, or supplements (VMSs) "might make YOUR body feel...?" How could one know beforehand the effects of first taking an OTC drug or VMS?

Should this apply, too, to prescription drugs? How can anyone anticipate a drug's affects?

How, can, or should, one know about this? If "Everyone's physiology is different...," how can any drug or VMS be usefully taken? How could anyone know the results of any untaken drug or VMS? After all, what would Dr. Oz know about any of this?

Bewildering.

--John of Ohio

 

Tell your healthcare provider about every OTC drug or VMS you decide to ingest. Review your medical history. Look up side effects. Be watchful for any changes that may occur if you decide to take an OTC medication or a vitamin/supplement/mineral.

If you have kidney, liver, cardiovascular, gallbladder problems in your medical history, ask your medical specialist or naturopath if a particular OTC medication or VMS could aggravate the situation.

If you have a neurotransmitter imbalance and are on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety drugs, ask your psychiatrist/specialist what the effects of added Meclizine, Valium, Xanax or GABA can do based on your specific medical history.

As Gustav123 pointed out, not everyone is always in a focused frame of mind when s/he is hurting from a chronic ailment to think things through with attention. We're not all made the same way so 400mg of mag citrate can do me in (because my medical history shows that I have consistently low BP and have had periods of bradycardia and orthostatic hypotension) while someone else can do marvelously with 1000mg of magnesium citrate a day without any side effects because their BP was on the high side to begin with and they may have tachycardia.

Hope that helped with the bewilderment.

 

Started magnesium citrate 400mg again today. Split the dosage up (200mg am/pm). It did help greatly with migraine management. Nixed Omega-3 and kept D3 and calcium.

Fingers crossed.

 

I stopped and am observing. So far, I seem to be doing about the same without it. Diet and topamax are still in effect.

Good luck, maybe you can do ok at a lower dose and still get a benefit.

 

Thanks, G. That's what I'd like to see happen.

 

I think you need some period of time after adding or subtracting anything, be it a prescription medication or a supplement. I have just started a couple of things I had neglected for a while, literally today. Had a MASSIVE attack about 8 hours ago. Many other factors at work, so will not say gee, I should not have taken my new supplement or vitamin. Instead, will give the new regimen at least a MONTH, then evaluate.

We are all about trial and error, because yes, we all have unique biochemical situations to handle. We are perhaps the quintessential proof that one size does NOT fit all.

 

BR, I hope the couple of things you have added help you out. I'm sorry to read you had a massive attack yet again

 

400mg works absolutely well with me.

Nixed Omega 3. It caused me nothing but problems. Doc says Omega 3 was causing the extreme weakness and drop in pressure. He may be right.