Potassium gluconate and magnesium citrate
Deena_Bean
Posts: 906 Member
For a while I tried magnesium citrate and similar to oxide (although not quite as violent, shall we say), it messed with my bowels. I suspended use for a while and started back this week taking only a half dose at bed time. I added in a double dose of potassium gluconate because my feet and calves have been unbearably locking up in cramps. The potassium is, I think, 550mg. My bathrooms visits are fine so far and my cramps seem to be subsiding significantly. Any harm in those levels and combos that I should be aware of?
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Double check your potassium they are usually 99mg. It's probably the magnesium helping more than the potassium, most people get enough potassium without needing supplementation. Have you tried other forms of mag, there are more absorbable forms that dont cause bathroom issues.2
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auntstephie321 wrote: »Double check your potassium they are usually 99mg. It's probably the magnesium helping more than the potassium, most people get enough potassium without needing supplementation. Have you tried other forms of mag, there are more absorbable forms that dont cause bathroom issues.
Right. It usually says something like 550 on the front, but if you look in the nutrition fact box, it admits though the pill is 550mg, the actual potassium is only 99mg.1 -
I'm also doubling up on the potassium gluconate although I've never had (ahem) issues with the magnesium (also citrate), and that combo has really helped me with calf and foot cramps as well.0
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Mag is, by it's natural properties, a laxative. This isn't one of those instances like sweeteners where one is ok for me but the other makes me miserable. Too much Mag will cause everyone a problem eventually. If it's causing gastric issues take a little less. Mag won't hurt you, just make you stay near a bathroom if you take too much.
I agree with @auntstephie321 in that it's probably the mag missing vs. the Potassium. I take lots of vitamins because of my gastric bypass surgery including Mag. I am not Potassium deficient. I am deficient in B vitamins, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin C, and several others, but not Potassium.
A personal and now funny story about Mag...it wasn't funny then, I assure you
I often travel for work and I put my supplements in zip lock bags when I travel to cut down on space. I know, pretty well which are which so I put my B12 and my MultiB in the same bag and so on. One day I was running late and pulled my supplements out and in the Mag baggie were two different pills. I took 4 of each. When I have leg cramps at night I take extra Mag. That night my feet were cramping like crazy and I took 4 more. Well I had forgotten that I purchased two different brands and there was ONLY Mag in that bag so I'd had 12 Mag pills that day. I didn't get one 1 minute of sleep that night because I couldn't stay out of the bathroom. By morning I was exhausted and sleepless and didn't think I could have had a better cleanse had I planned it!
Too much potassium can cause heart and breathing issues. It's a very powerful supplement. In an IV form it's highly regulated because 1mg too much and the heart can be severely affected. Personally I would never take extra Potassium unless regulated by a doc.
This link is from the Mayo Clinic. Yes, I know that every medication and supplement can cause issues but Potassium can have worse effects than itching or rash. Honestly, I get a little nervous every time I hear of someone saying they are playing with their Potassium levels without consulting a doc. Just my 2 cents as a nurse. I know they are sold over the counter but please be careful!
http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/potassium-supplement-oral-route-parenteral-route/description/drg-200707531 -
I agree it's likely the magnesium that's preventing the cramps. I don't know why people always say to get potassium for cramps. I also don't know why they say a banana is the best way to get it when an avocado has more than 3 times the amount... Oh, it's just junk info that we tend to blindly accept since everyone thinks it. Just like a lot of other nutrition related beliefs. Lol
Anyway, the form of magnesium matters very much. If you take a lesser absorbed form, you get to the point of laxative effect with a smaller dose than you would with a better absorbed form. This also means that there is not as much actual magnesium available to your body's over 300 enzymatic processes for which magnesium is vital. So if you take a better absorbed form, not only can you take more so you can provide the needed magnesium for all those functions, but you don't lose so much if any, through digestion.
I take magnesium carbonate. I mix it in water with other supplements and get between 750-1000mg a day. Usually I never get any digestive response at that higher dose. If I do, then I know I exceeded what my body was capable of using that day because this form is so highly absorbed the only reason any would be lost through digestion is if there's more than needed.
That's not true with lower absorbed forms though. You could be losing a lot through digestion, but not even satisfying your body's needs.0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I don't know why people always say to get potassium for cramps. I also don't know why they say a banana is the best way to get it when an avocado has more than 3 times the amount... Oh, it's just junk info that we tend to blindly accept since everyone thinks it. Just like a lot of other nutrition related beliefs. Lol
Yep. Conventional wisdom (and all the other misnomers it goes by) is often just conventional.
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Good advice from @RowdysLady and @Sunny_Bunny_ ...I would be careful with potassium and definitely try a more absorbable form of magnesium. I had terrible leg and foot cramps too, but have had elevated potassium levels in the past (so definitely cannot supplement!), started magnesium (glycinate in my case) and the cramps resolved. I can tell if I forget to take it (cramps return), but never have any GI side effects.0
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