Magnesium wonder supplement or not?
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dave_in_ni
Posts: 533 Member
After some thoughts on Magnesium. Its made out to be a wonder mineral, helping with everything from Anxiety, to sleep to testosterone level to muscle soreness.
Last year I had a rough time with anxiety and panic attacks which in turn lead to sleep issues. I didn't want to take medication so Magnesium was recommended. For me anyway, it seemed to do the opposite of what its supposed to do. I spent a year trying various different types.
Oxide - Did nothing but cause diarrhea
Citrate - Interesting one this, If I took in the morning 100mg it left me feeling half doped all day, if I took at night it kept me awake, tired but wired.
Glycinate - Tried this once and it was after taking this that I had my first ever night with zero sleep, not one wink did I sleep, tired but extremely wired.
Magnesium Chloride Spray - Supposed to be good for aches and pains after the gym, did absolutely nothing for me in any department.
All in all Magnesium did nothing beneficial for me and in fact since coming off my sleep has improved.
Last year I had a rough time with anxiety and panic attacks which in turn lead to sleep issues. I didn't want to take medication so Magnesium was recommended. For me anyway, it seemed to do the opposite of what its supposed to do. I spent a year trying various different types.
Oxide - Did nothing but cause diarrhea
Citrate - Interesting one this, If I took in the morning 100mg it left me feeling half doped all day, if I took at night it kept me awake, tired but wired.
Glycinate - Tried this once and it was after taking this that I had my first ever night with zero sleep, not one wink did I sleep, tired but extremely wired.
Magnesium Chloride Spray - Supposed to be good for aches and pains after the gym, did absolutely nothing for me in any department.
All in all Magnesium did nothing beneficial for me and in fact since coming off my sleep has improved.
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Replies
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My cardiologist recommended it for me when I was having non-heart related palpitations. It greatly reduced the palpitations and they went away almost completely after menopause. The Magnesium Malate, which I took in the evening also stopped all of the SEVERE leg and feet cramps that would wake me up in tears.1
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My wife takes a magnesium supplement that she swears got rid of the night leg cramps that plagued her for years. I suddenly started getting the cramps and she suggested I take the magnesium, too, but to no avail.
After three nights of excruciating pain I realized I'd forgotten to take my medications (8 prescriptions for three serious conditions) for three days! I'd been adjusting when I take them as well as my daily schedule of activity, and had just plain forgotten for three days. Took my medications on day 4 (and haven't missed one since) and no cramps that night or any since. Far as I can tell there is no magnesium in any of them.
Two people, two outcomes. My tiny research indicates magnesium supplements can be helpful for a number of conditions, it isn't a "miracle" mineral, just one we need at certain levels just as we need other minerals.
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I take a calcium-magnesium supplement because my research showed that they need to be balanced. I do feel that they help with anxiety especially the kind that feels 'jittery' (physical manifestations).2
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I take magnesium citrate for anxiety and leg cramps, and I used to get magnesium threonate which was also beneficial for memory recall. It made a huge difference and I'm a pretty regular "user".
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3 months I’ve been supplementing Magnesium and it has been helping with anxiety and sleep. I started slowly and ramped up to full dose over 2 weeks to prevent any digestive side effects, and that worked out really well.0
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I have anxiety, I take magnesium daily. I can tell a difference in my anxiety if I don't take it. I still have sleep issues - not insomnia, I have a different natural sleep phase than "normal'. I take melatonin sometimes for that.
I don't have cramp issues.
I used to only take citrate ( I don't take oxide, it is not well absorbed - that is why it is so cheap). I have talked bisglycinate - I don't know.0 -
This is another example where there is no universal "wonder supplement." Some supplements work for some people who may have, for one reason or another, a diagnosed or undiagnosed shortage of that element in their make up. For others it either has no effect or is an overdose. I, for example, was told to take daily vitamin D to make up for a shortage and took it for several years to maintain normal levels. Recently, I was told to stop taking it because, although my vitamin D levels are fine, I was developing excess calcium in my urine. What was a good supplement for me is no longer good for me; it's now bad for me.
Don't believe anyone who tells you any supplement is a magic bullet. There isn't one. Different supplements or no supplements may be good for you or not good for you at any given time.7 -
Even in a situation where the science show some overall positive results**, they may not apply for a particular individual. (If you were never magnesium deficient, there's probably nothing helpful for it to accomplish, and maybe some unhelpful side effects (usually intestinal).) That said, I gather suboptimal magnesium intake is fairly common in the population at large, these days.
Personally, I didn't see a lot of benefits from either magnesium citrate (maybe some minor improvement in sleep, but unsure), ditto for magnesium glycinate (but I think it's possible that that one caused me some intestinal issues).
I feel like in these n=1 cases, even (especially?) my own, it's hard to be certain of the effects. Our lives tend to be pretty dynamic, not very controlled background conditions to isolate the single factor. On top of that, placebo effect is "real" in the sense that placebos have observable, measurable effects in some situations, not just cognitive illusions about effects.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do n=1 trials. I do lots of them, personally. I just think it's speculative to generalize from our n=1 to what others should do - I'm more inclined to go with the science, for that, even if I share my personal experience (properly caveated).
** Basic summary at https://examine.com/supplements/magnesium/4 -
My daughter takes magnesium to help digestion. It is invaluable for her.
No one else in the family needs it.
My perspective: certain people have a mineral deficiency and need to supplement that mineral. Other people don’t.
You need to figure out what works for you.
There are lots of reasons why people don’t sleep well from the room being too hot to sleeping disorder. You may need additional medical assistance/test, like a sleep study, to determine the root cause of your sleep issues. Once you’ve identified root cause, then you can evaluate ‘treatment’ options. I put treatment in quotes to emphasize that treatment does not exclusively mean medication; it could mean something like changing your evening routine.
Take care2 -
Hubby's sleep greatly improved once he started wearing muffling headphones. He says its because I snore but I've never heard it. Everyone else agrees with him. They say I rattle the windows. Even the sleep lab people said that, although I don't have sleep apnea or anything, I do snore. I think it's a plot. He suggests that my snoring is why the cat periodically gets up on the bed at night and bats my face. I think they are all exaggerating. I sleep fine and don't hear it.
(If sleeping were an Olympic class sport, my family would be a famous athletic dynasty.)8 -
HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »Hubby's sleep greatly improved once he started wearing muffling headphones. He says its because I snore but I've never heard it. Everyone else agrees with him. They say I rattle the windows. Even the sleep lab people said that, although I don't have sleep apnea or anything, I do snore. I think it's a plot. He suggests that my snoring is why the cat periodically gets up on the bed at night and bats my face. I think they are all exaggerating. I sleep fine and don't hear it.
(If sleeping were an Olympic class sport, my family would be a famous athletic dynasty.)
I have to work really diligently at my sleep hygiene. I've slept separately from my partner for over 20 years. Another of the many things I do is use ear plugs.
https://smile.amazon.com/Macks-Seals-Dual-Purpose-Earplugs/dp/B01IPN8QVI/
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I'll take an oxide version (no research - there it was cheaper) on exercise days. Usually.
Preferable before bed since I'll get leg cramps usually, but usually forget until I'm getting them, then take it.
Seems to ingest quickly since I can get back to bed after fighting them for awhile.
I'll have to take before bed and note any change to falling asleep.
Blood tests have always shown it in the average desired zone - but while that may be true, I must need more since it does work.
So one of those cases your body could be in the desired avg range - but that range isn't actually right for you for whatever reason.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »Hubby's sleep greatly improved once he started wearing muffling headphones. He says its because I snore but I've never heard it. Everyone else agrees with him. They say I rattle the windows. Even the sleep lab people said that, although I don't have sleep apnea or anything, I do snore. I think it's a plot. He suggests that my snoring is why the cat periodically gets up on the bed at night and bats my face. I think they are all exaggerating. I sleep fine and don't hear it.
(If sleeping were an Olympic class sport, my family would be a famous athletic dynasty.)
I have to work really diligently at my sleep hygiene. I've slept separately from my partner for over 20 years. Another of the many things I do is use ear plugs.
https://smile.amazon.com/Macks-Seals-Dual-Purpose-Earplugs/dp/B01IPN8QVI/
I have such trouble sleeping. I can't do earplugs, they make me feel pressure in my ears. I have TMJ. I grind my teeth, but I can't keep mouthguards in at night. I try to wear eye coverings because I wake up with my eyes super dry.1 -
ExistingFish wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »Hubby's sleep greatly improved once he started wearing muffling headphones. He says its because I snore but I've never heard it. Everyone else agrees with him. They say I rattle the windows. Even the sleep lab people said that, although I don't have sleep apnea or anything, I do snore. I think it's a plot. He suggests that my snoring is why the cat periodically gets up on the bed at night and bats my face. I think they are all exaggerating. I sleep fine and don't hear it.
(If sleeping were an Olympic class sport, my family would be a famous athletic dynasty.)
I have to work really diligently at my sleep hygiene. I've slept separately from my partner for over 20 years. Another of the many things I do is use ear plugs.
https://smile.amazon.com/Macks-Seals-Dual-Purpose-Earplugs/dp/B01IPN8QVI/
I have such trouble sleeping. I can't do earplugs, they make me feel pressure in my ears. I have TMJ. I grind my teeth, but I can't keep mouthguards in at night. I try to wear eye coverings because I wake up with my eyes super dry.
I grind my teeth too. My dentist made me a mouth guard that worked great until I lost it
Then I tried some over the counter and settled on these:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/DenTek-Comfort-Fit-Dental-Guard-Kit-For-Nighttime-Teeth-Grinding/10312788
These are not the kind you have to boil to shape - the one I tried of those tasted TERRIBLE!1 -
dave_in_ni wrote: »After some thoughts on Magnesium. Its made out to be a wonder mineral, helping with everything from Anxiety, to sleep to testosterone level to muscle soreness.
Last year I had a rough time with anxiety and panic attacks which in turn lead to sleep issues. I didn't want to take medication so Magnesium was recommended. For me anyway, it seemed to do the opposite of what its supposed to do. I spent a year trying various different types.
Oxide - Did nothing but cause diarrhea
Citrate - Interesting one this, If I took in the morning 100mg it left me feeling half doped all day, if I took at night it kept me awake, tired but wired.
Glycinate - Tried this once and it was after taking this that I had my first ever night with zero sleep, not one wink did I sleep, tired but extremely wired.
Magnesium Chloride Spray - Supposed to be good for aches and pains after the gym, did absolutely nothing for me in any department.
All in all Magnesium did nothing beneficial for me and in fact since coming off my sleep has improved.
As someone who used to work for a company that sold supplements - don't buy from anyplace that uses strong marketing language or positions something as a panacea. You will be able to purchase it for far less from far more reputable companies.
Another thing we used to do was throw in a lot of ingredients that were useless because they were of super-sub-clinical levels, just to make our product unique. Yes, our sleep product did contain a lot of ingredients related to sleep, but possibly the only one with effective strength was melatonin, so you'd spend a lot less money just buying straight melatonin.7 -
My wife is active in the Fibromyalgia (support) community. Most with Fibro take magnesium both orally and spray it on muscles. My wife finds it's better as a topical but also takes it orally. I've taken orally and not felt much of an effect.
As a topical, they dissolve magnesium crystals in water and put it in a spray bottle. (Magnesium Citrate commonly). There is another version that doesn't sting/burn as much when it goes on but I forget what that one is called.0 -
I've taken it regularly for years for bone health, plus calcium and D. Calcium supplementation got some bad press so my doctor had me cut back on that and increase D. This was with no testing for deficiencies, it's basically just a hopeful preventative measure because I'm very high risk for osteoporosis.
No impact on the anxiety that came on with menopause. (No impact on any menopause symptoms, although sometimes it's touted for those)
No impact on chronic insomnia.
No appreciable effect whatsoever. My bone density is decent so maybe it's doing its job there.1 -
How about for energy levels. Anyone have any evidence it could help with chronic fatigue?0
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manderson27 wrote: »How about for energy levels. Anyone have any evidence it could help with chronic fatigue?
It gives me fatigue to be honest0
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