You have the symptoms. You’ve started taking magnesium.
Now the question is: how long does it take for magnesium to work?
I’ve been asked about this a lot recently and it's a very important question.
Below you will find a summary of my own experience recovering from magnesium deficiency, including what I did that helped me recover faster.
More...
Contents
Disclaimer:
The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be used in place of the advice of a healthcare professional. While my wife and I have been taking magnesium supplements every day for years, I can't say how they might affect you. Always consult a doctor if you have health concerns: don't try to self-diagnose!
It Takes Time to Develop Low Magnesium
Chances are it took your body a long time to lose its magnesium.
No matter what caused it, losing your magnesium is similar to losing weight. Just like taking in less calories over a long period of time will result in gradual weight loss, taking in less magnesium than you need (or losing more than you should) will eventually deplete you.
How long it takes to become deficient can vary though. It depends on the cause and just how big the problem is. Various medications and health complications can also make matters worse.
In general though you need to remember that it was probably a gradual change that made you low in magnesium in the first place.
It Takes Time for a Magnesium Supplement to Work its Magic
Taking any supplement is not a quick fix.
Your body needs to rebuild its magnesium levels, but it can only absorb so much of any vitamin at one time.
So depending on your level of deficiency it can take a while to build your levels back up to a point where your symptoms start to fade.
Healing can be slow, but better magnesium helped me recover faster
In short: healing takes time.
I’ve been there. I know it sucks. You’re dizzy, or nauseous, or anxious, or scared, or your muscles hurt, or your head throbs. Or even worse all of this is happening at once.
And you just want it to end so you can get back to your life.
But I can tell you from experience that recovery is possible.
It just takes a while.
I will say however that I recovered faster when I started taking a better quality magnesium supplement.
- Click here to see what I've found to be the best magnesium supplement
Your One Job: Fix The Cause of Your Low Magnesium
There’s one thing you can do while you wait though: figure out what caused your magnesium deficiency and do your best to fix it.
Do:
- Examine your diet: Are you eating foods high in magnesium or have you been eating junk?
- Examine your stress level: Prolonged levels of high stress can deplete your body of many minerals.
- Examine the medications you take: Some medications such as acid-reducers can decrease your magnesium absorption.
- See a doctor if you haven't already!
Don’t:
- Keep on doing the same old thing and hope things will change.
- Ignore it and hope it will go away.
- Let the healthy changes you do make lapse after only a short while.
And remember to be your own advocate whenever you are seeking help from the health care system. Nobody cares more about your health than you do so you must take an active role in your care.
Do your own research and be informed. When dealing with doctors, be polite and respectful but also be pushy and demanding. Be the squeaky wheel that gets the oil. Be prepared to ask good questions and make sure they get answered to your satisfaction.
If your doctor isn’t answering your questions or you aren’t getting the care you need, open the phone book and find another one.
A bad doctor can waste your time and even make things worse. Yet a good, knowledgeable doctor that you can rely on is worth more than all the advice you find on the Internet (including mine!).
Above all, do not be afraid of doctors: they are experts (and have worked hard to be) but they are not authority figures. Just remember that you are their customer, so treat the doctor-patient relationship as such. They are working on your dime for you. Just like taking your car in to be repaired, you can always take it to another mechanic if things aren’t getting fixed.
My Recovery Experience (And How I Recovered Faster)
You’ve made it this far and I still haven’t answered your question. So here it is:
The answer is that it depends on so many things that it is impossible to know just how long it will take for you.
In short: I don’t know … and neither does anybody else.
All I can tell you is how long it took for me. Below is the answer that I’ve been giving to the readers who have written in:
The whole recovery process for me took around six months. However most of the improvement came shortly after I started taking a magnesium supplement.
A rough timeline would be:
- Started magnesium on Saturday
- No change on Sunday
- Monday afternoon the headache started
- The headache lasted until Tuesday evening
- Tuesday evening when the headache stopped the overwhelming dizziness was gone
There were definitely symptoms that lingered though (and actually still do now if I'm not careful):
- The dizziness was replaced by a vague fuzziness that I can't quite describe. It's as if things didn't seem quite real. It was a definite improvement over the dizziness, and the 'fuzziness' faded over the course of a month or two.
- For years before my incident I had occasional muscle cramps in my upper abdomen. They mostly made breathing uncomfortable for a short time. These continued for about a month after starting the magnesium. Then they stopped completely, along with some other minor issues I’d been living with for a long time.
- The anxiety followed a similar pattern to the 'fuzziness' although it lasted longer. It faded a lot initially but then lingered until around the six month mark.
- The racing heart stopped a day or two after the dizziness ended.
- I used to struggle to get to sleep at night but as long as I take my magnesium I can usually fall asleep in minutes now.
Symptoms that still 'linger':
- Migraines: My neurologist was right to diagnose me with them. I do still get them on occasion, though if I mess with my magnesium regimen for an extended period of time then they become far more frequent.
- Restless Legs: Same as the migraines this happens to me on and off. The only pattern I've noticed is that it seems to show up if I start skipping my magnesium supplements ... or if I drink too much soda.
So in short I was ‘mostly’ cured within days, with some lesser symptoms lasting a much longer period of time. The day the dizziness ended was definitely a turning point though. It was such a marked improvement that the symptoms that lingered became easily manageable.
It’s harder for me to say for sure just how long some of the symptoms lasted though. This is especially true for the ones that faded slowly over time such as the ‘vague fuzziness’. Eventually they faded to the point I hardly noticed them. Finally I ended up forgetting to ‘check’ for them until after they had already disappeared.
This is just my experience though, and I don't really have anything to compare it to.
As I mentioned though, I did find that I recovered faster when I started taking a better quality magnesium supplement.
- Click here to see what I've found to be the best magnesium supplement
What Is Your Experience?
So this is where I need your help: If you are going through this now or have previously, please leave a comment below with the details.
Please include the symptoms you've experienced as well as their duration.
I'm hoping that we can collect enough examples that anyone who comes across this post with the same question can get a rough idea of what to expect.
As always, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your physician or other qualified medical professional to help determine your own optimal level of magnesium, and to see whether magnesium supplementation is right for you.
And for anyone going through this right now, remember that you are not alone!
I have experienced many of the following symptoms in the posts. Has anyone experienced serious exercise intolerance and/or weird reactions from exercise? These symptoms can go for a few days if I overdo it. This coming from someone who 4.5 years ago was jogging 35 miles a week and lifting weights vigorously. Here are my symptoms and enhanced by exercise significantly.
– dizziness
– heart palpitations
– feeling hungry
– headaches
– sleep disturbances
– light headed
I own a very busy company and live a fairly stressful life. I’ve seen 10+ physicians, chiropractors, and a naturopath. This has been ongoing for 4.5 years. We are narrowed down to low magnesium being an issue after all my tests. The traditional medical doctors had no clue and tested me for everything possible.
I do epsom salt baths twice a week and also take 360 mg of magnesium a day.
Anyone have suggestions? I’ve only been doing magnesium for 1.5 months and salt baths for the same.
Any help or suggestions on how long this will take, would be awesome. Any other resources as well?
Hi Justin, My advice and experience as a lifelong “exerciser” and personal trainer for 25 years as well as someone that has overdone it many times… is to back off on the intensity. Trust me, the “less is more” adage is definitely in play with working out. Also are you getting adequate amounts of the other electrolytes to round things off?
Getting quality advice and a regimen from a trusted pro based on your lifestyle can be a major win for your problem.
Hi Andrew,
I am so glad I found this post. I was also Magnesium deficient and severely suffered with Anxiety and Panic attacks. I started to take Magnesium Citrate for about 4 days and then found that Transdermal Magnesium ( Soaking the foot ) was optimal and was doing that every day for a month. Anxiety and other sysmptoms have faded heavily but the feeling of “Fuzziness” as you are describing is there where I dont feel that things are real. How long was it there and can we do anything to come out of it ? Is it happening because of too much Magnesium ?
First of all, thank you for all the useful information you give on this website.
I’d like to share my experience with you, hoping to find some advice (please forgive my english, I’m from Italy, I’ll do my best).
My experience started a couple of months ago. I was feeling perfectly fine (36 year old woman, never had a health problem in my life), but I did a routine blood test just to check for my cholesterol and I found out that my vitamin D was extremely low (4.6).
My doctor prescribed me 7500iu once a week, so quite a low dose for deficiency. As soon as I took it the first time (after 3-4 hours) I felt sick all of a sudden. I thought I was having a heart attack. Terrible palpitations, extreme dizziness, nausea, confusion.
My doctor told me it couldn’t be the vitamin D so I kept taking it (I took it for a month, so 4 times). During that month I ended up in the ER 2 times with similar episodes.
Every day I had: dizziness, fatigue, confusion, constipation, loss of appetite, nausea, twitching, leg pain, high blood pressure, high heart rate, anxiety, depression. I had never had these sympthoms before in my life. No doctor thought vitamin D was the cause, not even the endocrinologist (she thought that my symptoms were too severe to be caused by vitamin D and that I should see a cardiologist even if 3 different doctors told me my heart was fine).
I lost 1.5 stone in 5 weeks. Also I noticed I had terrible PMS symptoms.
I finally decided to stop taking the vitamin and started looking into it by myself with the help of my pharmacist (at least he believed me) and I found out that vitamin D consumes A LOT of magnesium to be transformed into his active form.
I also found out that magnesium blood test is useless because even if your blood level is ok, the magnesium in your cells could be extremely low.
So I started taking different types of magnesium and after a month I finally have a normal heart beat and low blood pressure as I used to have before taking the vitamin.
My dizziness and fatigue are improving. Also I’m not that anxious and depressed anymore. I’m not bed ridden as before but I still don’t feel well enough to go to work. Thankfully I was allowed to work from home for a few weeks and I hope it will be enough time for me to recover completely.
I struggle to find the right dose and right kind of magnesium, since I get diarrhea or constipation depending on which one I take, so I try to take a combo and I’m also going to start taking epsom salt bath now. I know I need magnesium but I’m afraid of taking too much since I read that magnesium overdose and deficiency symptoms are similar.
Not having a doctor supporting me and knowing what to do is depressing.
I had my blood tested again and vitamin D was 16 (still low but a good improvement) and my cholesterol went from 200 to 230! How is this possible since I basically didn’t eat for a month. Is high cholesterol linked somehow to low magnesium?
Has anyone had a similar experience? Do you have any suggestion on what could be the right magnesium dose to take and for how long should I take it?
Your story is exactly the same as mine. I have been using Remag, from Dr carolyn Dean. It works wonders. No problems with diarreah, like other Mg supplements. You can then use therapeutic amounts of Mg without getting an upset stommach:-) I am now using 600mg Mg , sometimes as high as 900mg. You cant overdose. Then you have to use 5000mg pr day. Carolyn Dean says 1200mg is fine. I advise you to read her book! Amazing!! Good luck:-)
Just wanted people to know that Remag has heavy metals in them. They may be smal, however over prolonged use they WILL cause huge problems. There are other sources who provide natural magnesium chloride with NO heavy metals.
Hi i have magnesium deficiency as well. Been through tough times of stress and now finally getting to replenish my levels. I read it can take months (6 for some) to safely increase to your wanted levels. Also magnesium is one of the minerals that is most essential and needed for every part of your body to work. So when you start supplementing, it seems you are over tired… To the point of lethargic. It’s because it’s being used up by every part of your body
But pace yourself. Every part of your body wants a dose of magnesium.
I found out I had vitamin D deficiency (asymptomatic).
My doc prescribed 8000iu a week. After few hours from the first dose I thought I was going to die! Elevated heart rate, extreme dizziness, confusion, nausea. My doctor said it couldn’t be the vitamin D so I kept going and took it for an entire month (4 times). During that time I went 2 times to the ER and to several doctors. No one considered vitamin D supplement as the problem. My symptoms were: fast heart rate, high blood pressure, dizziness, fatigue, poor appetite, extreme weight loss, constipation, nausea, leg pain, eye twitching, anxiety, depression. I decided to investigate by myself and finally ended up on a lot of medical websites telling me that vitamin D uses a lot of magnesium and if you are already magnesium deficient those are the symptoms! Maybe associated with high calcium level. I stopped vitamin D and started taking magnesium. After a month I am still struggling to find the best magnesium for me, since I still get a lot of gastric problems, but some of my symptoms seem to be gone, especially the heart and blood pressure problems. I still spend my days in bed, can’t really work. I hope to be ok soon. I’m still vitamin D deficient but I want to feel better first and deal with it later. Has anyone had an experience like mine?
I’ve had frequent urination for 6 months now. Doctors ruled out that theirs no infection or anything serious just overactive bladder/ incomplete emptying of the bladder. I’m awaiting to see a urologist but I need a solution in the meantime. I saw a naturopath that told me to take magnesium phosphate twice daily to help strengthen my bladder muscles. Any advice on anyone who’s experienced this or whether it helps ?
The detrusor muscle controls the amount of urine flow. IF you have a magnesium deficiency, your detrusor muscle might be in spasm (along with other muscles – twitching or cramping) and this might be effecting the ability of the bladder to empty completely. It’s a long shot – but not impossible. I’ve had HAD bladder issues for a long time (now resolved) – my urologist is the best in the world Dr. Kenneth Peters of Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak Michigan (look him up). and he’s
stuck with me through everything. Anyway – IF you have magnesium deficiency you might try some magnesium glycinate (320mg daily rda for women) and over the next several months your detrusor muscle (and your anxiety about it which may be contributing) may relax and you may have good results with emptying the bladder completely. I’d recommend that you start the mag – stick with it for 6 months and go back in to your urologist for an ultrasound after voiding. You might be pleasantly surprised. :) Best of luck.
This my journey so far and very much ongoing.
It all started on september 10th 2018 whilst on holiday in florida. Prior to the holiday I was the happiest and healthiest i have ever been. My only medical issue would have been migraines but these hadn’t occurred for a few months as i now presume is because i was taking pre natal vitamins to prepare my body to try for baby later this year. Now looking back it was likely the magnesium in the vitamins that was helping my migraines. I am a nurse and also had done my bloods prior to holiday and all healthy and normal.
So holiday…on the 10th September i stupidly got severely burnt. My chest, stomach and legs.
So my husban and i rested for the next day and i drank plenty of fluids. The following night we went to go out for dinner and as we walked a strange feeling came over me almost like a panic attack which i have never suffered before. so we returned to hotel and again rested and fluids as i presumed this was due to the sun. we basically stayed the last few days in the hotel resting. What i noticed was every time i moved or got up my heart rate increased MASSIVELY. 170bpm+
on our 2nd to last day when i thought i felt better we went o leave hotel and i got to the lobby and that strange cant breathe panic feeling came over me and i thought i was going to pass out. Paramedics were called, they did all their checks and the only thing they found was when i stood my pulse shot up to 140bpm. So at this point i was point out i hadnt had any fevers or other symptoms. The only thing was my pulse and maybe some tiredness and losso the paramedics sent me to an urgent care centre and they did as ECG on me and it showed T WAVE INVERSION (I must point out ECGS aren’t very good at giving you a true result and they are very much only as good as the day they are done very much like a car MOT check)
They sent me to ER.
they did another ECG this time it showed Normal sinus with arrhythmia. I was admitted to the cardiac ward. I was given sodium chloride fluids. They did an ECHO (an ulstrasound of the heart which is the a great indicator of whats going on) it showed my heart was structurally good. My bloods came back and my magnesium was 1.9mg/dl or 0.78mmol which would be at the lower range of normal range and my white blood cells were slightly raised at 12.6 (which usually means the likes of infection or inflammation in someone healthy)
After i was given sodium chloride fluids and echo etc i rested for a few hours I then needed the toilet. Bare in mind the 5 days i was unwell in our hotel room my bowels and water works were totally fine but now i had like a green watery diarrhea which was very strange for me. So i maybe was putting it down to my body getting a good dose of hydration with the sodium. The cardiologist then sent me for a stress test (on a treadmill for 9 minutes) it forces your heart to work hard to see if there is any ECG changes – i.e- is the electrics of your heart causing issues. My stress test showed NO ECG CHANGES or arrhythmias. it just showed my heart rate climbing to around 176. prior to holiday my resting heart rate was 50, walking rate around 100bpm and short distance running rate around 150bpm.
Once i returned from my stress test i was given an infusion of magnesium also, given a potassium supplement and an aspirin.
the cardiologist prescribed me metoprolol 25mg long acting and wasn’t too concerned there was anything underlying with my heart and discharged me the following day and i caught my flight home 3 hours later to ireland. the metoprolol 25mg didn’t seem to do anything for my heart rate and they said if i felt my heart racing i could take another 25mg which i had to do whilst travelling. On top of all of that at the airport i got my period yayyy!
Arrived home exhausted, must point out at this time i wasn’t really thinking of my magnesium. I presumed there was something wrong with the electrics of my heart, the sun or i had a bug that was causing this.
Once home i rested drank water/milk/coconut water and ate what i could as i hadn’t much appetite. i felt my condition was same if not worse. A weird head feeling, not dizzy as such but just weird. I then started having yellow soft stools. Heart rate still sky high and my anxiety was through the roof and sleep was rubbish and coudlnt really stay sitting up and concentrate on TV so stayed in bed. One night it got so bad i had the weird sensation that i was having a TIA and real panic. I ended up in the emergency room in ireland. ECG showed ST and T wave abnormality (this is why i say take ECGS with a pinch of salt they can always be different)
They did my bloods and my magnesium im not sure what it was. My white blood cells had dropped slightly to 11.9 which is good. They did a chest Xray and it came back ok. My D dime blood test came back raised so they thought with my pulse being high and slight SOB that i may have a PE. sO they sent me for a VQ scan. It showed I didn’t have a clot on my lung. so then they sent me home after 19 hours in a chair and getting tests done with a 24hour heart monitor on. I was beyond exhausted that it actually left me a bit traumatised lol. The questions i kept getting asked by everyone was, was i pregnant and did i suffer from anxiety. I got asked it so much that i started to question did i suffer anxiety that then i started to believe it.I went to see my regular doctor and he put me on Propranolol instead of metoprolol. It did reduce my heart rate but my god the side effects. I was having weird very realistic dreams, i got massively depressed and CRYING LOTS and very and even more light headed. I tried to walk the dog one day and had to turn back i got so light headed.
At this point i was so fed up cause now we are 2-3 weeks down the line and i was previously so healthy i paid privately to see a cardiologist. I showed all my result and he checked my BP 90systolic so that could answer for why i was so lightheaded but normally would have a lower Blood pressure sitting around 115 systolic. He basically was happy that thee wasn’t anything underlying with my heart, that it wasn’t postural tachycardia or panic disorder.
He was also not very happy that i was put on 80mg propranolol long acting and told me to stop it. So that was me off my Beta Blockers yayyy….well so i thought. the withdrawal symptoms were horrendous because you aren’t actually suppose to stop them abruptly. An my migraines returned. My lightheaded/vertigo type feeling was still very much still there. He said that maybe it was something viral working on me.
My 24hour tape came back which didn’t show any arrhythmias just bradycardia whilst sleeping (likely due to beta blocker) and tachy (fast heart rate) when awake, I had once episode of a skipped heart beat but im not concerned about that as they can be brought on by simple exhausting which that day i wore it was after 19 hours in the emergency room.
i Went back to GP (4 weeks after initial sunburn) to get repeated bloods and leave a stool sample in. Results back – Everything Normal- my white bloods cells had dropped further to 9.6 which again is good it means what ever infection/inflammation that is working on me its going away. The GP said it could still be something viral working on me and it doesn’t necessarily show up in bloods.
So after 4 weeks of waht felt like i was dying and just feeling rubbish i started doing a bit of research on magnesium. A blood test for magnesium isnt a very good picture of your levels. Only 1% of your magnesium is in your serum blood the rest is in cells/bones/organs etc. so chances are when my initial magnesium was 1.9 that it was actually lower and it can be caused by burns. I also made the mistake that i was drinking glasses of milk when i returned from holiday as this can inhibit the absorption so for the past few days i have cut out diary. So i am a month down the line and to be honest i cant say everything i have experienced is because of my magnesium. Who knows it could be viral but it has been something very different than i have ever experienced before. The the side effects of the beta blockers haven’t helped either. I am a month down the line and i am very slowly getting slightly better and i am hoping its because my body is taking its time absorbing the magnesium into its cells. The last three days for me have been my best so far. head still feels slightly funny. Internal tremors i was suffering seemed to stop yesterday and i am eating a bit more. fingers crossed this is me on the way up
Please respond–did it end up being the magnesium? I’ve been suffering some very similar symptoms.
After reading comments i decided to add my 2c. My rollercoaster with, I believe, magnesium started 5 years ago in 2013 after 5 months on a low-fat low-carb diet plus diuretic, plus intensive triathlon training which I did for years before and just did not stop after starting the diet. The end result was a very high heart rate and arrhythmias PACs and PVCs even during rest. Essentially I was not able to do any training any more. I did the diet because my doctor scared me with what he called a metabolic syndrome (after years it looks like his diagnosis was totally false). It took some time for me to figure out what exactly was happening to me and why. Doctors were useless in helping me in this, except for diagnostics, which has shown perfectly normal heart, no calcifications or blockages of any kind, anywhere, normal cholesterol, sugar, etc. Obvious question was if everything is so correct, why I am not able to run 100m without arrhythmia and sky high heart rate just 2 months after completing the last olympic distance triathlon under 3 hours?
Fast forward 5 years and my present conclusions: I can definitely say that magnesium makes a huge difference. I take chelated, chloride and citrate pills, different doses in different periods. From my experience it looks like it is the best to take magnesium on an empty stomach and just before bed, and during day separated at least 1 hour between meals of any kind. It looks like the low carb diets are not good for magnesium absorption. I think they contain products (i.e. brown rice) which at least in my case kill magnesium absorption if pill is taken with food.
One thing that I still have to figure out is why do I have to continously supplement with magnesium now to stay arrhythmias free? If I stop magnesium I quite quickly ‘enjoy’ PACs and PVCs again. Looks like my body just lost the ability to store magnesium after what I’ve done to myself with the diet and training. Just for the record: before 2013 I never took any supplements of any kind and was arrhythmias free.
I recently discovered my deficiency in magnesium. After creating a timeline of my past I discovered that in 2001 I essentially eliminated the majority of the ways I had been getting my magnesium from water. As I am sure you know we get most of our magnesium through water. We get magnesium from drinking water and by absorbing it through the skin by bathing or swimming.
In 2001 I moved. The water here was very hard and chalky. The best thing I could have done was to drink it. But oh no! It caused problems with appliances and it tasted funny so I didn’t trust it. I carried gallons of reverse osmosis water for all my cooking needs. The other contributing factor was I only have a shower. No more baths. No more magnesium. The only routine source I had was the coffee I drank at work. No wonder I tanked!!
I would suggest looking at your sources of water. Did you start drinking bottles water? What kind? Distilling, reverse-osmosis, and softening removes minerals from water. Sometimes they are added back in but not necessarily at the concentration we need.
Did you add a water softener to you home? Again, you absorb magnesium when you bathe. From the recent changes I have made this seems to be an extremely fast and effective way to get magnesium into your body. Add a cup or two of Epsom Salts to your bath water and the results are almost instant.
Did you change locations? My change was local and I went from “city water” to a well that I didn’t trust. Aside from that, mineral content is different from location to location. Hawaii has the highest content of magnesium in the USA. Marietta Ohio gets its water from wells. On September 24, 2018 Marietta Ohio city water had 13 ppm (13 mg per liter) in its finished water. Raw water (before treatment) had 19 ppm. I was amazed when I discovered that soaking in Marietta city water in a local pool for 3 hours had been the cause of returning my blood pressure to normal. It had been slightly elevated for years. (prehypertension)
I would suggest that your change in diet was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”. In other words, your were already getting the bare minimal when you changed to a diet that made it harder to absorb what you were getting. That threw your body into crisis (heart problems). Figure out what else was already lacking and you will be back on track.
If you don’t like taking supplements there are other ways to make sure your body gets what it needs. If discover that you have been filtering all the minerals out of your water, change to a method that replaces minerals and if your bottled water doesn’t contain minerals, buy different bottled water. You can always nourish yourself by adding Epsom Salts (or any salts that contain magnesium) to your bath water or just by swimming once a week. Good luck in your investigation!!
The dosage or process that you did was helpful to me, so I can get an idea of how to take magnesium. I have started on Magnesium capsules, but obviously, the dosage needs to be brought up gradually, or there is a flushing like with Vitamin C.
Because topical creams usually just burn my skin or make the area cold, I found a product to spray magnesium oil directly onto my thighs and legs where the muscle tightness gets so bad it would want to pull me down. For the past two weeks I have been walking with a cane, (when I first get up from the chair I need the cane, but then I “park the cane” and my husband has to bring it to me later. )
The Magnesium oil is not magic, it took about four days, but every day I improved slightly and I still have a long way to go. I am sure this will be lifelong, but I am okay with that, as long as I know what my condition is and now to treat it myself.
I will be sharing this site with some family members because I suspect they may also have a Magnesium deficiency.
I doubt you lost the ability to store magnesium. My guess is that you’ve only been taking just enough to take care of the symptoms but not enough to replenish your stores of magnesium.
You should read Dr Dean’s book “the Magnesium Miracle” if you haven’t already.
I also found this page helpful: https://www.easy-immune-health.com/magnesium-dosage.html
I had been suffering from anxiety for around 6yrs and the GP prescribed me Mirtazapine which helped a little but it didn’t fix me completely. Recently I woke up with very severe calf cramps which resulted in me straining my Achilles tendon (ouch!). I researched reasons for calf cramp and discovered a potential deficiency of Magnesium, and/or Potassium, and/or Vitamin D. I purchased 250mg tab’s Magnesium Oxide from H & B and started to take one at night. Within 2 days my leg cramps stopped, I slept a lot better, my anxiety has almost disappeared, I also feel my old self again! Previously I needed atleast 10hrs sleep a night but now I’m quite happy with waking after 8hrs sleep feeling refreshed and ready to go. Now I am organising private blood tests to ensure I’m not over-dosing, and to check my Potassium and Viatamin D levels.
Finally I do believe I have a diagnosis.
Ten years ago I started with these spells of anxiety, fatigue, leg heaviness, and lower back pain. Test after test showed nothing. Finally my doctor started prescribing IV vitamin therapy. I would literally feel better before I got to my car after a treatment.
Fast forward five years. I’m in a new city, with a new doctor. The symptoms slowly came back… Worse than ever. My legs felt exhausted from the moment I got out of bed in the morning. My heart would race most evenings, and I had terrible headaches that would last for days. Weird numb feeling in my hands. More tests and referrals to neurologists and psychiatrists. Put on antidepressants, muscle relaxers, and antianxiety meds. Some improvement but not much. My life became just an existence. Every day a new symptom that would come and go. I would slightly improve and the have a set back. I had spinal injections, pain blocks, and even had to have knew surgery for a miniscus tear.
Then I started getting twitches. First my eyelid, then my calf, thigh, etc. I thought I was going crazy. It’s stress and anxiety I was always told. Blood pressure became a problem… Always high.
Nothing went on for long… Just a few weeks (except the heavy leg feeling which was always there).
Then about six months ago, my eyelids started twitching. Both eyes… All the time. Stress the doc said. That went on for over a month. I really thought I was sick with something terrible that was going to slowly kill me.
I felt panicked, dizzy, foggy, and just completely miserable most of the time. Of course I was often searching the internet finding one thing or another. I really felt at the end of my rope until a month ago when I read an article about some people who have their gallbladders removed experiencing magnesium deficiencies afterwards. At first I didn’t really put much thought into it… After all, I had mine removed 18 years ago. Long before I began feeling unwell. But the more I read about magnesium deficiency, I thought I’d try treating it on my own.
400 mg. daily of citric magnesium.
Within two days the racing heart stopped. The headaches have all but vanished. My legs even feel different. I still feel a bit foggy and some bloated, but I am convinced it is working. I haven’t had a muscle or eyelid twitch in nearly a month! My back hurts still, but more like a healing strain than a recent injury like before.
I hope it’s not all in my head, but I really do feel like I am on the road to recovery.
When I think back to the days when I would get vitamin IVs, and how I felt better afterwards, I’m guessing there was magnesium in them.
Sure hoping improvement continues.
Of course, I’m not a doctor, and I’m not suggesting anyone do this on their own like I did… But I think it is definitely worth checking out.
First…..My name is Natalie I’m a 49 years old female and can’t figure out why this is happening to me, I was diagnosed with severe depression, PTSD, agoraphobia, panic and anxiety disorders and yes I have arthritis in my knees, I have been on lots of medication that makes me think death has to be better than living through this, this horrible I can’t even go outside, every thought is a bad thought I’m always feeling like I will not be able to breathe are I will get trapped in the car are in the store, yes crazy….I can’t understand but about three days ago I started using magnesium oil so far the only change is I don’t pee as much and I have slept through the night something so different I fall asleep and I don’t know anything til morning, will I every get better and be completely normal again, driving, walking to the corner without crying and turning back home in a hurry, doing my own shopping I’ve heard so much about magnesium oil I’ve prayed over the oil and added it to my prayer for healing
Hi Natalie :)
Stu here from the UK.
I’ve had all the symptoms you have described, and a few of my own issues. Although I can’t say anything about the oil form of Magnesium, as I have never tried it… What I can say is that I have tried MANY MANY forms of alternative medicines, and am still experimenting.
I have been prescribed many medications by my local GP, all of which have had a negative impact in other areas of my life, although they did actually help me. I was prescribed 300mg Lyrica (Pregabalin) (Highly addictive in my case, I’ve just finished detoxing cold turkey from that one and it was a living hell! I’ve quit drugs, drinking ALL suddenly with less problems). Also am prescribed 2mg Klonopin (Cloneazepam), 20mg Diazepam (Valium), 200mg Sertraline, 45mg Mirtazapine…
Now… I’m coming off one at a time, as I stated earlier that the side effects can and do ‘usually’ outweigh the good you get from these “experimental drugs” the big pharma push on you.
I started taking alternatives, adding slowly and exercising a hell of a lot!
Magnesium, zinc, calcium, Mag-citrate, potassium, glucosamine (which worked wonders for my dodgy knees/ Don’t take if you are allergic to shell fish), collagen high dose 10,000 (waiting for results as i’m only 1 month in), turmeric, a strong probiotic (worked wonders after initial 2 weeks of upset stomach), ashwaghanda (unsure, as still early to tell), and finally – Royal jelly 1500mg ( helped me tremendously! even after a few days, not saying the same for everyone, but still..>)
Most of these things as stated in this article take time to work, similar to medications such as SSRI’s for depression/anxiety etc. Some take a LONG time, some worked for me very quickly. I have tried other things that I have since stopped like B-complex, as Folic acid IMO is bad for you as it is artificial as apposed to other natural forms of Folate.
In closing, Don’t give up on anything you are trying just because nothing happens in the first week or so. Try to supplement Mainly with non-synthetic substances, super greens Organics, this kind of stuff is great. As you may know, a vast majority of brain disorders originate from a poor diet. and problems with the gut. Doctors will address the issue, never the root cause of the problem.
Wish you the best of luck, just don’t think that one supplement or food will fix the issue, as It’s usually a combination of many deficiencies.
I know the hell that you are going through, I feel your pain and know it well. YOU WILL GET BETTER, as I am doing currently :)
Best wishes,
Stu.
As a kid, I struggled to fall asleep and with restless legs. I’m now in my mid-30s and have always been extremely healthy, although my petite stature has been my main weakness. Last fall I started noticing that simply things would bring my heart rate up: walking up the stairs, getting after my kids. I thought maybe I was drinking too much caffeine, though it was one coffee in the morning. Other times, especially after a meal, I felt like my heart was racing. Then I had a few episodes at night when I was trying to go to sleep. My heart would flutter, and I was worried I was going to have a heart attack or something. I went to the doctor, and all the tests came back normal. He prescribe some omeprazole for me, and as I read through the medication info sheet, I noticed that it mentioned risks of creating magnesium deficiency. I immediately thought the symptoms listed applied to me, so I started researching. I started noticing other symptoms after I knew what to look for, including muscle twitches, lightheadedness, and tightness in my chest. I’ve used magnesium oil on my legs at night and take a good supplement twice a day. My symptoms have decreased dramatically, but I do need to stay away from caffeine, alcohol, and foods with a lot of sugar or carbs. It has amazed me how many symptoms can be resolved through magnesium therapy–even my skin is clearer! I have talked to so many people about magnesium deficiencies because they have mysterious symptoms and doctors just try to treat them with various meds rather than getting to the root of the problem!
Hello! Have you had any problems with your throat or vocal cords “fluttering”? I have Vitamin D deficiency, iron deficiency and anemia, GERD and hiatal hernia. I feel like my throat (where my thyroid is) is doing a weird fluttering thing that makes me cough.
That sounds like heart palpitations. I get them sometimes and always have. Feels like you can’t breathe properly and a fluttering in either the chest or throat.
I get that. It feels like my thyroid is releasing a hormone or something
My discovery of having low magnesium was roundabout and started with looking for something to help with depression that I had developed. It wasn’t a sorrow over anything in particular, just ongoing and getting worse. Since there’s really nothing in my life to be depressed about I thought it could be a vitamin or mineral issue. I had this before years ago when I was low in B12. I looked up supplements that could aid in depression and compared them to what was in my multivitamin. The only thing that was in the list that I wasn’t getting enough from my multivitamin was magnesium. So I figured I’d give it a shot. I bought an inexpensive bottle since I wasn’t sure that was the problem. It turns out it was the problem. Big time. Not just for depression but essentially everything I had that was an ailment of any kind reduced significantly or went away within days. I had always had trouble sleeping, for years. That went away within 3 days. I was foggy bordering on dissociative. That went away within days. For a year I had developed a bad shoulder that no amount of chiropractic or massage could help. It’s been two weeks on magnesium and the shoulder still hurts but I’d say the pain is about 80% less. I was regularly getting leg and foot cramps. Those are gone. I think it was affecting my thyroid too. I’ve never been really heavy but for a while I’ve been thinking, I eat very well and work out regularly. I really should be thinner than I am. Once I started magnesium I’ve noticed clothes are fitting looser and especially around my neck.
And, I’m not depressed anymore. I’m not sure how my levels got low. A while ago I went to the doctor and she said my calcium levels were low and to just take calcium. I wasn’t taking it with magnesium so I think that exasperated the situation. But really, how I feel now is such a huge night and day difference from how I’ve ever felt I think I may have been low in magnesium for much of my life.
Hi this is so f up and i dont know what to do anymore. I got a severe panic attack the ear 2015 i got acid reflux as well and I have sone days head acks i have shortness of breath fast heart beat problems. I have been to so many docter and ech doctor said therse nithing wrong you have anxiety disorder and acid reflux i have been treated for those two it now 2018 im fed up and im always tired have ni energy and started getting cramps in my right side rib area doctor said everything is fine therse nothing wrong. So last night i complained to my uncle and he said i have blue rings around my eyes and white marking on my nails he said need magnisium. I google it and i saw all the simptomes and was so verious houw can all these docters not see i need magnisium and instead they treat me with ultak pills and urbanols and trempelen all these docter s beter hope its not a magnisium problem because im sueing them for wrong treatment. I have now an anxiety disorder and if its caused by magnisium then Hell would break loose my mind
I was hospitalized recently with severely low levels of magnesium. The primary cause was the daily use of Nexium (omeprazole) over the span of 2 years. Also, daily coffee (caffeine), beer (alcohol), and Advil (ibuprofen) aided in the depletion of magnesium levels, which in turn held down my potassium levels. Doctors are oblivious to this common issue of low magnesium related to the items I just mentioned. I had to speak with a kidney specialist to get this information. Since the hospital stay (two weeks ago) I have stopped taking Nexium, cut out the coffee, beer, and Advil, and have been eating plenty of fruits and vegetables along with healthy balanced meals. I have also started taking a Magnesium supplement (250 mg) every evening before bed. Each day has been better and I am back in my daily work routine and feeling about 80%. Low levels of Magnesium is a serious issue. Many people out there are dealing with the symptoms on a daily basis but have no idea what is wrong. This website has been extremely helpful and has put my mind at ease knowing what the problem is and that it take time to get back to feeling normal.
Why did the hospitalize you?
I had been dealing with fatigue, feeling wired and tired, dizzy, fuzzy, and out of breath for about 4 weeks. I was tested for a lot of stuff, but not magnesium. I tried to exercise six days ago, and the pain post work out was unbearable. I went to the health store, and someone came to assist me. I mentioned my symptoms, and they suggested magnesium. I had stopped taking it back in May. I started and within 3 hours a curtain lifted and my fatigue decreased. I am still having a hard time with concentration though. However, magnesium diminished the discomfort and my brain fog. I was able to have a restful sleep since this started. I believe this was a result of taking Augmentin for a cat bite.
The symptoms being described (extreme fatigue lasting for a long time, headache that lasts a long time, history of migraines, “fuzzy” head for a long time and dizziness) indicate that you may have Migraine Associated Vertigo or Vestibular Migraine – which can often come with a “silent migraine” so you are unaware that you have a migraine, as you have no headache. Avoiding stress, changing your diet and increased magnesium intake are all known to aid Migraines.
It is a little known about disorder, however, it is surprisingly common and often goes undiagnosed.
I have found a highly informative blog on the subject here:
https://www.mymigrainebrain.com/
and I would encourage you to read up about it on Google also.
De Quervain’s syndrome.
I’m 56 years old, diagnosed with this last december in my right hand/wrist. I don’t know what to do. I have constant inflammation on the inside of my wrist where the sheath is, which never goes away and also have inflammation in the area just to the left of where the wrist starts. When I extend my fingers in shower for personal hygiene, I get severe burning pain in the base of my thumb. Hard to put clothing next to it as it is extremely tender. I have tried everything that I can think of, even got a TENS unit but that aggravated it. I don’t want cortisone shot. Got an x-ray of the hand/wrist earlier this week and my doctor says it’s normal.
Someone told me it’s tendons that are too tight, probably protein/magnesium/Vitamin D3/B6/B12 deficiency. Said to take massive amounts of Vitamin D3 with the magnesium, had tests done I am magnesium deficient, I’m at 49, the lowest range number is 42. Currently taking 2,000 mg. magnesium malate pure powder, and 100 mg. Great Salt Lake minerals liquid. Took me about 3 months to get up to this amount, but it has not helped anything. Vitamin D3 level is low (38), B12 level is over 1,000, doctor won’t test for B6. Went to health food store today to get St. John’s Wort in oil as I think it might be nerve related. The lady said I’m not taking enough magnesium and told me to take homeopathic St. John’s Wort. She said the inflammation is caused by magnesium deficiency.
I’m also hypothyroid, diagnosed in 2010. Currently taking NatureThroid and asked endocrinologist to add another medication. Been reading that wrist pain can be due to medication and thyroid.
I am severely gluten allergic and have gone off of it several times. I started last wednesday an extreme paleo diet, a lot of juicing, cutting out everything that could aggravate, I’ve done Whole30 twice, the last time it didn’t help the pain. I don’t know if I might have Leaky Gut.
I don’t know what to do, how much magnesium do I need to take to get rid of this? I don’t know if it’s just one simple thing that will help.
I have tried all of these items and they are now part of my lifestyle. As soon as I tried marshmallow root it did wonders! Along with magnesium oil to apply on skin vs taking pills. The oil goes directly to bloodstream and allows to do its magic without affecting any digestion problems you might already have. Add coconut oil 1 tbs twice a day. Also flaxseed and wheat germ which can be used on cereals – oatmeal – yogurt and things of such nature. All of these help with vitamin b’s , healthy fats and help magnesium give the boost it needs. Even though vitamin d (sunlight) help absorb it best.
Back in january of 2016 I contracted a severe flu which took about two weeks to recover from. A week later i developed a ring worm on my wrist and middle ear infections which i cured both with by using arlic mullein oil. For months i was experiencing sharp pains in my shins and triceps along with body tremors, shallow breathing rapid heart beat , wont swelling etc.. I saw a doctor who then ordered x-rays on both knees and pelvis. Looking back on it i feel stupid why i even followed her orders which is pure idiocy for a doctor to say all my problems come from constant pressure on knees through my valet job. Starting in January of 2017 i developed tinnitus which wasnt just ringing but sharp pains in both ears. I saw a neurologist a month later who order some repeated test that the previous doctor had done. I gave up on doctors at this point and did my own research. Basically i came to the conclusion a bacteria exploited my weak immune system and made home in my intestines. I did a colon detox and immediately felt a decrease in body aches and swelling. I then followed up the detox by taking anti-microbial herbal medicine. However i still felt sharp pains and had slight knee swelling and bad vision. I then took wheat out of my diet which drastically reduced the pain but was not the cause of my problems. Taking wheat out made it easier on my intestines which were already inflamed. What i did was buy vitamin and mineral supplements to put back in what the bacteria was taking away. All my problems came from a year long period of malabsorption. This is why i felt better after the colon detox – i had flushed out the bacteria. About a week into taking the supplements i had felt much better, less popping of joints, bright lights, foggy thinking, anemia, etc. . It took about a month for the sharp pains to completely go away. At this point tinnitus is still present but the vertigo and sharp pain pretty much is a 3/10 compared to a 7/10. I have to remember that for a whole year i had nutrients suck out of me so i need to be patient. My weight loss has stopped which is the main indicator i got rid of the bacteria most likely. My memory at the time was so bad to the point i ended up forgetting my passwords, how to play the piano, it was bad. I looked into more of what i had been through and discovered a condition called EDEMA. It’s a condition where joints swell up because of water retention which is caused by a deficiency in protein in that area. Like i said, i had been lacking nutrients the whole year so it wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case. This was a summary of what i was going through. Here are a list of things that helped me ; colon detox by use of herbs, anti-microbial medicine for 15 days, staying away from wheat , nutrient supplements (be careful especially with minerals) essential oils and CBD oil for inflammation. All organic by the way. One thing i learned from all this was to learn how to take care of my own health because before i was never reading anything about it but now I’m crazy excited to learn about the body, foods, herbs, oils, and nutrients. You have to learn how to take care of your self in a society where many doctors see their patient as profits. Ever since i became involved with health i can honestly say i have helped my family with a illnesses. My sister had bronchitis and fever which took a day to fix by applying tea tree oil to her throat, eating garlic and 3 drops of oregano oil in capsule. My mother had a menstruation headache which was fixed by supplementing potassium , magnesium and Vitamin B6 with Vitamin C and D for better absorption. It’s exciting to see how much you can do without a doctor if you just learn.
I realised I had a magnesium deficiency about April/May last year, after taking a vitamin D supplement. I was dizzy, tired, couldn’t sleep properly, headache, etc. So I started taking a supplement. I started feeling dizzy again this year, started end April. I think it might be vitamin D related, as the sun is now strong enough that I can make it. At first I didn’t realise it was a magnesium deficiency again, as I was still taking a supplement, but I’m bad on getting magnesium from food.
It’s not so bad this year. The dizziness has just stopped, still get that vague fuzziness feeling, where I don’t feel properly connected to earth. I also feel a bit tired, but presumably that’s because it’s a bit stressful for the body, and it wants to recover probably before being forced back into it’s normal routine.
It really is terrible, it makes me feel like I’ve become about 95, overnight. But it’s improving now, and I’m pleased I already had enough information to deal with it quickly, this time.
People really do need more information about this, it must be really bad for people who don’t know what the problem is, especially when it’s reasonably easy to solve when you do.
This is very interesting. I was recently tested to be deficient in Mg. My symptoms are overall weakness and fatigue with brain fog and total disorientation and inability to produce words easily. I have always noticed that my symptoms would start or aggravate when i took vit D supplements. Its interesting to see someone else also expericing the same. Since Mg is the co-factor for vit D (along with vit K), I believe that large doses of vit D use up the Mg reserves that depleting the Mg in the cells, resulting in Mg deficiency symptoms. whats your take on this?
I’ve had migraines off and on (which is normal for me anyway) as well as a persistent month-long headache. I have a medical condition in my brain that’s unrelated so when I felt facial tingling I went to the ER. My MRI was normal. They then referred me to a neurologist who ordered an EEG. It was also normal (and NOT fun to have done with a migraine, let me tell you….flashing lights, deliberate hyperventilating….).
I’ve had restless leg syndrome since I was pregnant with my son who is now three and a half years old.
I’ve had dizziness and fogginess, extreme fatigue, abdominal cramping, constipation, and weird insomnia and anxiety too!
A friend told me to look up the symptoms of magnesium deficiency and wow!!! I had no idea these things were all related!! I can’t believe how many people experience this also.
I saw someone mention that omeprizole (sp?) can cause a depletion as well as caffeine use. I am habitual on both of those things.
It’s nice to know maybe there’s a reason why I feel like I do! It has been hard to understand why I am so tired but wake up with my mind racing an be unable to get back to sleep.
I just started my supplement yesterday. Here’s hoping!
These were my symptoms:
gall stones (I’ve had this before, a fist sized cramping pain in my back on the right side)
elevated liver dysfunction (in the normal range but on the higher side consecutively for a year @ 3 month intervals)
blurred vision (excessive blinking wouldn’t help)
stiff shoulders & neck (like a cold wind blew on my back)
cramps in my butt muscles during sleep
massive constipation issues that were not relieved with laxatives
massive chest pains that went from my right side of rib cage to the left, thought I was having a heart attack
GERD (used PHP to keep the excessive stomach acid down)
a feeling of my food not traveling & digesting to my liver fast enough & it felt it was backed up past my stomach hence the stomach pains, abdominal distention & constipation
My family physician sent me to a Gastroenterologist, got about 20 vials of blood tested, all good (don’t think magnesium was tested though), had an endoscopy done, showed I have a hiatus hernia & excessive stomach acid hence the PHP. That was it, ECG was also normal & my blood pressure is bang on.
I did a gall stone cleanse as I knew I had stones & this was the first time I used Epsom Salts (orally) to help dilate my ducts successfully I may add & noticed that all the magnesium sulphate I ingested actually helped me immensely with the above listed symptoms! I am currently on Magnesium citrate/oxide 500mg along with Calm magnesium citrate before bed, apple cider to soften & lecithin to dissolve stones. I’m on week #2 now & it’s getting better & better each day. All my symptoms have pretty much disappeared & I am awaiting for my next liver dysfunction test in 3 weeks to see if there is an improvement & my results of my abdominal ultrasound. I have stopped taking my PHP’s as my digestive issues are now disappearing.
I truly believe that it takes a long time to build up your magnesium levels as it does take a long time for it to deplete in the first place. In my instance, I noticed that my calcium was robbing my magnesium stores therefore depleting me at a faster rate. I will have to figure out a balance of my calcium/magnesium intake once I finish what I am currently doing.
Thank you everyone for your experiences & advice that you have provided, & I will use it as a personal reference guide.
Thank you for all of the information on your page! In the past 6 months I had a unusual uptick in anxiety that lead to panic attacks and a general irritability and sensitivity to everything around me. I felt like I noticed all the aches and pains in my body and that created more anxiety about what was wrong with me.
This all started after trying to work through some issues with IBS that had me eating very little nutrition (crackers and sprite!), and taking Omeprazole every day. Coupled with bad sleep due to digestive issues, and stress with feeling “bad” at work but being embarrassed to explain why…and I could see why I may have a magnesium deficiency! I also started taking calcium supplements since I was not eating dairy because of digestive issues, and now I see that could have also influenced my mag levels.
I just started with the Drs Best Chelated today, and I will do the Calm brand with Melatonin before bed, plus occasional epsom salt baths. I hope this helps, because I tried an anti-anxiety med (Celexa), and the side effects were unbearable.
I am low on Vit D, so I plan to start supplementing that as well, but I’m waiting a week or so to see how the Magnesium goes first.
Thank you so much for all the information and for ALL of these helpful comments.
Since October 2016 I have been having severe heart palpitations. Had been having sporadic and very mild palpitations for years. In January 2017 my cardiologist put me on bp medication to help control the palpitations, it helped very little. On 1/28/17 I started taking Magnesium Oxide, 500 mg and six days later the palpitations stopped, have not had any since. I’m truly surprised the Magnesium worked that quickly but I can attribute the change to nothing else. It’s so good not to have to deal with those palpitations for 6 whole days! What a relief and I hope it lasts!
Glycinate or citrate is better brand mag
My story is an extreme and temporary case of magnesium deficiency. I had severe stomach/abdominal cramps/spasms that came out of nowhere, just when I was healing well from a c-section (10 days post delivery). The cramps were so severe I could only walk hunched over and had me in tears for over 24 hours.
I was having trouble lifting my son and ever little movement he made against my abdomen had me crying out in pain. Nothing worked to relieve the pain. The cramps were like a continual muscle spasm that would not release. This coupled with the tenderness from the stitching from the c-section was awful.
I thought I probably had gastro but no over the counter gastro meds helped. This all happened on a public holiday so visiting the doctor wasn’t an option and gut instinct told me, while painful, this didn’t need an emergency hospital visit.
By some fluke I was researching the NSAIDs I’d been taking and came across the fact these are known to deplete magnesium stores when taken for longer periods – in my case 10 days. That coupled with no supplementation during pregnancy (not usually recommended) and a stressful delivery plus lower leg cramps in the days preceding the stomach spasms suggested I had a magnesium deficiency.
In desperation I asked my sweet husband to go out and buy a magnesium supplement. He bought a balanced mag supplement and I have to be honest, I took a triple dose (1000mg). Within a few hours the spasms had started to release, I could get out of bed without whimpering and stand up in a less hunched over position. I definitely believe my symptoms were due to a magnesium deficiency resolved by a simple supplement even though I don’t have a history of magnesium deficiency and am quite healthy.
Works like a charm for me!! My anxiety/panic attack sprung up on 22 October 2015 on my way to work. At the time, I thought I was having a heart attack at the early age of 31. It was horrindous.
My story thru the anxiety is about the same as any. 5 ER visits, all normal..labs,ekg,etc.. Even wore a holter monitor (cardiac event monitor)for 30 days…nada. My ECG…? “Boringly normal” as the cardiologist said. Then moved on to a gastroenterologist. (Anxiety causing GERD and LPR). No joy. Finally accepted I had anxiety and filled that script…
But, before I took the script, I found this site and holy cow it works!!!! I started soaking my feet in 1 cup of Epsom salt to about 3 gallons of water every night. Never felt better. It’s only been about 1 month but I feel better. Not 100% yet but I’m getting there. I definitely feel the edge coming back if I miss a day or two. I just recently starting the Mg supplement suggested above with a B complex. Definitely works!!
Wow I’ve been suffering from similar symptoms since 2015 after inhd my son. The symptoms are on and off but this time around this symptoms have lasted 6 months straight! It’s so debilitating.. especially trying to be an energetic mom to a 2 yr old! I also work so it’s been difficult.
My symptoms include bad anxiety, tingles on my head sometimes legs or arms, being tired, and also the fuzziness/ dizziness I call it the “drunk feeling” because there are times I feel like a had a shot of vodka.
I’ve gotten countless blood test done for horrible diseases such as, lupus escleroderma, MS, thyroid, diabetes, high cholesterol.. and so on. Thank God I tested negative to all of these. My neurologist did a CT of my brain and said it was normal, she says it’s anxiety..she tried shoving some pills down my throat but I refuse to take it.
I also went to the ENT and they tested me for vertigo and other hearing or vision problem and I tested negative. I have 20/20 vision!
I read some similar article a week ago about magnesium deficiency and it fit all my symptoms! No doctor’s know what’s wrong with me.. i went and bought Natures Best magnesium vitamins 250gm.. I’ve been taking them for about a week and my fuzzy feeling is way better.. My anxiety has gotten a bit worse and I h e noticed a slight headache..and I feel a bit tired still.. I will see my doc in a about a week.
I forgot to mention my blood test showed my magnesium level was not low nor high.. but I wanted to give it a shot just because all the symptoms fit.
Thanks for reading and sry about all the grammar errors.
I would appreciate your feedback.
I have similar symptoms of feeling drunk and fuzzy brain feeling. I’m going to try mag supplements. I have good vision too but found out I have vertical heterophoria. Look into finding a nuero opthamologist. My eyes are not aligned. I tried wearing the prism glasses and felt worse so now I’m trying to find a vision therapist. Good luck!
Hi Jennifer!
Thanks for replying!! So I’ve been on this magnesium 250 gm vitamin, 1 daily.. it’s been about TWO weeks and I feel GREAT!!
The fist week of taking the magnesium was a bit tough because my anxiety got worse, slight headache, and light diarrhea. All those symptoms slowly faded away.. The “drunk feeling” had gotten sooo much better.! I can actually drive better.. anxiety is a bit better too! Sometimes I get that “drunk sensation” when I’m in a crowded place like a mall or market, or a place with lots of colors and patterns.. weird! But other than that.. it has gotten soooo much better and I’ve had more energy.
Who knew one magnesium vitamin could change my life!
Hi Vanessa!
I hope to find you well… it’s almost a year since your last post.You were two weeks taking MG supplement that date.
I have the same symptoms as you therefore I am interested to know how you feel now ? Anxiety , panic attacks, foggy , weird drunk feeling ???
I would appreciate if you can share your experience .
Thanks
Chris
I would like
Very good. Same here. Was on low carb (too low actually) diet and was seeing good results. The bad, had an episode where I wasn’t feeling right then anxiety/panic set in. ER visit, all good. Cardio visit, perfect. Gastro, fairly good, just mild GERD. Still had waves of panic. Found 2 things…low blood sugar helping lead to anxiety/panic which depletes Mg stores with hormone binding. This leads to low Potassium/Sodium balance which starts cramping. Plus, for months to years I have had problems swallowing and with sunlight. So, move to today. After a recent mild panic attack, I ate some bananas. Within minutes I was leveling out. I had been supplementing with some magnesium but switch to a more bio-available type. Going to try the epsom salts tonight. Hopefully, I have figured this out and can continue to get better and better results.
Hi! I copied and pasted a text I wrote on my personal Facebook page about my discovery of magnesium and my deficiency of it – hope it will give hope to someone out there!
After suffering panic attacks and anxiety almost all summer long I have finally found freedom! Anyone who has experienced the above knows how scary and debilitating this can be but it need not be. With a healthy curiosity, a lot of searching and reading I figured out what was wrong with me; a simple lack of magnesium. It’s a chemical that plays part in over 300 bodily functions and if sufficiently depleted all kinds of strange things can happen, anxiety and panic attacks being high on the list.
Understanding that the panic response isn’t harmful, just unpleasant and that it is actually there to help you was the first step in getting more comfortable when one would occur. If you’re going through this on a regular basis I suggest you Google Dr. Claire Weekes’ and Dr. David Carbonell’s various videos, articles and his website to get you to a better understanding and to calm yourself down a bit.
I also suggest looking up Magnesium deficiency and have a read about the link between it and anxiety/panic and how both can be remedied by supplementing. The majority is stored in the bones so a blood test is not always conclusive. Of course, check with your doctor or pharmacist to ensure there are no interactions with medications you may be currently taking before starting treatment or if you suffer from kidney problems and, if you’re good to go, taking a magnesium supplement is worth a shot; it can only be good for you. Magnesium is considered the natural chill pill and it lives up to the hype.
Looking back, caffeine and alcohol consumption coupled with quite of bit of stressful events and a mediocre diet were the culprits for me; all three contribute to magnesium depletion. Anti-anxiety medications will calm you down but they are a temporary solution, can be addictive and only serve to mask the problem. I felt deep down that what was happening wasn’t typically ‘me’ and that I’m not a person unable to handle stress. If you see yourself in that statement, all the more reason to try what worked for me.
I have been taking ZMA+ by Mutant, 3 capsules (450mg magnesium) before bed with a full glass of water for a week and the anxiety and attacks have completely vanished. I felt an almost immediate improvement after the second dose. ZMA+ also contains Vitamin B6 and Zinc which also contribute to general well-being. It’s available through GNC stores for about $30, or through online retailers for a bit less (product link at bottom of text). There are many types of magnesium, some may upset the bowel but the above brand has not caused any issues!
Again, check with your doctor (kidney problems) or pharmacist to ensure there are no issues. Don’t drink alcohol or ingest caffeine while supplementing; it gets rid of the good stuff you’re attempting to replenish. Don’t take longer than 2 months but that should be more than enough.
I’m not plugging any product, I just wanted to get this out there because in talking with people, anxiety issues and magnesium deficiency seem to be far more present and common than one would think. My wish through this post is that this may help someone suffering through attacks and get them back to a calmer state of being. It’s worth a try. Thanks for reading :-)
Be careful with magnesium or it will cause you what you´re trying to fix. I began taking magnesium because I had anxiety attacks and panick attacks. I began to feel better and suddenly all got worst. I became intoxicated because I did not take enough calcium and potassium. And that with just 250 mgs of mag. Now I can´t take not even 50 mg of magnesium or I will have worst panick attacks and anxiety and bad reactions. It´s awful. I´m taking now calcium alone to fix this mess.
Nutrients don´t work alone. In food, magnesium never comes alone. Usually comes with a lot of magnesium and calcium or a lot of potassium and a little calcium, but never alone. Have this in consideration. If you take magnesium with calcium you will overcome also the deficiency and you will prevent to mess with other electrolytes. I even had worst panick attacks than before when I took too much magnesium without other electrolytes, agoraphobia and my heart went crazy, all muscles stiff and urinating a lot. I could not even sleep 10 minutes. Too much of anything is bad. Nobody says this in internet. They tell you, take more and more magnesium but they won´t prevent you from mess with the other nutrients and cofactors.
I was experiencing dizziness, muscle spasms, anxiety attacks, severe weakness, blurred vision, heart palpitations and headaches. I thought it was my blood pressure and went to see my primary physician. After being given a low dosage b/p medicine that contained a diuretic I felt even worse. Finally I decided I could not go on as my job was at risk and I could not care for my 2 and 7 year old son’s. On a Wednesday morning I went to the emergency room, convinced it was my heart, or I’d suffered a stroke. I was admitted for observation. They took chest x-rays, cat scans and numerous other test which all were negative for abnormal brain or heart functions. What did come back extremely low was my magnesium. Today is Monday and I am much better. I’ve been taking 600 mg of magnesium times a day along with a multivitamin. I’m also soaking twice a day in Epsom salt with clay and ginger. The difference in only five days us extraordinary! The fogginess dissipated today and i’m feeling even better than before the deficiency diagnosis. I’m committed to making healthy changes in my diet and exercise regimen as this was the most frightening experience I’ve had.
You guys should not supplement with Vitamin D if you have a tendency to Mag Deficiency. I found out I had Vitamin D deficiency so I started to supplement. I have always needed magnesium because I suffer from anxiety and nervous issues. Well, Vitamin D always induces me a magnesium deficiency, even small amounts. But this only happens with the supplement. I was 11 ng/ml in Vitamin D at the beginning of the summer and after sunbathing all the summer my levels were 76 ng/ml and the sun never, never caused me the same thing with magnesium as the supplement. So be very careful with Vitamin D if you suffer from mag deficiency or you will end up with unimaginable horrible issues, I began to have anxiety and panick attacks that did not away, horrible vertigo etc.
By the way, you must be also careful if you take too much isolated magnesium of you will mess up with other electrolytes. In my opinion one should not take just magnesium more than 7-10 days. If you take it with calcium at the same time you will overcome also the deficiency because your body will absorbe more magnesium than calcium but you won´t mess with other electrolytes. In food, magnesium never comes alone. Usually comes with a lot of magnesium and calcium or a lot of potassium and a little calcium, but never alone. It´s not true that you don´t absorb magnesium if you take it with calcium. If that were true then we would not absorb magnesium from the food because it never comes alone. You try to fix something and mess with others.
Take care everybody. Health is so important.
I meant that magnesium in food always comes with a lot of calcium and some potassium or a lot of potassium and some calcium, but never alone.
Has anyone come down with plantars faciitis due to magnesium deficiency? I have alot of the symptoms described here on this site…fatigue, anxiety, restless legs, tight muscles, foggy thinking, etc. Have been taking magnesium supplement for about 3 weeks now…still struggling with leg tightness and have now had a severe reoccurence of heel pain. Just wondering if anyone else has had plantars and if it was relieved by taking magnesium?
After months of dealing with pain from plantar facitis, this is what worked for me. Noticeable relief in a week, here’s the link. https://youtu.be/gXdlPuKfyXs
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I have almost the same symptoms and started taking magnesium and noticed the improvements. My only problem is finding the right dosage.
Can you please help with that. And how much did you take?
Thanks.
I have been having symptoms for a few months now. Dr. put me on a magnesium supplement and symptoms wee getting worse. I just went back today and he wants me to try banana tea a more natural way to get magnesium and he stated my body will absorb the magnesium at higher levels without getting the side effect of diarrhea. I am hoping it works since the RLS and dizziness is getting very annoying.
Get some magcalm from Amazon. Also chelated magnesium won’t cakes the tummy upset. Or you can get magnesium lotion or oil. All of these things can be found on Amazon. I also recommend the book magnesium miracle. Doing a combo of different types of magnesium will ensure better absorption. It will take some time. I’m in my fourth week and just now feeling semi decent. Magnesium is an amazing mineral. I just wish the medical community knew the symptoms so we all could have been treated faster. Best of luck to you!
Wow have been rambling to find out what’s wrong with me and came across mag def hoping this will help me had really bad year baby died and was poorly after with low iron for a couple of week and high stress with funeral to sort etc etc since then I’ve been heart rate up and down dizzy fuzzy head heavy head tight neck numb arms and hands tingling head nausea headaches migraines ears buzz off balance the list goes on have been to gp and a&e even had an overnight stay nothing found told me nil pathology ? And anxiety I have never suffered from anxiety I’m anxious because of how I feel I made a bad move of looking on google who informed me I had a brain tumour am glad I looked on Google today though because I’ve come across this and I’m so hoping it will help they’ve give me citarloplam but I don’t want to take it I’m not depressed I’m extremely confused as to why I feel the way I do
I’ve been dealing with magnesium deficiency for years. And it has been uncomfortable. But it was all put in to perspective when I read you lost a baby. Dear Lord I am so sad and moved by your situation. I’m here at work with tears in my eyes and for once zero focus on MY symptoms. I would like to say this: may you find peace and comfort and the love of your Higher Source. I’ve lost so many people (I’m only 53) but never a child. I hope that you feel the spirit of your child for his/her spirit definitely lives on. Finally, may Jesus hold you in the palm of His hand now and forever. And if you are tuned in to another Higher Power or Saint, or whatever, may you find strength in the magic of the helping non-Physical Source Energy that abounds. With love. W.
One very interesting thing is that gastrointestinal absorption of Magnesium is very inefficient once you’ve gone over a 10mEq dosage (about 123mg.) Over that, the absorption quickly drops to only 7% (if my understanding of this study is correct.) So I was making the mistake of taking 400mg of Magnesium Glycinate once a day before bed so really I was only absorbing around 143mg. This means if you are trying to correct a deficiency you are better off taking like a 150-200mg dose 3 times a day (with each meal) in my opinion to make sure you are getting an adequate amount regardless of your dietary intake. It is interesting the label recommends two tablets of 400mg on my brand. Either the manufacturer was not aware of this study and/or they just want you to go through the bottle faster – or more likely they just want to recommend an amount that is closer to the RDA for marketing purposes.
Here’s the study summary:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC295344/
Correction, absorption quickly drops to 11% but eventually plateaus out at 7%.
You can calculate your absorption using the graph in the bottom right here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC295344/?page=4
1 mEq = 12.3mg of Magnesium
So a 200mg supplement in the form similar to what they used for this study would be about 16 mEq which approximately 4.5mEq is absorbed which is about 55mg. So you’d get 165mg taking a 200mg supplement (in the same form as the study) three times a day. So now I’m thinking maybe 400mg three times a day is a better dose if you are just starting out trying to correct a significant deficiency and then after 6 months you probably could lower it assuming you are getting sufficient magnesium from your diet to make of the difference to meet the RDA. However if are in a situations where you are excreting higher than normal magnesium (high stress, etc.) then it might be good to stay on the high does since Magnesium at these does levels is very safe.
A good start might be a breakfast consisting of a bowl of old fashioned whole grain oatmeal, with yogurt and black strap molasses added, and a handful of rasins and almonds. Lots of great taste, texture, magnesium & other essential nutrients that work together to make you totally healthy.
I’ve had come and go symptoms consisting of vertigo/dizziness, nausea, anxiety for a very long time (at least a decade), but the recent symptoms got my attention. I started having fully blown anxiety and/or panic attacks, heart palpitations, and CONSTANT muscle twitching! I thought I was dying. My otherwise normal blood pressure also spiked to 160/100. I went to minor med twice only to be told I was fine and stressed and needed to learn to cope better. My PCP told me I was stressed, too. I accepted that answer and tried to go on with life. Until the attacks came. I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Doctors are telling me I’m too stressed, but I don’t understand how. So I went looking for alternatives and found magnesium. The twitching decreased DRASTICALLY the very first day. If I forget a pill, the twitching comes back. I’ve only been on it for 2 weeks, but I haven’t had an anxiety/panic attack in 5 days either (and they’d been coming daily). So I have hope! My blood pressure has been reading 115/90 this week. I’m hoping a little longer on the magnesium will continue to lower that reading as well. So thankful to have found other people who thought they were going crazy and weren’t!
Omg our symptoms are identical! I had the sporadic high blood pressure, accompanied by major anxiety and body twitches. I have had to quit my job from the stress and physical symptoms. Today I tried magnesium glycinate and it was an immediate response. I felt calm and my blood pressure was normal for the first time in I can’t even tell you how long. I haven’t even had to take Ativan all day, which I was living off of for weeks. I need to find a doctor now that will help me find any other vitamin deficiencies. I know I have the mthfr gene mutation so maybe this is related?
i also have the mthfr mutation and struggled with mag. deficiency. my symptoms were exactly what the article described. right now i’m hitting my 2 month mark and the dizziness is gone but i have the faint weird mind trip where it feesl like im not in real life.. i take folate for my mthfr deficiency which helps a lot. I can get the name off the bottle for you when i get home.
I have MTHFR also. Love the way you described fuzzy brain feeling!!! That’s exactly how I feel. What mag supplement do you take and how much???? Thanks!!
Will u please give us an update on your condition
Hi!! Did your muscle twitching stop?! Thank you!!!
I started taking a simple magnesium supplement a few months back, as about a year ago i came down with awful anxiety, panic attacks, heart palps, dizziness and the whole lot daily. Thought i was seriously dying because i had no clue what the panic attacks were at first. I had a heart ablation done when i was 18 (28 now) for svt and i di have episodes now and then, but these racing heart episodes were not as bad, id just go into panic and fear them horribly…making it worse. Did a lot of research, as i did not do well with anxiety meds…made me feel even crazier, and discovered the idea that i was mg deficient. I dont noticeany side effects from the supplements, though my anxiety exhausts me and makes me feel so lousy i am not sure i would notice another symptom. I do notice that if i keep up on a daily dose of 250 mg i feel better slowly over a week or two. And if i start feeling better and not worrying, i start to forget to take them and before i know it a week or so has gone by without my magnesium and i slowly starts falling back into my shaky, dizzy, panicking ways. Definitely realizing i need to keep up on them.perhaps if magnesium is not fixing things for you look into where else you may be deficient? Or even a different type of supplement. Like i said, mine is a simple pill form, low dose. Start off small and work up to find a dose thats right for you! Good luck everyone.
I know it’s been almost a yr but how are u feeling?? Are u taking magnesium? I have similar symptoms and I’ve had all kinds of blood works and CT and MRI’s and I’m good.. docs don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve also started on a low dose of magnesium vitamins from Natures Best 250 gm, one pill per day. It’s been a week and the fuzzy brain fog has gotten a lot better but my anxiety is still there.
I see my doc in a week to let him know about this vitamin I’m taking and get his perspective on it because my magnesium showed not to be low now high in my labs.
I know it’s been almost a yr but how are u feeling?? Are u taking magnesium? I have similar symptoms and I’ve had all kinds of blood works and CT and MRI’s and I’m good.. docs don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve also started on a low dose of magnesium vitamins from Natures Best 250 gm, one pill per day. It’s been a week and the fuzzy brain fog has gotten a lot better but my anxiety is still there.
I see my doc in a week to let him know about this vitamin I’m taking and get his perspective on it because my magnesium showed not to be low now high in my labs.
to me it took just one night to get rid of nightly leg cramps i’ve had for years. i have to take like at least 450 mg magnesium per day (Innate in this case), 300 mg is not enough for me though, so i take 600mg (since one tablet is 300mg), i dont know if there are even a better magnesium – like bisglycinate, ive heard it’s even better due to more bioavailability, so im gonna go check it up anyway.
Sorry, im not an english speaking person as some can see. take care out there :)
I have been reading that the best Magnesium Supplement is Magnesium Chloride, virtually 100% bioavialibility with a good daily dosage being 500-700mg per day. I think I’ll start low and take more if needed, found a supplement for pretty cheap at Vitamin Shoppe.
Hi I have a few questions and a brief of my story.
So I’m 25 and last year I had constant dizziness / off balance / feeling out of my own body / couldn’t concentrate / low mood / light sensitivity /tension around my head, eyes and jaw that all lead to feeling so depressed as I had it EVERY day! My doctor took 4 blood test over 6 months and nothing was coming back . I was so down and my family thought it was all in my head . I kept a food diary thinking it was gluten or dairy intorence . So I heard about a local doctor who specialised in alternative medicine and allegies. He had 4 month waiting list so over Xmas 2014 I got so low I ended up in the doctors again to try find something . Yet again I was given anti biotics for sinus and I knew it was not an infection . I didn’t take them and I felt best at ease lying down on a dark room. My apical nf work life was being effected . I got my appointment with the alternative doctor in Feb 15 and results back 4 weeks later with magnisium decifency. I was delighted he found something . Took 300mg tablets as the powder tasted so bad after 2 weeks . Started them in March and found I was cured from that dead headache around Augest . I was on 1 tablet every day for 3 months then 4 times a week . I stopes taken them in July 15 and got my symptoms all back 2 weeks ago so sround the second week of Jan 16. And started back the tablets 4 weeks ago. Could they trigger the headaches before cruring then ?? Should I be taken magnisium all the time for the rest of my life and not break ?? I’m also taken oregano oil (3 months )and vitamin D (1 week) I can’t go through another year of totally down and confusion so sny advice . Higher dosage ? Thanks SJ x
If you’re low on Mag, taking Vit D will give cause headaches, anxiety or just make you feel really bad. What worked for me was using Mag Oil Spray for a week and then started Vit D. I also supplement with Omega 3 oil that contains Vit A & K. Just remember to not take the Omega 3 and Mag at the same time. I take the Omega 3 at lunch and the Mag oil in the morning and before I go to bed.
You might want to try Holy Basil as well. It helps with your digestive system and contains Vit K which is essential for Vit D absorption. Vit D gets absorbed in your gut.
Holy Basil is truly remarkable!
Give it a week or two…
Why not omega 3 and mag at same time? Can you provide a link in this please? Thank you.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/546011-can-fish-oil-be-taken-the-same-time-as-magnesium/his is because omega 3 can lower your blood pressure and magenesium might as well… it’s just precautionary.
Don’t ever rely on a Livestrong article for accurate information. They are written by freelance writers with ZERO training or qualifications in medicine or health. I shoild know, I used to write for them.
Hey there! I am also 25 and have been dealing with this grueling problem since December 2015. At first I obviously didn’t know what it could be. It started as a small pain in my right upper arm and then it went on with other muscle, joint and bone pains all over my body. Of course I freaked out, especially as all the doctors told me it was nothing and that I should wait. After I while, my family also started wondering whether everything was in my head or not. Somewhere in March I began having muscle twitches , my face became numb, all sorts of tinglings took over my limbs and, of course, my heart started racing in a completely random manner. As I got almost no answers from the doctors, I searched the Internet for weeks, which both freaked me out (as I found my symptoms in all kind of diseases) and, eventually helped me. As for the vitamin D cure, I do not recommend it in this case. I took it for like a month (the tests showed I was deficient), but as I was already Mg deficient (which did not show when tested!), my Mg dropped even more. It was when I began having the neurological symptoms. Try fixing the Mg problem first and only after that the vitamin D problem (and only if your vitamin D test shows a deficiency). As for my recovery, I keep cutting off the list things and habits that might slower it – coffee, calcium supplement, tobacco, stress, soda etc. I feel better now, but the symptoms don’t just go away that easily. I have better and worse days, but overall I am better. I am also thinking of trying Mg oil and switching my Mg citrate supplement with glicinate and taurate ones. All the best! :) P.S. Maybe you should take Mg for 2-3 weeks, periodically, even after the symptoms are gone, so as to prevent a new deficiency.
I could have written your description of symptoms. I have a b12 deficiency but magnesium comes up okay. I initially went to the dr only with twinges of pain all over no other significant symptoms. Now I have the pain twinges in my extremities and tingling in arms legs face, twitching all over. I also have anxiety and have been scouring the Internet for answers. My dr is treating me for a b12. Was wondering how you are now.
Sounds very much like Multiple Sclerosis. Has your doctor sent you for a Brain MRI with and without Gadolinium Contrast? If not you might want to ask for a referral. A good look at the White Matter of the Brain, as well as Demylination and Plaque will be a good indicator.
As for Magnesium, many supplements do not work because they are not correctly Chelated. Magnesium bound by Chelation, either to Taurate or Glycinate are the best. The ONLY company I have been able to find which offers a true “Chelate” is Kirkman Labs in Utah. Kirkman Labs offers 2 different Chelated Magnesiums that use the Albion Chelation Process. One is Kirkman Buffered Magnesium Bisglycinate, the second is Magnesium Bisglycinate not buffered. These Magnesiums are tested for over 950 contaminants including Mold, Yeast, Bacteria and Viruses. All heavy metals are tested by Kirkman. Wonderful line and has worked for many people.
Good luck
hi
i m facing the same problem….. after taking mag citerate for 10 months 2*200mg i stopped it and all my symptoms came back after 10 days……i stopped bcaus it was causing drowsiness and headache. also my blood level reached 2.0. don’t know what to do…
2.0 is not dangerous. The blood only yields about 1.0
Have you tried Mag Bisglycinate?
Kirkman Buffered Mag Bisglycinate works very well for alot of people.
One of the reasons for the Anxiety could very well be Cortisol. Adrenal Fatigue, and excess Cortisol. A good Mag product helps remove excess Cortisol and let the Adrenals rest. Also, if you are low in Magnesium and taking Vitamin D3 or Vitamin B6 that could very well be aggravating the Anxiety. B6 is notorious for being neuroexcitatory, causing Anxiety restlessness even in 2 or 3mg doses, for some people. Be very careful about B6 in doses above 2mg a day if you suffer Panic Attacks or Anxiety.
SJ I can relate!! Same symptoms!! Any changes as of now? At 1st when u saw the alternative doc how low was your magnesium??
Wow! All of this is very interesting. I just started taking chelated Mag because I read that deficiency was indicated in both tinnitus & light sensitivity, which I have & it drives me nuts. Now after looking at all these comments, I have many of these other issues on occasion, restless legs, migraines, fogginess, and more. Going to see how the Mag works. Need to get it balanced with Calcium & D3 too.
One excellent way to supplement Mg is to take epsom salt baths & epsom salt foot soaks (Google it). The magnesium is absorbed through the skin & the sulfate acts as a detoxification. I supplement my daily oral intake with a nightly foot soak & epsom salt baths twice a week. I began this journey to regain my health due to a severe Vitamin D deficiency (4.4ng/ml-Google it)…please everyone get your D level checked or @ least supplement…almost everyone in the USA is deficient in MG & Vitamin D. Doctors do not test for Vitamin D deficiency…I was near death…my body was shutting down…my Dr could not find anything wrong & referred me to an endrocrinologist who tested for it thank heavens!
Hi, I started taking magnesium about a week ago. For the first few days I felt an improvement, but after a few days I began to feel this really weird feeling, like things weren’t real just as you described. After taking it a few more days it turned into full blown depersonalization. If I stop the magnesium for a few days, the depersonalization goes away, and comes back if I start taking it again. Why would this be?
Hi Shelby, seems its the same as mentioned by Andrew as “vague fuzziness” where things don’t seem to be real. I also started Mg Citrate, 4 days ago, and it seems like things are not real. However, I am not taking a higher dose almost 200mg/day on avg. What it is doing is that it is making me more anxious.
That may be due to the relaxing and calming effect on CNS, which our bodies are not much accustomed to. Might get well over time..
Hi Saad,
Yes, it seems to make my anxiety worse also. I can’t figure out why. I have tried taking it on and off for over two months, and I still get the not real feeling every time I take it. Let me know if the feeling goes away for you! I will do the same :)
I am looking forward to change the Mg compound. Because, I fit into many symptoms of Mg deficiency, restlessness, urge to keep moving, etc, I would definitely give it more tries. One important thing to see whether this effect is being compounded by some other recent changes in your system. I came off Seroxat 2 months ago, and it is known that sleepiness (which I have been feeling a lot before taking Mg), is the AD withdrawal symptom. So might be the effect is being compounding.
I guess we should start with a very low dose, and see if that is well tolerated, then slowly increase.
Hi Shelby,
Do you seem fatigued out even when you are not taking the Mg supplementation?
Hi Saad,
Yes, I have felt fatigued pretty constantly for a couple of years. I thought magnesium might help this. But I haven’t noticed it making much of a difference as far as fatigue goes. Is the magnesium still causing the not real feeling for you?
I recently started taking chelated magnesium to help with anxiety and a recently acquired abnormal heart rhythm.
I haven’t experienced depersonalisation or headaches and the anxiety and palps have ceased. However, my leg muscles have become sore and have started fluttering/twitching when I’m resting. Is this usual when taking magnesium or shall I stop taking it? I’ve been on 350mg a day.
Hi Shelby,
I have searched quite a bit on the net regarding this. And it seems that fatigue is a cause of Mg deficiency, and when if it remains unaddressed for sometime, then adding Mg would cause it to worsen, because, Mg offsets Na (sodium) and K (potassium), and would further lower the blood pressure (and hence heart palps, Veronica). So, the rule is to add a little sea-salt to the diet (1/4 tsp with every pint of water), and start real real slow. Goto link below and see page 50.
http://drcarolyndean.com/im_p1.pdf
Having said so, one needs to be well hydrated as well. I am waiting for Glycinate to arrive and will give that a try.
Quote/unquote from another source, same author;
2. You’re taking too much: You can also feel worse on magnesium if you take too much, too soon. This usually happens if you have (adrenal) fatigue and weakness from magnesium deficiency. Anyone in this category should start very slowly on any new supplement or drug. If you take a high dose of magnesium right from the start it’s like using muscles that powered a bicycle and expect them to power a jet. Your body might just be so weak that revving up 800 enzyme systems all at once makes you feel jangled and even anxious or depressed because you don’t know what’s going on. Please try to understand that this may actually mean that you really do need more magnesium. Start with one quarter of the recommended dose of magnesium and work up as your body adapts.
Thank you for this info! I too felt symptoms get worse!
I just started to take Magnesium as recommended by a doctor for heart arrythmia and cannot sleep after taking and feel like I drank 10 cups of coffee, which I don’t do since I am very caffeine sensitive. I am so wired and last night in bed I had the shudders and the only way to relieve it was to fold over and stay in childs pose (yoga move). That calmed down the shudders. I take 125 mg of Magnesium glycinate in the morning, it causes diarrhea and then another one at night that causes nervousness and no sleep. I must just be sensitive to it. I may try breaking open the capsule in a drink and only doing half that amount. This is the only change I have made, I am not on meds for arrythmia since I did not like the side effects of those either.
Hello, I took magnesium for conctepation I felt really tired and had some anxiety. The back of my neck hurt really bad. Now my face feels tingly around my jaw area and my head feels really heavy. I feel really tired. Has anybody experience any of these symptoms and how long before they go away..
Hi Julie,
Magnesium seems to make my anxiety worse too. It even gives me anger issues, and I am not an angry person, but when I take magnesium, it causes this for some reason.
Veronica, sorry my above post that says Julie was meant for you! :)
Hi, I have been taking magnesium 400mg.. twice a week for about a month and have not seen any changes.
I have sleep medication perscribed by my doctor but it suddenly quit working.
I read about magnesium and decided to try it.
How long does it take?
I have been on medication for over 20 years now
Some medications block the absorption of magnesium in the system. Do some research to see if that’s the case with you.
You probably need to balance other minerals along with the magnesium. I’ve been thru the same thing with magnesium and wasn’t able to tolerate it until I started using ReMyte along with it.
Hi Andrew!
Thank you for this informational web site! I stared taking Solgar Chelated Magnesium back on October 17, 2015. I started off with 200 mg and then would take between 200 & 300 mg at night. This magnesium did have the glycinate form. However, 3 nights ago I have not been able to sleep. So I went back to Vitamin Shoppe and talked to the manager, and changed my magnesium as oxide, and wished I would not have. I wanted to know which magnesium you suggest or helped you that is in the glycinate form and the dosage.
Thank you for your help! :))
Hi Julie. You can see the forms of magnesium I am currently taking along with their doses here:
https://www.mymagnesiumdeficiency.info/best-magnesium-supplement/
I am constantly testing various forms and brands and as I find ones I really like I add them to the page above, so it is always updated with what is currently working the best for me :)
I was prescribed magnesium by my homeopathic doctor just under two years ago and it changed my life. I had daily headaches and chronic migraines as well as heart palpitations and restless legs. I take prescription magnesium Chl solution 12.5% which is compounded by Mayo pharmacy. I experienced a relief in symptoms within several days and I never forget to fill my magnesium! My doctor advised me this is the best way to get the magnesium and I mix with water or juice to administer. I highly recommend this type. I have tried some of the chelated magnesium from a high quality vendor and not had the same results.
Hello Everyone,
My stories is I have symptoms of low moods, I might be happy doing something then before I know it my mood has dropped.
My doctor told me to take anti depressants..anyway after doing some research on the net I looked into Magnesium deficiency . I do not get migraines or dizzy spells or heart racing etc just low moods…..
I decided to take the cheapest magnesium form which is oxide and boy my mood just went up, I felt at peace, no anxiety. I took 375 mg of Magnesium oxide which is supposed to be not the best form, I have tried magnesium citrate and I get no effect. I tried glycerinate form too but no effect, I was wondering would be ok to take 2 per day 375mg oxide or not?
Please give response to this….
Thank you everyone….
Just diagnosed with magnesium deficiency. I also take oxide. Dr said try the dies for a week. If tolerated add one pill. Try that for a week and keep following this routine. If you get to the point if diarrhea then back down to the previous dose. You get GI response when you are taking more than your body needs. He says a lot of people are so deficient they can tolerate quite a lot. I’ve also read that splitting the dose may help it that long acting magnesium can help you tolerate a higher dose.
My neurologist prescribed 250mg the times a day or 400mg (if sold that way)twice a day
Three *times a day
Wonder if the 375 mg was working, why you increased the dosage. If you have kept it up at the 2x a day, has that made a difference, or, weren’t you taking the 375 mg long enough to know if the 375 mg was sufficient.
I’m just now trying 250 mg oxide.
If the once a day is working for you then I wouldn’t up it. You have to make sure that you kidney function is good. If your taking in too much magnesium you can damage your kidney.
Hi all,
I’m so worried as not sleeping at all, I have ME and tried magnesium for three weeks but was making my ME worse (I’m very sensitive) so I stopped last week and starting picking up a little but now I can’t sleep, sometimes I go to bed at 9.30-10 as I did last few nights but not getting to sleep just tossing and turning and needing the loo every hour, it’s getting worse last night I did not drop off till 2.30.
Has anyone heard of it having this effect?
Thank you xx
I’ve been researching this a lot as I just got diagnosed with magnesium deficiency. My dr said try it at bedtime (I already had been supplementing but he said to increase the dose–I had been taking in morning). He said it helps relax you and helps you sleep. I’ve had insomnia now though. I’ve read that for a small number of oropke magnesium can actually make you wired and energized. I may try in the morning again instead.
Consider what other supplements are you taking, and what prescription medications you are taking, as well as diet. We all need to look at interactions.
I stumbled upon this page today… and went out and bought magnesium and calcium with Vit D. Have had so many problems with standard prescriptions I could just scream. I quit going to the doctor. All he ever does is put me on more medicine. I have such high allergic reactions to things, and it is incredibly frustrating being rushed to urgent care because of anaphylactic reaction – which has happened way more than once.
Ailments: constipation (OMG – the worst!! Cannot go at all without help from laxatives – been that way for more years than I can remember. I settle for once a week and schedule a day around it – pathetic I know), indigestion/heartburn, now level 2 HBP (170s/100s), heart palpitations and pauses, high pulse rate (even at rest – never under 105), feet neuropathy (non-diabetic), nerve damage from a shoulder and neck injury, asthma, lower back pain, tendinitis, and weight gain (60+ lbs in 2 years).
I don’t know what else to do. Anything is worth a shot. Hoping this magnesium/calcium supplement helps.
Have a cardiologist test you for POTS postural orthostatic tachycardia. Not very many doctors know about it. Look it up first, you seem to have a lot of it’s symptoms.
You know, I’m sure, that chronic use of laxatives suggests to the body that it needs them in order to function. If you are taking proton pump inhibitors, you would want to look at supplement and drug interactions. I am sorry you are having such difficulties.
Highly recommend you read the Immune System Recovery Plan by Susan Blum MD. Especially if you are struggling to find a supportive doc. It’s a great book with many tools to help you begin healing yourself and understanding symptoms, ailments and how are bodies respond to things.
Charity,
How much fiber do you get every day? My mom had really bad constipation from prednisone. The only thing that worked for her was Fiber One cereal mixed in yogurt. One cup of the ORIGINAL kind has 28 grams of fiber.
First thing you could do is simple. Start and stick to a moderate non-impact exercise routine ie: walking 20 – 30 minutes a day (not yoga) and couple it with getting ALL the crap out of your diet (caffeine (all), alcohol (all), added sugar, fast food/high inflammatory foods and “bad” fats / add in whole foods (nuts,seeds,fruit,veg lean meat and take a multivitamin)….to lose the 60 pounds. There is A LOT you can do….start with the problem/causes not the symptoms.
Hi there! Ended up on this website while searching on how long until mag suplements kick in.
I’m also just starting on this journey of self-medicating with mag. Really thought I was suffering from hypotyrheosis, but the tests didn’t show any thyroid problems, and my doctor didn’t even attempt to test for vitamin deficiency so I’m joining the rest of you in a life of beeing an magnesium guinea-pig!
Currently on 675 mg of mag daily (starting yesterday morning, been on 250 mg for a while but no change so decided on upping it), half the dose I’m taking with my morning coffea, and the rest on the afternoon. I was honestly surprised on how fast you feel normal, I was back on normal level energy yesterday afternoon, that was the first time in a month I felt good!
However the tiredness, foggyness and dizzyness returned the next day (today), pretty much an all time high aswell, got to a point where I almost get an out of body experience, I can’t feel my body the way you normally feel it, and with that a sensation of extreme dizzyness. Never on the verge of fainting though, it’s like a small amount of control remains. This almost never happens when I’m in the comfort of my home, no always when I’m out and about on the town.
I’m wondering if any of you ever had this backlash? While on mag sup the awful sensations return? I’m thinking if I’m going to have to add more magnesium, or should I just sit tight a while?
Check out this article on why magnesium can make you feel worse- I had this happen too and I just pushed through and feel better now!
http://drcarolyndean.com/2012/10/when-magnesium-makes-me-worse/
As one often “accused” of “anxiety” as causal for everything – even if my arm was hanging off by the stump – please understand my point of view when I ask if this might be anxiety on some level.
Wow!! Finding this site has truly opened my eyes! Seven years of specialists, MRIs, ct scans, blood work and more . it all started about a year after the birth of my first child. Was exhausted and not able recover and started to get terrible dizzy spells. Facial numbness,jumpy eyes, foggy brain, muscle twitches ,,,, the list goes on. I went for vertigo treatments (no help). I’ve been tested for MS and many other terrible diseases all of which has thankfully come back negative. Through all of this I have become more and more anxious and have had panic attacks. This past spring my doctor put me on prozac which threw me for the worst ride of my life. After only 5 days on the drug my heart was racing and palitating, i was freezing cold and couldn’t eat. I had insane anxiety and muscle spazms. At the hospital i was removed from the drug but it took 12 days to get out of my system and was the worst time of my life (which included 10 days of cluster migraines) Following that i took an 8 week meditation course and have been trying to get my life back with diet and healthy lifestyle. But it is such a struggle. The harder I exersize the worse I feel. I went out today and bought magnesium. Could this be it???!! Nobody has an answer for me ,,,, and from what I have read on this and other sites it all fits!!! I see my doctor next month and will bring this up with her. So excited this could help!!!
I hope the magnesium works for you Shannon. Please let us know how it goes!
HI Sharon. I had exactly the same issues with panic and anxiety and prozac made my anxiety spiral upwards. It was horrible. I went on aropax which has helped me alot. I am now trying the magnesium thing and will get myself fully checked over for other possible nutrient deficiecy’s as well as heavy metal poisening. I hope the magnesium works for both of us. Good luck.
Do you have an update on how the magnesium worked for you? I’m feeling crazy myself with symptoms and am hopeful :(
Well I certainly love this website. I have had anxiety, panic attacks etc 9+ years all started by heart palpitations that scared the hell out of me. I still have heart palpitations all day everyday and daily anxiety. For all of you who can relate THIS IS NOT THE LIFE I WANT TO LIVE. : )
So I researched as well do and came across Magnesium…..I just bought the Magnesium OIL because they said Magnesium orally is hard to absorb.
I just started yesterday and hoping that I can regain the carefree, fun, active lifestyle I lost so suddenly over 9 years ago.
I will keep everyone posted.
Jamie
Hi Jamie. Thanks for sharing your story!
Anxiety and panic attacks can be awful. I’ve had both and it’s no joke.
I hope the magnesium oil helps. It’s the one kind I haven’t tried yet and I’m curious what you think – please stop back and let us know how it goes :)
Thanks Andrew. I wanted to give a little feedback here at the end of my 2nd day after starting Magnesium Oil. I have definitely had moments of calm UNLIKE and moments I have had in years!! Mixed in with those moments are panic and palpitations. Those moments now feel much worse I believe because the moments of calm are so far from my normal high levels of anxiety. Its very interesting. I will continue to report.
I just got my lab results back for my rbc magnesium level.. I wasn’t to surprised I was low at a 4– the normal is 4.2-6.8. I was experiencing leg cramping almost every night, especially when I stretched out. I am also a runner, and I know I’m losing lots of electrolytes due to running in the hot weather. I bring bottled water with me to the track, but I am going to make sure I use the tap water instead. My heart rate speeds up sometimes during rest and my eyelid twitches, but other than that- not too many other symptoms. I read that Epson salt baths were good, so I am going to try that. I’m also going to order the Remag I saw advertised and give that a shot.
Thanks for sharing your test results Sandra. I’m glad you got the RBC test instead of the serum test :)
Please let us know how the Remag works for you. I hope it helps!
Just wondering why not the serum test??
Would like to add my experience, although I’m not far into it yet I have enough of an improvement to add here.
Some background, declining health from the age of 14, started with severe stomach issues, history of diverticulitis and lactose/gluten intolerance in family on maternal side, leads to very restricted diet, other things also set it off, docs and hospital less than helpful but this problem has lead to being unable to eat due to severe bowel sensitivity, leading to being hospitalised, bleeding from gut and losing bowel lining, in and out of conciousness etc, taken a bit more seriously at that point but no resolution to problem.
Suffered severe muscle pain and fatigue starting around the same time as the bowel issue in my teen years, ongoing for 15 years. light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, muscle twitches, feeling almost paralyzed and not being able to move far, breathlessness, skipped heart beats that take my breath away, these happen whether I’m relaxing, walking down the street, calm, upset, any time at all. Have suffered severe depression and anxiety in the past. Diagnosed fibromyalgia, at the time this involved going to a psychologist to work through my ‘issues’, but they couldn’t really find any aside from my partner at the time being a less than fantastic human being. Following a move from the abusive ex I improved my diet and fitness and seemed to have a remission, I could walk miles, slept well, although still had the pain and other symptoms, just milder.
After the birth of my 3rd child my bowel problems came back with a vengence, I also suffered some chronic chest infections around this time, nearly 5 years later I had not really recovered and all my pain and fatigue came back and hit me like a frieght train. I lost my job, which at the time had caused my diet to be poor yet again due to my shift patterns and constant over time.
Over easter this year I contracted strep throat, I could not shift it, I have always caught every bug under the sun and struggled to shift it for weeks, this time I had to go to the doctor as the pain was awful, they found my throat was full of pus over a week after first contracting strep and was not going to get better on it’s own, I was given phenoxymethylpenicillin to treat it, 8 tablets a day for 10 days. I could not finish the course in one go, taking the medication absolutely floored me, I was so ill I did not have the strength to chew, I thought I was dying, docs had been less than sympathetic over my health in the past, some outright telling me fibro did not exist, they often ignored other complaints saying it was all in my head, I often left doctors surgeries totally humiliated, so I did not go for the weakness from the medication, instead I arranged a will, who would have my pets, who would look after my children, I was in a very bad way emotionally and physically with my partner carrying me to the loo when needed and trying to feed me. After stopping the meds I went back to my usual state of pain and fatigue, but did not feel like I was dying, that was a relief! Around this time I also had what felt like nerve damage, my limbs would not do as they were told, I had tremors, I stumbled a lot, passed out cold several times (which I’ve always had to varying degrees), I would forget things constantly, my partner found my phone in the fridge, found me trying to make coffee with gravy granules, found me putting clean cigarette filters in the dirty ash tray, I couldn’t hold a conversation, was forgetting the english language, pausing in conversations having forgotton what I was talking about, it was getting me in debt even as I couldn’t remember what bills I had paid and what I hadn’t paid! Even if I remembered to write it down, I then forgot to read that note!! Or lost it. I was not functioning well one bit.
I have always sleep quite well, but the problem was getting to sleep, I would toss and turn for an hour or more in pain, unable to drop off. Getting up in the mornings was my worst time, I needed help, it would take me over an hour to get up as it just hurt so bad and I was so weak, my partner would bring me a cup of tea so I could take some pain meds to prepare for getting up, and I had to drink it when it was cold as I didn’t have the strength in my hands to hold the cup. I had been dropping things frequently also, my hands would just go, no warning, just *smash* there goes another cup. I also suffered raynauds, any cold would cause my fingers to go very painful, and shortly after completely white and numb, winter was a painful nightmare.
I finally summoned the courage to go back to the doctor, a different doctor, as my family was so worried about me, and I’d refused help for so long for fear of being ridiculed and told yet again that it was all in my head, but I was so sick of pain and spending 90% of my time laid down, I figured I would try one more time, and to keep my family happy.
The doctor listened, half an hour I was in there, appointments are meant to be 10 minutes! she was fantastic, thoroughly examined me and ran a whole host of blood tests. I asked her what tests they were, one was for deficiencies, I haven’t had the results yet but it gave me an idea. I started taking b12, whether I can absorb it or not is another matter with my gut issues, but my biggest help has been the magnesium, I started with 1000mg a day, so far it has not upset my sensitive gut, that’s a sign in itself!
So far, I still have the burning muscle pain, but then, I did over do it as the magnesium made my energy levels shoot up, for the first time since I had strep I could move easily. For the first time in years I hopped out of bed, dressed the kids, washed and dressed myself and started my housework WITHOUT help, usually I would lay on the sofa for 2-3 hours hoping I would soon be able to move while my partner did the morning routine, that first morning I didn’t stop! I fell asleep easily within minutes, my twitches are gone, my raynauds is gone! I just now went and grabbed a bag out of the freezer, and it wasn’t agony, in fact it didn’t hurt one bit! My mood is fantastic, there’s no anxiety, I can write again, I had lost the absility to write as my hands refused to work and seized up after a sentance or two. I noticed the other day I was sitting up straight, with no effort! I have always slouched, unless in company when I struggle very conciously to make the effort to sit up properly, but now I don’t even have to think about it. My heart has skipped no beats since taking the magnesium, I’ve had no breathlessness, and the dizziness is gone! no more injuring myself passing out! I’m amazed, I hope it only gets better from here, and hopefully my blood test results will shed more light on what else I can do.
I think my bowel problems and restricted diet have caused this, no doubt I will be deficient in various things, the magnesium I take also has calcium, vitamin d and zinc, it’s called oesteocare, I thought it would be my best option since I also break bones so easily, my bones are weak, but it also had a much higher level of calcium than the other supplements, I’m also having a lot of vitamin c rich fruit, and trying to see what I can do to up my vitamin K to fit in with the osteo care I’m taking.
I’m amazed, and even if this doesn’t cure me, the improvement is good enough, I no longer feel like I’m going to die one day, with the doctors all confused as to why as to them I’m just a hypochrondriac, I saw my doctors notes once, one doctor put ‘seen today yet again for ‘taras little problem” I was shocked, they never took me seriously, I’m glad my new doctor is, and I’m glad I had the sense to look into it myself! Just wish I’d thought of it much earlier, I’ve suffered so much for so many years, but I’m on the up :D
Still doing oopses lol, my brain, the osteocare has more MAGNESIUM not calcium, 500mg per tablet, compared to less than 200mg in the magnesium tablets on their own. My mentality clarity is getting better, but clearly I have a way to go yet haha.
They all should be tarred and feathered for their subjective notes that diminish patients. Ironically, they never suggest anything to DO for what they decide, without adequate training or sense, it “You’re just nuts.” I mean, they don’t even suggest going out and buying a cupcake. If more patients read their full notes, few would be seeing physicians. Maybe it will take lawsuits when this bias can be proven to result in mortality and morbidity. You should see what they write about me.
40 yr old female – In Jan. 2014, whilst kicked back watching a slow paced movie, my heart suddenly “stuttered”… Kinda took my breath & freaked me out a little. Figured OK, maybe a distraction would help. Rode out to the store with my husband & things got way worse way fast. Heart ” stuttering” & racing, trembling, chest & stomach discomfort, horrible nausea, dizziness, etc… It was so TERRIFYING I went to the ER. Checked me out for heart attack & all that came back clear. My BP stayed around 200/low 100s… horribly high (esp for my norm of 117/72) but they sent me home with the assurance that I had simply had a panic attack & if the BP concerned me I could monitor it at Walmart! I continued to have these “attacks” anywhere from daily to multiple times daily to sometimes going a week with no attacks. I was also dealing with the onset of Raynaud’s (my toes get slightly chilled & they turn deep gray & HURT…. Its like a frostbite reaction without extreme exposure!) Finally made it in to see my GP after 2 mths of “coping”…. He says its def panic attacks & may be related to early menopause…. Drew blood, prescribed antidepressant/anti-anxiety med (the nurse rolled her eyes while doing a pathetic rendition of checking my bp & declared it perfectly norm at 120/80… Nevermind that it hadn’t been under 138/98 in months)…. Labs say not menopausal yet (had hysterectomy 10 yr ago so monthly is no indicator here) & GP says perimenopause doesn’t usually show in blood work & therefore diagnosed me with anxiety & PMS. I tried a few different antidepressant/anxiety but nothing ever helped (got positively nasty side effects though). So by now I’m convinced of 3 things: 1) something terrible is wrong in my body & I’m going to fall dead any minute; 2) I’m so worried about #1 that my constant level of anxiety is that which convinces me there is an equal chance I will simply go crazy before I actually die & 3) nobody really believes/cares that I’m dying &/or going crazy. Fast forward to fall… Still going round with these ” attacks” and now horrible GI distress… Found myself a new GP who LISTENS to me & seems to genuinely care. She immediately starting treating the high BP & started running tests for the GI horribleness… Turns out my gallbladder was barely functioning (no stones or infection thank goodness) so Jan 2015 it was removed. And yes we did try some more anti-dep./anx. Meds still to no avail. EXCEPT Xanax… That took the edge off the panic that always FOLLOWED the onset of an “attack”… At least enough that I could think & pay attention to what was happening & in what order… Always started with a ” super heating” in my chest that flowed like liquid into my arms, up my neck & around my ears & felt like an intense adrenaline rush meets an extreme hot flash, then the heart stuff, trembling, nausea, etc would come in rapid succession & last anywhere from a minute to several… Rarely only 1, usually back to back for several hours. My life had become a shadow of what it was & I was feeling desperate for answers. I Googled “weird andrenaline rushes” & found an answer on a site for PERIMENOPAUSAL WOMEN! Described my “panic attacks” nearly perfect! Next I Googled “natural remedies for severe hot flashes” and found that MAGNESIUM helps hot flashes! Bought myself the only form I could find in my local stores mag oxide (keeping in mind I am poor & cannot spend $25 on a maybe)…. I AM AMAZED! In researching mag I found that I had nearly every symptom of a severe deficiency (including muscle pain, ringing in ears, blurry vision, mental fuzziness, inability to relax muscles, etc) within 3 wks my heart stuff was almost completely gone & those “panic attacks” were fewer, farther between & much more manageable…. But still horrible GI issues. Seen a specialist who did an EGD & found nothing remarkable… Changed me to my 3rd PPI (Prilosec, Nexium, Protonix) Guess what CAUSES mag deficiency??? PPIs! Esp in high doses (I had been on maximum adult dose) for long periods of time ( I had been on for over 3 yrs). So I figured I probably couldn’t hurt worse than I already was… Quit PPI cold turkey… 2 days later NO GI PAIN!!! All this improvement from Mag Oxide (the worst kind) 2 tabs of 250 mg at night & 1 in the morning. The last few days have been pretty rough… Had a few scary “attacks” but I’m about to order the Mag Glycinate form & the topical oil & see if those work better than the MgO2. I also take a warm Epsom Salt bath at least 5 nights a week before bed. My sleep now is the best its ever been too :) I am very type A, admittedly worry over everything AND do have anxiety issues… All contribute to magnesium deficiency… Getting better is a slow process but at least I’m getting better! The hard part is finding the right form & the right dose. Most medically affiliated websites say 300-400mg is the RDA but that is for those who are not deficient. Too much causes diarrhea… So I intend to keep tinkering with various forms & doses to find what my body likes best!
I am eternally grateful for this site & others like it.
Good luck to all! Keep encouraging & supporting each other!
What a rollercoaster you’ve been on, Cheryl! Thank you for sharing your story, I’m sure it will help people who are experiencing similar symptoms.
Sounds like another win for magnesium! :)
Hi Cheryl!
Your post is a “T” to what I have been going through for the past bunch of months! I found magnesium almost a month ago and started taking it. I had great sleep, and my dreams were not off the wall, but I was dreaming all the time. And then 3 nights ago, I could not sleep, and have not been able to! Very confusing and nerve racking. I have read where some people have had the same reaction as me and have to take magnesium during the day.
Anyways, I wanted to ask you how you are doing now, and what brand and/or form of magnesium has worked for you, so I can give it a try.
Hope all is well with you!
Thank you!
I was using mag oxide & was having good results-at the nutrition center, one of the owners told me to use mag citrate-as it is better absorbed-well I feel really weird & panicky. I’m so annoyed-I messed with a good thing.
Hi Andrew,
I found this site very informative….your symptoms were exactly what I had. Of course, anxiety can lead to further anxiety and depression…and not knowing what you have, the bad symptoms are heightened even further. It can be quite scary.
That being said…I coming out of it thanks to Magnesium. I have a question though. I’m just wondering if you supplement Vitamin D as well? I read that that if you don’t have enough Magnesium, both Calcium and Vitamin D aren’t working the way they should. I keep reading how important Vitamin D is, and I’ve always been one to take 1000UI’s a day for a couple years now. Recently I’m reading that 1000UI’s aren’t enough, and that we should be taking anywhere between 5,000-10,000UI’s daily. I’m just wondering if you take any, and what dosage you take? I live in Canada, so during the Winter months I get virtually no sun.
I’m also fair skin, and weigh about 185 pounds. I’m concerned that if I up my Vitamin D dosage, it will eat away at the Magnesium that I’ve started to build up in my system.
Thanks
Hi Colin. I do take Vitamin D as a recent blood test showed I was borderline low. Right now I’m like you and just take 1000IU a day. I’d rather start low and work my way up and see if I notice a change in my mood, energy, or overall health.
With Spring here it may be tough to tell but I’m thinking sometime during the next Winter I’ll go back and see if I can get my levels checked again to get a better idea if 1000IU is enough.
I’m glad the magnesium is helping you – maybe the Vitamin D will as well! :)
i knew i shoud have taken care of mself ages ago.. i am taking liquid suplment clacum and magenusm.. its just beter then piks.. i hate pills.. they take forer… i know the symptoms of evrything i havent taken and belive me its gonna be a long time now.. ::( hate hate it… gotta take care of urself early. dont wait til ur 30.. il nevr get my body bak or loose weight.. and strving myelf 5 yrs ago dint help… get blue bonnet magensium liquid.. its way better then pills1!!!
Yes I have had palpitations off and on for years. Well about a month ago I started getting them every day after I would eat like clock work. And about 5 days ago I woke up and they stated out the blue without me even eating anything. I went to the ER all the test Holter monitor ekg, blood work all back normal. I do have bad heart burn and was on a prascribed med and it mad me dizzy. After I got off that med is when the palpitations got worst. Now I am on the magnesium + patasium 250 mg each and praying the palpitations go away soon. I only been on it for 3 days and nothing yet. I want to take to pills to boost up the mg but am unsure if it is safe to do. I am not a medication kind of girl so I am very scary when it comes to any kind but I also would like to get better because the palpitations and dizziness it so overwhelming and is making me feel depressed and making me have anxiety. I keep thinking am I just gonna drop dead at any giving moment. Or will this ever go away. I just site and wait for the next palpitations to come because it’s been non stop for a week now. And for the doctors to tell you that your fine when you no something is definitely wrong depress’s you even more.#sadnow
Did your any of your tests show your magnesium levels? Magnesium is difficult to test in general but it might be worth asking your GP to give you an RBC magnesium test. That would give you a better idea of whether or not the palpitations are related to low magnesium and might help point you in the right direction.
Hang in there Lisa!
u gotta just drop wat ur taking and take ur daily amointh.. u will never get anywwre if u jus tal a qurter of wat u neweed.. im taking liquid suplements of magensum calcum.. it hs almot all of it but i finis it off with a lil bit of soy!! i hope u get beter soon… gt blue bonnet!!!
I’m a 36 year old female with a history of anxiety and depression. Both have been under control since I started clean eating and working out last August. No more meds and no more severe panic attacks. Until almost 2 weeks ago. For the past few weeks I’ve felt more anxiety, insomnia, muscle twitches that would go on for hours it seemed and heart palpitations that I swear could be seen through my chest. Then about 2 weeks ago, I was at a conference without my usual healthy food and ended up having too much sugar and a terrible lunch. I ended up having a hypoglycemic attack (only the second time in my life) and remedied the floaters I saw in my vision with a quick fix of dr pepper. The next day at the same conference, I overcompensated and had a ton of fruit and low-carb lunch. It happened again about 45 min later but this time my vision couldn’t focus until I drank some coke and it went away almost instantly. I do think the second event was exacerbated by my anxiety and fear of it happening again. I was a bit freaked out about this but calmed down until a new symptom appeared: dizziness and fuzziness. I swear I could deal with anything but this. I don’t stumble but I feel “off”. My husband says he can’t tell at all but it is driving me crazy. Laying down helps, as does wearing my glasses instead of my contacts. So I’ve spent the last several days researching the cause and wondering how in the heck my body is failing me?!? Then I came across this God-send of a website and have read your stories, and all I can say is thank you!!! I’m praying the magesium is what will help. I’ve been under a tremendous amount of stress and hardly eat any food that would contain magnesium, so this has to be it. About 48 hrs ago I started taking magnesium glycinate 600mg. No signs yet that that is too much. Have also been soaking in Epsom salts. Please God, let this be the cure. I have a doc appt in 2 days but will avoid any anxiety-inducing testing for now. Praying for relief soon. I will say that my palpitations and muscle twitches are gone and I feel much calmer, and I slept better last night than I had in a long time! Just need this dizziness to disappear! Sending all of you good thoughts for relief from this awfulness!
Thanks for sharing your story and I’m sorry to hear you’re having such a rough time of it :(
How did the appointment go? Has the magnesium helped at all? I know the dizziness can be awful and I hope you’re finding relief!
I have to tell you my story. I am an RN so have been studying medicine for many years. Since I was 18 years old, I’ve suffered with anxiety, panic, PVCs, PACs, along with some exceptionally bad facial tics since I was a kid. I have leg and foot cramps, literally three plus times a night which prevented sleep. I have have muscle aches and soreness, startle response, extreme fogginess and dizzines, teeth sensitivity and have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. You name it. If it falls under magnesium deficiency, my name is there, too.
Fast forward to a few years ago when I started taking Mag Oxide 400 mg daily and a lot of things got better, but not to the extent it should have. Also, my anxiety improved. Same with my daughter who has, basically, the same symptoms as me. I still wondered why I had symptoms a lot. I couldn’t take anymore mag because of the diarrhea daily.
I also know that my serum mag level has never been abnormal. I don’t buy it, though. I recently started mag oxide because my PVCs were coming back in a bad way, facial twitches and anxiety getting worse, so I needed something. I also bought the mag oil spray.
So….day 4 – everything getting better already. I’m taking two mag citrates now, and using spray. I spray my feet and legs at night. NOT ONE SMALL CRAMP SINCE I STARTED!!!! This is a miracle in and of itself. I’ll keep updated!
Some insight into seizures & magnesium deficiency –
I am epileptic and magnesium deficient so I take magnesium supplements to stop occasional muscle spasms related to my epilepsy. If you don’t have a history of epilepsy, it is unlikely your magnesium deficiency would cause you to have a full blown grand mal seizure unless it was really severe. If I miss my pills I get that “fuzziness” mentioned in the original post. Everything just sort of feels surreal or like your head is soundproofed kind of. My eyelids twitch, hands/arms twitch and/or tingle, same with feet – either cramps or the seizure onset tingle (other epileptics will know how scary that is). Anyways I hope this helps out my fellow magnesium deficient epileptics and anyone else!
Oh and also reading other posts it seems as though the average daily is somewhere around 200-400mg, but I’m on upwards of 1000mg/day of magnesium oxide. Anyone else on high dosage for muscle spasms?
So interesting to read all the comments. I have Mitral Valve Prolapse and have had heart palpitations off and on for 20 years.About 5 years ago along with the palpitations I had the foggy , dizzy feelings….anxiety….and just generally felt terrible. I have high LDL but all the rest of my cholesterol numbers are great. I did some research and found out about magnesium. I started taking it and felt better and better. My Dr discussed the benefits of Mag with me and said it probably was helping the heart more than the beta blocker that I take. I was taking a chelated form of magnesium. A couple of months ago I changed to a new form of magnesium. It was still a chelate but was different from what I had been taking. I also slacked off taking it on a regular basis. First thing I know all these crazy symptoms come rushing back….the foggy brain…dizziness…anxiety…the whole package. Then I remember….this is how I felt before I found magnesium in the first place. I have now purchased Magnesium Taurate which my Dr approved.I have been taking it for about a week. I have had some good days but still have some bad days too. I felt terrible this afternoon. All I can figure is that whatever kind of magnesium I had been taking for the last two months was just not working like it should. Praying that this new one does work…and soon! Thanks for the encouragement from those who have found help from magnesium!
Been getting quite the education the last several months. Having migraines, insomnia over 30 yrs. Last few years have fibromyalgia, burning mouth syndrome, irritability/mood swings. Tried so many things. Learned Drs treat symptoms, not the underlying cause. They don’t even try to find out the root cause because they need to prescribe pills. Keeps them and big pharma in business. Decided I would experiment on myself. Drs don’t take but a few hours during education on diet/vit/minerals etc. Found out we need to get rid of our acidic blood and make it more alkaline. Most of us are too acidic, hence diabetes, diseases. You can get PH strips and test urine. Find at drugstores. Lots people drink alkaline water. After much research determined the only way to go is drink DISTILLED water. Most Drs drink this and have for decades. See Andrew Norton Walker on You Tube. He explains it well. I’ve started on it and oh the agony of detox. It is a Herxheimer (sp?) response. This means it’s working. I have ups and downs. I have started feeling better last couple days. Fibro not so painful. Headaches more under control. All water has minerals in it. Learn the difference between organic and inorganic. Very important. We need organic. The inorganic minerals (rocks) in all water gets trapped in our joints/bones/muscles. It causes us to cement/fuse joints. We get arthritis, hardening of arteries, veins etc. Most water in US has sodium fluoride, not natural fluoride. Sod Fl is poison! Our water depts dump this poison in our water supply and have for 50 years. Affects bones and brain etc. Aluminum is another poison in our water. Watch You Tube, Culling our water video or google search. Also anything we take in the way of drugs, antacid, aspirin, ANYTHING compromises our immune system. I’ve quit taking all drugs. Body needs only natural or as close to nature as possible. Once again the big pharmas want us to buy their products. Short term relief but long term major consequences. Clean up diet if possible. You know, fruits, veggies. I also take magnesium glycinate. The best kind, easily absorbed, typically more expensive. Dose for deficiency is between 500-600 mg. Can back off later to 400 mg. Can take as much as needed if you want until loose bowel, then back off. This has helped greatly. Citrate is good too. Don’t take the inorganic stuff. Think rocks. Take with food. Keep taking, it will help tremendously. Read in medical journal fibro and symptoms like it mean magnesium deficiency. Check everything for natural ingredients. So much out there is trash. Learn what is natural. Get what you pay for and need. Also check you tube or web for baking soda remedies for diabetes, Apple Cider Vinegar remedies, Hydrogen Peroxide remedy, DMSO. There are many natural remedies for diseases powers that be do not want you to know about. Drs won’t have customers if you’re not sick. Pharma can’t make money off well people. Don’t believe/trust what I’m saying, please check this our for yourself. Good luck to all.
Sorry, I meant Andrew Norton Webber on You Tube for distilled water.
Wow. I am definately trying this. I have been experiencing headaches, depression, dizziness, cold clammy hands and feet. Mood swings and the latest thing started in September… Constant ringin in my ear! This sucks let me tell you. Went to an ent had an mri. Everything is normal bit my hearing is being affected in that ear. I was told I have miniere’s disease and there is nothing I can do. I was researching vitamin d deficiancy and found magnesium dificiancy and wonder if this is why I have the problems I have. Needless to say, I picked up a bottle of magnesium an I am gonna give it a shot! Hope this helps!!! Thank you all for sharing!
Ohh and not to mention heart palpitations for over 10 years now. Wish me luck!
(this may be a duplicate comment as formatting borked my reply above)
I just wanted to chime in here with my tale of Magnesium deficiency.
-I had many issues with anxiety, twitches, headaches, shortness of breath, mood swings.
-I went to the ER and Urgent Care numerous times.
-All tests ran multiple times: x-ray, holter monitor, blood work, echo cardiogram.
Fast forward a few months with these symptoms, and physician prescribed me Omeprazole (also known as Prilosec).
Well, a few days after taking Omeprazole (which apparantly blocks or can inhibit magnesium absorption) my heart beat became erratic, pounding, and very fast.
I stopped Omeprazole and 3 days later, the palpitations stopped. I went on a magnesium + calcium regimen of 500mg calcium, 500mg magnesium every day as prescribed by my physician, and the palpitations and anxiety have gone almost completely away. It took about a month before I felt “right”, or as close to “right” as I remember it.
So, many of you are not alone. And if blood tests / echo / ekg / everything else come back normal, ask your physician about possible magnesium deficiency. I know it helped me a lot
Great point about Omeprazole/Prilosec, Joe. I’ve read the same thing about it possibly blocking magnesium absorption.
And I agree completely with you that it’s worth asking about magnesium deficiency if the symptoms match since it’s so simple to fix. The key is to ask for an “RBC Magnesium” test as it should better identify low magnesium levels.
Thanks for sharing your story, and I’m glad the magnesium is helping!
Hi fellow defecients,
I wanted to share my story, i initally fell sick with a viral infection during summer and then it all started, constant dizziness, vertigo and then light sensitivity and anxiety! I saw many gps and ent, had mri and bloods done and all came back normal.
I have just started the drs best mg and i hope it works for me, i am taking 200mg in the morning and another 200 mg at night. The first time i took it i felt quite sleepy and chilled out and felt abit of joint point. But lets see what happens.
I hope we can all get through this horrid illness!
Fan
Hi Fan, thanks for sharing your story. I hope the magnesium helps – please let us know how it goes!
Hi Andrew,
I have been suffering with chronic clustered migraines. Tunnel vision pins and needles black floaters flashes severe foggyness headaches eye twitches hand and foot numbness balance issues and dizziness. A friend told me to try magnesium. I am not sure how much to take so I am taking 300 mg. It has been 2 days and I feel at times already better. Seeking my doctor about how much to take. I also started taking b2. Hoping this helps. I tried Topamax and it was awful never again. Thank you for this blog. It has great information!
Kelly
Hi Andrew firstly id like to say a huge thank you for this website.
Can I PLEASE ask you – when you first started experimenting with Magnesium what type did you use and what dosage.
Secondly when you say your dizziness mainly disappeared within a few days – was that within a few days of the very first Magnesium supplementation or was it within a few days of the Magnesium Chelate supplements.
And if so how long did it take your dizziness to resolve from your very first try of Magnesium.
I’ve had muscle cramps after football for a couple of years.
In July 2014 I had a septoplasty.
Aug & September 2014 was very stressful period due to a development project involving the conversion of a pub into a couple of shops and some apartments.
I woke up on the 23rd of October 2014 with a dizziness that I couldn’t quite decribe.
Tried to sleep it off but just kept on coming back – I was deeply concerned.
I had no other symptoms other than the dizziness.
Went to see a Neurologist and had MRI Scan which was all clear.
I was then referred to ENT consultant who also gave me the all clear.
Had bloods done and everything was normal except raised CRP levels and low Vit D.
I was prescribed 20,000 iu which is max strength in the UK in soft gel form.
God then directed me to this website and i have only recently started supplementing with various Magnesium supplementation.
I’ve noticed a small improvement over the week of using Magnesium but the dizziness is still noticeable especially an hour or so after first waking up.
My dizziness during the day time has improved greatly but still feel it mildly I think when the Magnesium starts wearing off.
I’m taking 200mg of Doctors Best Mg Chelate in the morning + 200mg of Mg Malate in the afternoon and a further 200mg of Mg Citrate before going to sleep.
I’m also using Mg Chloride Bath Salts every few days.
Also taking Vit D3 and K2 to bring my Vit D levels back into the normal range.
I’m waiting on a Mg red blood cell test result in the next 2 days or so and I’m hoping to God that it comes back with a Deficieny so that I can get on with the supplementation and get rid of this dizziness.
Will let you know what happens.
Would really appreciate your reply and any other comments or advice you may have.
Thank you again.
Your story sounds somewhat similar to mine, so hopefully my story will help a bit.
When I first tried magnesium it was the oxide form and I think it was around 200mg/day, so not a lot. After that was a chelated form but one that included calcium, and again that was 100-200mg/day. It was the chelated form that first knocked my dizziness down into the vague fuzziness, and it was finding magnesium glycinate that seemed to finally got rid of it completely for me. I suspect that if I had started immediately with the magnesium glycinate then the entire thing would have been gone within a couple weeks instead of a couple months.
The other thing that helped me with the dizziness, both to reduce the intensity and to help me cope with it, was the 7-11 breathing I mention elsewhere here. The dizziness was scary and slowing my breathing for a couple minutes really gave me focus and helped me put it into perspective which made a big difference. If you haven’t tried it I highly recommend it.
Hopefully this helps a bit! Please let us know how it goes with the magnesium.
I read that u should not take calcium supp at the same time as mag supp. Is this true ? Also goes mag interfere with lisinipril. Thanks
My massage therapist mentioned she used it on me during my sessions, and I know I felt my best for about two to three days after my massages. I was pretty certain I had fibromyalgia but that didn’t explain all my symptoms, just the pain chronic fatigue anxiety and depression. For at least two years I have had tachycardia and finally someone caught that too. So magnesium deficiency covers all of my symptoms including the muscle twitching and deep tissue or bone pain. As a nurse I have to admit that over ten years of seeing doctors not one ever suggested magnesium testing. It is very disappointing. I unfortunately did purchase the oxide form so will increase my dosage until I can afford the other. I started the supplement about a week ago and have had some things get better right away like digestive issues and some mood improvement. I did miss one of my doses the last two days and my racing heart is killing me today! The brain fog (almost out of body experience) is scary to me right now as I am a little fearful I will make a mistake at work. I have to admit I am very hopeful and excited about this as many of my depression issues are related to my pain and not sleeping well.
Thanks for making this site!
Hi Andrew,
I just wanted to confirm on the dosage that worked best for you? I seem to remember reading it on your site somewhere but can’t find it now.
I am taking between 600mg – 800mg per day as I am active – Usually 2 pills at breakfast, 1 after exercise and 1 in the evening (Each Mag Bisglycenate pill is 200mg each). I have read some one who needs to return to normal from deficiency should take more than the RDA of 450mg for men…
Thanks, and sorry for not consolidating within my first post.
Steve
In the beginning I played around a lot with my dosage, and at one point I had it up to 1000mg per day though that caused all sorts of (expected) stomach issues for me.
My recovery dose ended up being around 750mg/day, then I dropped it to 600mg/day, and now I take roughly 480mg/day as my maintenance dose.
And I spread them out just like you are doing – it was breakfast/lunch/dinner in the beginning and now it is breakfast/bedtime.
My magnesium levels are within normal range. I see a lady at the women’s centre and she told me that it would help my fibromyalgia and unbalanced hormones if I took this mineral. I am taking 200 gms daily, only on day two and the pain in my arm from fibro is worse. Guess I have to give it a month or so to see some major changes. Can’t wait
Hi There,
I am still trying to determine if I am magnesium deficient, so perhaps my story can get a definite answer… I am a healthy active male, I run 5 times a week and eat generally well.
My initial question is, is magnesium deficiency part of a common fasting blood test? I just had a physical and multitude of tests and my doc can’t figure out whats going on with me.
My story starts 4 months ago. I began getting a slight pain in my left ear and after a flight I began to experience ice pick type headaches and eventual fuzziness (brain fog, blurry vision) as mentioned above where things don’t seem quite real. I started to get depression / anxiety symptoms as well to the point I was convinced I must have a brain tumor. ( I have never been one to ever have this type of anxiety in my life). Once I was cleared, all my symptoms seemed to fade away…. Until 1 month ago, I woke up one morning dizzy and have started to get the same fuzzy / sad / emotionless feelings. I was again getting anxiety again because I didnt know what was going on and even threw a few tantrums. For whatever reason I decided to sit in an epsom salts bath. Afterward I was so exhausted I instantly fell asleep and when I woke the next morning, I felt a huge marked improvement in my symptoms, and “clarity” in mind, body and spirit. That was Friday. I have been taking epsom salts baths for the past 4 days but have noticed my symptoms creeping back. I have just started taking Magnesium Bisglycenate (about 600mg per day as I run / lift) & introducing magnesium rich foods . I am also going to see an ENT next week to see if I could be having inner ear issues. I have also been getting acupuncture, but no marked change from that.
However what leads me to think I have magnesium deficientcy is the huge initial “high” and “clarity” I felt the next day after the bath and subsequently day or two after.
I would love to hear other opinions on this. I try to live as healthily as I can and this is putting me at my wits end! I am mentally trying to keep calm and tell myself this can’t last forever, but I have a creative job which requires me to use a lot of brain power.
Thanks
Steve
I also forgot to mention, I have been having a lot of ear popping / pressure in my head as well, but not so much headaches or dizziness. If I have dizziness it lasts for a second or 2 and usually when I am looking the computer.
Thanks for sharing your story Steve!
In terms of blood tests: every doctor requests different tests but in my own experience I’ve never seen magnesium included in any of the tests I’ve had. That said, it might be worth calling your doctors office to see if they can send a copy of the test results to you directly so you can see what was done and what those results were. If it turns out that they did not test your magnesium levels you could ask them to do so (but remember to ask for an *RBC* magnesium test).
I do think seeing an ENT is a good idea, if only to rule out ear-related causes of dizziness. My ENT wasn’t particularly helpful, but he did run a bunch of different tests that ruled out some possible causes that had me pretty anxious so I still found it worthwhile.
One thing I have found though is that anxiety itself can cause its own symptoms. I recently had some throat issues due to acid reflux that sent me deep into a hole of anxiety, and it took me a couple weeks to realize that much of what I was worrying about symptom-wise was caused by anxiety itself. I had a similar issue when dealing with my magnesium deficiency and in both cases the symptoms fed the anxiety which fed more symptoms and it turned into a negative feedback cycle where I felt worse and worse each day. And in both cases once I focused on reducing my anxiety I was able to break the cycle and then focus on the ‘real’ physical symptoms, finding the cause, and fixing it.
I know it really stinks to have something like this hanging over you while you’re trying to get things done, but all I can suggest is to:
– work your doctors so they are doing what you need them to
– do your own research (but beware of ‘cyberchondria‘, which I have a habit of running into)
– treat yourself as best you can in the meantime
I hope this helps. Please let us know how it goes!
Thank You for your quick reply Andrew!
Yes it is an annoying situation, and more annoying since it seemed to have gone away after my whole brain tumor anxiety thing, but I have read anxiety can also deplete magnesium even more, creating a vicious cycle, so perhaps my body took that month to catch up and present the symptoms again.
I will be sure to let you know my progress.
Steve
I will try to keep this brief.On August 12,I had a 14 hour surgery and was on major medications including doxycycline for five weeks.About 4 weeks after surgery,I started feeling sick,thought it was due to the pain from the bilateral hip drains.They were removed September 12.A day or so later my stomach was upset…that started a cycle of not eating,trying to eat and the nausea was overwhelming.I was in and out of ER….endoscopy,ct scans,ultrasounds,bloodwork….all fine.Doctors kept trying this and that…each time in ER I was given fluids and would feel better.I lost 20 pounds in 5 weeks.Not one doctor addressed the possibility of any kind of mineral deficiency..my toes had been numb through out.I finally realized on my own that the IV made me feel better because of the salt…..my diet was so limited,I had depleted minerals….of course doctors would only address this if you came in in a coma….but probably not even then.I started adding a little salt to my food…forcing it down…I started zinc and magnesium supplements..a probiotic and a daily vitamin….I still have stomach pain,but feel sure it will now start to repair itself…the nausea has subsided…toes are still numb and I am very weak…severe depression has lifted….wouldn’t you think at least one doctor would have addressed the obvious malnutrition and vitamin and mineral deficiency? Please all of you…listen to your bodies…..
Thank you for sharing your story here, Jackie. It’s interesting that you mention doxycycline since other readers here have mentioned that antibiotics can lead to magnesium deficiency (check out ‘floxed’ on the google).
Hang in there. I hope the vitamins and minerals help!
Hi all! I truly hope that taking magnesium has been a powerful tool for you to overcome the health problems you’ve experienced.
My story; it has been quite an insane year! Had a stressful job working for my sister, always felt fatigued, but drama ensued and I became extremely stressed after being fired. Had a fainting incident at a concert, visited the doctor, was diagnosed with low iron levels. Supplemented on and off, started feeling better, but then experienced a bad case of food poisoning, followed by a nasty nasty flu that my mom and I had for at least a month. That flu gave me heartburn constantly, something that I never had a problem with.
Finally the flu went away, but then I was experiencing extreme fatigue still, and suddenly I had light sensitivity, nausea, anxiety, a low appetite, insomnia, weird feeling in my chest, and a low grade fever, visited the doctor….and they came up with nothing. Suddenly right before my menstrual cycle (about six months ago), I started having severe joint pain, tingling in my legs, especially my right. Went back to the doctor, they finally ran blood tests again (I had visited the er once, and the routine blood test showed nothing). The results came back as Mono from an EBV infection. The symptoms seem to fluctuate, I’ll start feeling better, but then Have a migraine or headache On and off for weeks, or feel better and then start having a weird vibration in my right foot. Things always get worse right before and after my cycle. I’ve even visited a neurologist, who has only examined me visually, and hasn’t been concerned.
I went through a month or two feeling better, and then my symptoms all came back! It has been driving me crazy, as mentioned above Dr Google can be horrible fuel for anxiety. I’m constantly thinking that I have terrible diseases. Especially now that the fatigue has worsened, and the vibration feeling is back in my foot. Still awaiting blood test results from last week, but my doctor mentioned in the meantime seeing if magnesium could help the foot issue.
Since last week I have been researching magnesium, and magnesium deficiency, as well as taking 400mg of Magnesium Glycinate at bedtime. I’ve noticed that I sleep a little better, but the other symptoms are still sticking thus far, though the twitching in my foot may have improved. I’ve also had kidney stones, and a variety of procedures to get them out since I was six years old (currently have a stone in my left kidney, my doc doesn’t want to remove until I feel better)….which makes me wonder if I’ve been deficient in magnesium my whole life! Too bad my urologists never have suggested that.
Anyway, long story short, I’m really hoping that the magnesium will help, because it has been a rough year, and I’m sooooooooo sick of being sick…I don’t remember what it feels like to feel good anymore. At 29, I feel decades older. Heed to hoping this will help my mono stop battering my body.
One question… Is it more beneficial to split up the dose to twice daily? The lady at whole foods said she takes both at bedtime, and it helps her sleep better, so I’ve been doing that. Thanks! And thank you for this page
Thanks for sharing your story Larissa. That’s quite a year you’ve had!
To answer your question, I’ve been splitting my magnesium dose for a couple years now. I take roughly half when I get up in the morning and the other half right before bed. Doing this seems to let me take more magnesium each day without creating bowel issues for myself.
I only found this out by testing both methods though, which is why I’m a fan of testing in general. I’ve found that the key is to make a single change then seen what happens over the course of a week or two. I have a bad habit of making a bunch of changes at once and then when I get better or worse I have no idea what caused it, which is why I try to stick with just one change at a time.
Either way, I do hope the magnesium helps. Please let us know how it goes!
Andrew, thank you so much for this website. It is one of the most concise and informative sites I have found. I have anxiety and have been on 350 mg of Zoloft. I know that’s a high dose, but psychiatrists can go above the recommended dosage. I have improved. Someone told me like 80% of anxiety sufferers are magnesium deficient. I asked my doctor and he said give it a try. I’m taking 250 mg mg citrate. I’ve also been eating bananas, almonds, and ground flax seed. I started this last week. Had a pretty good week. Yesterday was really enjoyable. Today, I felt the anxiety creeping back in. I am hoping this is just a bad day and things will level off here soon. Thanks!
Thank you Aaron, I’m glad my site has been helpful :)
Anxiety is definitely one of the symptoms magnesium has helped me with, but it still creeps up on me on occasion.
I actually just wrote up something on the other tactics I used to cope with anxiety when it was at its worst:
Magnesium for Anxiety and Other Natural Remedies for Stress
Maybe something I mention there will be helpful for you. If you get a chance, please check it out and let me know what you think.
Either way, I hope the magnesium helps and that you feel better soon!
When I found this website I couldn’t believe what I was reading, can this be what I’ve been suffering with for about 6 years. I get muscle twitches, anxiety, palpitations, restlessness, headaches and I’m unable to sleep as well as I used to. I don’t take any medication and the doctor told me yesterday when I asked about a magnesium deficiency, that it’s not possible as it only normally happens to people who are on a lot of medication. Anybody else have these symptoms who are not on any other medication?? I do have a slight heart condition which is not serious and only makes things worse when I have a racing heart as I get more palpitations, then more anxiety and I get stuck in a vicious circle. I actually went to a herbalist who advised I might have a magnesium deficiency and she provided me with magnesium tablets. I started taking them 5 days ago and already feel slightly better. Still getting the muscle twitches and not sleeping very well but the anxiety has started to subside. Thank you for this site, it has made me feel like I can actually get this sorted and I can go back to feeling like the old me again!
I’m glad you found the site helpful, Christine! :)
To answer your question, when my magnesium deficiency started I was not on any medication. Over the course of the year leading up to it I was on antibiotics for a short time and I took the occasional OTC allergy pill, but beyond that I had no active prescriptions and I hadn’t for some time.
Please let us know if the magnesium does help.
I’m more than happy to share my experiences Andrew, i wish i could tell every anxiety and depression sufferer in the world about the benefits of magnesium in the hope that some of them could be cured, it’s a horrible illness to suffer long term with.
In terms of you collecting data to help people i think its a wonderful worthy thing that you’re doing, so i thought that some of the smaller details in my personal story that i didn’t include in my original post might be of use to someone somewhere.
I’ve been a celiac all my life, i can’t eat gluten or anything containing gluten because my body confuses the gluten protein as a virus and my white blood cells start to attack anywhere that absorbs the gluten protein, like the lining of my stomach. When i was younger i ignored the doctors advice and ate what i liked and just suffered the pain afterwards, this appears to have been a terrible idea and i believe that the damage caused to my stomach was the initial cause of my magnesium deficiency. Anyway, i gave up gluten a couple of years ago, hoping that my anxiety and health issues would also be cured. The gluten related pains stopped but the anxiety and foggy headedness etc continued to get worse.
Then we jump to my initial post, and the only details that i can add there are that i read that caffeine strips the body of magnesium so i gave up all sources of caffeine and also sugar.
I also found this information video by a Dr Osborn invaluable, he tells you about everything that strips magnesium from the body. It was one of the best resources i found that helped me prevent my body from losing magnesium whilst i replenished my magnesium levels. I don’t know if external links are allowed here, and i apologize if they aren’t, but here’s the link to the youtube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wtUn1gWgaw
I just tested that link and it doesn’t work, even though i copied and pasted it from the actual video web page. I do apologize, please go to youtube instead and do a search for ‘dr osborne magnesium’ instead
Thanks Neil!
That’s a great video. It’s full of useful information, much of which I haven’t seen anywhere else.
I fixed the link as well. When clicked it should open the video right on youtube.
In regards to the question above regarding taurine i can offer my own personal findings and experience. a few weeks into my magnesium recovery i tried a 500mg per day dosage of taurine because i also had read good things about it. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect on me than i had desired. After taking it my anxiety started to surface again, granted it was only mild but it was still unwelcome. I tried halving the daily dose to 250mg but it didn’t help, so i stopped taking the taurine all together and just stuck to the magnesium citrate which works better for me than the chelated magnesium glycinate that i have also tried. An interesting point about the taurine that i later read about is that when given intravenously to mice it did indeed reduce anxiety, but when given orally to the same mice it actually increased their anxiety.
Everyone is different of course and i am by no means saying that my experience with taurine is the definitive one, merely that for me unfortunately it had the opposite effect than what i desired, although i did notice an increase in my muscle endurance whilst taking it, and could walk up hills etc without feeling any tiredness in my legs
That’s great information, Neil. I’ve read about taurine, and I’ve been asked about it here, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Now if anyone here tries it they know to keep an eye out for increased anxiety. Thank you for sharing your experience with taurine!
Also, when you say magnesium citrate works better for you than magnesium glycinate, what were the differences you noticed? Was it better absorption, or something else?
Regarding why i prefer the magnesium citrate to the glycinate, i can’t give many scientific reasons i’m afraid, like taurine the magnesium glycinate raises the production of GABA in the brain. From my own personal experience it would appear that a raised GABA level leaves me feeling slightly anxious, foggy headed, and jittery, which makes me afraid that the bigger anxiety monster is going to surface again. This might not be the case but the fear of being as ill as i was again was enough to stop me experimenting with both taurine and magnesium glycinate.
With magnesium citrate however taken in small doses throughout the day, i have no stomach troubles like some people report having when taking larger doses. The sense of calm i feel is a true joy, the muscle pains have not returned, my sleep is soooooo much better, and my mind is clear and bright. Another surprising effect of the citrate is that i can no longer feel my heart pounding away in my chest any more and the heart palpitations i had every day are completely gone. In laymans terms i guess it’s a ‘if it aint broke don’t fix it’ scenario, so that’s why citrate is my favourite type of magnesium supplement. As i said, not a very scientific answer but the best i can offer.
I’d also like to make it clear that in no way am i saying that taurine or magnesium glycinate are no good, just that they weren’t right for me. For someone else they might be the perfect supplement
As you said, everyone is different, and what works for one person may make someone else feel worse. It makes me curious if there are patterns though, say two or three common combinations that cover the needs of most people.
I appreciate your coming back to elaborate on what you’ve found. Someone somewhere is going to read your comment and find exactly what they need to beat anxiety :)
Four years ago I was diagnosed with a Major Anxiety Disorder and Glandular Fever.I kept telling my doctor I get anxious when Im dizzy,nauseous and my legs feel like they are going from under me.Told me I had Chronic fatigue.I have suffered for over 21 years with mild anxiety and other health problems and we put it down to having hypothyroidism.
I rarely sleep at night.Bed anywhere from 2am and broken sleep till 7.30am.I wake with dreadful lower back pain and sweat uncontrollably somedays.I have constant cold feet and hands.Dizziness is part of my everyday life along with headaches and sick to my stomach.The cramps and brain fog,day time naps and not wanting to do a thing.Thinking it may be vertigo I did the exercises.They did nothing.My whole body feels like the nerves are tingling some days and if Im stressed its 100 times worse.Anxiety rules my life.If I feel sick or dizzy I cant function and rarely leave my house.
Last week a friend came to visit who is into natural everything.She took one look at me and said I need to use magnesium.That I was deficient in it.We googled it and it was like reading a book on my daily life.I couldn’t believe that something like magnesium could have such a detrimental affect on every cell in the body.
I ordered magnesium cream straight away and Epsom Salts for the bath.I am dreadful at taking tablets.I have started the cream today and hoping to see results in the next week or 2.I want my old life back.
Thanks for sharing your story Michelle. Four years is a long time to feel that way :(
I hope the magnesium helps! Please let us know if you start to feel better, and if you would please also let us know how the Epsom Salts are. A lot of readers ask about it but I haven’t tried it myself so your experience with it would be very helpful to everyone here :)
I actually cried when I got to the end of these comments. Could this be me? I have the following symptoms: headaches, anxiety, panic, mood swings, vibrating in my legs and feet, tingling and numbness in my hands that recently escalated to pin pricks, like zips and zaps, I have had soreness across my shoulders for weeks that never seems to heal, dizzy spells, thirst and finally and most recently my eye has been twitching, like a muscle spasm. I have developed an unhealthy relationship with Dr Google that constantly tells me I am dying which isn’t helping the anxiety at all. When I told my chiropractor about the eye twitch on Monday he instantly said “that is magnesium deficiency” so when I got home I started taking Bioceuticals Ultra Muscleze which is something my husband has. It’s now Thursday and the eye twitch has eased but nothing else….. yet. Dr Google landed me here today because I wanted to know more about magnesium and I find out that it could be the cause of all my issues. OMG could it be this simple. Please, please, please let it be so. I want my old self back.
I know exactly what you mean Kylie: while I was trying to figure out what was causing my symptoms I came across all sorts of scary things that kept me up at night worrying. Dr. Google can be both cruel and kind …
Hang in there, and please let us know if the magnesium helps!
I suffered from what the doctors called generalized anxiety and agoraphobia for 15 years, and over that time my symptoms got steadily worse until 8 months ago i was bed ridden from the extreme symptoms and couldn’t eat for 10 days. My symptoms were the same as everyone else who has posted except when i was bed ridden i also had a horrible buzzing sensation in my spine and head and extreme muscle pains in my neck and shoulders. The panic attacks were horrendous and would last for hours at a time, and in my fuzzy headed state i firmly believed i was either going crazy or dying. The long list of tablets the doctors had prescribed me hadn’t helped, (a few of them even made my symptoms worse), so i had lost all faith the doctors would ever help me get my life back. When i was at my lowest point ever i sat myself in front of my pc and began to research my condition, my symptoms and my medical history, i thought that if i couldn’t rely on my doctors to fix me then i was going to have to do it myself. That’s when i discovered the link between my symptoms and magnesium deficiency, so i weaned myself off my doctor prescribed anti anxiety, anti depression, and blood pressure medications, (i wouldn’t recommend doing this without consulting your doctor first), and started taking 100mg of magnesium citrate 4 times a day, (roughly one every 6 hours)………… This is where my miracle started, after 2 days of taking the magnesium all the pain in my neck and shoulders stopped completely, my fuzzy foggy head started to clear, and the constant state of anxiety and panic i was in started to ease. Over the next few weeks i could feel myself getting better and better so i started to experiment by going to places that would normally have been guaranteed to trigger a panic attack. I remember sitting in the dentists waiting room thinking ‘any second now the panic will start and i’ll have to leave’, and i waited and waited but nothing happened, no panic attack! so i tried busy shops and crowded places and still no panic attacks! I can’t describe the mixed feelings of relief, joy, and confusion i was feeling that this monster that had haunted me for 15 years was gone. Nearly 5 months on and i’m still taking magnesium and still feeling better than ever
I don’t normally post in places like this but i wanted to tell my story to give the rest of you hope. I wish you all the best of luck in your recovery
What an amazing story! 15 years is such a long time, and not a single doctor figured it out.
I’m so glad you found magnesium. Thank you for sharing your experience here, it will give hope to those that are still struggling.
I am 60 years old and have been dealing with high blood pressure and diabetes for about 8 years. I have had heart palpitations for 14 years now and each ER visit results in my being sent home with no answers. In January, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. In May, my heartbeat went completely out of control and I became very ill. I was taken off my beta blocker and tried two different calcium channel blockers but had reactions to both. The second I stopped 6 days ago because I thought it was causing tongue spasms, which are worse at night. I thought the spasms would disappear, but they have not.
By chance, my husband started to page through a vitamin book he has had for years and discovered that a lot of my symptoms could be explained by a magnesium deficiency. Due to gastrointestinal issues, I can eat few of the foods I need to get sufficient magnesium through diet. I started tonight with 267 mg of magnesium with zinc and I am crossing my fingers that this will make a difference in how I feel. Thanks for all the comments, I am hopeful!
I’m glad you two had that vitamin book :)
I hope the magnesium helps! If you get a chance please stop back and let us know how you are doing.
So it has been 2 months since I started taking 240 mg of magnesium glycinate. Some of my symptoms definitely got better. I don’t get as anxious as before and I am getting less sore neck and shoulders. Palpitations has also improved, but I am still not sleeping that well. I am not sure what it is, may be stress from work. Fatigue and tiredness of course come with insomnia. I think it’s slowly improving, but it’s frustrating because it’s hard to get through the day at work with low energy level. I am hoping that since my other symptoms are slowly going away, my sleep will eventually improve. I HOPE! :)
I’m glad the magnesium is helping – that’s great news, thanks for letting us know!
I hope you continue to recover Fred, and that sometime soon you are able to get some decent sleep :)
First of all I want to say,….Thank you Andrew for this beautiful post (and all your others on mag deficiency) because this is honestly giving me so much hope!
I’m 21 years old and on the 18th of this month is when I started feeling symptoms. After my workout at the gym I was driving home and I started having a dizzy spell and the dizziness still lingered on! I managed to get home safely and I told my mom immediately that something was not right…. She told me to just sleep it off and maybe it was the gym that tired me out so therefore I just rehydrated and rested. When I laid down I noticed the dizziness wasn’t as bad so maybe I thought I really just needed rest
Next day….. I wake up and ITS STILL THERE! the dizziness has still not left! I felt nauseous but not to the point where I had to vomit. The room just felt wobbly like I was on some boat. But I noticed that my thinking felt a little fuzzy and I started getting anxious…. I immediately went to urgent care. The doctor looked at me and said I look healthy! My vitals were all normal, I wasnt dehydrated, and there was no ear infection. But he thought my dizziness could’ve been from fatigue after the gym and he just told me to just rest and wait till it subsided. (Hearing that I just need “more rest” and to “give it time” made me even more anxious).
3 days past and STILL feeling dizzy and anxious…. And thoughout those days I wasn’t getting enough sleep due to dizziness, anxiety, and my heart was beating really hard and fast. I also felt like everytime I tried to sleep my muscles would just twitch preventing me from rest and it would wake me up AND keepme up as well. :( after all of this I decided to check with my general physician.
And with no surprise he told me the same thing as the urgent care dr….. I looked healthy and maybe it is just fatigue from working out to much. We got a bloodwork done and everything in my test was normal…… Got a ct scan as well and everything showed normal and healthy! I now felt for sure that maybe it’s all in my head and all I need is “rest”
A week later…… And my symptoms HAVE NOT PROGRESSED. I started feeling even more anxious and sadly…. Even depressed…… Thinking I was never going to overcome this dizziness. I even went to the ER 3 days (the 24th) ago because I felt like I was having difficulty breathing and heart palpitations. The dr there just told me it may be vertigo and I just needed to wait till it subsided (oh how I hate that answer). He prescribed me meclezin (a vertigo drug to relieve symptoms of dizziness) but it didint really work!!! I still felt dizzy. My brain still felt foggy and I still felt “out of place”. Without my dizziness symptom being resolved I knew it had to be more than just vertigo……
It was all thanks to google search a day after and I thank god I found this gem!!!!! I remember having cold feet when it was clearly 100 degrees over in my area… And I think I googled “cold feet and dizziness” to see if there’s any relation lol and I somehow found this! I read what you were going through and it totally connected to me! I read about your take on mag deficiency and I said Fuck it! It’s worth the shot instead of laying in bed all day fatigued, feeling out of place, and feeling dizzy everytime i stood up! I bought the “dr’s best chillated magnesuim” on the 25th (Friday) and omg I felt a lot better after just two pills!! (Although I read the directions wrong and thought I only had to take 2 daily) I felt like my dizziness was starting to subside a little bit and it was getting easier for me to walk without having the need to sit down…. So yesterday (Saturday) I took the recommended daily (which was 4 tablets) and I’m slowly starting to feel a change. I’m even having a big euphoria tonight which lead me to comment on this!!!!! So my dizziness feels like it’s still there but I see a major improvement than what I was feeling before! And my clouded thinking is just still bothering me a lot -_- But I know I just need to be patient and it will go away!!!
What I want to ask you now, is that if I keep taking this supplement everyday when do you think I will recover and FEEL 100%?
I’m amazed how similar our stories are. I vividly remember the foggy brain, cold feet, and anxiety, and I remember taking meclizine with no effect except to make me sleepy.
I think it’s a really good sign that you’re starting to feel better in just 48 hours. If you end up recovering at the same rate I did then you’ll have 3-4 more weeks of the fuzziness, though that depends on a lot of different things – you may well end up recovering a lot faster than I did because you’re taking a good type of magnesium supplement right from the start (it took me a while to find out what worked best for me).
In short: I can’t say for sure how long your recovery will take, but it sounds like you’re off to a really good start. I hope you continue to feel better!
If you’re able, please stop back and let us know how you make out – a lot of people here would love to know what your recovery experience is like.
Also: did you take calcium supplements at all? I ask because I used to take them and I think they contributed to my eventual magnesium deficiency, and because our stories are so similar I’m wondering if calcium supplements were a contributing factor for you as well.
Hi, I started having insomnia five months ago. I took Melatonin but it didn’t work. My GP prescribed me sleeping pills; also they didn’t work.
I started taking Magnesium from 3 weeks (200mg at bed time & 75mg in the morning).
My insomnia is improved a little bit. Currently, I sleep 5 hours. But It’s not quite enough.
What are your thoughts concerning the appropriate dose and the duration of recovering as well?
Thank you.
Hi, this is all new to me. I went to see an osteopath yesterday for the first time, because of muscle stiffness in my neck and spine, migraines, a hiatus hernia, dizziness and period cramping. She suggested magnesium. I’ve spent the last few hours researching what I can and for the first time in years I’m feeling optimistic that things might improve, I’m taking BioCeuticals Ultra Muscleze. I hope to god it helps.
I hope it helps as well!
The Muscleze looks to have other nutrients in it besides magnesium, especially taurine which I’ve read good things about in relation to magnesium. When she recommended magnesium did she mention anything about taurine?
Please let us know how it goes for you!
Hey all,
I would just like to share my experience. I found comfort in forums like this when I was experiencing everything and still do.
I believe my symptoms were over 6-7 months but got worse quickly with a job I couldnt take an eating break at.
My symptoms were fatigue, muscle weakness, bone pain, dizzy, low blood pressure, vision distrubances, palpitations, week long headaches, extremely short/abnormal cycle, feel faint all the time, nausea, muscles spasms, insomnia, twitching. It was bad. I was in and out of the er told I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t know what they tested me for but I never received any reports on my magnesium. My doctors wanted to dismiss it as anxiety and put me on zoloft. I was by luck I was told to take magnesium, which made a huge difference. The first night I slept through the whole night.
Two months later most of my symptoms are gone. I do however eat all the time in fear that history will repeat itself. Before my symptoms I didn’t really have an appetite, would skip meals. I had a busy life. I also have anxiety of holding a full-time job or being somewhere hours without food. Does anyone else experience or have experience this?
Hi Jay,
I do have some of the same symptoms including fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, twitching and all these contribute to anxiety in general. I also find hunger makes these symptoms worse so skipping meals is a big no no. You don’t have to eat all the time as long as you eat regularly with a balanced diet. Do take a breaks to snack when you are hungry no matter how busy you are.
My doctor said that I have a weak digestion system and I should avoid processed food like white bread, processed flour like pasta, etc. He also put me on Mg Glycniate/Malate, 240 mg a day ( think it’s a pretty low dose!) 4 weeks ago. I think i am improving slowly in general but I still have bad days every now and then. Glad to hear that you are back to normal though!!!
hi what kind of magnesium did you take
Hi Suzanne. I tried a bunch of different kinds of magnesium supplements but eventually settled on a combination of glycinate and malate.
I take the magnesium glycinate in the morning and the malate before bed and it really seems to help :)
I started having strange symptoms a few weeks ago. I went to the doctor, he ordered blood test and gave me a script for Zoloft. Yesterday my symptoms hit an all time high! I was having serious muscle twitches, dizzy, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea. I felt awful! I ended up going to the ER for treatment. I found out I was having a reaction to the Zoloft AND my magnesium is low. I was so scared! I had convinced myself I had ALS. I was in tears by the time I got to the hospital. They reassured me I do not have anything super scary. They gave me a prescription for xanax and had me take magnesium while I was there. I’m still having symptoms but I don’t know how long I should take these supplements . I’m still convincing myself I have a deadly disease even though I know better. Good ol anxiety!
When my symptoms first showed up they made me extremely anxious as well, and it took me a while to realize that the anxiety itself was causing me even more symptoms.
It’s hard not to assume the worst when things go wrong with our health. What helped me relax a bit was to remember just how rare many of the very worst case scenarios really are.
Hang in there as best you can – I hope the magnesium helps you with a bunch of your symptoms like it did for me!
I can relate somewhat to Kimberly as I have had some major chronic muscle twitching for over a year now that started in the arches of my feet and I’ve begun to feel some twitches and tremor-like feelings in my legs and arms, also feeling weird vibrations in my shoulders and upper arms. Along with this, I have had skipping and fluttering heartbeats. I began to figure they might be related, and read up on magnesium deficiency which listed those two symptoms as common for the deficiency. But no dizziness, or appetite issues. Anxiety has become an issue (not common for me) as I’ve worried about my symptoms being something really serious. I am starting a mineral supplement and extra magnesium, and so hoping to see some improvement and relief. I’m also trying GABA for anxiety symptoms. So far, only mild effect with that. I’ve had family members take it and find some good relief. I’m wondering what to expect as far as how long it takes to overcome a magnesium deficiency.
I think how long it takes depends on a lot of different things – it’s unique to each person. I do believe that finding the right type of magnesium for yourself can make a huge difference though.
I hope it helps you, and that you have a speedy recovery! Please let us know how it goes.
Thanks Andrew! just wanted to say that my left eye was twitching and i felt dizzy all the time, but after taking magnesium for a week, they seem to be gone. I also have shortness of breath and i think this is anxiety induced and this bothers me quite a bit. Some days are worse than others. Deep breathing sure helps. Oh well, i think that is enough symptoms i have shared! :-) Gotta feel like myself agian!
Hi, it all sounds so familiar. My insomnia started about 7 months ago shortly after I had my first panic attack. My symptoms (including anxious for no particular reasons, sore neck and shoulders, insomnia, palpitations, fatigue, ,tiredness) have been on and off ever since. My GP gave me sleeping pills but of course it didn’t work. Until my acupuncturist told me I have magnesium deficiency. I have taking magnesium for about a week and a half, 240 mg a day. I feel my symptoms have been eased a little bit, but I guess its too early too say. It has not been a easy 7 months but I am optimistic. Just wanted to share my experience with you all and will report more later.
Best of luck!
I hope the magnesium helps – thanks for sharing!
Let us know how it goes.
I’ve had anxiety since early 2012. My muscles get shaky when I use them for anything other than rapid movement.I can lift weights, etc., but doing yoga or something where I have to hold a position for a while results in my muscles shaking. I have panic attacks in the middle of the night about 3 times per week, and during the day about 1 time per week. My anxiety started after a huge fight with my brother over the phone late at night. Early that next morning I woke up with my teeth chattering, and I’ve had the issue ever since.
I started taking magnesium yesterday and potassium citrate/bicarbonate/glucinate the day before. I’ll take 250mg of magnesium in the morning and 250mg at night. I’ll report back here after a week.
Did you notice an improvement in your muscle weakness? I seem to have the exact same symptoms as you and my doctors have ruled out almost everything. Ive just started taking magnesium in the hope it will do SOMETHING. I hope you’ve had some success.
I have been taking nexium for at least 15 years. I suffer with leg cramps and feet cramps that come during the night only., for the past several years. I recently started suffering from ringing in the ears. Today during a commercial for nexium, they mentioned that it can cause low magnesium, this prompted me to do several google searches. Leg cramps and ringing in the ears both are related to magnesium. Magnisium is used to treat the ringing in the ears. Seems likely that low magnesium could bring on the ringing in the ears. As soon as I connected the dots, I went to walgreens and purchased nature made magnesium 400 mg. I had a couple of blood test,over the past year, none for low mag. However my body was making too much glucose and I am taking metformin for pre diabetes. Seems that all this goes together. I hope the mag pills take care of all my issues. I hope my doctor doesn’t think I am crazy when I tell him my theory and diagnosis.
I am starting magnesium citrate today. I have been dizzy and anxious for years. I have just suffered through it. I have been taking Prilosec for a long time and just recently found out it stops the absorption if magnesium. So I desperately hoping this is my problem. I am also going to start taking essential amino acid which I have read is supposed to help also. Is there a blood test for magnesium levels? I have a dr. Appointment tomorrow and would love to see if my levels are low.
I think it’s called a ‘Serum Magnesium’ test, but either way it’s definitely worth asking about at your appointment.
Thank you for this – I am reassured.
All the symptoms are depressingly familiar, and as I am now into my seventies I thought I might just have to put up with them.
But I’ve got myself a load of Magnesium Citrate from Myprotein.com, and I’m taking 300-400 mg each morning now, and maybe the problems will ease over the weeks to come.
I did go to my doctor with a long list of symptoms – all he wanted to do was send me miles away to a hospital for (totally unnecessary) scans. Never even raised the possibility of a deficiency of any kind. Didn’t listen. Didn’t want to know.
Incidentally I was put on Simvastatin a few years ago when still in my sixties; after a year I felt like a 90-year-old so I went cold turkey. Don’t touch this stuff EVER. It wrecks your nerves and muscles, and massively compounded the problems I clearly already had from the mineral deficiency. If I had stayed on the statin any longer I would not have recovered any muscular strength at all. And the UK government wants to mass-medicate everyone over 50 with this poison! Guess who are laughing all the way to the bank.
I’m not expecting miracles with the magnesium, but hope not to ‘crash’ so badly and so often.
I was not diagnosed with a magnesium deficiency. I did, however, had tremors, irritability, anxiety, sleep problems, palpitations, clammy hands and tons of other little symptoms. My doctor ruled out Thyroid problems and vitamin B deficiency (still debating whether testing for Parkinson’s and MS, no family history of it). So I started taking Mag supplements in the oil and oxide form. The first couple of days, I slept 8 hours, uninterrupted, and the anxiety subsided quite a bit. The tremors did too, but did not completely disappear. I’m hoping that’s what it’s causing my discomfort. My family says it’s anxiety and it’s all in my head, but while I do have anxiety, the tremors started first, which scared me, which caused the anxiety. I am so happy I am not the only who feels like this. I can’t wait to feel happy, normal again!
If you are taking the oxide form of mag, do some research on that form and you will find out that its the form that the body absorbs less of……only 4%. I’ve been on the chelated form and have had nice improvement over time. Each has its advantages, but oxides only advantage is the price.
Hi there i got the same problems as you been through various neuros naturopaths. Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
I’ve also experienced all the symptoms of severe mag deficiency – fatigue, anxiety, irritability, confusion, mood swings, weakness, tremors, muscle twitching, muscle cramps, irregular heartbeat and also noise and light sensitivity jeez! . I’m just finishing my second month on a mag chelate supplement and all the symptoms seem to be fading exceptionally, you actually feel yourself getting better and better as time goes, sometimes you’ll feel like nothing is changing for while but at other times you get stronger day by day. After the first month the first thing I felt was my breathing getting smoother and deeper and that has calmed my irregular heartbeat although it comes back when I smoke a cigarette so I’ve decided to quit, although I do get tempted to indulge when I’m a little passed off- that’s I do not buy a pack of cigs, I just get one from a buddy whenever the urge overwhelms me (after a while taking supplements you don’t crave anymore, now I just get one when I’m really down ) felt my energy levels rise, the anxiety fades a little, I started to get hold of the confusion and mood swings and control them or not be affected by it, muscle cramps and twitches are gone! Maybe a little pain or tension wherever for a few minutes in the day. I’ve realised that I experience the muscle twitching whenever I drink soda or take in any substance high in suger or has caffeine or alcohol, an easy replacement for those is water and lots of it. Half way through the second month the anxiety and weaknesses kept on fading as with the other symptoms, energy levels were more stable through out the day, experienced less and less energy burn outs. As im Approaching the end of my second month on the supplement my overall sense of wellbeing is improving by the day, irritability and sensitivity are reducing and I feel as if those are my biggest issues right now, my anxiety has dropped, I feel it a little sometimes but I rarely have panic attacks if not at all, it’s just that noise and light sensitivity makes me irritable especially when I don’t get a good night’s rest and this causes me a little anxiety when I’m around folks. Haven’t seen a doctor yet(yikes) I’m going to tomorrow , I told myself he’d be my plan B but things are going so well now I just wanna keep em going- it really does get better.
Hi I’ve had a racing heart, weak muscles, nausea, headaches for years after coming across this site it all makes sence I’m not going mad. I need magnesium. Starting today will keep you posted on my progress
I have been experiencing strange cramp like pains in my feet and lower legs for the past two or three years. Recently I was told I had very high blood pressure but there did not seem to be any reason other than a very stressful family issue and a busy stressful job. I was advised by the doctor that it might be a magnesium or zinc deficiency but not likely. Many tests later and there has been no condition identified and nothing suggested other than blood pressure meds, which don’t do anything! I have just started taking a new magnesium supplement and was unsure if this would work, not much has occurred and I was becoming disheartened, however after reading this and related articles I will persevere and give it time to work on the problem. I will update as I notice any changes, hopefully soon.
Its amazing how so many of us are going through the same experience that sometimes feels so alone. I was also shocked at my first blood pressure reading in Aug during a routine physical. It was in the 140’s after never being out of the 20’s. I was working out 3 to 4 times a week but admit that my stamina was not right the past few months. It took another 4 months before I was diagnosed with low mag during a ER visit. All your symptoms are low mag symptoms. Mag will work depending on how severe your deficiency is. I’ve been taking Dr’s Best Chelated Mag and slowly I’m getting better, but slowly. Its been just over 2 months and I probably have a few more to go. I’ve had all the tests, 4 blood works, and everything is fine….except me. I was also prescribed BP medicine which I won’t take. I know what it is…low mag.
About a week ago I was running four miles and at mile 3 I started losing energy .short breaths and started walking the rest of the way. Two days later I had symptoms of dizziness, restlessness, anxiety,depression, confusion at times and nauceousness. I’ve changed my diet high in magnesium amongst taking epsom salt baths but I’m looking for supplements easily absorbable
Mine started with frequent pvcs, sinus tachycardia and high blood pressure. The other symptom was sore neck muscles and aching I couldn’t quite get rid of.. I think I must of had 20 pvcs a minute. Very scary and uncomfortable. I took 250 Mag Oxide which I know is the hardest to absorb but within two days the pvcs and racing heart stopped and I have been on the Mag for about three weeks and haven’t had any of the cardio symptoms although I had gone to see my heart doctor. She said to stay on the Mag and I started taking coreg for blood pressure. My sore muscles are taking longer but its better. I found out my Vitamin d3 was quite low and I learned a very good reason for it could be due low Magnesium levels.Things started to make sense and now my blood pressure is good. So I would say for the heart symptoms it was a fast turnaround time. The sore muscles is taking longer
Thank you for sharing. Some of your issues sound similar to mine. I struggled with “vertigo” fuzziness for years, then last year started getting palpitations, panic attacks, loss of appetite, dry mouth, etc. Most of my symptoms, including the vertigo, disappeared after supplementing. I still have some PVCs/extra heartbeat which the docs say is not harmful because my heart is healthy.The anxiety, though markedly decreased, still seems to be a bit of a problem. Some of it might just be in the head. The magnesium oil is what saved my life! So I have experience with the transdermal therapy and it works! In fact, until recently, I used pretty much just the oil, but now I alternate with Calm Mag Citrate (can’t do too much of it at once or I get the stomach issues). Because I am essentially self-treating, I slowed down on my magnesium supp. in the past couple weeks because I didn’t know if I was doing too much or taking enough calcium with it. I am going to my doctors tomorrow to check my Mag RBC levels again. The last time I checked it was only 1 point above the min level on the range. I’m planning on trying the ReMag because of its intra-cellular value and low incidence of stomach issues.
What is your opinion of using magnesium oil transdermally?
To be honest I’ve never tried magnesium oil transdermally so I can’t speak to how well it works. It wouldn’t surprise me if magnesium can be absorbed through the skin though, in which case I could see transdermal magnesium being a good alternative to oral magnesium supplements for people that have trouble absorbing magnesium in their intestinal tract.
Have you had experience with transdermal magnesium? If so can you let us know how it went for you?
I was just diagnosed with low magnesium. I have had anxiety for years. I pretty much have all these scary symptoms everyone has mentioned. No matter what I get, my family blames it on anxiety. The only difference in symptoms is my diastolic bp is always under 110.
I am taking a food based multivitamin, fish oil, and clonazepam. I just added
Magnesium. I am suppose to be taking 1 prilosec every morning but I just read that it can absorb all the magnesium??? Another thing, I was seen in the er and the discharge note says low mag can cause seizures. That is totally freaking me out. Don’t ya just love those notes. I am so nervous!!!! Please advise
Hi Marnie. Thanks for sharing your story!
It’s always tough when anxiety is caused by some other health issue. The anxiety I experienced while magnesium deficient caused all sorts of other symptoms, which caused me to worry even more. It was a vicious cycle and it was hard to separate the anxiety from the other symptoms.
I’ve read the same thing about antacids and magnesium. From what I’ve seen it takes stomach acid to digest the magnesium, so if Prilosec reduces stomach acid I could see where it might impact magnesium absorption.
That said, it’s always a good idea to only make one change at a time so you know what impact it is has. It would be easy to start magnesium and make a bunch of other changes at the same time, but then if you got better you wouldn’t know if was the magnesium that was helping or something else :)
As for the seizures, I haven’t seen that about low magnesium before. This site gets a lot of comments and email, and so far seizures are not one of the symptoms that gets mentioned. Of course that’s not proof in either direction, but I have found that remembering that some things are less likely than others helps me when I am anxious about something.
I hope the magnesium helps – please let us know how it goes!
I have a friend in India who has a lot of symptoms of magnesium deficiency – and she also has seizures. I did read that in several places that seizures are due to magnesium deficiency. Plus my family has a history of depression and many other magnesium deficiency symptoms and my brother took seizures as a boy. I’m vary confident seizures definitely are related to magnesium deficiency.
Thank you Paula – I don’t have much to offer in relation to seizures so the information is greatly appreciated!
Just a thought as an RN, magnesium deficiency affects the muscles, the digestive system consists of smooth muscle. It is very possible reflux and other digestive problems are related to your deficiency. I know my digestive system has also improved dramatically since I started the supplement a week ago.
The first thing I advise is for you to stop taking benzos. If you think you have issues now, benzos will leave you with issues you could never imagine. It will ultimately make things worse. Wean yourself off of those things I beg. Also, do you have enough carbs and other minerals in your diet? Potassium? Lastly, I would stay on the safe side and do a candida cleanse. That could be causing imbalances also. Eat one clove of fresh raw garlic everyday, drink cranberry juice, cook with coconut oil and onions, and stay away from candy, ice cream, and other junk foods. Hope this helps.
Eh…benzos, specifically, Clonazapam for me, has been a life *saver.* It’s the difference between me getting good sleep or staying up with pain and anxiety. It’s caused no problems. I do, however, take a very small dose – .5mg each night.
When I was a kid I had night time seizures, had all sorts of tests done but the doctors couldn’t see anything abnormal. I was prescribed magnesium +b6 and after a year taking it seizures disappeared.
Wow, where to begin! I am 45 and have a history (and family same) of debilitating depression and fatigue. Two years ago things peaked with severe aches, weakness, memory funk, carpal tunnel, inflammation, severe numbing through sleep, twitching occasionally, restless legs sometimes, charlie horses, worsening hypothyroid symptoms (freezing hands and feet for no reason), foggy, extremely easily startled to where I’d shake if somebody walked into room like as if I woke up from a horrible nightmare, etc. Got blood work and was found anemic plus low d3, b12, hypothyroid, etc. Didn’t know about magnesium yet. Supplemented on these for a year. After six months and then a year, lab work showed d3 was still deficient. Iron and ferritin went up a few points to where I was finally in range – at the very bottom. Thyroid hormones still same after dosing on Armour. I did feel a little better in that the severity of the aches and weakness was lifted. But still tired and low stamina all around. As a result of these very minimal lab improvements after one year on supplements, I dug deeper and that’s when I learned d3 won’t go up if you are magnesium deficient. I also so how ALL of my symptoms, including history of depression, were completely relative to low magnesium and that it is necessary for all the other things to work and improve. So, I started transdermal. Had to do minimal application because it made me itch. I found out I had to reintroduce magnesium slowly. So, I did. After two and three months, I found I could spray more and more on before it would make me itchy. So, that’s what I went by – putting as much on as I could get away with. Once I’d reach the itch, I had a good idea how much my body was accepting at that time. Then, 9 months after starting and building the magnesium I ran out. I actually did order a new supply before it ran out but the shipping went haywire – lost track of it. Company graciously shipped a second bottle but three weeks went by before my new supply came. So, I went without it for about two and a half weeks. Nothing drastic happened right away. Frankly I wasn’t worried. I figured that couple of weeks wouldn’t cause any major problems that quick. Boy, was I wrong. Into the third week I plummeted. Though I was still on my liquid d3, liquid B Complex, iron and fish oils I was suddenly overcome with severe aches and weakness. I was going severely numb at night needing to use one arm to lift and transport my other while sleeping. Suddenly I was jumping out of my socks at being startled again with butterflies and shaking at times. I had this strange cramp in the arch of my left foot that remained for days for no reason. Same with my left shoulder – couldn’t rotate it. And there was a “new” thing I noticed. I kept getting a little paranoid about what I was seeing out of the corner of my eyes. “Is that a spider???” Just freaky things like that several times this past week. My inflammation is worse than it’s been in a long time. My hands and feet are stiff and for the first time ever have what I guess is arthritic pain. I find myself rubbing my hands like you see them do on arthritis commercials. All this suddenly was upon me last week. I was so weak I could barely do anything. If I cooked dinner, it was as though I ran a marathon and it utterly depleted me. And I haven’t even been able to tend to my ministerial endeavors because my mind couldn’t “go there”.
As all this was going on I was desperately asking WHY all of a sudden am I regressing??? I have been drinking Adya water for three months now which detoxes your body of metals and such. I wondered if the detox was messing me up. That perhaps my old symptoms were showing up as they were being detoxed from the cellular level. Never did it occur to me that the two weeks without the magnesium could be responsible. It just doesn’t seem things should get that severe that quickly. But now I believe that is exactly what happened because the new bottle arrived four days ago and the severity of all I’ve mentioned has reduced to about 50-60%. Like, I still have all the symptoms but they are less severe. For example, when husband walked into kitchen last night I only jumped inside, not went through the roof shaking. I’m still so inflamed. I just found out that magnesium deficiency “feeds the fire of pain and inflammation”. And I’m still achy but not as weak. I feel I can force myself to do stuff a little easier – if that makes sense.
I just read that it takes time to build magnesium back up so hopefully it won’t take too long. I’m convinced the fact that I finally had my body getting on track with magnesium but then pulling the plug for the 2.5 weeks sent me into a tailspin. At least I hope it’s that. Time will tell. All I know is after a year of supplementing the other stuff and seeing labs barely move and the aches and weakness only minimally improved until I discovered transdermal magnesium, I have not been achy and muscularly weak since starting it until now when I went without. So… it has to be the magnesium!
What an experience! It’s so difficult when multiple things change to figure what caused an improvement or a decline.
I do hope that restarting the magnesium helps. Please stop back and let us know how it goes.
Trans-dermal use was actually what led me to research magnesium deficiency. My massage therapist mentioned she used it on me during my sessions, and I know I felt my best for about two to three days after my massages.
I’ve had muscle cramps after football for a couple of years.
In July 2014 I had a septoplasty.
Aug & September was very stressful period due to a development project involving the conversion of a pub into a couple of shops and some apartments.
I woke up on the 23rd of October with a dizziness that I couldn’t quite describe.
Went to see a Neurologist and had MRI Scan which was all clear.
I was then referred to ENT consultant who also gave me the all clear.
I then came across this website and have only recently started supplementing with various Magnesium supplementation.
I’ve noticed a small improvement over the week of using Magnesium but the dizziness is still noticeable.
I’m waiting on a Mg red blood cell test result in the next 2 days or so and I’m hoping to God that it comes back with a Deficieny so that I can get on with the supplementation and get rid of this dizziness.
Will let you know what happens.
I had trouble with a fluttering heart. Started experimenting with diet, seemed to come down to caffiene. Then someone told me to try magnesium. Small doses per day. My fluttering went away. Think my level of mag is off just a little without supplement, because now it seems that I will have a daily swing if I forget it. Maybe placebo effect, I don’t think so. Thinking my mag level just needs just a little tweak every day to put me from not enough to just enough. Anyway, I love coffee and can now enjoy again.