Constipated taking chelated magnesium

Okay, I am as baffled as anyone. I started taking chelated magnesium for my Heart issue. Before starting the chelated magnesium, I has some sporadic constipation but controlled it by eating fiber and watching what I ate.

I started taking chelated magnesium several weeks ago along with the Waller Water I had already been consuming. I have not changed my eating habits but I am totally constipated. I am up to 600 mg of Chelated Magnesium a day along with the WAller Water and again this morning, I am constipated. I had no bowel movement yesterday and a very small one this morning; Hard forcefull stool.

Before I started taking the chelated Magnesium, I am a regular 1X a day person first thing in the morning. I have not fought constipation like this in years.

What is going on? I am drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. I do not understand why the magnesium is constipating me. I have read where magnesium will "bulk" the stool but I have not even come close to loose bowels. I am afraid to increase my magnesium intake. I probably am close to 1 gram a day because of the 600 mg of chelated magnesium, the WW water concentrated shots I take(2 a day) and my 1 quart of waller water.

What is going on? I am confused.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2014 05:19PM by smackman.

This reminds me of a trip to Morocco in the 80's when the entire charter flight had violent diarrhea except for myself and my friends (that would be about 350 people for 4 washrooms). Some were taken off the plane on stretchers. And the dinner served? Stewed lamb and prunes on couscous.

I am at a loss after hearing so many years of those taking magnesium to tolerance and having 'the trots' including myself. I am baffled but I would certainly want to seek the advice of at least a GP (family doctor) on this as it may be disguising other, more urgent, issues.

One can never be too careful.

Murray L

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tikosyn uptake Dec 2011 500ug b.i.d. NSR since!
Herein lies opinion, not professional advice, which all are well advised to seek.

Smackman,
Have you considered using Miralax on a daily basis until you can ramp up your magnesium intake to bowel tolerance. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of magnesium to reach bowel tolerance. The Miralax will resolve the constipation issues in the interim.

Jean

I remain thoroughly confused by the references to constipation from Magnesium consumption (and earlier references to it "bulking the stool"). And I don't understand how someone can take several grams a day without suffering complete malnutrition from diarrhea. I guess it just shows how many moving parts (going in differing directions) there are in each of us.

Smackman, i see where you say you are afraid to increase your Mg intake. What bad result is it that you fear? As far as anybody here knows, the only bad result from too much magnesium is a severe case of diarrhea. Do you think some other result may come from it, or has some GP told you something he dreamed up but nobody else but him knows about, or what? Please tell us what it is that is making you afraid?

PeggyM

PeggyM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Smackman, i see where you say you are afraid to
> increase your Mg intake. What bad result is it
> that you fear? As far as anybody here knows, the
> only bad result from too much magnesium is a
> severe case of diarrhea. Do you think some other
> result may come from it, or has some GP told you
> something he dreamed up but nobody else but him
> knows about, or what? Please tell us what it is
> that is making you afraid?
>
> PeggyM

It seems everytime I add 200 mg of chelated magnesium, I am no better off as far as constipation. I am already up to 600 mg of chelated magnesium a day plus 2, 2 ounce shots of concentrated Waller Water which is approx 500 mg extra of Magnesium magnesium a shot plus I drink 1 Quart of the Waller Water.

I also eat a fairly high fiber diet and have been for several years. I am staying more constipated after starting the magnesium supplements IMO.

I know if one takes to much Magnesium, It is also "not good" for the Heart. I just had Cather Ablation 2 months ago so I am a little over protective of this new rhing that is the magnesium.

I want to do what is right........................

I would have thought 1000 mg og magnesium a day would at least give me descent bowel movements but it has not.

I am a novice when it comes to taking supplememnts so I admit I am becoming reluctant.

If the mag is the source of your constipation, the only reason I can see is some interaction with your relatively long list of meds.

A simple solution is to drop the mag altogether and see if your constipation changes.

I suppose anything is possible, but it would be extremely unusual for mag to cause it, since mag is prescribed to evacuate your bowels.

As far as too much mag being bad for your heart, this is only the case if your kidneys don't excrete the excess. As I've posted about here before, the magnesium researcher Dr. Mansmann took 20g/day for a year to reverse his diabetic neuropathy. Other than loose stools, he had nothing deleterious from doing this. Here is a post I wrote several years on him <[www.afibbers.org]

George

GeorgeN Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If the mag is the source of your constipation, the
> only reason I can see is some interaction with
> your relatively long list of meds.
>
> A simple solution is to drop the mag altogether
> and see if your constipation changes.
>
> I suppose anything is possible, but it would be
> extremely unusual for mag to cause it, since mag
> is prescribed to evacuate your bowels.
>
> As far as too much mag being bad for your heart,
> this is only the case if your kidneys don't
> excrete the excess. As I've posted about here
> before, the magnesium researcher Dr. Mansmann took
> 20g/day for a year to reverse his diabetic
> neuropathy. Other than loose stools, he had
> nothing deleterious from doing this. Here is a
> post I wrote several years on him
> <[www.afibbers.org]
> 16516#msg-116516
>
> George

Magnesium shows no drug interaction with the medications I take. I guess I am not taking enough of the chelated magnesium. I am tired of this constipation. I will increase my chelated magnesium capsules from 600-800 mg a day. At this rate, It will become a "costly" supplement.

I understand the cost issue. I take a lot of mag: 2-4 grams/day. Here is a cost breakdown (without shipping) of various forms:

gms of mag/container	cost	$/gm 	Carb water	Total $/gm
Doctor's Best	24	17.99	0.75				0.75
Waller Water	26	3.57	0.14	0.30			0.44
di mag		90.8	15.99	0.18				0.18
Nigari		54.48	2.49	0.05				0.05
Nigari bulk	2397.12	75.8	0.03				0.03

Doctor's Best - 240 - 100 mg tablets, iHerb.com
Waller Water - Equate MOM <[www.walmart.com] + Store brand CO2 water - $0.90/2 liters Waller Water concentrate = 1.5 gm mag/l <[www.afibbers.org]
di mag <[www.performanceequineusa.com] 45 servings = 454 grams compound = 90.8 gm mag
Nigari <[www.naturalimport.com] 1 pound = $2.49 = 54.48 gms Mag used 1/2 cup /2l, 2 l = 7.4 g mag, 100 ml = 370 mg mag
Nigari bulk <[www.naturalimport.com] 44 pounds = $75.80 = 2,397 gms, make up mag chloride water as above

I take all of the above, except I use KAL mag glycinate for tablets (from habit, I started using them 9 years ago) and they are about $0.46/g.

George



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2014 06:35PM by GeorgeN.

Smackman -

First, realize that the chelated version is formulated specifically not to cause bowel intolerance until one reaches fairly high doses that would most likely be at least double your 600 mg although everyone reacts slightly differently and has a different 'saturation' point.

To reverse your constipation quickly, try another form of magnesium. Use some of the concentrated Milk of Magnesia you use to make the WW.... or get magnesium citrate. You can magnesium citrate find that at a health food store. Or if all else fails, you can buy the bottled liquid Magnesium Citrate which is used for a bowel cleanout prep prior to colonoscopies or surgeries.

Then consider some of George's options.

Jackie

Hi Smackman.

Just noticed your 'issue' here. And the advice given by a number of folks here that is spot on that its nothing to worry about taking more magnesium, It will not hurt your heart at anything close to doses you could take by the oral route without eventually relieving all signs and symptoms of constipation in a far bigger way than you might have bargained for... the old analogy of 'goose' come to mind ...

And Jackie took the words write off of my keyboard, about the chelated magnesium being intended not to promote loose stools. Particularly the glycinate, malate and taurinate chelated forms.

Citrate tends to get the ball rolling more readily and in the CALM product which is a powdered Magnesium a few teaspoons of that will typically do the trick. At the very worse a severe magnesium overdose which you are in no danger of even approaching with anything close to the doses you have been taking so far could lower your blood pressure a bit too far for comfort and if that should ever happen just have some Calcium on hand and take a couple grams of that and it will fairly quickly reverse the mag overdose.

But don't even worry about that. its not going tot happen, the constipation is a sign that you are not getting enough IC magnesium nor serum magnesium either. Believe me some of us Afibbers can require a truck load of the stuff to start to build up depleted stores and with your on going symptoms of anxiety and the particularly list of drugs you are taking, its little surprise that you will need a lot more than the usual doses to start to fill up your Magnesium storage tank again.

the good news is that when this starts to happen you will likely notice a lessening to the other symptoms too and not just the constipation. So fire away but as Jackie said, for the time being try adding in some of the more bowel intolerant forms of magnesium such as citrate powder, milk of magnesia etc and the brans Jean recommended too if that is more readily available too you. The Mag citrate powder I referreed too is called 'CALM' and you can order it and most other forms of Magnesium via our website link to IHERB via our Vitamin Shop and help out the cause at the same time.

Another thing while your are at it, is to order some topical magnesium and start using it religiously in baths, foot soaks or topical sprays and rub it in . This will help get you IC mag levels up a lot faster and then you are likely to respond a lot better to more typical oral doses, though you still will likely need more than most with the cumulative medication effects depleting a fair amount of your IC magnesium.

Best wishes,
Shannon

So, The big picture is that chelated magnesium will not cause loose stools like Magnesium Citrate. Honestly, I did not know that.

There is no way I want to spend $60+ dollars a month on magnesium. I thought chelated was the way to go because it was more readily absorbed by the body which in turn does little for constipation without going to a real high value.

I guess I misunderstood; I thought I was told to take the chelated magnesium until I reached my "bowel tolerance" but that would be a lot of chelated magnesium.

There are so many ways from what I read above and other post to achieve the "proper amount" of magnesium but I guess since I take so many medications it might not be reachable for me

I will take 400 mg of chelated magnesium a day; Drink my WW water(1 quart a day); 2 shots of concentrated WW water a day.

I wish I knew the proper formula for me but dang this could get very expensive quick just taking good magnesium.

I am scared of the magnesium used to soak in with bath water. I have a sensitive issue on my "man part" and I do not know if this would aggravate the issue.I also have sensitive skin. I would rather take supplements by mouth.

My GP told me my magnesium level was perfect going by the blood serum but had no issues with taking up to 400 mg a day of magnesium............

The dimagnesium malate I reference above is $0.18/gram. It is a quality product, made by Albion using their patented process. You'd have to take 10g/day to get to $60/month with it, which is unlikely. 1/2 tsp of the powder = 1 g mag (5 g product).

Hey Smackman

Just use the topical Mag as a spray on other parts of your body ... sans the 'man parts' .... no worries. You can also just use a small foot soak tub avaialbe at most pharmacies or larger drug stores and just put 2 ounces of topical magnesium in warm 105 degree water but not too hot for 20 to 30 minutes soaking both feet with the water just at the top of the feet but not splashing over the top of the tub, obviously.

Oral mag is often an issue for absorption and while yes chelated is typically much better absorbed it can still be difficult to get enough especially with various drugs on board that deplete magnesium stores and that often afibbers tend to be excessive magnesium wasters meaning their bodies run through magnesium quickly ands this is especially true during frequent bouts of AFIB.

Avoiding the sensitive area you mentioned is easy to do and other than that there is no fear, often times the excess magnesium you might need will be temporary to some degree and once you get your IC levels up to snuff it may well take less dose to maintain it.

Anyway, your main issue at the moment is simply breaking the constipation. I recall this was a problem for you when we met at your ablation as well before you were taking much magnesium though I understand you experience it getting a lot worse with the added chelated mag. Its possible too some of your constipation is, in part, sure to undiagnosed hypothyroidism, even so called 'sub-clinical hypo is a common source of long standing constipation issues.

Just focus on using whatever forms and doses of mag now that will help break the constipation cycle, I can almost guarantee you will hit a dose that does the trigger. Of try some Herbalax from IHerb.com or a local health food store as an adjunct to your magnesiums dose. Usually two capsules of Herbalax the night before will do the trick in a fairly gentle and easy way.

Good luck.
Shannon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2014 07:44PM by Shannon.

A way to get topical mag is make a lotion or cream. This way you can control exactly where you put it. People with autism need the sulphate in Epsom salt, so they have a number of ways to make creams: <[www.enzymestuff.com]

You can use mag chloride as well as Epsom salt (mag sulphate). I've done this with Nigari (linked in my post above). You can make your own "magnesium oil." To do this put in just enough water with some mag chloride crystals (such as Nigari) to dissolve the crystals. This will "feel" oily, but has no oil. It is just mag chloride and water.

Smackman... clarification is in order.

I thought you were wanting to take magnesium to help maintain your normal heart rhythm after ablation... If your intracellular levels of magnesium are low, you will be unable to do that consistently or if your IC magnesium levels decline. Serum magnesium levels do not reflect what's inside the heart cells. Therefore, we supplement to get IC levels optimized. Most doctors don't understand this but there is science to support that fact.

We warn people to ramp up magnesium dosing in small increments over several days' time so that you don't get a case of loose stools. The idea is to let your body acclimate slowly or get used to the intake of magnesium. We say to push to bowel tolerance slowly because eventually, when the dose is high enough, the excess will be excreted and you'll get the first sign of soft stools and the next will be two or more bowel movements a day. The diarrhea stage is to be avoided...so we say... start low and go slowly. The goal is for 'almost' saturation... which changes easily depending on your body's depletors... stress being the largest factor... intake of drugs ranks high as well... various foods are depleters such as alcohol and toxic chemicals and food additives.. it's all discussed in many previous posts on the importance of magnesium...for health and especially cardiac health.

Interferences at the cell's receptors prevent magnesium to be taken in or admitted inside the cell (where we want it) and your heart cell needs it. These can include damaged, crimped cell receptors from eating trans fats. So, when that happens, magnesium gets 'dumped' back into the intestinal tract and you'll get loose stools quicker than one might imagine...often at very low doses. Not everyone has healthy outer cell envelopes or layers.

Interferences may also happen right at the point where the digested magnesium from the stomach...flows into the intestine but can't get through the portal or intestinal lumen where should be delivered from there to the cell's receptor site. If that's the case, it will cause diarrhea much faster than making it to the receptor area. Interferences include clogged intestinal walls with food debris often undigested, Candia albicans (yeast) overgrowth which blocks the portals or lumens, inflammation of the GI tract and much more. People who don't tolerate magnesium at all often need to have a total GI detoxification clearance before they can begin absorbing nutrients from the GI tract.

We recommend taking the chelated version of magnesium since it offers the best opportunity to deliver magnesium to the receptors in the cell's outer layer or envelope. Other magnesium forms that are not chelated break down in the presence of stomach acid and magnesium binds to various other compounds which may not may not be admitted to the cells' interiors. Some is, some is excreted. Some is excreted quite rapidly... thus it has a laxation effect. This does not occur nearly as with the magnesium amino acid chelated form (patented by Albion process)...because it stays tightly bound (as a chelate) even the gastric acid soup evironment.

However, if you were looking to take magnesium to counteract the predictable bowel problem of constipation which many drugs do, then you should look to the magnesium citrate forms ...liquid or powder because those are fast acting... and minor amounts of magnesium probably do get through to the receptor areas. Or take the WW concentrate until you have the desired results.

I hope this helps. Sorry for the confusing. It's good you kept posting so we could clear this up.

Be well,
Jackie

Jackie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Smackman... clarification is in order.
>
> I thought you were wanting to take magnesium to
> help maintain your normal heart rhythm after
> ablation... If your intracellular levels of
> magnesium are low, you will be unable to do that
> consistently or if your IC magnesium levels
> decline. Serum magnesium levels do not reflect
> what's inside the heart cells. Therefore, we
> supplement to get IC levels optimized. Most
> doctors don't understand this but there is science
> to support that fact.
>
> We warn people to ramp up magnesium dosing in
> small increments over several days' time so that
> you don't get a case of loose stools. The idea is
> to let your body acclimate slowly or get used to
> the intake of magnesium. We say to push to bowel
> tolerance slowly because eventually, when the dose
> is high enough, the excess will be excreted and
> you'll get the first sign of soft stools and the
> next will be two or more bowel movements a day.
> The diarrhea stage is to be avoided...so we say...
> start low and go slowly. The goal is for 'almost'
> saturation... which changes easily depending on
> your body's depletors... stress being the largest
> factor... intake of drugs ranks high as well...
> various foods are depleters such as alcohol and
> toxic chemicals and food additives.. it's all
> discussed in many previous posts on the importance
> of magnesium...for health and especially cardiac
> health.
>
> Interferences at the cell's receptors prevent
> magnesium to be taken in or admitted inside the
> cell (where we want it) and your heart cell needs
> it. These can include damaged, crimped cell
> receptors from eating trans fats. So, when that
> happens, magnesium gets 'dumped' back into the
> intestinal tract and you'll get loose stools
> quicker than one might imagine...often at very low
> doses. Not everyone has healthy outer cell
> envelopes or layers.
>
> Interferences may also happen right at the point
> where the digested magnesium from the
> stomach...flows into the intestine but can't get
> through the portal or intestinal lumen where
> should be delivered from there to the cell's
> receptor site. If that's the case, it will cause
> diarrhea much faster than making it to the
> receptor area. Interferences include clogged
> intestinal walls with food debris often
> undigested, Candia albicans (yeast) overgrowth
> which blocks the portals or lumens, inflammation
> of the GI tract and much more. People who don't
> tolerate magnesium at all often need to have a
> total GI detoxification clearance before they can
> begin absorbing nutrients from the GI tract.
>
> We recommend taking the chelated version of
> magnesium since it offers the best opportunity to
> deliver magnesium to the receptors in the cell's
> outer layer or envelope. Other magnesium forms
> that are not chelated break down in the presence
> of stomach acid and magnesium binds to various
> other compounds which may not may not be admitted
> to the cells' interiors. Some is, some is
> excreted. Some is excreted quite rapidly... thus
> it has a laxation effect. This does not occur
> nearly as with the magnesium amino acid chelated
> form (patented by Albion process)...because it
> stays tightly bound (as a chelate) even the
> gastric acid soup evironment.
>
> However, if you were looking to take magnesium to
> counteract the predictable bowel problem of
> constipation which many drugs do, then you should
> look to the magnesium citrate forms ...liquid or
> powder because those are fast acting... and minor
> amounts of magnesium probably do get through to
> the receptor areas. Or take the WW concentrate
> until you have the desired results.
>
> I hope this helps. Sorry for the confusing. It's
> good you kept posting so we could clear this up.
>
>
> Be well,
> Jackie

My constipation is okay now. I guess my misunderstanding was to take the chelated magnesium and slowly ramp up the dosage until I had loose stools.

I did not buy the chelated magnesium for constipation; I generally keep my constipation "in check" by a high fiber diet and trying to eat properly. I just thought taking the chelated magnesium would cause loose stools but it seem to have no effect at even 600 mg a day. I actually had backed down on my fiber intake and I also ate to much red meat so I became constipated. I just thought the magnesium would cause my stool to be looser especially 3 200 mg pills a day.

I want to take the chelated magnesium FOR MY HEART. If it helps with constipation, that is a plus for me. I should be coming off Multaq next week because it will be 2 months since my Ablation and I have been doing good. Hopefully Lopressor which I hate and Xarelto will follow in the next few months.

I appreciate all the help; I want to be heart healthy post ablation; It is a learning curve and I have a lot to learn.

Okay, Smackman - we are on the same page now. My comment still stands that your 600 mg of magnesium may not be nearly enough to optimize your intracellular levels so you will want to keep increasing slowly. As you are able to discontinue some of the major drugs that continually deplete magnesium, you should be able to make some progress.

It all takes time and at least you are now headed in the right direction. We are all here to help so continue with your participation as everyone learns when we are interactive with each other.

I wish you well.

Jackie