Magnesium Supplement Update and Q&A

Since starting the DIY magnesium supplement that I posted about a few weeks ago, I have had several (great!) questions, a few testimonials from others taking it, and I also wanted to let you know how it’s been going for my man and I.

I’ve also played around with the basic recipe, and tried out regular carbonated water, flavoring the mix with sweet leaf stevia drops, AND adding my own (aluminum free) baking soda to plain Seltzer water…with initially disasterous effects.  But I did figure out how to do it!   I’ll post the photo tutorial on my tweaked recipe on Friday.

My Story
First, I’ll share my results with you.  I knew the last 3 weeks was going to be crazy busy/stressful.  I was helping to organize a large event, with my kids in tow.  So my stress levels were peaked out anyway.  I was taking about 4 oz. of the Mag water supplement in the morning and evening, with a packet of Emergen C stirred in.  At the end of week one, this is what I wrote:
6/11- 9 days out: “I started taking cell salt #8 last night, to help with absorption. We’ll see. I’m going through a really busy/stressful time right now, for the next 2 weeks, so I’m not seeing as quick of a change as I’d like. Hoping this will help.
I still have seen changes…I lost 5 pounds (my pants are looser in my waist!) the first week, with no dieting/exercise. But my eye still twitches some. Not as badly…not daily, but it’s still happening some. So I know I’m burning through it.”
Later that day, I wrote: “I added cell salt #8, and hit saturation!”

At that point, I really felt SO much better.  My eye stopped twitching, I was no longer constipated, and my anxiety levels were in the normal range, even in light of the stressful events going on.

By the 14th, I’d lost 9 pounds!

However, I had stopped taking it on the 11th, and took it only once a week for a couple of weeks.  During that time, I began struggling with anxiety, constipation, and my weight went right back up.  Dang it.  But I’m STILL excited about how much of a change I saw.  I now know that I just need to be more consistent with it, and possibly up my daily dose.

It also seems that I am not able to ‘hold’ a good level, so I’m experimenting with adding in a potassium supplement to see if that will help.  The minerals potassium, calcium, and magnesium all affect the body balance of minerals.

I’m now taking 8-12 oz. of the supplement per day (split into a couple of doses), and taking the #8 cell salt with it.

My Husband’s Story
My husband had very different symptoms than I had, but they still fell clearly within the range of magnesium deficiency.  He was experiencing frequent and unexplained aches and pains…I call it COMS (Crotchety Old Man Syndrome), and also a sensation that he *needed* to take a deep breath, but that he couldn’t breath in deeply enough.  It bothered him enough to go to the doctor about it a couple times, but there was really nothing physically wrong.  He was offered ‘happy pills’ for anxiety, because he was really worried about why he felt so badly and had all these weird symptoms.
He didn’t put much stock into the magnesium therapy, but he was willing to give it a shot to humor me.  After a few days, he was really amazed at how much his symptoms have lessened.  And after a week of taking the magnesium, he’d seen *significant* improvement!

He is taking it once or twice daily (with or without the Emergen C powder mixed in, and without taking the cell salts), and hasn’t experienced any symptoms of saturation.

Survey Says…

Several friends on facebook have also started using the magnesium supplement recipe, and have mentioned their results:

“So, can after two days should I be see results? I haven’t had any of the random, jolting pains since I started taking the mag. No leg twitches either. [Based on my monthly cycle, I] should be on an up swing of these symptoms and am not having them.” ~Jess

“I had a terrible tooth ache for months. I thought I had a cavity.  A dental exam showed that there was no cavity and the dentist thought I was grinding my teeth in my sleep. I bought a mouth guard for wrestlers… the pain went away after about 2 weeks.   I’m taking magnesium too in the mixture made from club soda and milk of magnesia and it’s working WONDERS!” ~T.S.

“MOM mag…has greatly reduced my heart palpitations that I would get during my cycle. Also, some of the random sharp pains that would come and go are non existent now.” ~Jess

“After my last baby was born I had this tingling sensation in my tongue all the time and I would get these small areas of really intensely warm sensations on my arms and legs – usually in about the same spots more or less. It felt kind of like that one small area was being touched by very warm sun rays or something like that. I found that supplementing with magnesium [water] a little bit helped quite a bit.” ~Elisabeth G.

“I started taking a homebrew of magnesium for some other symtpoms and I’ve noticed that I can eat ice cream again without severe pain.” ~T.S.

Other Magnesium Testimonials

In conversations about magnesium, I heard a lot of testimonials about past magnesium supplementation, and the results.  I was surprised at what a broad range of symptoms it helped!

-“It eliminated leg cramps at night for me.” ~Jennifer J.

-“I took it during labor [and] I noticed a big difference in how calm I was during labor.” ~Jennifer J.

-“I doubled up on cal/mag at the end of my last 3 pregnancies and I really believe that made my labors WAY easier.” ~Melissa H.

-“Cal mag helped me have the best birth! I wont say it was painless, but the pregancy I took it around the clock…was my best birth!” ~Emily G.
There were several ladies with personal testimonies about this same thing, including myself!  But talk to your medical professional about dosage amounts, especially toward the end of your pregnancy.

-“…helped me not have RLS during pregnancy.” ~Joan K.

-“Using magnesium oil I was able to get rid of the dreaded headache I got right before my cycle would start.” ~Jessica Y.

-“Has helped here with tooth pain, growing pains in kid’s legs, twitchy muscles in general, restless legs during pregnancy, uptight, grouchy feeling, digestive issues and constipation.” ~Judi M.

-“It helps my migraines. Mostly in prevention. Also, I don’t like chocolate. When I crave it I take magnesium and it goes away” ~Cynthia N.

-“My oldest sometimes has leg cramps. When I give him magnesium they go away.” ~Cynthia N.

-“The other night my legs and arms were very restless. Took my powdered magnesium/calcium supplement and it settled down almost immediately and I was able to sleep.” ~Mandi A.

-“My Nurse Practitioner told me today that too much calcium supplementation without enough magnesium is what can cause kidney stones. The body has to have magnesium to process calcium properly.” ~Gwen

-“When I did drink the [magnesium] water I noticed I wasn’t so quick to anger.” Jennie G.

-“I used to have hip pain that would wake me many times during the night, and calcium did not help that. I sleep much better and notice if I miss a couple nights in a row sleeplessness and the hip pains return.” ~Christine G.

-“We also are using it to treat urgency (not UTI) in our teen, it helps relax the bladder.” ~Christine G.

-“And for occasional growing pains in children (the kids and teen use natural calm, which is powdered drink mix and easier than tablets).” ~Christine G.

– “When a headache is coming on, we take 200-800 mg with 1-2L water, and it almost always knocks the headache or migraine out immediately, especially if taken at the first aura or sign of a headache.” ~Christine G.

Q&A
I’ve gotten several questions about the DIY Magnesium Supplement recipe as well.

Q. I’ve noticed that different brands of Club Soda have different ingredients.  Of the two brands I’ve purchased they have not contained sodium bicarbonate at all, but one does have potassium bicarbonate.  Would the mixture of club soda and MOM would even be effective?

A. Absolutely.  The main thing that you want to see on the label is “carbon___”  The water is already “carbon”ated, and the other ingredients with carbon in it just lend more to the reaction to create the magnesium carbonate.  Potassium is one of the minerals that the body needs in conjunction with magnesium, so I think it would be a good choice.  I bought a bottle this week that has potassium carbonate in it.

If you’d prefer to add more carbon to the reaction, you can use the alternative recipe I provide, and add your own baking soda to the mix.  I give instructions on the printable Magnesium Supplement Recipe here.

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Q. Where do you get milk of magnesia? and for that matter, soda water.  Is that just carbonated water?

A. I buy the MOM at the grocery store in the pharmacy section, and the soda water should be carried in a regular grocery store as well.

Generally speaking, soda water *usually* has added salts/minerals to give it the taste of carbonated mineral water.  But you’ll want to check the label.  Most of the grocery stores around here either sell it on the water aisle, or the soda aisle, and they usually have several types of carbonated water including tonic water, soda water, and just plain carbonated water (called Seltzer Water at my local Kroger store.)

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Q. All I could find at the store was cherry flavored mom. Is that ok?

A. I was told not to get flavored as that will interfere with the chemical reaction.  Go with the “Original” or unflavored MOM. ~Heather H.
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Q. Checking on line for sodium content for a couple of brands of club soda the sodium is only 5-55 mg. With sodium levels that low there can’t be much bicarbonate in it. Since the bicarbonate (baking soda) is what makes the mag more absorbable & most of the carbonation dissipates anyway, it may be better to mix baking soda with plain water & add the milk of magnesia to it.

A. The carbonation also contributes carbon.  There is another recipe online that only relies on the carbon bubbles in the carbonated water to provide the necessary chemical reaction.  You can read more about that here:

http://www.afibbers.org/Wallerwater.pdf 

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If you have any more questions, just ask below in the comments.  I’m still learning as I go, and listening to my own body’s needs as best I can.  I’m very pleased with the results so far.

Have you tried it yet?  I’d love to hear your results as well!