magnesium/calcium ???'s

Anonymous · July 2007

Im just wondering if you ladies here could give me some insight to my dilema...

At night when I lay down to try to go to sleep I get twitchy feelings in my legs...sometimes in the calves and sometimes in the thigh...they dont hurt like cramps but the muscle do that twitchy thing...

Also my left hand is numb again, which I know is caused basically because I have a small amount of neropathy due to pernicious anemia....but it seems worse now.

My question is: I was trying to research the twitchy on the internet and read that I should NOT be taking calcium without upping the magnesium too....Im taking 1200 of calcium D+ per day, 1000 of B12 daily....am I over dosing myself with the calcium? and need to add magnesium??? during my radiation treatments my potassium level dropped severly and the mag level was low then but not so low they felt it was an issue....Im going to have a blood draw on Monday for the B12 level so will ask the doc to check for the others too.....

Im just having a hard time sleeping and this really isnt helping any at all!!!!!

Any advice you ladies can give will be greatly appreciated!!!!

Jule

Anonymous · July 2007

You're not taking any magnesium? The ladies here say to take a 2:1 ratio -- 2 being calcium and 1 being magnesium. So, If you're taking 1200 mg of calcium you need 600 mg of mag. If the mag makes your stools too loose then you cut back.

I'm sure there will be someone coming along to explain more in depth. These ladies have helped me TREMENDOUSLY!
Shirley

Anonymous · July 2007

Oh great!!!!
Why is it WE have to research everything???? They never once said anything about taking magnesium...I was beginning to think my potassium is low again because I feel similar to the way I did then but not quite...you know how you feel something but you cant put your finger on the difference? Thats the way this feels...

My other concern is the fatigue...I finished rads the middle of march and some days I feel that Ive walked into a brick wall when the fatigue hits...it was getting better but now thats back in full force too!!!! Ive been reading about low mag on the net and it does alot of referencing to potassium and calcium and the main side effect I see is muscle twitching and fatigue...

Thank you Shirley for your reply...it sounds like you have been taking it and it has helped????

Thanks
Jule

Rosemary44 · July 2007

It sounds like your suffering from restless leg syndrome which is the most annoying thing on this planet. It's helped with magnesium and low dose B6 for better mag absorption.

Once you get it, you got it. You won't notice it if you keep taking the mag. The B6 might even help the hand problem. I keep some mag citrate powder around so when the jumps hit, I grab a tsp full with orange juice and it's gone within minutes. You might also find that others in your family have RLS, if that's truly the problem.

I take calcium and magnesium together which competes with each other for absorption, thus the extra mag powder to use at a different time.

I've read that gensing works for fatigue but I haven't tried it. I don't know if we should take that while on AI's or tamox. I haven't looked it up. I've been getting a little relief from drinking green tea and I'm trying a veggie powder (organic) that I've started today. It's called Berry Green from New Chapter. I haven't fell asleep yet, it might be working.

Anonymous · July 2007

Okay, since they don't tell us anything here's the scoop. LOL

You may already know this, but calcium citrate is easier to absorb and you do not need food with it. Also, mag citrate. I believe that's the best also. I take it. I'm sure the docs told you to take D3 and you must take that with foods with fat. If I don't eat a full meal with mine I may take mine with a few nuts and my fish oil. Oh, and I believe we're supposed to take the magnesium at a different time than the calcium.

Perhaps the mag will help with the muscle twitching and hopefully fatigue. I believe it should help with your quality of sleep.

Again, there will be other ladies much more knowledgeable than me that can explain this to you much better.

We are forever learning.
Shirley

Anonymous · July 2007

I see Rosemary's here. She's one of the women who's very bright when it comes to this stuff.

Rosemary, you can pay me that $10 now (you know..the $$ I get for each compliment I give you. )
Shirley

Anonymous · July 2007

Rosemary
Thank you for your reply....
I thought RLS started slowly then progressed....I did think of it being that but since I have the pernicious anemia I have issues obsorbing things so that is my first thought with mineral/vitamin deficencies...I did ask mom about the RLS and she says no one that she knows of has ever had it.
If I start taking mag, should I possibly take it at a different time than the calcium or will it matter? This is all so confusing ....Im hoping that when I have the blood work up done on Monday that I will have more answers.

Rosemary44 · July 2007

Jule,

Yes, take it at a different time. It does matter. RLS runs in my family but I didn't know it till years later. No one talks about this stuff. It might not be RLS, you could just be mag deficient because you were taking calcium without mag. Once you get back into proper range the jumps and pain will go away for good. Never to return if it's not a family thing.

The blood work-up might not show a mag deficiency. It seems that the blood will take what it needs from the muscles, so the test comes up fine, meanwhile your muscles are screaming for it. Which always reminds me that our heart is a muscle. Start at 400mg of mag citrate. Go up higher to 600, but if you get loose stools, go down 100mg at a time. That's why I get the powder cause I can fool around with dosage easily.

//////////

Shirley, I thought we agreed on $5? Next time, we'll do it in writing.

Anonymous · July 2007

Rosemary,
Thank you very much for the help...I think I will get some mag and start it this weekend....I work full time at a job where I really need my mind clear and cant accomplish that if I feel so drained and exhausted all the time....
This is worse than even the last couple of weeks of rads!!!....

Is there anything else I should be aware of that you can think of....

Heres what I take for meds:
atenonol-100 mg twice daily
spirolactone(sp?)-25 mg twice daily
1000 B12-once daily
lovstatin 50mg-(not positive about the dosage) once daily
600 calcium +D-twice daily
Arimidex-1 mg daily

Again, thanks for all your help

Rosemary44 · July 2007

Hmmm, that lovastatin could be causing the muscle problems. Any statin could do that. You might want to change that if the mag doesn't help.

I take coQ10 with my statin. Your on a low dose statin so you can take a low dose of coQ10. Since your on B12, usually it's taken with B6 and folic acid, but we get enough folic in our foods, and it's important not to supplement too much folic these days. It could increase the risk of colon polyps. Vitamin C will also help the bones and other things.

As to the other meds, I wouldn't know. I hang out in vitamin and food research mostly. Kris will know.

If your taking D3 that's already in the calcium, it won't be enough. I found Bluebonnet sells D3 without soy by-nasty products in it. I take a 1000 mgs daily besides what's in the calcium.

BlindedByScience · July 2007

Hi, Jule

I just saw the referral from Rosemary

I can offer you some things from the reading I've done: The drugs you're on, particularly the Spironolactone, can cause tiredness, drowsiness, depression and a whole host of other side-effects. So can very low potassium which spiro also is used to treat.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a682627.html

But most of the symptoms you list are also symptoms of pernicious anemia (here's a loooong list):
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/pernicious_anemia/symptoms.htm#symptom_list

How long have you been on these meds?They take several weeks to become effective...

Regarding your possible Restless Leg Syndrome, this condition has also been linked to iron. Given that you have 'trouble absorbing things' your doc should be checking for iron deficiency. You may have normal iron levels, but some people who have RLS benefit by getting more iron in their diet. For some, it turns out they have a genetic mutation that prevents them from getting enough iron to a part of the brain. In those cases, RLS is a neurological condition. For you, since you cannot find a family history, it may be that you are simply low in iron. Just speculation--and the iron link doesn't fit everyone with RLS.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_article_rls_iron.htm

Just one more thought. Low vitamin D levels can also be associated with iron-deficiency anemia.

Rosemary44 · July 2007

Thanks for the article Kris. Who would have thought of iron deficiency in the brain. Interesting. I'll have to start using my iron frying pan again.

saluki · July 2007

Quote:

Hmmm, that lovastatin could be causing the muscle problems. Any statin could do that. You might want to change that if the mag doesn't help.

I take coQ10 with my statin. Your on a low dose statin so you can take a low dose of coQ10. Since your on B12, usually it's taken with B6 and folic acid, but we get enough folic in our foods, and it's important not to supplement too much folic these days. It could increase the risk of colon polyps. Vitamin C will also help the bones and other things.

As to the other meds, I wouldn't know. I hang out in vitamin and food research mostly. Kris will know.

If your taking D3 that's already in the calcium, it won't be enough. I found Bluebonnet sells D3 without soy by-nasty products in it. I take a 1000 mgs daily besides what's in the calcium.

My thought too Rosemary---Could the Statin be causing some of this?

The other thing I would look into if you don't get relief is the possibility of Gout---You are on a Potassium sparing
water pill -Spironolactone -
Sometimes, Potassium sparing water pills can precipitate
Gout especially if there is any family history.

Can I ask you were you put on Spironolactone before your Breast Cancer Diagnosis because there has been controversy
over this medication regarding BC. Nothing has ever been proved, but it can cause breast lumps. It has not been proven to cause BC.

Boy, you are on some old-timer meds

If you don't get relief from the supplements, you may want to ask your Doctor about Klonopin (Clonazopam) It can help with RLS and some other neurologic conditions.

I'm very big on Magnesium in fact I reverse the ratio 2/1
two for me being the magnesium and one being the calcium.
I take the calcium and magnesium together at night and additional magnesium by itself earlier in the day.

Additionally, I've been taking 2300 mg D3 daily to help the calcium.

Anonymous · July 2007

Wow,
Thank you ladies for all the information!!!!

I have been on the atenolol for years, the b12 for about 18 months and the spironolactone & Arimidex since March 07 07. During rads my potassium dropped severly and I was on HDLZ for a water pill so the changed it to the spironolactone, lovastatin for about 3 months due to a higher choloestrol level.

I am having a blood draw on monday so will know the results within a day or two so hopefully I can figure this out..

Kris: yes, I know most of the sysmptoms can be involved with the pernicious aneamia but I would have thought they would have shown up before...since Ive had that sometime before the bc dx....

Thanks again for all the advice.
Jule

Anonymous · July 2007

Quote:

Shirley, I thought we agreed on $5? Next time, we'll do it in writing.

Well, ya can't blame a girl for trying.

magnesium/calcium ???'s

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