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Calcium channel blockers and magnesium

Lahodges10 profile image
15 Replies

Hi all,

I wondered if any of you took magnesium alongside your af medication. I am taking verapamil, which I seem to have tolerated really well, but was recommended magnesium as well. Can I take these alongside each other? I’m still yet to see the hospital (they did ring me Monday and said I was required to see someone urgently but they simply didn’t have any appointments and would be In touch) so I’m just feeling my way around on my own at the minute.

Thanks so much,

Lauren ☺️

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15 Replies

Hi Lauren, I have no direct experience of verapamil, but I take Diltiazem (another calcium channel blocker) and Magnesium Taurate with no problems. Just to be on the safe side, always best to check with your pharmacist.

Lahodges10 profile image
Lahodges10 in reply to

That’s great - thank you. That’s the exact magnesium I was recommended. I’ll pop into the pharmacy tmo. Thanks for the reply ☺️

in reply to Lahodges10

Not easy to get in pharmacies, may have to resort to online shopping, I buy BioCare. Also worth taking a look at Dr Sanjay Gupta’s videos on magnesium on YouTube, I think there are 2 or 3. He explains more about the benefits and talks about alternatives which are easier to find and a bit cheaper. Good luck....

Lahodges10 profile image
Lahodges10 in reply to

That’s great - thank you!

Rosemaryb1349 profile image
Rosemaryb1349 in reply to

Hi Flapjack, I too take Biocare version and have just vey recently re-stocked the cupboard but I have just checked and I seem to have been sent Mag Malate not Taurate. Any views on wether this is as good as turate?

Rosie

in reply to Rosemaryb1349

Sorry Rosemary, no idea. No doubt you will tick them off and get them changed!!

Polski profile image
Polski in reply to Rosemaryb1349

It's good but not as good. See sleeksheep's link below.

sleeksheep profile image
sleeksheep in reply to

I am the same as FlapJack , I take 240mg Diltiazem CD and take Cardiovascular Research Ltd - Magnesium Taurate. With the Black Friday sales its a very good time to stock up.

aor.us/forms-of-magnesium/

If you cannot find a high quality Magnesium Taurate you can buy Turine to take with your Magnesium , usually cheaper but more tablets/ capsules .

in reply to

Hi Flapjack, I too am on diltiazem and was considering magnesium. Can I please ask how it helps you and what dosage you take?

in reply to

Back in April, I started to get lots of palpitations/tachycardia and they seemed to reduce when I took two capsules a day of BioCare. Difficult to know what does what and I was never a particularly fan of supplements, but having watched Dr Gupta’s videos, thought it was worth trying. Take heed of CDreamers post tho, as those with low BP need to be careful

CDreamer profile image
CDreamer

Beware as Magnesium can intensify the affects of some medications - especially Calcium Chanel blockers so err on the side of caution.

ancient-minerals.com/magnes...

Not to say you can’t take Magnesium but maybe look at Magnesium oil or Epsom Salt bathing rather than oral?

Lahodges10 profile image
Lahodges10 in reply to CDreamer

Ahh yes this is what I wondered...

Try feeling your way around your sugar intake. Check this out:

-----------------------------------

After 9 years of trying different foods and logging EVERYTHING I ate, I found sugar (and to a lesser degree, salt – i.e. dehydration) was triggering my Afib. Doctors don't want to hear this - there is no money in telling patients to eat less sugar. Each person has a different sugar threshold - and it changes as you get older, so you need to count every gram of sugar you eat every day (including natural sugars in fruits, etc.). My tolerance level was 190 grams of sugar per day 8 years ago, 85 grams a year and a half ago, and 60 grams today, so AFIB episodes are more frequent and last longer (this is why all doctors agree that afib gets worse as you get older). If you keep your intake of sugar below your threshold level your AFIB will not happen again (easier said than done of course). It's not the food - it's the sugar (or salt - see below) IN the food that's causing your problems. Try it and you will see - should only take you 1 or 2 months of trial-and-error to find your threshold level. And for the record - ALL sugars are treated the same (honey, refined, agave, natural sugars in fruits, etc.). I successfully triggered AFIB by eating a bunch of plums and peaches one day just to test it out. In addition, I have noticed that moderate (afternoon) exercise (7-mile bike ride or 5-mile hike in the park) often puts my Afib heart back in to normal rhythm a couple hours later. Don’t know why – perhaps you burn off the excess sugars in your blood/muscles or sweat out excess salt?? I also found that strenuous exercise does no good – perhaps you make yourself dehydrated??

I'm pretty sure that Afib is caused by a gland(s) - like the Pancreas or Thyroid - or an organ that, in our old age, is not working well anymore and excess sugar or dehydration is causing them to send mixed signals to the heart - for example telling the heart to beat fast and slow at the same time - which causes it to skip beats, etc. I can't prove that (and neither can my doctors), but I have a very strong suspicion that that is the root cause of our Afib problems. I am working on this with a Nutritionist and hope to get some definitive proof in a few months.

Also, in addition to sugar, if you are dehydrated - this will trigger AFIB as well. It seems (but I have no proof of this) that a little uptick of salt in your blood is being treated the same as an uptick of sugar - both cause AFIB episodes. (I’m not a doctor – it may be the sugar in your muscles/organs and not in your blood, don’t know). In any case you have to keep hydrated, and not eat too much salt. The root problem is that our bodies are not processing sugar/salt properly and no doctor knows why, but the AFIB seems to be a symptom of this and not the primary problem, but medicine is not advanced enough to know the core reason that causes AFIB at this time. You can have a healthy heart and still have Afib – something inside us is triggering it when we eat too much sugar or get (even a little) dehydrated. Find out the core reason for this and you will be a millionaire and make the cover of Time Magazine! Good luck! - Rick Hyer

PS – there is a study backing up this data you can view at:

https//cardiab.biomedcentral.com/a...

Lahodges10 profile image
Lahodges10 in reply to

Agree with it all! And I defo think my afib has been caused by something else, I have been a sugar addict my whole life! And carbs, and because I’ve been lucky and I’m slim I just went crazy with sugar. I’m only 35 so I agree that something somewhere has caused this strange thing to happen to me.

in reply to Lahodges10

Yes, I have been a sugar addict all my life as well. I remember going through 15 pounds of chocolates in 10 days over Christmas break in High School. Loved it! But - all good things must come to an end I suppose. Since you are so young, I would like to know what your sugar tolerance is. If you find out, let me know. (you may email me at RickHyer@Outlook.com if you want). I would think it would be pretty high since you are only 35 - hopefully over 200 grams a day.

Anyway - have a nice Holiday Season. Hopefully Santa will get you some nice things!!

- Rick Hyer.

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