I posted previously about my mum’s anxiety and how she has been struggling with it for months now. After a lot of advice from this group, I requested that the GP checks her magnesium and thyroid so thank you to everyone who advised me to get this checked . Her results have shown that thyroid is fine. He said mums magnesium level is 0.45. He’s advised me to get some magnesium and that mum should take it for a month, or she could take one every other day. He said any magnesium supplement can be bought such as magnesium sulphate or citrate. I’m not sure which one to get 🤔
Oh, we also found out that mums B12 is low so she’s going to have 4 weekly injections to boost that, and he suggested she have a top up of B12 every 3 months.
Any advice on the magnesium would be appreciated, I’m thinking of going to boots to get something, or maybe Holland & Barrett.
I hope these changes will help mum.
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Nickybhf
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I also take magnesium glycinate, in liquid form cause I have a hard time with big pills/ capsules and find most mag supplements are on the big side. I also take B12 as mine was a little low and my MD recommended it for fatigue. Take B12 gummies again for the big pill problem. I’m such a baby 😆, but just don’t like gagging on my medicine.
Just to say I take Magnesium Taurate, which was recommended by cardiologist Sanjay Gupta of York, but it's not as easy to find as citrate and Malate. I am improving, but not sure if it's the Magnesium or other things I'm doing ... apparently it takes a long time to build up Magnesium once it has become depleted so I've been on it almost a year now.
Doctors know very little about vitamin and mineral supplementation. Magnesium can be very helpful for anxiety ( it has helped me a lot ) but you need to take it regularly. I would also question the every other day instruction. It us better to take a small amount 2or3 times a day. Taking too much at once can cause loose bowels. I would recommend glycinate over citrate as citrate has a more pronounced effect on the digestion. Best course of action is to start off low and build up the dose.
I take a variety of Magnesium however, I often find it goes out of stock a lot. I do take several different kinds. If I don't I get muscle cramps and eye twitches. Heart is a muscle makes sense to take it.
Which magnesium to take is a science by itself with various individual factors involved. Oxide is not normally recommended but out of the others its going to be trial and error, perhaps a multi magnesium version may be best.
Epsom salts (magnesium) bath can be good, use twice what is recommended on the packet, not sure how it works as the molecules in the bath water are larger than the molecules on our skin but I felt it worked for me so I am sure it does work. Long term magnesium supplements will improve magnesium levels and as it does not have any significant side effects (unless you take a more than recommended on the packet, in which case you may not to want to travel too far from a toilet )
Oh that’s brilliant, these are the things the doctors don’t tell you. I took mum for her first dose of b11 injection today, we got told by the nurse that there would be 3 more, then a final top up after 3 months and that it.
Yes when I was told B12 deficiency I said I will try Health Shop substitute rather than injections.
There SOLGAR (Gold Top) B12 1,000ug 1 x nugget daily under tongue.
3 x times week enough making my level 700 - 800.
The Dr worked with me until I reached a level I wanted. Older folk need up there at above.
Excessive level it is secreted - no problem.
Magnesium be careful of supplements in that because can become toxic like potassium. Some meds have these in them.
Apart from B12, I don't take any supplements but eat foods with them e.g banana.
I get tested yearly. Had to stop for 1 operation. Been on SOLGAR since 2010. It has a large proven and tested for saftey track record. Ditch the injection route.
All for a healthy life with natural fruits and vegs.
Take care. Glad you are looking after your Mum. I did too returning from UK. From 87 - 90 years. In my property too, it was a privilege.
Cheri JOY. 75. (NZ)
Heard that dear Kate has a cancer. Oh dear but removal is the best line of treatment. And King Charles too. Me too, mine has returned but 3rd scan and my surgeon onto it. Papillary Thyroid cancer.
I wouldn't suggest Magnesium Sulphate at all or Magnesium Citrate over a 500 mg dose or they will upset your Mum's tummy , they have a laxative effect.It's better to take an Active form.
I use Nutrition Geeks Magnesium Glycinate 3 in 1 it contains Active Mg Glycinate, Malate and the lower dose of Citrate so it a good all round option . It's available on Amazon. I only take one capsule a day not the suggested two because of my low blood pressure.
You can start your Mum every other day for a few days until you see if she's ok with it.
Depending on your Mum's other medical conditions depends on the best time of day to take it.
It's better to take it at least 4 hours after any blood pressure medication , beta lockers or other medication that lower heart rate or blood pressure or other medications that can be affected by taking Magnesium.
If your Mum has low blood pressure , or low heart rate , especially at night , it's better to take Magnesium after the evening meal. This may be the better option whilst first trying Magnesium.
If her blood pressure and heart rate is normal but many of her symptoms and cramps happens in bed it can be a good idea to take it after a warm milk 90 minutes to an hour before bed.
It's better to take Magnesium with some other food or drink to maintain your salt balance overall, particularly if you are on a low salt diet.
This is because Magnesium supplements can temporarily decrease sodium and potassium levels in your blood , just like exercise , sweating etc. can, which can cause it's own symptoms like dizziness or trigger palpitations or AF.
I also have B12 Deficiency Anaemia and Folate Insufficiency and receive injections six weekly because of my Neurological symptoms.
Neurological symptoms mean that they give maintenance doses at a minimum of every eight weeks rather than three months , so it would be worth checking the NICE guidelines and discussing this with the GP as they aren't well informed about this , and UK doctors are over cautious in their policies because of one misunderstood research paper years ago.
She does not require another B12 blood test if she is put on injections, this is another GP error. This is a NICE protocol.
With injections your blood level can test as very high even though your active B12 is low as the blood serum test is for the total.
If she has been put on injections she should stay on them long term not just until her levels increase, this is particularly important if deficiency causes your Mum Neurological symptoms.
It's also advisable to take a B12 supplement each day with B12 Deficiency even if you are getting injections after the loading doses are done.
An active form is better in case your Mum has difficulty absorbing and metabolising B12 .
Methylcobalamine is the easiest to absorb and it's better as a spray , or sublingual tablets .
I have Lindens Sublingual B12 daily.
Take B12 supplements after a meal with no or little Vitamin C in it as Vitamin C can reduce how well B12 is absorbed.
It's also important to increase your Mum's intake of food high in B12 too , keeping your level up is key to controlling the symptoms B12 Deficiency causes, and as you have seen those symptoms can be very severe and affect all parts of body functioning.
Has your Mum also been tested for Pernicious Anaemia?
She needs the Intrinsic Factor/ OA Antibodies test.
I don't know if your Mum's Folate level and Iron/ Ferritin were also checked. If not it's important to do.
If you take B12 injections of high dose B12 supplements it's also medically recommended to take a Folate supplement each day too, because Insufficiency in both often happen together and B12 treatment can mask low Folates , and vice versa.
It's better to take an active Folate, and you get better absorption it's often better to take this with a good or drink with Vitamin C . So , unless it can't be taken with your morning medications breakfast is often a good time to take it.
Methylfolate ( 5-MTHF) is the better option , just in case a person has a MTHFR mutation which means they can't absorb standard folates or fortified food.
If you know you have the MTHFR gene mutation you shouldn't eat fortified bread and cereals because it can affect your absorption of B vitamins in your food.
So getting B Vitamins/ Folate from other foods and unfortified products is better.
I get most of my required supplements from Amazon , the selection is wider than Boots or Holland and Barrett, as well as including the named brands those shops have, and the price is cheaper. If you have Amazon Prime you can also get them delivered next day , and you can set up a Subscribe and Save order for them every few months as they are required which saves more.
Your Mum may take some time to improve even though they say after each injection you feel quite perky it can take months for her to be herself again. It will get there though. If you need any more advice on B12D or insufficiency problems and diet feel free to message me , I'll help if I can.
Mum is anaemic and has been for several years- like about 30 years. She is on iron tablets. I requested that GP check everything as I knew something isn’t right with how mums been.
Thank you for offering to message you, I’m sure I will at some point when I need to ask something.
Sounds like she could have had Vitamin B 12 Deficiency Anaemia or Pernicious Anaemia for as long as she's taken iron tablets then.I can't believe why they don't just test people for B12 and Folate Deficiencies when they keep having recurring Anaemia, Vitamin D deficiency and other symptoms relating to it.
Did you request a copy of all her tests for your record ?
Did she have the Intrinsic Factor/ PA antibodies tests and Folate and Vitamin D checked?
Did she have any abnormal levels in her full blood count?
Which type of Iron tablets does she take?
I have Solgar Gentle Iron (Iron Bisglycinate).
Iron Bisglycinate isn't available on NHS prescription unfortunately, unless they send you for infusions.
This seems ridiculous because it is the most easily absorbed type of Iron , and it stores for longer as well as causing less side effects being gentle on the stomach and bowel.
It's why it's the one prescribed to pregnant women and the elderly in The Netherlands.
I don't know if her iron is an oral supplement but if it is it's better taken at the same time as your Folate after food with some Vitamin C .
Thought I'd mention it in case you want to try it.
Neither my Iron or Vitamin D stayed in range for years despite supplements until I finally learnt about the Vitamin B12 issue and spotted the ignored test results that I'd had in my records for over ten years.
I'd been suffering with Megaloblastic Anaemia for eight years and they still hadn't spotted the link.
I'm just glad that I had begun to research everything for myself or it would have just continued.
I could hardly walk and my leg muscles were numb by the time treatment began.
Make sure they keep up her injections every three months after her initial loading doses, and don't just give her one and say that's enough. It's not the protocol for treatment, the injections should continue for life, especially with your Mum's history of Anaemia and symptoms.
Thanks for your reply, sorry for late response. I think you’re right, mum had b12 infections 2 years ago as it was low then but they never repeated any checks again until I requested them.
Mum takes Ferrous Fumarate .
Her vitamin D was previously low but she has been taking that for several years now as she has osteoporosis and has a bone infection every 6 months which only works if vitamin D is topped up.
I will question the 3 monthly injections, we had the first one last week, the nurse said after the initial 4 weekly injections, mum will get the last one after 3 months! Yet the GP said she will have them every 3 months.
She needs them every three months you need to make sure this has been put in her notes by the GP.If they are back pedalling remind them of her previous issue and recurring anaemia and that she probably should not have had the injections stopped two years ago,
I would definitely suggest swapping from a ferrous iron. The only reason this gets prescribed on the NHS is because it's cheaper , they don't even have Iron Bisglycinate as an oral supplement available for severe patients on the NHS ( my GP checked) .
Ferrous iron is harder to absorb , does not store in the body as long and has far more stomach side effects.
Active Iron , or Iron Bisglycinate, is far more easily absorbed , improves iron levels more efficiently without the side effects and is much better for elderly people or those with malabsorption issues which your Mum probably has if she is also B 12 Deficienct.
As I say , I buy Solgar Gentle Iron , as ferrous iron just made me feel ill and did little to improve my iron levels. Taking it with a non a idic Vitamin C food or supplement also improves the absorption of the iron and a Folate if you decide to use one.
If she continues on the B12 injections she will probably find that her iron and vitamin D levels finely get back into normal range after that hasn't happened with years of supplements without B12 treatment . I certainly did.
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