Magnesium for anxiety ?

[Ryaan]

Hi

I self inject B12 every 2 weeks and with usual absorption problems that come with it, I wanted to know if anyone has any experience and knows how many mg of Magnesium to take for anxiety ?

[Nackapan]

The NHS say around 400mg. Anxiety is also a symptom of low b12 .

Have you had a blood test to check your level of magnesium.

I did way back snd was well in range so just have whats in a multivit and upped b12.

Hope you find a way that suits you.

[Ryaan in reply to Nackapan]

I haven’t had a blood test but a lot of people say magnesium is good for anxiety so wanted to try it for a while just don’t know how many mg and thought someone here might have some experience with magnesium as there’s always something to go along with PA. I usually have the B12, Iron and Folate problems.

[mcg-woo in reply to Ryaan]

I had a test for magnesium when my low b12 was found and it was a little low. I have supplemented magnesium gylcinate(better absorption, no upset stomach) on a regular basis 400mg per day. I was aware of the possible effect on anxiety but I had also found studies indicating it helped migraines.

I personally never noticed a difference in anxiety levels or migraines whether I supplemented or not. However, I will say that I continued to suffer with anxiety on an injection schedule of every two weeks. It was not until I began weekly injections long term (longer than a year) that I truly began to be anxiety-free. Best of luck to you.

[deniseinmilden in reply to mcg-woo]

Very good points! Thank you for your insights.

[Hidden in reply to Ryaan]

I find increasing vitamin C helps with anxiety also helps with iron absorption.

[deniseinmilden]

My only thoughts are that yes, magnesium could be contributing to your anxiety, but with your other absorption issues it's hard to suggest an amount - even if you are taking "X" amount, it doesn't mean you are benefiting from it.

Magnesium is toxic in large amounts, but that said, if you only take small amounts each day and build up gradually, it is unlikely to be a problem if you are sensible because if you have too much it gives you diarrhoea and is expelled that way. And if you bear this in mind, your anxiety itself will stop you wanting to be reckless! 😀

Magnesium is readily absorbed through your skin so putting Epsom Salts in your bath water can be a relaxing way of getting your dose.

How are your levels of other things? All the main vitamins and minerals that work with B12 - folate, potassium, iron and vitamin D especially - also have anxiety as a symptom of deficiency.

We have evolved to have anxiety due to deficiencies to get us up and worrying about getting more food and nutrients when that was about all we had to worry about!

If you have magnesium deficiency you are more frightened, jittery, shakey, quakey, jumpy than more generalised anxiety which is more of a folate, B12 and vitamin D deficiency type of reaction. Low potassium and iron make you feel bleak.

Low mag makes my eyes flick from one thing to another so I don't like moving in a car past hedges, etc, and I can't cope with things coming towards me - driving becomes a terrify torment!

As already suggested, you could try increasing your B12 and getting the other things checked too.

I hope this helps and you feel better soon.

[Ryaan in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thankyou deniseinmilden. Some valuable information there which I was unaware of regarding magnesium, I will keep them in mind.

I think I’m on the right frequency of B12 as I don’t have symptoms until after 14 days so inject every 2 weeks.

Thank you.

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ryaan]

Thank you for your reply - I did actually think you'd probably be fine with your level of B12 because I know you have researched everything very carefully, but it was worth considering as it is the safest thing to try!

Whatever happens I hope you get to the bottom of it and feel better soon.

Just another idea... I need to take methylfolate with hydroxocobalamin or methylcobalamin with folic acid to make everything work, which suggests there's a problem with my body's ability to methylate. Any ideas if this might be possible with you too?

I had dreadful anxiety problems for a while when my B12 was low but once I got everything working and balanced I have got so I find it hard to be worried about things enough to be motivated to keep sharp!

So don't give up - I'm certain that there is an answer for you, you just have to find it. Good luck with that! 👍

[Ryaan in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thanks for your reply, sorry for the late reply. I looked up Magnesium and there’s 10 different types.

Here’s what I found on Google;

“While there are many forms of magnesium available, we often prefer to use magnesium citrate and/or magnesium glycinate. Magnesium citrate is most helpful for people suffering from constipation, while the glycinate form is more useful for conditions like anxiety, insomnia, chronic stress, and inflammatory conditions”

Different types found on YouTube

[deniseinmilden in reply to Ryaan]

Hiya! Thank you!

All the different magnesium compounds have different "bio-availabilities".

I use magnesium chloride because it is the most bio-available (almost twice that of magnesium oxide for instance) and the chloride ions can be used to help make stomach acid. I don't think I particularly suffer from hypochloridia (low stomach acid) or achloridia (no stomach acid) but I need all the help I can get with digestion and my iron absorption is very poor so I thought it would be good to try and I found it works for me, where none of the others did.

[Ryaan in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thankyou denise.

[SigNi]

Hi - my levels were low along with a lot of other micronutrients. I take a magnesium complex along with vitamin C (buffered 1000 mg) every night and it seems to help with sleep and morning stiffness. I also sometimes throw epsom salts in my bath. I honestly forget the exact science as to why I take them in the evening and together - but they are supposed to complement each other and the C helps with gut infections - taking it at night allows it to do it's work on an empty stomach (provided I don't stuff myself right before going to bed - LOL). The magnesium may help with anxiety, but I take prescription drops for this so it is hard for me to tell. But I do wake up feeling calm and mostly positive even though still fatigued and in some pain.

[USmedsyssucks]

I was recommended 400 mg of magnesium for migraines and my experience differed from most. The magnesium (taken at night) made me very sleepy, but not in a good way. I found myself sleeping for long periods of time and never waking up refreshed. I just generally felt chronically exhausted and depressed. The migraines did not improve with the magnesium and when I stopped taking it, the excessive daytime sleepiness and depression went away. My partner also tried taking magnesium to help with anxiety and sleep and had the same experience I did. We both took the same magnesium citrate.