magnesium glycinate

[Dibbydog]

I have restless legs and thought I would try taking magnesium glycinate to see if it helps. I bought some from Amazon (magnesium glycinate 3-in-1 by Nutrition Geeks). I have only taken two tablets so far. I was wondering why places like Boots doesn’t sell magnesium glycinate and whether they are really safe to take as not many companies sell these tablets and I am not sure why that is.

[SueJohnson]

They are perfectly safe unless you have kidney problems or take it in large quantities. Take it at night. Don't take it within 3 hours of gabapentin or 2 hours of iron tablets or 4 hours of thyroxine. Start with a low dose of 200 mg since some people get side effects. If you have stomach problems with it, you can take it with a small amount of food. Can't answer about Boots since I live in the US but they are sold in all our pharmacies here.

[Dibbydog in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you for your helpful reply. I do take thyroxine and am taking iron tablets so will take the magnesium at night as you suggest.

[SueJohnson in reply to Dibbydog]

I was just looking up the magnesium you are taking. When you reorder just get only magnesium glycinate rather than the 3 in 1 which also contains magnesium citrate and magnesium malate as the glycinate is the best.

Since you are taking iron, have you had your ferritin tested?

[Dibbydog in reply to SueJohnson]

I had a blood test about two or three years ago but can’t remember what the doctor said. I then took some iron tablets for a while but I think they unfortunately made me constipated and I stopped taking them!

[SueJohnson in reply to Dibbydog]

You probably just had a normal blood test that checks for iron and it is the ferritin that is important for those of us with RLS. Improving your ferritin to 100 or more helps 60% of people with RLS and in some cases completely eliminates their symptoms. When you see your doctor ask for a full iron panel. Stop taking any iron supplements including multivitamins that have iron in them 48 hours before the test, don't eat a heavy meat meal the night before, fast after midnight and have your test in the morning before 9 am if possible. When you get the results, ask for your ferritin and transferrin saturation (TSAT) numbers. You want your transferrin saturation to be over 20% but less than 45% and your ferritin to be at least 100. If they are not, post them here and we can give you some advice including which ones are least likely to give you constipation.

[DesertOasis in reply to Dibbydog]

Magnesium works incredibly well for many people on here. I’m actually shocked sometimes by how well. Scientific articles show it actually inhibits the release of dopamine. So if you believe this, as I do, then you should take the magnesium during the day. In the long run (not sure how long), the magnesium should make for bigger, better dopamine receptors, if once again, the articles are correct. It’s the only plausible explanation I could find for why it works so well.

For immediate relief, I recommend 25 to 50mg of ferrous bisglycinate on an empty stomach about two hours before bed. Don’t take at same time as magnesium. This form of iron is non-constipating. My RLS is gone in one hour for one night. Higher Serum iron = Higher brain iron. We need higher brain iron. Serum iron is completely different from ferritin. Serum iron plummets at night (in all humans) and we get RLS. By taking some oral iron as described above you are returning your serum iron levels to that of day time when you didn’t have RLS. It is literally as simple as that.

However, the iron doesn’t work as well (but still some) if your dopamine receptors have been greatly shrunk by a DA or if you’re on an SSRI or HRT or a Calcium Channel Blocker or Statin.

[SueJohnson]

Are you taking anything for your RLS?

[Dibbydog]

I am not taking anything for my RLS. I am taking Amitriptyline at night (10 mg) to help me sleep and Citalopram in the morning (10 mg). I suffer from Insomnia which is probably caused by a bit of anxiety so that is why I am taking those two tablets. I know that they will make restless legs worse. My restless legs comes on in the evening about 9.00 pm and sometimes my legs jerk as well. I have had restless legs since I was 30 (I am now 70) and it is gradually getting worse so got very fed up with it and thought I should try to do something. I did have a test at a hospital years ago and was told I had fasciculations in my legs. I also had a test at a sleep clinic in a hospital and they said I had restless legs but didn’t tell me what I could do about it. I hate having this constant twitching in my legs at night.

[SueJohnson in reply to Dibbydog]

Yes both Amitriptyline and Citalopram make RLS worse. A safe substitute is trazodone which also treats anxiety and insomnia.

When you see your doctor ask him/her to prescribe gabapentin or pregabalin. Beginning dose is usually 300 mg gabapentin (75 mg pregabalin). It will take 3 weeks before it is fully effective. After that increase it by 100 mg (25 mg pregabalin) every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. Take it 1 to 2 hours before bedtime as the peak plasma level is 2 hours. If you need more than 600 mg take the extra 4 hours before bedtime as it is not as well absorbed above 600 mg. If you need more than 1200 mg, take the extra 6 hours before bedtime. (You don't need to split the doses with pregabalin) Most of the side effects of gabapentin and pregabalin will disappear after a few weeks and the few that don't will usually lessen. Those that remain are usually worth it for the elimination of the RLS symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS: "Most RLS patients require 1200 to 1800 mg of gabapentin (200 to 300 mg pregabalin)." Don't take magnesium even in a multivitamin within 3 hours of taking gabapentin (it is OK with pregabalin) as it will interfere with the absorption of gabapentin and don't take calcium within 2 hours for the same reason (not sure about pregabalin). Above all don't let your doctor prescribe a dopamine agonist like ropinirole (requip) or pramipexole (mirapex). They used to be the first line treatment for RLS, but no longer are because of the danger of augmentation. Check out the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS which will tell you everything you want to know including about its treatment and refer your doctor to it if needed as many doctors do not know much about RLS or are not uptodate on it at Https://mayoclinicproceedings.org/a...

[Dibbydog in reply to SueJohnson]

Thank you for your help. I will try to stop taking citalopram and amitriptyline first and then see the doctor.

[DesertOasis in reply to Dibbydog]

Once off those substances, you might not need any RLS meds, but the magnesium and even the iron, is still a good idea.

While Citalopram and Amitriptyline make the “symptoms” of RLS exponentially worse they very likely have helped your (our) genetically lousy d2 receptors. Here’s the proof:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/108...

What the article implies is that Citalopram was found to grow and enhance D2 receptors. BINGO!!! That is exactly what ALL of us with RLS needs. It is just too painful in the process and has to be taken on and off for a lifetime most likely. Amitriptyline is reported to increase our D2 receptors affinity for dopamine. This too will help us, but once again, just too painful in the process.

The magnesium, it sounds like, is a much weaker way of doing the same thing. It also has a shorter half life and shouldn’t worsen RLS symptoms at night if taken by day. A stronger supplement, that allegedly up-regulates our D2 receptors, is berberine. It too should be taken during the day and in discussion with your doctor.

[Dibbydog in reply to DesertOasis]

Thank you for your reply. I have never heard of Berberine. I will try to gradually reduce my citalopram and amitriptyline first and take magnesium and see if I can get Berberine at a health food shop.

[Allyp69]

I buy magnesium tablets fom Healthspan...not heard of yours but if they help that should be fine.

[Dibbydog in reply to Allyp69]

I may be wrong but I don’t think Healthspan sell Magnesium Glycinate which apparently is the type of Magnesium that helps RLS.

[ChrisColumbus]

Magnesium glycinate, malate and citrate can all help some sufferers with RLS symptoms. Why Boots don't seem to stock any of these is a bit of a mystery.

Citrate is easiest of the three to source on the UK High Street: Holland & Barrett (and some pharmacies) stock it. When I first started taking it I took 400-600mg a day. Now I take a maintenance 200mg a day and - alongside being careful with sugar and artificial sweeteners - have only had RLS symptoms a couple of times this year despite taking no meds for RLS.

Glycinate or malate tend to be recommended in other countries largely because they are less likely to have a laxative effect than citrate - although despite suffering from post-radiotherapy proctitis of the bowel, which leaves me sensitive to such issues, I have no problems with Mg citrate.

[DesertOasis in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Hi Chris, sounds like you are doing well. You are the person that started me down the “Wow, there’s something to this magnesium! What is it???” There were many more to follow. I remember you saying that the iron at night never did anything for you. Sometimes things like this are meant to be. If the iron had worked for you then maybe you wouldn’t have gone down the magnesium route. And because of you a lot more people tried and had success with magnesium. Which in the RLS world is nothing short of a miracle

Magnesium glycinate by day and ferrous bisglycinate by night!!! Until the iron is no longer needed. You see, lousy dopamine receptors = more pre-receptor dopamine = lower brain ferritin = higher serum iron = higher brain iron (not ferritin). So the root of the poisonous tree are those genetically lousy dopamine receptors. Whip those into shape via a natural, short half-life dopamine antagonist, like magnesium, and we’re home free? Bigger better D2 receptors mean a smaller pool of dopamine, theoretically, and higher brain ferritin.

healthunlocked.com/redirect...

Schizophrenics, as discovered in this article, also have high brain iron, but low brain ferritin and excess dopamine (like us). Though they do not have small receptors like us so some other pathology is causing that excess dopamine. Anyways, the excess dopamine being a sort of hallmark of Schizophrenia. So, in this article, the researchers set out to see what their brain iron, brain ferritin status is like and it is very similar to ours in that respect.

[ChrisColumbus in reply to DesertOasis]

Yes, I found that iron supplementation didn't help me, but then my ferritin levels were already high - generally over 200 - so iron didn't seem to be my problem. So I tried magnesium - initially oxide (because I didn't know any better!) - and then rubbing in magnesium oil. But neither helped.

But I've found that even a bio-available form of magnesium - such as citrate - can be 'overwhelmed' and made ineffective for me by other drugs (statins, anti-histamines....) and by diet (too much sugar, too much caffeine, diet drinks particularly those containing aspartame..).

So I avoid drugs and foods/ drinks that I've found that I'm sensitive to, and take magnesium daily, and I'm fine. But I suspect that this wouldn't work for people who've augmented on e.g. DA's.

[DesertOasis in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Glad you persevered! Check out GreekStudent on here. To me, the only plausible explanation is that you up-regulated your receptors via the magnesium. Not to the point of a non-RLS person, but better than baseline. I imagine that if you stopped the magnesium for a long enough period of time, your receptors would return to baseline.