Magnesium

[Doghorse]

I have been battling RLS and I am having some success now I quit dolpamines & I am trying to increase my Iron intake, but I read that magnesium is another product I should try to really reduce RLS., what is your views.

[Joolsg]

Many people on here have great success with magnesium- so it is worth trying.And keep taking the iron supplements every other day to increase absorption if they're helping.

And get regular full panel iron bloods so you can keep a check on serum ferritin and Percentage Iron saturation.

[Doghorse in reply to Joolsg]

thanks

[ChrisColumbus]

A bio-available (easily absorbed) form of magnesium worked for me: it may or may not work for you. Magnesium oxide did not work (it's not easily absorbed, you're paying for expensive urine); magnesium oil spray didn't work for me, but it does work for some. Some people favour Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) in the bath: I've not tried.

I took at least 400mg a day of magnesium citrate for some years: 600mg a day initially stopped my RLS within days, and 400mg a day (the amount suggested for 200mg tablets on UK packaging) helped thereafter. I eventually reduced to just 200mg a day.

One caution: some people can't tolerate magnesium citrate because it can cause diarrhoea. I certainly don't recommend taking more than 200mg at a time: spread it out over the day if you're taking 400-600 mg. Some can't tolerate it at all!

Magnesium glycinate is also recommended, particularly in the US, because it reportedly aids sleep and doesn't cause diarrhoea. I've tried glycinate and - for me - it was less effective than citrate.

Some still insist that there's no evidence that magnesium helps RLS, but in my view that's partly because too few substantial studies have been done, and those that have been done have been at too low a dose. A recent one was at just 100mg a day: I've seen pics of some US Mg citrate bottles of 100mg a day tablets which advise against taking more than one a day. Over cautious in the extreme.

NOTE: if someone has kidney problems they need to be careful with magnesium: normal kidney function will excrete excessive levels, but dangerous hypermagnesemia can occur in people with acute or chronic kidney disease.

It doesn't help everyone by any means, perhaps partly because some triggers and exacerbators will - as in my experience with statins, aspartame and others - overwhelm it. (It doesn't even help my brother). I also suspect it won't help much - if at all - if you're augmenting on a DA or something else.

[SueJohnson in reply to ChrisColumbus]

My laugh for the day "you're paying for expensive urine" 🤣🤣🤣

[Doghorse in reply to ChrisColumbus]

thanks

[shivermytimbers in reply to ChrisColumbus]

Thanks for that "NOTE: if someone has kidney problems they need to be careful with magnesium: normal kidney function will excrete excessive levels, but dangerous hypermagnesemia can occur in people with acute or chronic kidney disease."

I have Chronic Kidney Disease but was playing with the idea of taking Magnesium supplements. Not now.

[Oscarcat63]

Just a heads up.There have been reports of B6 toxicity here in Australia - amongst other things it can cause peripheral neuropathy - burning, tingling, and numbness in the extremities

I mention this because it is found in many, many supplements. I just had a look at my bottle which is labelled "Magnesium" only and low and behold, it contains 50 mg of B6 - so just 2 tablets would be the upper range (there IS a warning in small print on the side).

I never take it as my diet should be sufficient - but will ask my gp

[bookish in reply to Oscarcat63]

Hi, just a caution that the vitamer of B6 matters (more for some than others of course). B6 in the form of pyridoxine, which is the common one because it is cheaper, can be problematic because it is the inactive form and competitively blocks the active form which is P5P. Which means you can look as if you have high serum B6 when you have the symptoms of deficiency. Although it is I understand possible to get neuropathy from P5P, it is very much less likely. Unfortunately reports of issues rarely bother to tell you which form or even mention that there is more than one. I use P5P because I tested low and I don't take a lot, but it helps. (My magnesium is just magnesium oil, in a spray, and that helps me enormously.) It is more common for neuropathy to be lack of B12 (and/or folate) than too much B6, and this is often missed as you can have a functional/cellular deficiency at any serum level, and doctors assume that 'within range' means no possibility of a problem because B12 in blood equals B12 in cells - which is not true. Cheers

[SueJohnson in reply to Oscarcat63]

How much B6 caused peripheral neuropathy because I take a B-complex pill for leg cramps and also have peripheral neuropathy from spinal stenosis?

[Oscarcat63 in reply to SueJohnson]

It was in excess of 100 - 200 mg and more, I believe.The problem seemed to be that a lot of people were taking supplements, say, a B complex + Multivitamin + Magnesium for example and end up with 6 - 10 x the recommended dosage - or more.

Also, Australia TGA (therapeutic drugs administration) is WAY more cautious than many other places in the rest of the world (at least in most things). Then of course, it needs to be noted that the 'news' will tend to focus on the extreme cases, where damage has occurred.

[intermk]

I've been taking magnesium glycinate for several years and it doesn't affect my RLS in the least. I also increased my potassium intake because my serum level was very low, borderline minimum in some tests. Now it's up to borderline max but no help with RLS. AS I see it, RLS sufferer's all fall on a continuum whereon the fold suffering the least are at the far left in the 0 to 4 range, those that suffer a bit more in the 4-6 range, those with feet and leg involvement every night in the 6-8 range and those that suffer RLS pain and sensations 24/7/365 in the feet, legs, arms, face and other parts of the body are in the 9-10 range. And furthermore, my opinion is that no vitamins, minerals or other supplements are going to help folks in the 7-10 range on the continuum. But one should still do everything possible to ensure vitamin and mineral levels are WNL limits and iron should be relatively high. Read "Navigating Life with Restless Legs Syndrome" by Dr. Andrew R. Spector, MD. He talks a fair amount about brain iron which is usually much lower than serum iron or ferritin levels.

Take what I say with a grain of salt. I speak from experience not from a formal medical education.