Calm, magnesium supplement for anxiety

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Thu May 22, 2014 2:59 pm

I suffer from anxiety every now and then and of course it sends me to the bathroom. Not watery D, but I do go a number of times and end out taking several Diarrhea Stop pills and sometimes 1/2 Zanax. I know it's not food related and has happened three times over the last three months when I've had something special planned in the morning. I do straighten out in a few hours, but then I'm so fatigued that I can't do what I had originally set out to do.

My acupuncturist suggest a product called Calm. A magnesium supplement. I do get 500 mg of magnesium as oxide in my calcium. She said she finds a lot of her female patients suffer from this as they get older. Must be hormonal. She has a couple that really struggle who take Calm and claim it really helps.

Has anyone tried this or have any knowledge about it?

Thanks
Nancy

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu May 22, 2014 3:23 pm

Hello Nancy
hope your family and the beautiful grand children are all well!

Magnesium has been mentioned a couple of times recently. I am using higher doses of magnesium to help with Histamine/mast cell and the Fibroymyalgia nerve pain. (and having good success, within a few weeks I have not used OTC H1 and H2 blockers)

a couple of days ago Pat posted a great article talking about magnesium deficiency in people with IBD's and how magnesium deficiency may affect Vit D3 absorption.

As Tex mentioned a couple of months ago, one magnesium type may or may not work for certain issues, there is a wide range of magnesium forms and bit of difference how the body absorbs them. My intake is a mixture of ?4 or 5 forms of magnesium

For those worried about taking magnesium orally and increasing motility, there are loads of trans dermal options available
There is even a book about it!
http://drsircus.com/books/e-book/transd ... m-therapy/

This is a good summary of the different type of magnesium and how they are absorbed by the body;
http://www.metabolics.com/blog/the-defi ... pplements/

So although Magnesium oxidehas the highest elemental Magnesium (60%), it also has a high stability constant, meaning that it does not dissociate, or ionize and is therefore poorly bioavailable Gut absorption is believed to be as low as 4%( leaving 288mg of a 500mg capsule unabsorbed in the intestines).

You will find that Magnesium oxide is very common in poor quality supplements simply because it is cheap however, only about 4% of its elemental magnesium is absorbed, equivalent to about 12 mg out of a 500 mg tablet.

Magnesium Chloride Supplements.

Magnesium chloride (12% elemental Magnesium) has a stability constant of 0 and is completely ionized across a large pH range, 2 (found in stomach acid) to 7.4 found in extracellular tissues such as blood and lymph. Magnesium chloride has the chloride part of its compound to produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach and enhance its absorption. This is particularly suitable for anybody with low stomach acid.

Magnesium Malate Supplements

Magnesium malate (6.5% elemental Magnesium) has a stability constant of 1.55 and is nearly completely ionisable. Again the weak ionic bonds of Magnesium and malic acid are easily broken making it readily soluble in the body.

Magnesium Citrate Supplements

Magnesium citrate (16% bioavailability) and stability constant of 2.8. Weak bonds provide a high bioavailability. Magnesium citrate works by attracting water through the tissues by osmosis. When the Magnesium citrate reaches the small intestine it attracts enough water to induce defecation. The extra water helps create more faeces, stimulating bowel motility and may have a mild laxative effect. This form of Magnesium functions best on an empty stomach followed by a full glass of water or juice to aid absorption.

Researchers have demonstrated that Magnesium bioavailability is greater in citrate than oxide taking the pH of stomach acid and alkalinity of pancreas into consideration. (Lindberg, Zobitz et al. 1990)

Magnesium sulphate Supplements

Magnesium sulphate (10% elemental Magnesium) is also known as Epsom salts. It contains Magnesium; Sulphur and Oxygen. It is the main preparation of intravenous Magnesium. Bioavailability is limited and variable with degrees of mild diarrhoea. (Morris, LeRoy et al. 1987).

Magnesium Ascorbate Supplements

Magnesium Ascorbate (6.4% elemental Magnesium) is a source of both vitamin C and Magnesium. It is a neutral salt having a significantly higher gastrointestinal tolerance than some of the other forms.

Magnesium Phosphate Supplements

Magnesium (19% elemental Magnesium) but practically insoluble in water. Magnesium is bound to phosphate in teeth and bone.

Magnesium Carbonate Supplements

Magnesium Carbonate (42% elemental Magnesium). Research sources suggests different bioavailability rates between 5-30%. In large doses this form may have a mild laxative effect. Magnesium carbonate reacts with hydrochloric stomach acid to form Magnesium chloride. This conversion is dependent on adequate stomach acid levels.

Magnesium Hydroxide Supplements

At 41.67%, Magnesium Hydroxide has a relatively high percentage of elemental magnesium but has a low solubility in water, suggesting poor absorption. When in a suspension in water it is often called milk of magnesia, used as an antacid or laxative.

Although a high percentage of elemental Magnesium, the Magnesium ion is very poorly absorbed from the intestinal tract, drawing water from the surrounding tissues by osmosis.

_________________

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu May 22, 2014 3:41 pm

PS - The new protocol with the magnesium and reducing inflammation, I have been able to reduce my dosage of Amitriptyline by 25%.
my blood pressure is the best it has ever been, all good news for a two year plan to minimise/eliminate medications

Pat · Post by **Pat** » Thu May 22, 2014 7:24 pm

Nancy,

You may want to have your cortisol levels checked. Anxiety and D can be caused by low or high levels of cortisol. You can order your own tests. ZRT and Canary Club are two that you can do on your own. Go to www.Stopthethyroidmadness.com and you can read lots about adrenal fatigue. Cortisol is produced by the adrenals. Need to be tested though. Low and high levels can have the same symptoms.

Pat

P.S. Need to do 4 saliva samples per day to get a good look at what your adrenals are doing. Morning, noon, evening, and bed.

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Thu May 22, 2014 7:39 pm

Hi Nancy and Gabes,
I'm glad you brought this up. It's a subject I'm interested in too, especially getting a grip on what Nancy describes-- you are getting ready for an event, anxiety creeps in, the gut gets activated and sends you to the bathroom repeatedly. You have to take something to stop it but then are so fatigued..... I go through this too. For me sometimes anxiety is involved and sometimes it's not, but the gut reactions are the same and there is little choice but to take something to slow down the motility and lay low. It definitely interferes with life. And it may only occur once in a 2 week period but it's always problematic and unpredictable when it does.

I decided to get acupuncture last week and again this week because I was having a low level (but persistent) nausea. I think it was really work stress. Anyway, my acupuncturist is also a chiropractor and we had discussed manipulation for gut motility issues almost 2 years ago, about the same time I started Amitriptyline. We didn't want to start 2 new things at the same time so I went with the Amitriptyline alone. These days I'm tired of taking it and of the sedated, drug hangover I often feel in the morning, so I brought it up to my Dr again today. I had found some clinical studies (not just internet fluff) about the technique and the effectiveness and it does make sense. So what do I have to lose besides a few dollars? We are starting next week.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Carol

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Thu May 22, 2014 7:55 pm

Carol
for the past couple of years, I used H1 and H2 blockers at times of anxiety (ie job interviews, dental appointments etc) to help manage the inflammation and I know that adrenalin/cortisol is a bit of a toxin and causes gut symptoms.
unsettling situations have been a top 5 trigger for me since Dx.

Now I am using the Magnesium/Vit C/Zinc and CoQ10.
30 mins before the job interviews I have a CoQ10 lozenge, and then have small serve of the Mag/Vit Cpowders with water.
no grumbly tummy in the interview, and no gut issues later in the day.
Considering I have also reduced the Amitriptyline, i am very happy with the improvement!

Having a happy gut and my body in a good state of minimal inflammation (whether it be histamine and/or anxiety) is worth the expense!
I have had two acupuncture appointments in the past month, inflammation is not the main issue! woo hoo!

with some of the recent articles, I am pretty sure that magnesium supplementation is just as important as Vit D3 supplementation.

carolm · Post by **carolm** » Thu May 22, 2014 8:54 pm

Gabes, I also take an H1 and H2 antihistamine every day and sometimes another H2 at night depending on what I've eaten and if I feel I need it.

The other thing I forgot to mention is the Mindfulness Meditation Class I've been taking. it's helped me a great deal to be aware of how tense I am feeling and to bring my thinking back to the present (I'm feeling fine, nothing bad is happening right now), when I catch myself worrying about the future or ruminating about the past. I intend to keep this up even after the class is over.

Thanks for the tips on Vitamins. I confess I've been lax lately about taking my VitD3. Gotta work that back into my routine.

Thanks again,
Carol

Chrisdat · Post by **Chrisdat** » Fri May 23, 2014 6:59 am

Just be aware that Amitriptyline is a DAO blocker, so if you are histamine sensitive it might be a problem.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/5/1185.full.pdf

Look at chart on page 1191

nancyl · Post by **nancyl** » Fri May 23, 2014 1:23 pm

Thank you Gabes for all the information. Also Carol and Pat for your thoughts and advise. I went to the health food store (a very good one) and bought chelated magnesium 200 mg, Bluebonnet is the brand. They also recommended that I stop taking the calcium that I have because it has magnesium oxide in it. I was going to purchase New Chapter Bone Strength (I started another thread about this). The magnesium in it is algae, but it has fermented wheat and soy so thought I'd better stay away from that. It's too bad, because it is a very good calcium.

So, after reading your posts and doing some research I think I have not been absorbing much magnesium since it was oxide, so may be low in that. Now, I am looking for a good calcium that I can take and want to make sure I can still take this new magnesium with it.

Nancy