IgA against gliadin

[Tor]

Thanks for your reply, Lilja.

I'm suspicious that the foot and skin-problems are related to gluten sensitivity. Before the MC diagnosis, I had anemia for about 5 years. The anemia subsided immidiately with Entocort and the feet got better. Shortly after my MC diagnosis my bone density was measured very low in my spine. I see that anemia, osteopenia, skin problems and joint pain in the feet are all quite common for gluten related disorders. Probably more so than MC.

I have regrouped, and I am now GF again. This time I have also quit coffee, tea and diary. As you say, there is Soy in a lot of foodstuff, so I don't think I'm able to quit it totally - at least not yet.

I'm taking magnesium supplements, but tablets. I've also been taking Zyrtec for a couple of weeks. It's that time of year anyway, and I'm allergic to several types of pollen.

I'm not sure what to make of my IgG titers. They were low, and the general opinion is that low titers just is a sign of eating the food. Banana was strange, though. I hardly ever eat it.

Anyway I'm more optimistic this time around. I've been able to cut down on the medication.

Best Regards,
Tor

[Lilja]

Thanks for your reply, Lilja.


I'm taking magnesium supplements, but tablets. I've also been taking Zyrtec for a couple of weeks. It's that time of year anyway, and I'm allergic to several types of pollen.


Best Regards,
Tor

Hi Tor,

Did you know that only a small amount of magnesium taken orally can be absorbed by the body? I read somewhere that only 4-10% is absorbed. That is why so many of the board members use magnesium oil spray and magnesium baths/foot soaks with Epsom salt.

But, let's ask Gabes. What she doesn't know about vitamins & supplements, is not worth knowing :-)

I'm glad that you have been able to cut back on medication.

Best regards,
Lilia

[tex]

Did you know that only a small amount of magnesium taken orally can be absorbed by the body?

You are so correct. I take 400 mg of magnesium citrate and 400 mg of magnesium glycinate every day, and yet when I went to the ER last Wednesday (because of an adverse reaction to an antibiotic), the blood tests they did showed a magnesium deficiency. As we all know, if a blood test shows a magnesium deficiency, then the supply of magnesium in the cells is almost depleted, because the body will pull magnesium from the cells in order to keep the blood level of magnesium within the normal range, since it's such an important electrolyte. That's why blood tests virtually always show magnesium levels to be normal.

I have a hunch that the antibiotic (or the reaction against it) depleted my magnesium. Or maybe something else is depleting it. At any rate, that explains my high heart rate and shortness of breath. Those are symptoms of magnesium deficiency.

It never registered on the ER docs that the magnesium deficiency that was flagged on the blood test report meant anything. They told me that the results were all normal. But I've been taking 1200 mg of magnesium daily since I saw the test results, and I'm almost back to normal again. But I wonder if I might need even more.

Tex

[Tor]

Thanks for the information about magnesium, Lilja and Tex. A few days ago I stopped taking the magnesium tablets because of suspicion that it contributed to my D during my last GF trial.

Digestion has been quite normal the last few days without medication. I remember talking iron supplements a few years back. I stopped taking the iron supplements after a few days. My D. changed from massive to untolerable while taking the iron supplement.

My hearth rate is very low, and I haven't noticed any shortness of breath, probably because I've kept running through it all. But I will probably add some epsom salt to my baths in the future just to be safe. I have osteopenia after all.


Thanks again,

Tor

[tex]

Tor,

That's probably a good plan, because magnesium is critical for facilitating many vital chemical processes in the body. And you are correct that too much oral magnesium can cause D, especially certain forms, such as magnesium citrate. But I have a hunch that the main reason why magnesium citrate is more likely to cause D than (for example) magnesium glycinate, is because more of the magnesium in magnesium citrate is absorbed (compared with the amount absorbed from magnesium glycinate). That's just a guess, of course.

And of course it's well known that iron supplements tend to cause D (or digestive system upset), so increasing one's iron level is usually a tough project. At any rate, if I had osteopenia, I would definitely make sure that my body had plenty of magnesium available so that I had the best opportunity to utilize the calcium in my diet to improve my bone density, and topical applications of magnesium seem to be the safest, while still being very effective.

You're very welcome,
Tex

[Lilja]

This article covers most of what we need to know about magnesium. However, Dr Mercola forgets to mention that we also need sufficient levels of vitamin B6 and B13 (orotic acid, produced by the body’s intestinal flora, but not recognized as a real vitamin) in order to absorb and benefit from magnesium supplements.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... efits.aspx

Lilia

[Vanessa]

You've been having a rough go of it Tex...Please keep us updated!

[tex]

Hi Vanessa,

The antibiotic reaction has mostly faded away, and I'm doing pretty well today, almost back to normal. I felt like doing things today, and my energy level is much better, so I took care of a lot of little jobs that I've been putting off for a while. I discovered today that magnesium is absorbed in the ileum and the colon. Since I don't have a colon, and part of my terminal ileum is also missing, that may be why I'm having this problem. It's been getting worse over the past few years. I may have to switch to topical magnesium.

I found a medical research article that revealed that certain antibiotics are capable of wasting magnesium, and apparently the Bactrim caused an acute magnesium deficiency, thus the reason for the high heart rate and shortness of breath. But it was also an allergic reaction, because my lower lip was numb and swollen the next day, and my eyes were bloodshot and inflamed. That happened the last time I took it, but silly me, I thought that it was part of the version of the flu that I had. Having the flu while taking an antibiotic is similar to trying to test more than one food at a time — it's easy to reach incorrect conclusions when too many things are going on at the same time. So it probably depleted my magnesium the last time I took it, causing the reaction to be worse this time.

Thanks, I appreciate your concern.

Tex

[Lilja]

Hi Vanessa,

I discovered today that magnesium is absorbed in the ileum and the colon. Since I don't have a colon, and part of my terminal ileum is also missing, that may be why I'm having this problem. It's been getting worse over the past few years. I may have to switch to topical magnesium.

Tex

If this is correct, which I of course believe, no wonder people with MC need a lot of topical magnesium. I thought that the colon could only absorb water.

I'm glad you found out, especially for your own issues, but also for the rest of us.

Thank you, Tex!
Lilia

[Gabes-Apg]

Also explains why so many MC'ers have benefited from topical Magnesium!

mmm maybe the next book should be achieving wellness when you have an IBD/Auto Immune issues...
(blend in the diet parts of the first book, the key parts of the Vit D book and everything we have learnt about key nutrients, minerals, amino acids etc..)

hope things improve for you health wise soon Tex.

[nerdhume]

I have been taking Magtein for a couple of months now. I noticed improvements right away and now DH is taking it too.
Mercola says this about it:

Magnesium threonate is a newer, emerging type of magnesium supplement that appears promising, primarily due to its superior ability to penetrate the mitochondrial membrane, and may be the best magnesium supplement on the market

[tex]

If this is correct, which I of course believe, no wonder people with MC need a lot of topical magnesium. I thought that the colon could only absorb water.

No, the colon absorbs water and electrolytes. I oversimplified my remark a bit. I should have said that I discovered that most of the magnesium is absorbed in the ileum and the colon. I've known for years that electrolytes were absorbed in the colon, but I always assumed that most of them (including magnesium) were absorbed in the small intestine, because as far as I'm aware, the other electrolytes are more likely to be absorbed farther up in the small intestine (IOW in the duodenum and jejunum), but apparently that doesn't hold true for magnesium. Here's a reference:

Magnesium Metabolism and its Disorders

Look just below Figure 1 in the article (Figure 1, not Table 1) for the comments about magnesium absorption. but the entire article is loaded with valuable information about magnesium and how the body uses it.

Tex

[Lilja]

Thank you, Tex!

In Figure 1 it also says: Phytates in the diet bind to magnesium and impair its absorption.

As we know, there is plenty of phytate in all corns.

Lilia