Magnesium is one of the supplements I recommend for just about everyone as well as vitamin D and fish oil. I’ve known about Magnesium for years but not until I came down with some health issues recently did I realize how important it is for a human body.
Full disclaimer, I’m not a doctor and this should not be taken as medical advice. All information here is my own opinion so please do your own research and consult your own physicians to see if this supplement could help you.
From sports supplementation I had known about Magnesium but it is one of those minerals I didn’t pay much attention to. I wish I had because I could have avoided some recent medical issues. The list below has some primary symptoms of low magnesium levels.
Symptoms of Low Magnesium
There are several main symptoms of having low Magnesium:
- Heart Arrhythmias and Irregular Heartbeats
- Depression
- Vertigo and Dizziness
- Digestive Problems
- High Blood Pressure
- Muscle Spams
- Migraines
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
- Restless Leg Syndrome
There are other symptoms but these seem to be the main ones. A problem with magnesium deficiency is that it can mask itself as something else. I’ll tell you my story about how I found out I was deficient in Magnesium in a little bit.
The causes of low Magnesium levels are stress, high caffeine intake, over the counter medicines such as antacids, antibiotics, birth control, and blood pressure medications. Other causes are Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, diabetes, low stomach acid as well as excessive alcohol consumption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuKZLwhjyt0&ab_channel=motivationaldoc
Here is a more detailed list from the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements:
Symptomatic magnesium deficiency due to low dietary intake in otherwise-healthy people is uncommon because the kidneys limit urinary excretion of this mineral [3]. However, habitually low intakes or excessive losses of magnesium due to certain health conditions, chronic alcoholism, and/or the use of certain medications can lead to magnesium deficiency.
Early signs of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. As magnesium deficiency worsens, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures, personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and coronary spasms can occur [1,2]. Severe magnesium deficiency can result in hypocalcemia or hypokalemia (low serum calcium or potassium levels, respectively) because mineral homeostasis is disrupted [2].
A couple of months ago I was helping my dad move stuff out of his warehouse. If you have been to Houston in September you will know how incredibly hot and humid it can be. Well on a hot and humid Saturday morning in September I was working in the back of his warehouse.
I got totally dehydrated and messed up. Yes I was drinking water and Gatorade but obviously not enough. After a couple of hours I was spent and went home.
That is when the craziness began.
Magnesium Deficiency Masking Itself as Other Issues
I started feeling terrible. No energy and just feeling awful. I went and took my blood pressure and it read 90/50 which is extremely low, especially for me. But I kept on drinking water and laying down. Eventually I started feeling better.
That night we went to my in-laws house for dinner and that is when I had another attack. I started feeling terrible again. It eventually passed but was embarrassing because I had to tell my wife I wasn’t feeling good in front of everyone and it caused a scene where you don’t want to be the center of attention.
Fast forward a day later and we were playing outside because our kids and the neighborhood kids were getting ready to go back to school the next day.
When we were running around I noticed that something didn’t feel right in my heart. I felt much more tired and exhausted than I have ever felt from doing such light exertion from running.
So I went inside and took a shower and drank some fluids hoping this would help.
But I kept on feeling worse and worse. I was trying to read a book to one of my kids but I couldn’t focus. I felt terrible and it wasn’t improving. Eventually I started seeing stars and was feeling like I was going to pass out. That is when I told my wife I need to go to the Emergency Room because it had not been this bad before.
When I arrived I had trouble speaking, could barely read the information they print out to put on your wrist, and had a hard time answering questions because I was so out of it. They hooked me up to an EKG machine and started doing blood work as well as an x-ray on my chest.
By the time they got me into a room and for a doctor to come and tell me the results from my tests I felt good again and thought they would send me home because it had been over 3 hours since I arrived. But the doctor said that when I came to the ER I was going through an atrial fibrillation so he recommended I stay overnight just in case it comes again.
That took my by surprise. But one thing I learned the hard was about emergency rooms is that if you think there is a chance at all they will keep you overnight then bring a change of clothes, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, and your cell phone charger.
Fortunately I had just taken a shower but I didn’t have any of the other things mentioned. Normally someone could come visit you but since this was during the Corona virus lockdown you weren’t allowed to have anyone come visit you so I was stranded with only my fading cleanliness of a recent shower that wore off minute by minute.
The next morning a doctor who specializes in kidney’s came in and told me I had a high level of creatinine which shows that I had been severely dehydrated. He said it will subside as long as I drink more fluids. I told him 3 days ago I was extremely dehydrated and didn’t think it could last for that long but I was wrong.
The next week I suffered from attacks of vertigo which I had never experienced before. It was a true rollercoaster ride. One day I would feel okay and the next I would be incapacitated with vertigo and weakness.
Testing and Frustration But Still No Answers
During all of this I had been going to a cardiologist and all of my tests were coming back saying that my heart and arteries were just fine. They had me on a medication for atrial fibrillation as well to make sure I didn’t have another one but this did not help with all of the other issues I was having.
I also went to an ENT doctor (ear, nose, and throat) to make sure the vertigo wasn’t coming from an issue with my inner ear. All of those tests came back negative so although it is very good news from both the cardiologist and ENT it was very frustrating because I still was unsure what was causing all of these issues.
That is when I decided to go see a chiropractor who specializes in holistic medicine. I usually go to him about once a quarter to get aligned and had been going to him for years.
Through his testing over the years he discovered years ago that I am lactose intolerant and intolerant to artificial sweeteners. I’m also highly allergic to chlorine, ragweed, and dust.
I’m all for professional doctors and medication as you can tell from the extensive work I had performed by going to the ER, a cardiologist, and an ENT doctor.
But I do believe there are benefits to supplementation and holistic medicine as well. I believe that by combining the two you give your body the best chance for health.
I told him my issues and asked if he could help. He ran his tests which uses acupuncture points to determine what is going on and he said I was severely deficient in Magnesium.
There it was!
That was the first diagnosis I had received where I could actually take action on.
I went home and started researching Magnesium deficiency.
Just about all of my symptoms were listed as Magnesium deficiency symptoms such as
- Heart Arrhythmias and Irregular Heartbeats
- Vertigo and Dizziness
- Digestive Problems
- Muscle Spams
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
So I went out and bought Magnesium and started taking it immediately.
But it didn’t work overnight, it did take about 7-10 days before my fatigue went away and I could start operating normally.
I truly believe I was in atrial fibrillation due to an extremely low magnesium level and dehydration. There isn’t a test to confirm this but based upon my experience I truly believe this was the culprit that put me over the edge and created havoc on my life for several months.
In part 2 of my story I am going to explain the dosage I use for magnesium, the benefits of taking magnesium, and what I have noticed in the months since taking a regimented magnesium supplementation.
Here is Part 2:
