Revisiting Magnesium

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I agree that rodent trials are only preliminary info but it was preliminary info coming out of MIT with a Nobel Laureate on the team so that tends to lend some additional credence.

While eagerly awaiting the results of the ongoing human trials, I will report back on my n=1 trial of L-Theonate. (Things take a while to ship here so I'm continuing with the mag oil in the meantime with excellent results. Still on the lowest dose ever of phenobarbitol with no sleep disturbances.)
 
Well, Dayyyyyyummm!

Did a little more digging into that Dr's Best brand and it has changed formulas and now does have Magnesium stearate in it. I'm trying to get Amazon to cancel my order.

I may have to wait for Dr. Mercola to manufacture some more.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about magnesium stearate. Yes, stearate is used as a filler and flow agent, but it's a form of stearic acid, a long-chain saturated fatty acid found naturally in dark chocolate and coconut oil. You'll get more of it eating dark chocolate than you'll ever get from a magnesium supplement. I know the idea of having soap scum in your stomach sounds disturbing, but it's not gonna happen. There's a whole chemical soup in your stomach (including hydrochloric acid, an industrial solvent) that is designed to process long chain fatty acids and make them useful to the human body.
 
Well, you are probably right that it wouldn't necessarily cause dire harm in small quantities but the contention of Dr. Mercola and many others is that the refined form of Mag S in pills is different than what you would get as stearic acid in chocolate.

Mag S is specifically designed to make things not stick together, that's why it's called a "flow agent". The problem with that is that it can make the very nutrients you are trying to supplement your diet with not be absorbed by your digestive system, they "flow" on by. Nobody really knows by how much but, after all the nutrient absorption issues that AEDs can cause, I would rather not add any more to the mix if possible.

I found this stuff which is just pure Magnesium L-Theonate powder. Evidently it is in the process of making powder into pills that adding the flow agent is more crucial so things don't stick to the machinery.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MG62P3G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00"]Amazon.com: Magnesium L-Threonate Powder. (250G): Health & Personal Care@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HdFE3K9GL.@@AMEPARAM@@41HdFE3K9GL[/ame]
 
AlohaBird said:
I agree that rodent trials are only preliminary info but it was preliminary info coming out of MIT with a Nobel Laureate on the team so that tends to lend some additional credence.

While eagerly awaiting the results of the ongoing human trials, I will report back on my n=1 trial of L-Theonate.
Click to expand...

That is why they have to do rodent trials first because even the best scientists and doctors make mistakes. Let us know when they start the human trials.

It is very interesting.
 
Human trials are already underway just not finished and written up yet.

Yes, it is interesting to watch as the boundaries of human knowledge expand.
 
BTW, if you (or anyone else) is interested in minerals and other supps that don't contain stearate, check out Thorne. They don't offer the glycinate form of magnesium, but they do offer the citrate variety (the one that is supposed to be better for the kidneys). Thorne has a good reputation and is currently collaborating with the Mayo Clinic on double-blind studies involving many of their supplements.
https://thorne.com/
 
Awesome , thanks, Nak.

And in fairness to the Dr.'s Best brand that looks Mag stearate free on Amazon but then customer reviews said otherwise, I wrote to that company and received a very prompt and polite response saying that a few lots of their product had contained Mag S due to a changeover in suppliers but that they are also completely Mag S free again now.

It looks like Magnesium Stearate in your supps is something a lot of people are taking seriously.
 
Yep--If you've noticed a common thread in my posts (which I wouldn't blame you if you haven't) I've had real struggles with electrolyte imbalances, which my docs think was mostly due to Topamax but I'm beginning to think may have been partly due to the head injury. (Head injuries can mess up the body's ability to regulate sodium.) I had hypokalemia, but also kept getting dehydrated--drinking water did not help. I'd just 'auto-dehydrate'--I'd get diarrhea and start urinating non-stop at the same time, until I was super dehydrated and having constant seizures and muscle spasms, twitches, shortness of breath, etc. I eventually learned how to manage all of this with a big reduction in Topamax, adding in salt and supplements, but even today I have to add salt into my diet, or, if I get too much salt, drink more water, and always keep the right balance. I'm constantly aware of my salt/water balance because when it gets off I get seizures. I've never been so aware of the importance of this balance in seizure control since I got seriously out of balance there. I don't really have a major imbalance problem like I used to, but I have to manage it, and my BP tends to be too low if I don't keep up on salt. The only time I can't keep this under control is when/if I get a female cycle--that messes up that balance super fast and I can't regulate it quickly enough, and whammo, seizures, until things balance out. Salt, water, hydration, are super important, at least for me.
 
Interesting. I've been focusing on kidney function (since I only have one). I didn't know a head injury could dis-regulate your electrolytes too.

But how do you know if your body is running low or too high on any given electrolyte? Can you feel it or do you have some kind of monitor?

One thing is for sure. Your seizures were NOT caused by a Topamax deficiency.
 
Yeah Topamax was my devil. Head injuries only cause sodium problems indirectly--they can cause certain hormonal imbalances, and those can cause sodium disregulation.

I was tested for electrolytes fairly regularly for a while. And I had electrolyte problems long enough I just learned to feel when they are off--when my sodium gets low I start to get muscle crampy, anxious, headachy and my feet get Charlie horses. Potassium deficiency was giving me diarrhea and muscles would just twitch and almost quiver nonstop, was hard to get a deep breath. I lost a ton of hair. Low magnesium makes me muscle crampy and sleepless, but on that one I'm just guessing since I didn't ever test low. But I know what magnesium seems to help!
 
I was on a high dose loop diuretic for a long time, no one monitoring my electrolytes (which is bad)--then we added Topamax on top of that, still no monitoring, doubly bad, so the fact I got messed up and it took a long time to get back on track is no big shocker!! Yes I'm with you--bananas! I drink two large V8s and a banana every day, rain or shine. That keeps me happy now :)
 
How could they have put industrial strength meds in you like that without any monitoring? What was the diuretic for in the first place if you don't mind me asking?

I just got inspired and made a frozen banana and coconut cream soft serve ice cream. No, I am not having a snack, I'm taking my potassium supplement. :)
 
I was put on it for high blood pressure (caused by fluid retention of unknown cause). But no one ever checked electrolytes in the 2 years I was on it despite upping the dose on the phone. I knew once I went on Topamax my potassium was going south--I read about it potassium deficiency, had all the symptoms in a bad way and knew that both Lasix at 80 mg a day and Topamax can both do it. I couldn't walk through the grocery store without getting out of breath and had always been so fit and healthy. Neuro just said "Eat a banana every day." That was not enough--I eventually took myself off Lasix, but that alone didn't do it, and I ended up getting sicker and sicker, months of diarrhea, then finally status myoclonus, what felt like irregular heart rhythms and all kinds of stuff going on and my son took me to the ER--electrolytes were (of course) off and probably had been for a long time. I was pretty mad about it at the time. I was too weak to live life normally for months but I recovered and learned a lot from the experience. I still have nocturnal myos and mild partial seizures with my cycles but am healthier than I have been in years, and I am so very thankful.
 
Wow. Not only would that trash your electrolyte balance, it would also devastate your gut microbiome.

You might find the Grain Brain guy's new book Brain Maker interesting (Dr. Perlmutter). It is all about the gut-brain connection. You can't have a happy well functioning brain without a happy and healthy balance of gut bugs.

He gives all kinds of fascinating examples of how fixing the gut microbiome can fix all sorts of problems that people say are "all in your head" like ADHD, depression, migraines, etc.

My magnesium L theonate just arrived. I'll see how that goes.
 
I think I've pretty much fixed that as well--I went on a clean diet, added probiotics and bone broth and worked out what my diet sensitivities were and removed them. I'm on a roll. Good luck with theonate!
 
No I was on tegretol at the time I was put on lasix, and I think that was the cause--tegretol causes fluid retention. My mom had the same problem though, so they called it genetic idiopathic edema. When I went off tegretol and on Topamax, I lost 18 pounds, the fluid retention went away but was still on Lasix. Some things say Topamax is actually a mild diuretic--so it was probably like being on way too much diuretic. I was dehydrated all the time, I looked ancient for a while.
 
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