Magnesium question - Exatest vs. hair analysis

[Gondwanaland]

I discovered I was low in HCL

acidity is needed for better Mg absorption as well

 

[Mij]

@Mij - I seem to have very few magnesium deficiency symptoms - mainly insomnia, low potassium, low calcium. But I don't have any neurological symptoms or blood pressure problems or extra fatigue (apart from PEM and lots of detoxing!) My worst symptoms are PEM, low potassium (which I'm working hard at correcting!) and probably mercury toxicity.

I was focusing on magnesium because Sarah Myhill recommended the injections - though that was 4-1/2 years ago - and my hair analysis is so low, so I'm trying to cover all the bases. Also, the last time my hair levels were good were right before I started crashing. And several people talk about how much mag injections helped them. There obviously seems to be a connection between crashing and low mag on hair analysis. However, that doesn't mean that one causes the other - mercury could be at the bottom of both crashing and low magnesium and I'm going to be doing the Quicksilver Mercury Tri Test to try to get more info re mercury. I've tried Cutler's protocol, it was difficult, I have a lot of trouble with detoxing, so am also getting the 23andme testing done to see if there are SNPs interfering with detoxing.

It's confusing, no one has all the answers, so last night it came to me to contact Dr. Myhill and get her opinion re the Exatest vs. hair analysis results. I noticed on her website that she talks about an RBC magnesium test, which I think would be the equivalent of the Exatest.

I just wanted to see if anyone on this board knew how it could be that my RBC levels were good but hair analysis so low. And maybe it's mercury- all roads seem to lead to mercury!

I think it's wise to see what Dr. Myhill's opinion is regarding your Exatest results. I don't think you have to experience neuro problems to be deficient. Do you take vitamin D? If you do, do your D levels go up? I could not get my D levels up years ago because my Mg was low, once I increased my Mg my D levels went up. You need sufficient magnesium levels to increase vitamin D. That's one way to tell.

I also tested high for mercury on my Doctor's Data testing. I did chelation with DMSA for 3 months and all my minerals, particularly zinc nosed dived. That was not good. I didn't feel any better after treatment and I still have malabsorption problems.

I hope you get answers

 

[Mij]

@Mij - re your absorption problem - have you ever tried taking HCL with meals, particularly meals with protein? I'm sure you know that low stomach acid is very common in CFS. I used to have absorption problems, plus a host of digestion problems, including toxic liver, inflamed gallbladder. I had to do a liver detox which helped a lot - I seemed to have toxins stored from heavy exposure to chemical solvents from a job I had at age 19 (a long time ago! )

Anyways, between my regular doctor and my chiropractor helping me with the detox, I discovered I was low in HCL and my digestion and absorption improved exponentially once I started taking it with meals. Enzymes alone were not enough to improve my digestion. Richvank recommended the baking soda burp test to see if you are low in HCL (you may know this already!): Dissolved 1/4 tsp. baking soda in 8 oz. of water and drink on an empty stomach. If you don't burp within 2 minutes, it indicates low stomach acid. Another doctor told me to take sufficient HCL until I felt "acidy" and then reduce dose by one capsule. And it worked.

Yes I've tried HCL with meals and it did not help. It's possible I didn't take enough though. I will try the burp test, thanks. I do feel I have low HCL I take digestive enzymes and eat fermented foods (sauerkraut, kefir) to help heal my gut. . I'll see what my blood test results show in a few months.

Let us know what Dr.Myhill says regarding your exatest results.

 

[Mary]

Mary, please apologize me for reposting here the same info I posted at your potassium thread.

My levels were:
Serum Mg 2.2 (1.6 - 2.3 mg/dL)
RBC Mg 5 (4.3 - 5.7 mg/dL) <- Dr. Carolyn Dean says below 6 is too low
Urine Mg 4.7 (7.3 - 12.2 mg/dL)
Hair 46 (35 - 120) <- and this was before some abx rounds which lowered my levels drastically (see urine result)

I was dramatically low in magnesium with the results above. All of them are one month before my Mg supplementation regime, except for hair which was older. After fixing my Mg deficiency, I now can hold to potassium much better, but seemed to need calcium, which I apparently fixed with vitamin A.

No apologies needed! This is a big board and I forget things I and others have posted elsewhere. You posted that once you got your magnesium up to bowel tolerance, you improved a lot. I went up to bowel tolerance and nothing changed (except for my bowels - ah, the things we talk about here! )

Interesting you fixed calcium with vitamin A - I never would have connected those two!

 

[Mary]

I think it's wise to see what Dr. Myhill's opinion is regarding your Exatest results. I don't think you have to experience neuro problems to be deficient. Do you take vitamin D? If you do, do your D levels go up? I could not get my D levels up years ago because my Mg was low, once I increased my Mg my D levels went up. You need sufficient magnesium levels to increase vitamin D. That's one way to tell.

I also tested high for mercury on my Doctor's Data testing. I did chelation with DMSA for 3 months and all my minerals, particularly zinc nosed dived. That was not good. I didn't feel any better after treatment and I still have malabsorption problems.

I do take vitamin D (5,000 IU a day) and my levels did go up, though they were lower on my last test.

I did the Doctor's Data testing too, and using the counting rules, was positive for mercury. I did the DMSA for 3 months also, with no apparent results. I didn't retest after I stopped, I just couldn't do the dmsa any more.

You might want to look into the Quicksilver Mercury Tri Test - https://www.quicksilverscientific.com/mercury-testing/mercury-tri-test
I just learned about this very recently - it's supposed to give much more information about body burden (and the various types of mercury) and how well the body can eliminate mercury than any other testing. Check out the link and the videos there. You can find a practitioner who will order the test through the website, or if you just call Quicksilver they'll give you the names of practitioners in your area who do it. I'm going to be doing this testing in the very near future. Pone on this board recommended Diana Galloway in Florida as someone who is very knowledgable about mercury and also SNPs that can interfere with detoxification. I'm going to get the 23andme testing done as well. I'm in California but have e-mailed Diana (dgallowayrn@gmail.com) to get some info, and will probably use either her or a chiropractor I found through Quicksilver to do the test. I had gotten very discouraged about the mercury issue because it seemed unsolvable but maybe this will show a way out.

I will post what Dr. Myhill says about the Exatest (will be contacting her after 1/20) - hopefully she will respond!

 

[Little Bluestem]

I've decided to e-mail Dr. Myhill and ask her recommendation re the mag injections, since my Exatest result was great, but hair analysis results are very poor.

I would like to know what she has to say. I recently did the NutrEval test. The red blood cell magnesium was nicely in the normal range. The 'other' (I haven't figured out the source) magnesium was High Need. A hair test done about a month before has low normal magnesium.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Magnesium Antagonists/Inhibitors
Sodium, potassium, iron, selenium, copper, lithium, silicon/silica, manganese, Vit A, Vit B1, Vit C, Vit E, niacin/niacinamide, PABA, Vit K, folate, choline, uric acid, alcohol, w6 (e.g. primrose, pumpkin seed oil), [Calcium,* Vit D.]

Yikes! I take most of those, so I must be taking some of them with the magnesium. Some of them don't play well with each other, so getting everything separate that needs to be is challenging.

 

[Gondwanaland]

@Little Bluestem I combine magnesium with Bcomplex or take it on its own. I take magnesium apart from meals and from other minerals.