Magnesium Deficiency?

[kristenm6]

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting on this forum.

I'm 19 years old and I was a vegetarian for 8 years. Last summer, I tried to switch to veganism and started to experience symptoms of B12 deficiency. I have been taking mb12 for a month and it didn't seem very effective until I greatly increased the number of potassium rich foods I was eating––raisins, carrot juice, apple, avocados, etc. After doing this for two days though, something seemed strange––I felt very wired and I couldn't sleep. When I did try to fall asleep, I'd feel a pins and needles sensation all over my body. Soon enough, I completely lost my appetite and I started experiencing arrhythmia and tachycardia. Within two days, I started experiencing panic attacks. The panic attacks got worse and worse and I eventually ended up in the ER. The doctors there assumed that the cause of my panic attacks were genetic, as he did a basic serum test and couldn't find anything. He said my EKG was slightly off though. I went to another doctor and he also assumed that it was genetic. I have a much closer relationship with this doctor though, so he will be willing to work with me more.

I'm wondering if I have an induced magnesium deficiency? Or maybe something else?

 

[jason30]

Welcome to the forum.

I think it's hard to say if it's a magnesium deficiency. My advice would be doing a good blood test which gives you more information if there are any deficiencies present.

I am also thinking about a sulfur sensitivity, since avocado is the fruit with the highest sulphur content.

 

[kristenm6]

Thank you!

I had a basic serum test done, and it said that all
of my nutrient levels were fine. The only thing that was slightly high was my sugar.

So you think it could be a heavy metal sensitivity?

I did take several Epsom salt baths and that seemed to lower my heartrate, but I'm scared of taking too many baths and overdosing.

 

[jason30]

Okay i'm not familiar with a basic serum test, I wonder which nutrient levels are tested. Are minerals such as molybdeen, copper, potassium, selenium, manganese, chromium, zinc etc also tested?
How high was your sugar?

If you can tolerate epsom salt baths then I'll guess you don't have a sulfur sensitivity.

 

[kristenm6]

I don't have my results at the moment (my doctor is getting them soon), but my doctor specifically told me my results for B12, potassium, and magnesium were normal. I had the same kind of blood test done in August, so I can look up those results to see which vitamins they specifically test.

My doctor didn't tell me how high my sugar was specifically. I remember in August that it was high as well---104 mg/dL.

 

[kristenm6]

By the way, I just took my multivitamin (Rainbow Light Teen) and my heart rate seems to have gone down (from 110 bpm to mid-80's) and I feel less anxious.

 

[kristenm6]

Hey guys, I just wanted to bump this post and maybe get some help from @Freddd since I'm still experiencing problems. Here's what happened/is happening in detail:

• I was taking anywhere between 2,000-5,000 mcg of mb12 every day for a week and a half. I did experience some startup symptoms (I mostly felt weird sensations in my head), but not a lot seemed to be happening.
• Two weeks ago, I decided to eat lots of potassium-rich foods while taking about 5,000 mcg of mb12. I'm not sure how much potassium I ended up consuming, but it was definitely much more than I had ever eaten before. It was as if my body was waiting for me to consume a certain level of potassium before fully starting methylation. Not sure if this is true, but that's my theory.
• Within two days, I started experiencing near constant anxiety, rapid heart rate, no appetite, insomnia, and restlessness. I have never experienced anxiety or any heart problems prior to this. I would assume that I induced some sort of electrolyte/vitamin deficiency?
• I went to bed at 4 AM for three nights straight and barely ate anything. I also experienced at least one panic attack a day.
• On the third day, I kept having panic attacks and eventually went to the ER. They gave me Lorazepam to calm me down. They also did several blood tests and said that everything was fine. I never received a copy of the blood test results. I specifically asked if my magnesium levels were okay though, and they said they were normal.
• After getting out of the ER, I ate around 600 calories a day for a week. I started to associate my anxiety with food since most of my panic attacks happened during or after eating.
• A couple days ago, I started eating over 1,000 calories a day again. I have been feeling very weak and don't have much energy. I found that eating salmon helped my heart tremendously. Whereas before my heart was pounding, now it beats very softly. It's still fast though.
• Yesterday, I started experiencing low level anxiety again. And today it is present as well.
• I'm still experiencing fast heart rate and arrhythmia, especially when I wake up in the morning. I'm going to get an electrocardiogram done today.

Supplements I'm currently taking:

• Rainbow Light Teen Multivitamin (click for contents of multivitamin)
• EPA + DHA fish oil supplement (1000 mg)

I'm not taking mb12 at the moment, as I feel that I should correct my heart issues before proceeding with methylation.

Could these be low potassium or magnesium deficiency symptoms? Can anyone provide some help? I would be extremely grateful, as I'm bedridden at the moment.

 

[Rlman]

@ahmo @caledonia could you help?

 

[jason30]

Hey guys, I just wanted to bump this post and maybe get some help from @Freddd since I'm still experiencing problems. Here's what happened/is happening in detail:

• I was taking anywhere between 2,000-5,000 mcg of mb12 every day for a week and a half. I did experience some startup symptoms (I mostly felt weird sensations in my head), but not a lot seemed to be happening.
• Two weeks ago, I decided to eat lots of potassium-rich foods while taking about 5,000 mcg of mb12. I'm not sure how much potassium I ended up consuming, but it was definitely much more than I had ever eaten before. It was as if my body was waiting for me to consume a certain level of potassium before fully starting methylation. Not sure if this is true, but that's my theory.
• Within two days, I started experiencing near constant anxiety, rapid heart rate, no appetite, insomnia, and restlessness. I have never experienced anxiety or any heart problems prior to this. I would assume that I induced some sort of electrolyte/vitamin deficiency?
• I went to bed at 4 AM for three nights straight and barely ate anything. I also experienced at least one panic attack a day.
• On the third day, I kept having panic attacks and eventually went to the ER. They gave me Lorazepam to calm me down. They also did several blood tests and said that everything was fine. I never received a copy of the blood test results. I specifically asked if my magnesium levels were okay though, and they said they were normal.
• After getting out of the ER, I ate around 600 calories a day for a week. I started to associate my anxiety with food since most of my panic attacks happened during or after eating.
• A couple days ago, I started eating over 1,000 calories a day again. I have been feeling very weak and don't have much energy. I found that eating salmon helped my heart tremendously. Whereas before my heart was pounding, now it beats very softly. It's still fast though.
• Yesterday, I started experiencing low level anxiety again. And today it is present as well.
• I'm still experiencing fast heart rate and arrhythmia, especially when I wake up in the morning. I'm going to get an electrocardiogram done today.

Could these be low potassium or magnesium deficiency symptoms? Can anyone provide some help?

I have no idea what this could be. Your blood sugar is okay.
Did you thought about a fluctuating blood sugar or even hypoglycemia?

I do know that too much potassium can cause heart problems, electrolyte imbalances and hypotension (low blood pressure).
When I look at your symptoms then I also think about your adrenals, maybe even a adrenal crisis? A saliva test will give you more information about your adrenal status.

I wish you all the best!

 

[kristenm6]

I have no idea what this could be. Your blood sugar is okay.
Did you thought about a fluctuating blood sugar or even hypoglycemia?

I do know that too much potassium can cause heart problems, electrolyte imbalances and hypotension (low blood pressure).
When I look at your symptoms then I also think about your adrenals, maybe even a adrenal crisis? A saliva test will give you more information about your adrenal status.

I wish you all the best!

Thanks, jason30. The adrenals are related to hormone production, right? I know that they did some sort of blood test related to my hormones at the ER, and again, they said everything was fine.

I feel like, at this point, my potassium levels should be fine or maybe even too low. I mean, I barely ate for a week and I was also taking Epsom salt baths, which act as a laxative.

 

[caledonia]

Hi Kristen,

Assuming you added the B12 to your multivitamin (you were taking both at the same time), I'm thinking it was possibly a coincidence that the anxiety/heart stuff happened after you started eating high potassium foods.

I think it's possible that you have a potassium deficiency (caused by methylation startup), even though you were eating high potassium foods. Some of us aren't able to absorb the potassium from foods and need to supplement. This happened to me.

The serum tests only show what's in the blood, not what's in the cells. So your test can look ok while you're actually deficient. This is true for B12 and electrolytes.

What I would suggest is to stop the B12 and the multivitamin. The fish oil should be fine to continue.

You can try some niacin to soak up methyl groups and slow methylation. That would be 50-100mg, not a whole 500mg pill. If this helps, then you can assume you had cranked up methylation (and possibly overmethylated?).

You could try cautiously experimenting with small amounts of electrolytes (magnesium and potassium). I'm saying be cautious because, as you know, they can affect heart rhythms. Magnesium and potassium work together, so taking too much of one can cause a relative deficiency of the other. So they need to be in balance.

Try potassium first. If that helps, then that would support potassium deficiency on methylation startup and not being able to get potassium from foods.

If both potass and mag help, that would support having an electrolyte deficiency, possibly due to adrenal fatigue issues. If you're also craving salt or salty foods, that would add to this. The test they did at the ER is not diagnostic for adrenal fatigue. You need to do a 24 hour cortisol saliva test, which is not available from your regular doctor.

Or you can do nothing and wait until you get back to your normal baseline. However, if you have gotten methylation cranking, it can take some time (possibly weeks). The niacin can help shortcut this process.

If you decide to restart at some point, my suggestion would be to just supplement with B12. But be cautious about the amount and type of B12. Methylcobalamin might be a bit too high powered if you have COMT SNPs. You may need to switch to hydroxycobalamin, or use methylcobalamin along with some niacin and/or keep the amounts small, so you don't go into anxiety. CBS expression could be another issue causing anxiety.

Go to my signature link and read through my documents "Roadblocks to Successful Methylation Treatment" and also "Start Low and Go Slow" for more info on how to supplement the things I mentioned and other tips.

There are also a couple of good articles on B12, veganism, and how to correctly test for B12 deficiency. Although, if you have a lot of deficiency symptoms, and a history of vegetarinism/veganism, personally I think that's good enough for diagnosis.

 

[kristenm6]

Hi Kristen,

Assuming you added the B12 to your multivitamin (you were taking both at the same time), I'm thinking it was possibly a coincidence that the anxiety/heart stuff happened after you started eating high potassium foods.

I think it's possible that you have a potassium deficiency (caused by methylation startup), even though you were eating high potassium foods. Some of us aren't able to absorb the potassium from foods and need to supplement. This happened to me.

The serum tests only show what's in the blood, not what's in the cells. So your test can look ok while you're actually deficient. This is true for B12 and electrolytes.

What I would suggest is to stop the B12 and the multivitamin. The fish oil should be fine to continue.

You can try some niacin to soak up methyl groups and slow methylation. That would be 50-100mg, not a whole 500mg pill. If this helps, then you can assume you had cranked up methylation (and possibly overmethylated?).

You could try cautiously experimenting with small amounts of electrolytes (magnesium and potassium). I'm saying be cautious because, as you know, they can affect heart rhythms. Magnesium and potassium work together, so taking too much of one can cause a relative deficiency of the other. So they need to be in balance.

Try potassium first. If that helps, then that would support potassium deficiency on methylation startup and not being able to get potassium from foods.

If both potass and mag help, that would support having an electrolyte deficiency, possibly due to adrenal fatigue issues. If you're also craving salt or salty foods, that would add to this. The test they did at the ER is not diagnostic for adrenal fatigue. You need to do a 24 hour cortisol saliva test, which is not available from your regular doctor.

Or you can do nothing and wait until you get back to your normal baseline. However, if you have gotten methylation cranking, it can take some time (possibly weeks). The niacin can help shortcut this process.

If you decide to restart at some point, my suggestion would be to just supplement with B12. But be cautious about the amount and type of B12. Methylcobalamin might be a bit too high powered if you have COMT SNPs. You may need to switch to hydroxycobalamin, or use methylcobalamin along with some niacin and/or keep the amounts small, so you don't go into anxiety. CBS expression could be another issue causing anxiety.

Go to my signature link and read through my documents "Roadblocks to Successful Methylation Treatment" and also "Start Low and Go Slow" for more info on how to supplement the things I mentioned and other tips.

There are also a couple of good articles on B12, veganism, and how to correctly test for B12 deficiency. Although, if you have a lot of deficiency symptoms, and a history of vegetarinism/veganism, personally I think that's good enough for diagnosis.

Thank you so much, caledonia! This was extremely helpful. My anxiety has calmed down a lot within the past day and I'm realizing now that a lot of my B12 deficiency symptoms have disappeared. For instance, I no longer have brain fog. I still don't feel 100% mentally present though, but I think this will improve once I start eating more food and taking methylcobalamin again. Based on some of the things I've read from Freddd, I think I might be deficient in adenosylcobalamin as well? I just don't seem to have as much energy as my friends who have been meat eaters for years and I also injured my back while weight lifting in August and it still hasn't healed fully.

I do think that I might have experienced overmethylation. It was probably a huge mistake for me to take such a large amount of methylcobalamin so quickly. I also think that I might have had slightly low potassium, as I ate a couple of bananas after my electrocardiogram yesterday and my heart rate went from 95 to 58 within a couple hours (I was an athlete for a really long time, so my normal heart rate is slightly low). This probably also shows that I'm capable of absorbing potassium from foods.

 

[sb4]

I do think that I might have experienced overmethylation. It was probably a huge mistake for me to take such a large amount of methylcobalamin so quickly.

Interested on follow up to this. I have had gastroparesis with bad heart symptoms upon eating for 5yrs now. My heart suddenly got a lot worse after trying mega doses of methylfolate. I was supplementing potassium at the time. I ended up going to A&E 3 times in 2 weeks and now 1 month later I am still only eating 1000kcals a day or less. When I eat or drink my heart symptoms set off. Very light headed, pounding heart, numb extremeties, anxiety, etc.

Curious to know how you sorted it. Thanks.

 

[Tammy]

I would definitely add in the adenosylcobalamin. I take it every day mixed with methyl. I take a liquid that has both adenyl and methyl..............20% adeno...........and 80% methyl. It is made by Global Healing. Be careful when you introduce high amounts of just one electrolyte. We need a balance of sodium/potassium/glucose.

 

[Vanessa_M]

I know potassium levels can absolutely affect your heart rythm - both when it is too high or too low. I had a major episode of heart palpitations after a course of antibiotic treatments which rapidly depleted potatssium in my system. Went away once I supplemented aggressively - but I did actually test positive, right at the cusp of the low end. Going to the ER is the worst place to get information, because probably half the time they will just send people home if it doesn't appear to be an acute emergency. Many people with chronic health conditions just get dismissed as 'hypochondriacs' and what not, because they don't have the time to spend figuring out what the problem is. I say do some research on practitioners in your local area and find someone good to work with and help you sort this out in a systematic way.

Also, I just want to say that I think a lot of problems could potentially develop after being vegetarian for 8 years. A lot of people don't know this, but it can raise copper levels because you wouldn't be getting enough zinc (in meats, seafood etc..). Hair element analysis can be a cheap way to screen for the full spectrum of every mineral/heavy metal in your tissues to find out if you have any deficiencies or overloads.