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Magnesium sulfate adminstration

Messages
84
Location
Canada
Can someone give me some pointers on starting out with magnesium sulfate injections? My doctor is willing to prescribe some. I know you have to put them in your butt, but I wanted to hear the experience of others about the starting dose. Is a 200mg injection suitable? The reason why I'm doing it this way is that I want to have an accurate measurement of my intake. I have taken epsom salts baths and done magnesium oil but they are imprecise.

Years ago I looked into this but for some reason I thought mag sulf was only available by IV. But now it seems you can take the same formulation and inject it IM. I've read in a few places that you should dilute it with saline or taurine so that it doesn't burn so much.

For someone with CFS, is my starting dose reasonable? How often?

I have a good MD but she does not know a lot about my condition outside of standard protocols (which are leaving me wanting). So I'm kind of on my own with this. I am definitely lacking mag in my life. Body tightness, muscle spasms, anxiety, and feeling tense are all signs. I also feel like mag helps me with my depression.

Thanks!
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
I'm not aware of anyone here who has done Mg injections. Why would you want to do something as painful as an injection when oral supplements are readily available?

I rely on Mag-Tab SR which is available OTC - it is the only Mg that has helped with muscle spasms. I also take a generic Mg oxide supplement.

If you want to know more about supplementing Mg, you should read the archives of the late director of the Magnesium Research Laboratory, Dr. Herbert Mansmann, who also treated himself with high doses of Mg for diabetic neuropathy:

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...ts-best-kind-to-take.52208/page-2#post-864902
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...ts-best-kind-to-take.52208/page-2#post-864907
 

zzz

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Oregon
Why would you want to do something as painful as an injection when oral supplements are readily available?

Many people cannot absorb enough oral magnesium to be of benefit. I am one of those. I tried various doses of oral magnesium supplements with no effect; if I took enough, I'd simply get diarrhea, with no benefit from the magnesium.

My doctor wouldn't prescribe magnesium injections, so I did the next best thing - magnesium by nebulizer. Once again, Dr. Myhill is an excellent source on how to do this; see Magnesium by nebuliser - DoctorMyhill.

As for magnesium injections, many ME/CFS doctors use them, as they find that they are helpful for a wide range of symptoms. The link by @echobravo is a good summary of Dr. Myhill's approach, but more specific instructions can be found in her article Magnesium by injection - the only way to guarantee getting magnesium levels up in the body.

Dr. Cheney uses the same dose for magnesium injections as Dr. Myhill, but he uses taurine in addition to the magnesium, instead of lignocaine (xylocaine). The result is an injection that is almost painless. Here are Dr. Cheney's instructions:
Dr. Cheney said:
Many patients benefit from magnesium injections, which are virtually painless with the addition of taurine. The Magnesium used by most is Magnesium Sulfate—standard 50% solution—1/2 cc drawn into the syringe first, followed by 1 1/2 cc's of Taurine. The Taurine is compounded at 50 mg/cc. The taurine makes the injection virtually painless and the ratio eliminates the hard knots many are familiar with. The injection is intramuscular, given in upper, outer quadrant of either buttock. Both require scripts from a doctor.

( Dr. Paul Cheney: CFS & Cardiac Issues, Part 2b )

Dr. Cheney has stated elsewhere that he believes that magnesium may be one of the most important treatments for ME/CFS due to its neuroprotective qualities. As the primary NMDA antagonist, it helps protect nerve cells from excitotoxicity from sources such as excess glutamate.
 
Messages
84
Location
Canada
I ended up using straight mag sulfate 50% IM into my quad muscle (upper leg). It does burn and it feels sore but I didn't get a lump. I also injected very slowly, over the course of a minute or two, using an insulin syringe. The effect was immediate. Body got warm and I felt lazy. By the next morning my muscle felt normal.

I have actually had to stop taking the injections daily because the mag relaxed my body so much that I found it hard to function the next day. The amount I was taking nightly via injection was 500mg. I might take them once a week instead, or during periods of high stress.

I've acquired taurine so I'm going to mix it. I also have folic acid and b complex injections. I found that when I mixed with mag sulfate with any of those, it didn't burn at all. I'm not sure why taurine is specifically recommended when mixing the mag with something less dense will help too.

Some immediate benefits of the mag injections were no heart palpitations, better sleep, stress impacts my body less (less adrenaline surge), less jumpy. For the person who asked, I take it this way because I have inflammatory bowel disease and don't absorb it. Most mag solutions have filler that also irritate my bowels.
 
Messages
9
Hi Chiron,
Before taking Magnesium check out the levels of magnesium in your blood.
And confirm your doctor, if you had any kidney, heart or stomach disease before or not.
And tell freely to your doctor, if you drink alcohol or if you have the habit of smoking or not.
Magnesium sulfate injection have some side effects so you should alert about if you have any allergic condition.

Both of these information is required before prescribing any sulfate injection and usually, an adult dose for mild hypomagnesemia is 1 gm IM every 6 hours for 4 doses or as much as 250 mg/kg IM for severe hypomagnesia within a 4 hour period
 
Messages
84
Location
Canada
Hi Chiron,
Before taking Magnesium check out the levels of magnesium in your blood.
And confirm your doctor, if you had any kidney, heart or stomach disease before or not.
And tell freely to your doctor, if you drink alcohol or if you have the habit of smoking or not.
Magnesium sulfate injection have some side effects so you should alert about if you have any allergic condition.

Both of these information is required before prescribing any sulfate injection and usually, an adult dose for mild hypomagnesemia is 1 gm IM every 6 hours for 4 doses or as much as 250 mg/kg IM for severe hypomagnesia within a 4 hour period

You are quoting something from the internet which I have read dozens of times already. Thank you though.

I don't need to check my mag levels because my diet is mag deficient and I have the mag deficiency signs. And anyway, mag blood tests are notoriously inaccurate.

Taking 500mg IM is not going to radically shift the balance. I was more creating this thread to get education on administration methods and people's experiences. I listened to my body and stopped taking it when it started to hyper-relax my body.

The kidney disease part is interesting. My eGFR tends to hover in the 70's but that's because the eGFR is measured based on creatinine levels in the blood, and I consume a lot of meat. During fasting cycles my eGFR goes up to 100 or more. And I have no kidney disease symptoms.