# Magnesium Dependency?



## briland23 (Sep 11, 2002)

Well, thanks to all of the info I have found on this board, I have begun taking Magnesium 250mg every night for the past two weeks. I am normally IBS-C and although the pain is still around, I have been going NORMALLY everyday! I am so happy and amazed at how well this works!But the concern creeps in anyway...Could it be possible for our colons to become dependent on the magnesium to have a bm? I went from not going for two days to going two to three times a day! I have read that mag. has a laxative effect on the colon as it draws water into it. If we take it everyday, will our bodies eventually tolerate the level and become dependent on the mag? That would be even worse in the long run! I hear all the horror stories of people getting off stimulant laxatives and i DO NOT want to go through that on top of the bad C I used to get. So what do you all think? Have any of you had to up your mag. dose over the years because it stopped working? Has anyone heard of magnesium dependency or of it making the colon lazy? I don't want to give up this great "cure" but I don't want to be worse down the line. I am only 25 now!Ali


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## LNAPE (Feb 9, 1999)

Magnesium is something all of us need for muscle control and to help calcium get to our bones. 400 mg is the daily recommended amount and if you are on 250 mg you are far away from the recommended amount. Linda


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## KLG (Jul 8, 2002)

My theory is no, but then again I am no doctor.Stimulant laxatives irritate the intestinal walls causing them to contract back and forth. When these laxatives are abused, I think the intestines lose their tone as they spasm as a result to an irritant and no longer "on their terms". The magnesium flushes water into the intestines allowing the stool to be softer and easier to pass. Your intestines are still going through their regular motions however. I would say no, unless of course you are taking so much magnessium that you have severe D on a daily basis. I don't know that that would be very good for keeping intestinal walls toned as it would just be running right through. I was wondering the same thing about Cayenne. I've been taking it in supplement form and they help me go, but I wonder if it acts as an irritant laxative.


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## briland23 (Sep 11, 2002)

Thank you for the replies.I haven't heard of taking cayenne but if it is anything like the pepper it sounds like, it would definately be an irritant to me! The magnesium has been working but I just don't want to have to keep upping the dose as the years go until I can't take it anymore. Has anyone had to increase their mag intake over the months because it became ineffective? What doses are people on? I am really interested in this topic since it seems to be working. Thanks for all your continued help.Happy Holidays to all!Ali


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## Ty (Mar 8, 1999)

When I first starting taking mag I did have to up my dose. Currently, I take up to 750mg a day. Usually every few days I drop it to 500mg as it starts working to well. But I've stayed at that dose for almost three years with great success.


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## briland23 (Sep 11, 2002)

I have read that it could be dangerous to take mag supplements if you have bad kidneys. I don't think I do, but how would I know? I have been going three to four times a day, which seems to be like the mag is working really well. I have never gone this much! It seems like it is working like a laxative. I really don't want that. I think I will start taking the 250 mg. every other day and see what happens. What do you guys thinK?? I am taking Mag oxide and that is the ingredient in lots of laxatives anyway. Don't need laxative dependency!!Ali


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

Magnesium is not an ideal laxative primarily because it can disrupt your bodyï¿½s water and electrolyte balance. I guess you could say it ï¿½stressesï¿½ the kidneys. (Presumably, if you had a kidney problem, you probably have some indication: protein/blood in the urine on urinalysis, stones, kidney infection, having to be on dialysis.)Whether it specifically damages or makes the colon dependent on its presence is unknown.Miralax and related stuff are considered ideal laxatives because they donï¿½t have this effect.


> quote:if you are on 250 mg you are far away from the recommended amount.


Logic? That assumes a diet wholly free of magnesium.


> quote:Stimulant laxatives irritate the intestinal walls causing them to contract back and forth.


The word irritate strikes me as if intestine is in some sort of agony. Stimulant laxatives is just a classification of laxatives that directly alter colonic motility and/or water absorption. Magnesium is not considered to be in this category. Senna and bisacodyl are considered stimulant laxatives. *Correction from a previous post: colace (docusate) is considered a stimulant too.* Anyway, the degree to which the true stimulant laxatives cause dependency in the colon is unknown. Only one study has demonstrated this physical changes to the colon on x-ray from these laxatives, but Iï¿½m not sure they showed that it caused actual ï¿½dependencyï¿½.


> quoteur intestines are still going through their regular motions however.


However, pretty much any laxative will have at least some effect on motilty and water transport, even if indirectly.


> quote:I was wondering the same thing about Cayenne.


Pepper stimulates substance P receptors and that could clearly could have effects on motility and pain perception in the gut. How much of it reaches into the colon though Iï¿½m not sure.


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## Cordy (Jul 1, 2002)

calcium must be in balance with magnesium. if you are taking only mag, you are giving your body an imbalance. cal/mag s/b taken at a 2:1 ration I don't know if oxide is the best form for you to be taking mag. What about citrate?there have been people on this board who had to keep upping their doses of milk of magnesia, and then they ran into problems with extreme fatigue and dizzyness, as well. the person who comes to mind is --shoot, i can't remember her name, but she used to post about this. she took MOM for 10 years, and then had to get off of it, becuase she was having diziness, etc. I would be careful: that you don't get your mag out of balance with the body's need for calcium. the electrolytes (minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium ) need to be in balance and at the right ratio. maybe you could get a good nutrition book, like the Balch's "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" ($20 at any health food store) and do some reading on these minerals. As well, this book has a good write-up on the 4 dif. types of laxatives. Here's what it says about milk of magnesia and other osmotics:" Osmotic agents contain salts or carbohydrates that promote secretion of water into the colon, initiating bowel movement. They are among the SAFEST LAXATIVES FOR OCCASIONAL USE, but if they are used more than occasionally, dependency can result. Examples include lactulose (a Rx med sold as Cephulac and Chronulac), sorbitol (which is cheaper than lactulose but just as effective), milk of magnesia, citrate of magnesia, and Epsom salts."The only problem with the above I see is that they do not mention straight simple magnesium supplements, so I don't know if they are the same thing. My hunch is that taking supplemental magnesium is alot different than taking the osmotics listed above, and that the same information does not apply. In other words, I don't know if one could become "ependent" on magnesium as they could on these others. I would just say, do try to keep your calcium and magnsium in balance. If you are only taking magnesium, you are sure to set your body up for lots of problems later on.....they need each other and work together. Maybe some one else can shed some light as to the difference between taking milk of magnesia, epsom salts and citrate of magnesia as opposed to straight magnesium supplements. I would like to understand this better myself.


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## lk (Aug 28, 1999)

Hi Ali, I've been taking magnesium suppliment successfully for almost three years now too and have never increased my dosage. I have always taken between 400 and 600 mg a day, depending on how I feel. Instead of taking it every other day, it might be better to take a smallerr dose. Jamieson vitamins sells it in 50 mg and 100 mg tablets.


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## briland23 (Sep 11, 2002)

Thank you so much for all this great information.I definately ingest magnesium from food on a daily basis: spinach, whole wheat bread, leafy vegetables, salmon. I think I am taking way too much mag for my body to handle. I have already gone three times today and it is only 12:30. This is a huge change from only going a tiny bit each day. I also bought a Slow-Mag supplement that gives 64 mg of magnesium chloride and 212mg of calcium. This is that 2:1 ratio you were talking about. Perhaps I will start taking that instead. It is 1/4 of the mag I am currently taking so that worries me that it won't work at all. I am also worried about the calcium in it. I eat calcium in the form of cereals and graham crackers a lot during the day, I can't eat dairy, and the last thing I need is to be C agian as bad as i was two weeks ago. I hate to ask another question, but in your opinion, do you think taking this small amount of mag. and larger amount of calcium could possibly constipate me? I guess I will just have to try and see but I would like to hear any of your thoughts!Ali


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:calcium must be in balance with magnesium. if you are taking only mag, you are giving your body an imbalance. cal/mag s/b taken at a 2:1 ration





> quote:I would be careful: that you don't get your mag out of balance with the body's need for calcium.


The actual ï¿½ratioï¿½ is 3.1 to 1. However, thatï¿½s pure math. I donï¿½t know of any direct physiological connection between them. In other words, this is probably an invention of the vitamin pushers to sell more pills.


> quote:maybe you could get a good nutrition book, like the Balch's "Prescription for Nutritional Healing"


If this book is touting this so-called ratio, then perhaps this book is "not so good."


> quote: They are among the SAFEST LAXATIVES FOR OCCASIONAL USE, but if they are used more than occasionally, dependency can result


No, *we donï¿½t know know that dependency can result from osmotic laxatives* and Miralax is in this class. It is probably to safe to use Miralax on a regular basis indefinitely without any ill effects.


> quote:do you think taking this small amount of mag. and larger amount of calcium could possibly constipate me?


As a general rule, consider calcium as a nutrient and follow RDA guidelines and consider the magnesium you cnsume as a laxative as a medication.


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