One of the things my doctor said, is that low Magnesium can contirbute to neurological pain. Has anyone heard this? If anyone is on supplements, has it helped any?
Hi domelover - When first diagnosed 8 years ago my first neuorlogist suggested magnesium and l'lsyne as supplements that sometimes help with nerve and headache type pain. I have been taking them since. I have had two primary doctors agree that I should stay on both. My current primary care, who it a DO and believes strongly in good nutrition and supplaments in place of prescription drugs when you can, has recently asked if I was still taking my magnesium and suggested I up the intake from 500 mg a day. She said take it until you have soft stools and then back off just a little. So I guess the message was to take as much as your body will tolerate.
I do find that when I don't take my magnesium for a few days I feel worse. I take 1750mg daily and when I have my blood work done annually I'm always told that my magnesium level's are just barely in the normal level. So, with out the supplement I would definitely be low.
Thanks for the tip here. I've been taking 400mg of magnesium/day, just based on my own research, not any doctor. It along with other vitamins (i.e. B12, fish oil, etc.) had made zero difference for me. I guess my 400mg must just not be enough. Having said all that, I had an MVD 2 months ago that has been successful. I didn't wake up pain free but gradually, it has subsided. The nerve had to heal in my case, according to Dr. Casey, and it has at least 95%+ already :). I'm weaning off Tegretol as I write this and have cut down from 1200mg to 600mg already and have never felt better. I will though up my magnesium dose as it sounds like it is good for my nerve, which still probably needs a bit more healing.
The doctor started me on 4oomg twice a day, but it still doesn't seen to be doing anything. I do take Tegretol as well, which was increased since the pain got so much worse ,after having been in the winter wind one time. It doesn't help
that I have a cough right now too.
How long does this Magnesium take to kick in, and will I be able to tell?
I had been in a “remission” for 17 months when 3 days before Christmas I was reminded that my Trigeminal Nerves were still disfunctional and could still completely debilitate me indefinitely if the wind blew just right. I had been on Tegretol, Cymbalta, anything prescription that my doctor said could help. It was a process but was able to ween off of everything and live pain free until Dec 22. As my mindset is different this time around I opted to try supplements and oils. I knew already that if I chose to get back on the Tegretol, etc. it would take weeks before I would start to feel any relief. My sister had starting using peppermint and spearmint to treat her migraines so I thought its worth a shot. I found a receipe for a mix of oils, peppermint, lavender, chamomile that was supposed to help with nerve pain. What I found at the health food store was an amazing woman who was willing to listen to my story, I was in complete distress at that time and she probably didn’t know what to think of me but we went through 2 hours of researching supplements and came up with an initial plan. I have ATypical Bilateral so it’s constant pain that you never know what side of the face is going to get zapped at any given moment. I’ve been taking Lithium Orotate, Soluble B12, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Benfotiamine, Potassium Gluconate along with the mixes of oils in compresses and in Aromatherapy and although the pain is not completely gone it is 100% manageable. And there are no side effects from the supplements. The cost is minimal compared to the amount of money and resources I was spending on meds. It has been an eye opening experience that maybe this thing we have can be managed without being at the mercy of the meds.
I take it. It helps mostly with muscle spasms.I heard that in Germany, the E.R. starts TN patients on intravenous magnesium for TN attacks, so it must also do something for nerve pain that I don't understand.
Yes, I take a multi vitamin complex with magnesium and B2 Riboflavin for atypical migrains. It is 'headache relieve' I believe. I believe it is helping and part of my protocol of treatment for this - migraines and facial / head nerve pain. I also have fibro and magnesium is also recommended for that as well. Just be careful about the dose as it can cause diahrea
Judy
I have been on 100 mg of mag. for over 2 yrs. for heart palps. never knowing it could actually help with my TN? I have to say I don't think it has done anything for it or the AD that I now have following my MVD. I do believe that Mag. does have many healing qualities though so I wouldn't doubt that for some it may be a good addition to their "cocktails".
From my experience with TN, it seems any supplement that supports the nervous system reduced the likelihood/severity of an attack to some degree...tried B vitamins, fish oils supplements, although never magnesium on it's own. Interestingly, I also found that I never had an attack while enjoying a hobby of mine that was very stress-relieving. My TN went away entirely when I got the pressure on my brain stem relieved through upper cervical chiropractic. Nothing short of a miracle for me...might be worth checking out.
Blessings on your journey!
Here are 2 very good articles about the benefits of Magnesium. Both articles state that magnesium is helpful with nerve health. Also Magnesium needs to be taken along with a binder (usually Calcium). Regular consumption can also be helpful with digestive problems (remember Milk of Magnesia? for constipation). With all the medications I do get get constipated and have poor digestive health (frequent heartburn). I am going to start taking a supplement of Calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and D. Hopefully this will help with my digestive issues and maybe even help reduce my nerve pain. Here is the link to the 2 articles:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/17/magnesium-benefits.aspx
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/types-of-magnesium/
Thanks George, good to know where you have had success. I have been looking into Upper Cervical adjustments and maybe my next move. I just had botox injections a month ago and am waiting to see what the results from it will be. I had a rough start as I was given too much and pretty much lost muscle control of my neck. Now that things are settling down, I have noticed a reduction in pain; now to see how long that lasts as I start pushing building strength my neck and shoulders muscles more.
I cannot take many medications, I always seem to have bad reactions. I read an article the Miracle of Magnesium and I now take 800 units mag. with 600 units of calcium and D after my dinner. Before I started taking this combo, I had unbearable pain where the wind on my face would make my eyes water. Couldn't brush my teeth, let the shower hit my face, I was desperate for relief. I went in to remission and now the pain has come back but I have minimal pain, nothing like before. I am going to keep taking this. I also have been on Prilosec for 15 years and the results of that are poor absorption of Calcium & Magnesium because of the lack of acid in my stomach now, but I cannot stop the Prilosec due to GERD and hiatal hernia. I take Slo-Mag magnesium if you read the article it explains how some magnesiums are not absorbed as well as others. Slo-Mag, which I get at CVS is Magnesium Chloride; this is what they recommend to use Magnesium Chloride.
Yes neurotransmitters good subject. Just my cup of Tea, because pills and I are just not getting along I have been researching a better way for me. Supplements always worked best in the past for me, so I decided to get a little more scientific about trying heal myself more normal.
Basic nerve function requires calcium potassium and sodium to transfer in the neuron through positive or negative electrical charge. So then you have to think about think about nutrition that creates this process, nutrition is the precursor(s) to neurotransmitters. When you get to the brain chemicals or dealing with dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, and histamine. Each chemical or transmitter and receptor are responsible for different functions. For example I am interested in reversing my autonomic symptoms because they make me so debilitated. So when I took a take a look at norepinephrine; it is responsible for autonomic or smooth muscle dysfunction, (such as coronary heart disease, asthma, angina, ventricular arrhythmias, migraines and hyperthyroid to name a few, also is responsible for attention, arousal, vigilance, alertness, cortisol and thalmic function,
This is all much more complicated than I’ve stated above but I just wanted people to get the idea that nutrition plays a huge role and how our brain and bodies function. Through supplementation and addressing some issues with my brain chemicals I have found a lot of relief with out having to take a lot of medications.
Nutrition and supplementation can take a little while to notice the effects of but it’s well worth the effort and expense. They all complement each other, meaning that one activates another one, like a chain reaction.
Tree
I had a hard time taking oral magnesium, but I found a topical magnesium gel that I’m trying. I wasn’t sure how to know how much I’m getting, but now I’ll try using more until I notice the soft stool effects, thanks!
My neuro surgeon, Dr. Fraser Henderson, recommended a nutrition and metabolic panel through Spectracell. I have Ehlers Danlos Hypermobility (EDS) and discovered I was low in magnesium and Vitamin D (I already knew about this one). Dr. Henderson said there are several different similar panels and labs around the country, but he said the data provided by Spectracell was excellent and the cost was very reasonable. I am now taking 500mg of magnesium daily.
For those of you who have had your neck adjusted, been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, and/or have autonomic dysfunction, I recommend researching about EDS as a possible cause. Geneticists estimate approximately 50% of fibromyalgia patients actually have EDS and approximately 30-40% of EDSers have some form of dysautonomia. I lived in agony for years with occipital and trigeminal headaches. I was diagnosed with Dysautonomia/POTS after my daughter first started showing symptoms at 10yrs. old. I did not pursue an EDS diagnosis until 3 years ago, because I incorrectly believed EDS just meant having “loose joints”. I have come a long way since I was diagnosed. The key for me was finding the cause.
Best of luck,
Trish
This is really great information and I'm glad the topic was brought up. Sometimes we forget that it can be as simple as our diet that needs tweeking rather than adding a new medication. That is why is I am fan a holistic medical care so we can look at both our nutritioal needs as well as our traditional medical care. Thanks everyone for your posts.
all of this input has been so helpful thanks everyone!
I am so glad to see this discussion; I was diagnosed as B12 deficient after my allergic reaction to Tegretol but although that almost put me in liver failure no doctor in my care plan even mentioned checking my nutritional levels. To me that was obvious - my liver, which is my clearing house - was damaged and almost non-functioning for about 6 weeks, surely my levels of essential nutrients had to be disrupted. I cannot get anyone to check but I am supplementing with B12, fish oils and D3. I also got a topical magnesium oil but I was a bit lax about applying it. Now maybe after this I'll make a concerted effort to use it regularly.
I wonder has anyone studied the nutritional status of TN sufferers? Wouldn't it be interesting to see.
Anne
I take3 750 mg magnesium tablets every night. It does not help one bit with the TN, but it has relieved constipation every morning(magnesium is a saline laxative). I know that’s probably TMI, but the question was, “Has it helped any?”