Re: Magnesium

September 24, 2004

In a message dated 9/24/2004 4:18:09 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

ekaulbach@... writes:

> Any advice on magnesium dosage?

>

Ed,

I take about 400 m.g. of magnesium a day, but I also make sure that I get

enough potassium, another electrolyte important to maintaining heart rhythm.

Fruits and vegetables are good sources of potassium, especially bananas, as you

may know.

It sounds as if afib is not much of a problem for you because you have it

infrequently. How long do you wait before going for a cardioversion? Are you

anticoagulated when they do the cardioversion? I started afib at a young age

as you did, but unlike you, I have never had a cardioversion because I have

always converted to sinus on my own and I was not treated for it because it was

undiagnosed until six years ago. Sometimes I have had to wait as long as ten

days before converting, but I haven't gone into permanent afib yet. My E.P.

told me that it is unlikely that I will go into permanent afib because if it

were likely I would have done so by now after 20+ years of afib. You probably

fit into that category, too.

in sinus in Seattle

September 25, 2004

Ed:

I will bet that if you get 100 responses to this question you will

get 100 different answers. Here is my take on the matter:

I am a strong advocate of magnesium as a supplement having

experimented on myself with it and found that it primarily reduced my

ectopics and as a side effect markedly decreased the frequency of my

Afib episodes. Doing Internet research and 'hands-on' in store

reading of labels of all the different types of OTC suppliments

available, I've settled on taking the cheapest form, (Magnesium

Oxide), 250 mg bid, that's twice a day.

From my research I've found that it is almost impossible to overdose

with this because when your body has absorbed all the magnesium that

it can, your bowels will react vigorously and expel any overage. So

in the first few days of trying this supplement stay close to home.

Some people have experienced gastrointestinal upset with this raw

form of magnesium, so they find a 'buffered' form easier to take such

as the brand Slow-Mag. The main ingredient in many laxitives is

magnesium...magnesium citrate or magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) to

name a few.

I think that the reason magnesium has been overlooked by the medical

community in the past is that to actually test for this element you

have to do a biopsy of the heart tissue itself rather than just

relying on a standard blood test to see if the serum level is

deficient. This is too costly and dangerous to say the least.

I could go on and on with my praises of a magnesium supplement and

the reasons this element is lacking in the daily diet of most people

living in the developed countries of the world. For instance,

magnesium in NOT an ingredient in almost all the commercial

fertilizers used by farmers that grow the foods we eat. Every time a

crop is grown more and more of that element is depleted from the

soil. It has been know for over 100 years that magnesium is an

essential element in the intracellular transmission of electrical

impulses within all muscles of the body...remember the heart is just

one big muscle.

In a month or so, let us all know how things are going with you in

regards to your magnesium experiences.

S.

<snip>

> I am considering a magnesium supplement and was wondering what

dosage is appropriate. I occasionally get the occasional extra beat

and was hoping this would help me.

> Any advice on magnesium dosage?

> Ed, Toronto Canada

October 20, 2004

Well over a year ago I started to read in this archive references to

magnesium being used to stop or limit Afib episodes in some of the

people who posted here. At the time I was having at least 2, if not

3, full fledged attacks per week lasting anywhere from 6 to 12 hours

at a time. I was desperate; my quality of life was zero. There was

also a thought in the back of my mind that some of these posters were

verging into a catagory that I considered to be in the 'wacko'

fringe.

I started researching many different supplements on the 'net'. I

figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I started

taking over a dozen different supplements and had to stop some fairly

quickly because they interfered with my INR levels or showed way too

high concentrations in blood tests. Afib episodes started decreasing

rapidly, especially the ectopics. Once I had stabilized for several

months and only having Afib episodes about once a month along with

the fact that my attacks were now lasting only a couple hours, I

started to experiment by stopping one supplement at a time for

several days. The only one that had any major effect on me was

stopping the magnesium. After 3 or 4 days of not taking that my Afib

episodes returned to previous levels.

I slightly disagree with the comment I read in one of the responses

to your posting that " magnesium oxide is not absorbed. " It does take

a higher dosage to be effective, but since it is so cheap merely

doubling the intake more than compensates...at least for me.

Inall this time I have not changed my standard medications, Tambocor

100mg X 2, Atenolol 50mg, warfarin 7.5mg. I'm not cured by any

means, but my quality of life has greatly improved now that I look

upon an Afib attack as a minor inconvenience instead of the major

factor in my life before. Yes, I am a strong believer in magnesium

being a 'miracle drug' for my condition. This does not mean

that 'it' by itself will help you totally. I believe that the other

drugs work better with a higher concentration of magnesium ions in

your heart muscles.

S.

<snip>

Does it prevent afib episodes or help in anyway?

October 20, 2004