How Does Magnesium Help?

[RIfainthearted]

I've read that magnesium can help with POTS. What symptoms does it help and why? I trusted all of you so much that I was ready to take it and then realized that I didn't know what and why it would help.

[lauralulu]

Good question, I'd like to know too!

[potsgirl]

The only reason my doctor recommended magnesium for me is to help my digestive tract work better. I have issues with constipation, and this can help.

[sue1234]

All I know for sure is magnesium is known as the "relaxing" mineral. It works with calcium for nerve transmission and the workings of muscle(heart included). I take it, also, to help with my stomach, but it doesn't seem to help, as I have to keep taking other things, too.

[Lenna]

The only reason my doctor recommended magnesium for me is to help my digestive tract work better. I have issues with constipation, and this can help.

Which kind of magnesium does your doctor have you take for digestive issues? Is it magnesium oxide?

[toddm1960]

I take 800mg of magnesium oxide every morning and it gets my colon moving again. I don't find any improvements in my POTS symptoms

[Rachel]

I started taking magnesium to help with migraines while I was pregnant. It did lessen the number and severity of my migraines. I also found that it helped with muscle aches quite a bit, so I have continued taking it post-partum.

[nforste]

I take a magnesium/calcium chelate about half an hour before bed to help me sleep - for me, if I can get a good night's sleep, all POTS symptoms are better the next day. Have heard as well that it's good for the nervous system and muscle contraction.

[potsgirl]

yep.

[erik]

I think it's hard to know if/how eating Mg of one form or another will interact with POTS but there are ample things one can speculate on. I got interested in Mg from bumping in to this CFS related article, but if you explore the referenced web site further and do other related Mg searching you can find ample studies and theories in most all matters of health. Many of the conditions & symptoms are right up our alley too, so maybe Mg is a key player in our woes:

http://www.mgwater.com/clmd.shtml

The "hardest" link that sticks in my mind is that sympathetic nervous system activity & activity of catecholamines is said to deplete Mg. Folks with POTS are said to have a lot of sympathetic nervous system activity, especially at certain times and probably chronically (and some constantly). Perhaps when we push ourselves, the chance of transient Mg depletion is quite realistic or even inevitable.

It is interesting that this study indicates Mg shortage and some observable responses can be so quick (on the order of days):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1384353?dopt=Abstract

Also some of the "players" mentioned even in just this brief abstract are catchy... kinin related increase in histamine activity via substance-p induced mast cell activity. I forgot what Raj/Vandy substance-P research might have turned up, or if it is still ongoing. Whether or not it found a smoking gun for some folks, perhaps Mg depletion can be a potential link one way or another to some/many of our symptoms.