Too much magnesium? - Vitamins & Supplements Message Board

Nenu · 01-15-2008, 09:02 AM

I'm thinking this is possibly the cause of recent numbness in my hands/lower back and stomach discomfort (feels like I have a bump on my right side, a band wrapped around my torso).

I was prescribed magnesium glycinate 600mg tablets by a nutritionist, and advised to take 2 1 hour before bed each night (1200mg). After taking these for a period of a few months, I was then told to add 1 additional tablet in the morning (for a total of 1800mg daily).

Soon after, I developed the above mentioned symptoms. I was taking other types of vitamins (b complex, b2/b6 etc). I since stopped taking all of these and switched back to a 1 a day multi, thinking something is dreadfully wrong, especially in the area of the amount of magnesium I was told to take daily.

Does 1800mg of magnesium glycinate sound extremely high for a 30 year old female?

janewhite1 · 01-15-2008, 12:05 PM

Do you mean 1800 mg of magnesium glycinate, or 1800 mg of elemental magnesium?

The RDA is 350, and even the biggest fans of magnesium rarely recommend more than 900, including food sources. The US government does not recommend taking more than 350 mg/day in supplement form. In addition, taking it alone without its best friend calcium or any other minerals makes it risky.

Magnesium glycinate is only about 20% magnesium, so you were probably getting 360mg of magnesium, or just about exactly the maximum safe dosage. If you were getting 1800mg of pure magnesium, that would be bad.

Symptoms of excess magnesium can include stomach problems and muscle problems.

Nenu · 01-15-2008, 02:05 PM

Magnesium Glycinate 600mg tablets. 3 daily. Since they are formulated as a compound in a lab here, the actual ingredients aren't listed on the bottle unfortunately. I have stopped them all together for the time being to see if the muscle spasms settle down a bit, and switched to a 1 a day multi for the time being.

janewhite1 · 01-16-2008, 08:57 AM

Are they giant hard-to-swallow horse pills? If not, they are probably only 120mg of actual magnesium. Do they list % RDA? It should be 30-40% per pill, rather than 190% per pill.

jbbrocky · 01-17-2008, 08:35 AM

i take 1000mg scattered throught the day of mag citrate for migraines and other issues. simply amazing mineral it is.