Treating/Preventing Fibromyalgia & Restless Leg Syndrome

[tex]

Hi All,

It seems that individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia are 10 times as likely as someone in the general population to have restless leg syndrome. According to Dr. Briffa, magnesium deficiency seems to be the most common cause for restless leg syndrome. Additionally, (taking a cue from the link between restless leg syndrome and fibromyalgia), magnesisum supplementation will often resolve the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/10/26/rest ... algia-why/

I'm sure there are exceptions, but it's certainly worth a try, if you have either condition. Magnesium definitely put a stop to a longstanding problem that I had, concerning the inability to draw a deep breath. I always seemed to be "short of breath", and it was bad enough to keep me from getting to sleep some nights. (I've posted about this effect that magnesium has on breathing patterns, previously). After a couple of weeks of taking a magnesium supplement, the problem disappeared, and has not returned.

So what does this imply? It suggests that, (like other so-called "autoimmune" "diseases"), fibromyalgia may not be a disease at all, but rather a symptom of something as simple as magnesium deficiency. Did you know that low levels of magnesium in the body have been associated with the development of a number of human illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, and osteoporosis, (among many others)?

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/magnesium-000313.htm

Incidentally, FWIW, it's pointless to ask your doctor to test your serum magnesium level, because until the cells of your body are almost completely depleted of magnesium, your blood level of magnesium will remain in the "normal" range, regardless of how deficient the cells in the rest of your body might be. Just for kicks, I asked my doctor to check my serum magnesium level when I was having the shortness of breath issue, (just before I started taking a magnesium supplement). Sure enough, it was "normal", and my doctor assured me that taking a supplement would do absolutely no good. I doubt that he believed me when I told him that it solved my problem.

Tex

[ant]

Dear Tex

Thanks for posting. With my osteoporosis it is likely I need magnesium. My latest blood test (in October) showed Magnesium RBC at 4.8 (ref range 4-6.4) and, as you point out, who knows what cells were being robed to meet that low-end-of-the-range result.

Problem is how to supplement without causing D

All best, ant

[JLH]

So would that mean my Spectra Cell test wasn't accurate?

Sorry I've been MIA but the new puppy is really taking up a lot of time. To top off the fun, she broke a toe and has a splint up to her lower thigh....Thank goodness we got pet insurance.

Newbies.

[Gloria]

Problem is how to supplement without causing D

That's exactly the problem, Ant. I have some great calcium tablets which contain magnesium, but at the rate that I take calcium tablets, I would get too much magnesium. The osteoporosis is tricky to resolve, isn't it?

Gloria

[Gabes-Apg]

The foods high in magnesium are not very MC friendly


Foods High in Magnesium Serving Size Magnesium (mg)
Beans, black 1 cup 120
Broccoli, raw 1 cup 22
Halibut 1/2 fillet 170
Nuts, peanuts 1 oz 64
Okra, frozen 1 cup 94
Oysters 3 oz 49
Plantain, raw 1 medium 66
Rockfish 1 fillet 51
Scallop 6 large 55
Seeds, pumpkin and squash 1 oz (142 seeds) 151
Soy milk 1 cup 47
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 157
Tofu 1/4 block 37
Whole grain cereal, ready-to-eat 3/4 cup 24
Whole grain cereal, cooked 1 cup 56
Whole wheat bread 1 slice 24

[tex]

Joan,

That's a tough question, since I don't really know how their testing procedure works, but if it actually resembles the description given on their website, then there is a good possibility that their magnesium results may be valid.

Tex

P. S. There seems to be an epidemic of broken dog toes going around.

[JoAnn]

I take a weekly magnesium/folic acid/B12 shot at home and use magnesium gel, but I still think I'm probably deficient. Like Tex said, it's hard to know exactly where you are with the magnesium. JoAnn

[Zizzle]

I was taking Vitamin Shoppe's Calcium Citrate plus Magensium and Vitamin D capsules, but cut back thinking it might be aggravating the D. My dietician agreed I probably need magnesium due to restless legs. She suggested I take a 500mg calcium citrate with D (no magnesium) to up my calcium, then take my remaining cal-mag supplement for the rest of the daily requirement. Each capsule has only 166 mg of calcium and 95 mg of magnesium. Of course she also suggested getting tested and considering magnesium injections, but I'm not ready for that.

[Linda in BC]

I have to take magnesium regularly or I get very bad leg cramps and restless leg syndrome. It has been an ongoing struggle to meet my magnesium needs and not give myself D. I take it separately from my calcium so that I have more control over it. I had been using Magnesium Oil (which I dislike using because it burns my skin) and also occasionally taking Magnesium Citrate, until I read Tex's post about how they had found that Magnesium Citrate does as good of a job of cleaning you out for a colonoscopy as the usual prep stuff!! ( Zizzle, you might want to read that post http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewt ... um+citrate)

I recently found a 500 mg. Magnesium Oxide supplement, and started taking it four nights ago. I suspect it may be the cause of my very loose stools over the last four mornings. I am going to skip it tonight and see if the "wobbliness" goes away. However I know that I can go only one or two days without magnesium supplementation before the cramps and restless legs syndrome come back.

I guess it's back to the magnesium oil if I can't take supplements..

Linda

[tex]

Linda,

500 mg is a pretty stiff dose - it's above the RDA. Since I figure that I'm getting roughly a minimum of 150 to 200 mg daily, in my diet, on my "low" days, when I take a supplement, I use a 250 mg pill. Some days, my diet probably supplies reasonably close to my RDA, so I don't take a supplement, unless I notice symptoms. You're right, though, the symptoms can return after only a day or so, if the diet levels are very low.

Tex