This morning while looking for news articles on CFS and FM, I ran across an article on the use of magnesium for muscle spasms. I have been taking magnesium since I had my thyroid removed due to cancer. The magnesium has nothing to do with the thyroid or lack of but, when my thyroid was removed my parathyroid completely quit working. This only happens in 1 – 3% of thyroidectomy patients. I am not very good with percentages, when I went in for my thyroid biopsy; the doctor doing the biopsy told me “don’t worry, less than 5% of these ever come back anything.” Turns out I had follicular thyroid cancer.
Back to the article...it talks about magnesium being a natural muscle relaxer, that it can increase energy. I have been out of my magnesium for about a week and my muscle spasms have been raging! Not to mention my fibro pain and most of the time it is not that bad. Not that I don’t hurt, mine is more being sensitive to the touch rather than overall widespread pain. I am more CFS than FM, so I can not attest to magnesium and energy…I have none.
magnesiumAnother good thing about magnesium is, depending on the form, is a great laxative (and is not cramping like some over the counter laxatives)! If you have chronic constipation the “magnesium citrate” is the laxative form. My favorite citrate brand, which I learned about from my doctor, is the “Rexall” brand. I have not been able to find this one in months; I used to be able to find it at Walmart in the vitamin section. I am now taking the “NOW” brand, it has the; oxide, citrate and asparate forms in it. The article says that magnesium glycinate and magnesium aspartate is the best forms for fibromyalgia. Magnesium, calcium and D work together, without one the other does not work as well.
Now about the parathyroid, your parathyroid regulates calcium in the body. Since mine no longer works, I have to take calcium, magnesium, prescription vitamin D (which is normally formed in the liver) and Calcitriol (which is normally formed in the kidneys). For me not having a working parathyroid working is much worse than not having a thyroid. The lack of my parathyroid was noticeable immediately after my thyroidectomy surgery. The day after surgery, I woke up to my hands seizing up, numb hands and feet, my lip and face twitching along with other muscles twitching. Then once I was able to eat, I started noticing that my throat would close up (just not want to work) while eating along with terrible hiccups! Until I started on all of the above listed medications, things were really terrible. Some of this still happens every once and a while but, nothing like it was.
If you want to learn more about vitamins, two of my favorite books are; Vitamin Bible and Herb Bible, by Dr. Earl Mindell. I have a few others that I will post later.
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7 comments:
Hey Texas,
Another use for Magnesium is a sleep aid, don't know if that's an issue for FM patients but it sure has been for me (menopauseprincess ya know!).
Do you have the book Prescription for Nutritional Healing? It details many ailments with suggestions for supplements to ease them. Might be worth checking out at your local bookstore or library.
Also, do you know about Puritan's Pride? You can order vitamins and supplements from them, they always have some great sale going on, shipping is low, and they are super nice folks. For the people cautious about ordering online, they've got a pretty extensive catalog too.
Check out their website, www puritan dot com.
Thanks, I didn't know about the sleep aid. It doesn't help me sleep but, it is good to know. Sleep issues can be associated with FM patients.
I will have to check and see if I have the Prescription for Nutritional Healing book. I have several but, I can't remember if I have this one or not???
I have not bought anything from Puritan's Pride. I usually get my vitamin's from one of the three; my doctor, Herb Mart or Whole Foods. I will check into Puritan's Pride though, thanks =)
Wow! Your site is getting prettier and prettier. It must help folks who feel a bit underweather and are looking for med info to find a site with such uplifting colors. Good for the spirits! Mom
I, too, had thyroid cancer. I'm coming up on ten years in January. Fortunately I did not have trouble with my parathyroid glands. I do recall the doctor asking me if I thought my voice had changed. That was sort of freaky.
I'm pretty sure my voice is the same as it always was. Good luck on the vitamin regime!
Sorry to hear you had thyroid cancer and glad you don't have trouble with your parathyroid. I am not sure if my voice has changed or not, since the surgery? It did get hoarse before the surgery though.
Thanks for you comment and support =)
Mandy, thanks so much for all the information you put on your lovely site. I have started the magnesium and it has been 2 weeks now I do feel better, the cramping is gone and I would say I do have a slight increase in energy, which would be better if I didn't have this piano tied to my behind!! I hope you are having a good day today.
Sue Ellen ~ Your welcome =) and thank you for the positive feedback =)
My hopes for this blog are for it to be reliable and helpful information. Especially for those of us with freaky illness...I am lucky that I finally found a doctor who uses alternative medicine whenever possible. She is a fibro suffer herself.
As for my day today...I am still suffering from the shopping trips last week.
Thanks for stopping by ~ M
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