[songbird]

I have been taking Magnesium in large doses for twenty years and in the past two weeks i feel really really sick; i won't go into symptoms but I am going to get blood work and get a mag level and kidney function tests; i am freaking out; in spite of the fact i feel so awful i continue to take magnesium because it is the only thing that works; my colon is essentially totally non-functional; i feel like i am caught in a spider's web; if i don't take it, i can't go at all and yet i feel horrible. Miralax is useless and cathartics stopped working 20 years ago. I just don't know what to do and felt this is the only place where i can express myself about this issue; any thoughts or ideas are welcomed.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Most anyone except those with severe kidney failure should tolerate 1000 mgs of Magnesium every day.Even with higher doses (how much do you take every day?) most people can clear out the excess.Are you having heart problems, or a lot of vomiting? Hard to know if your symptoms fit if you won't discuss them.Hopefully it isn't that, or maybe they will consider you for a colon removal. It is drastic but some people's colons get to where they do need to come out and it is worth the risks from scarring and that. Do you know if your pelvic floor is OK? They usually want to check that before taking out the colon. If you can't release the stool it really doesn't matter how much or little colon you have.

 

[songbird]

Hi Kathleen; thanks for your concern; i feel kinda like my balance is off; this is the way i felt with MOM only now it feels worse; my legs feel kinda weak; I guess I would describe that I feel somewhat unstable. I take 1400 mg mag citrate every day; hardly ever missed a day in 10 + years; I have a dropped bladder and a dropped uterus but no symptoms that warrant surgery so far. I really don't think i want my colon removed unless that was the very last resort; it sounds awful.

 

[BQ]

Songbird,Have you tried a pessary on the dropping issues?? It may help.. I don't know. Ask your GYN or Urol about them.Hopefully the Dr finds out what is causing you the trouble & symptoms right now and I hope it isn't the mag. citrate. But I also hope it isn't anything else serious.Keep us posted and I sincerely hope you feel better soon!

 

[Stacey0731]

I have chronic constipation and celiac disease. After two colonoscopies (years apart) I was told by two different gastro docs that my colon was fine. Not until I requested my medical records last year, did I find out that my colon was extra long and twisted....no wonder I was having problems. The last gastro doc finally admitted it after I told him I had seen my medical records. He then told me it shouldn't be causing me a problem though. I had tried just about everything up to this point with results I couldn't live with. Miralax caused me to have small accidents at times and laxatives caused me to have to run to the bathroom. Prior to the last colonoscopy, at my first appointment with my new gastro doctor, he told me about an 80 year old woman who had her colon removed and it cured her chronic constipation and she had wished she had done it years ago. On a later visit, he advised me to try anything to avoid surgery and if I did decide to have it done I should see Doctor ???? forget his name. I looked him up and he was a general surgeon! No way would I go go his general surgeon friend for such a serious operation. Also on that visit, he told me I could take a capful of Milk of Magnesia at night and one in the morning also. I followed his instructions for about 9 months which worked ok but no matter what amount I took I got diahrrea and gas. After about 8 months of this routine, I noticed I was getting very confused and forgetful, had heart palpitations, fluid retention, weakness, I was calmer than I have ever been in my life, my migraines went away and I had huge decrease in urination. Long story short, after two weeks off the MOM, all those symptoms are gone. I'm sure I must have had magnesium toxicity. A friend with chronic constipation told me her doctor suggested senokot-s and raved about it. I had tried senna products before and had stinky gas (TMI) which was very embarrassing. The same thing happened with the senokot-s. Next thing I tried and am still on is Correctol. I expected it to work like dulcolax since the main ingredient is the same. Much to my surprise it is much gentler than Dulcolax. I have considered surgery, but with such mixed results I have read about it really scares me. I will await the next "miracle" prescription and see how that works.

 

[Kathleen M.]

It really is hard to say how much the long and twisted colon contributes to problems.It is one of those "normal" anatomical abnormalities (or variations) that you often find in people who have no symptoms of anything.I'm not sure if there is any data that says if you happen to get constipation it is worse if you have this variant than if you had a normal length colon. You can have very severe constipation with an anatomically normal colon as well.MOM twice a day is quite a lot of magnesium and usually it is better to take a dose (and tablets of magnesium supplements can give you more dose control if you don't like measuring liquids) that just keeps things moving than causes diarrhea. Magnesium causes diarrhea and the idea is to find the balance point. However some people find that the only stools that seem to move are the ones that are completely liquefied. So tablets of 200 mgs each may be easier to titrate the right dose than MOM that is like 1200 mgs per dose.

 

[songbird]

I feel your pain; you talk about Miralax and little accidents; that is what happened to me; i doubled the dose and hoped it would work; what happened was it gave me the urge then leaked out or teeny weeny turds, fingertip size came out and that was it; 25 years ago when this problem started i got hysterical (sadly) and went to stuff like Senokot; one day 20 Senokot didn't work so i never took it again; then i went to hot water enemas for about a year and that stopped working; then I found Milk of magnesia but it always made me feel horrid and I took it for 10 long years; then i found this board; i decided to try and wean off laxatives but that didn't work very well so I found mag citrate pills and they work well most of the time and they don't cause cramping or pain; i started off with 500 mg and now am at 1400 mg a day; Wednesday i am going to get blood drawn to check my kidney function, mag level and I will request a CBC as well to make sure there isn't any underlying condition that would cause me to feel so lousy. I love this board; there are alot of smart and caring people who try to help others. It is a great resource.