mag threonate "bad trip"

[anne from california]

I searched the forums and found some comments from people who have found magnesium threonate to have a negative effect on their cognition, but my reaction to it took a different turn. I took one capsule of MagMind last night--a mere third of a dose--and within 30 minutes felt like my brain was jittering. It's the same response I had to too much bHRT the first time I tried it. Alternatively dozy and anxious, insomniac, hot flashy, up to pee every 20 minutes, strange thoughts and auditory, visual and olfactory hallucinations (shimmering lights, party sounds, a smell I can only describe as "gray"), ultimately a very, VERY bad night of sleep. Like I might imagine a "bad trip" would be. Has anyone else had this reaction, and does it go away? Or should I just trot this stuff straight back to the health food store and exchange it for the safe old Natural Calm (mag citrate) that has never caused me any grief?

[slacker]

Anne;
I don't use any separate magnesium supplement myself. The label on the MagMind product indicates 3 capsules giving 2000 mg of magnesium L threonate. Even a third of this may be too much for you personally. It's possible that you were taking a lower dose of magnesium citrate with the Natural Calm, and that your jitters were dose related and not from the form of magnesium related.

Hopefully some of our magnesium users and experts will chime in. The threonate form is considered by some to be more bioavailable, and better able to get to the brain. But some form of magnesium may be better than none if you are taking it for sleep, or if your level has been low on blood work.

[jolicoeur]

Anne
Really sorry for this reaction. I use Magnesium every day but the Mg Citrate, BisGlycinate or Malate. I never used the Threonate form. I love the ReMag liquid as well from Dr. Carolyn Dean: very easy to use and to order on line. Dr. Dean is very knowledgeable with the Magnesium topic and had developed this more available form. (No reaction for me)

[Julie G]

Wow, your experience is the definition of a paradoxical reaction. You also mention having an extreme reaction to bHRT. I'm wondering if your detox pathways are impaired. Have you ever run your raw genetic data through Genetics Genie? (On my phone, but will plug in the URL later.)

I also had a bad reaction to MagT, but nothing like yours... more of an overly sedated feeling combined with a gradual worsening of cognition.

EDIT: Here's the link for Genetics Genie. If you've done 23andMe, it's a simple process to run your information.

[KatieS]

Annie, now I'm concerned that my mom "likes" taking Jarrow's MagT, so I will lower the dose. When I took MagT, I felt as if I'd taken a sleeping pill, so I stopped it.

Thanks for posting your horrific supplement side effect.

[anne from california]

Wow, your experience is the definition of a paradoxical reaction. You also mention having an extreme reaction to bHRT. I'm wondering if your detox pathways are impaired. Have you ever run your raw genetic data through Genetics Genie? (On my phone, but will plug in the URL later.)

I also had a bad reaction to MagT, but nothing like yours... more of an overly sedated feeling combined with a gradual worsening of cognition.

EDIT: Here's the link for Genetics Genie. If you've done 23andMe, it's a simple process to run your information.

Thank you for this, Julie! I haven't tested--still debating whether I want to really know all the info!--so don't have anything to plug in as of yet. This reaction to Mag T was really similar to my reaction to my first try with bHRT. (I'm on it again now, for the past couple weeks, but very low dose--.025 estradiol and 100 mg progesterone at night--and it hasn't bothered me. It also isn't doing anything for my hot flashes, so we'll probably titrate up if things don't change by the time it's time to refill my RX.) Part of my reaction is a normal doziness, and I think then the anxiety kicks in. I felt some of the same kind of thing when I did a quarter of 1 mg of melatonin. A quarter! It's like I start to feel a little woozy or sleepy and, blam, something in me turns on the adrenaline and anxiety. Then I lie there and obsess over the symptoms. This is something I am SO going to discuss with Dr. Ann Hathaway when I see her!

[floramaria]

Hello anne from california,
Thank you for sharing your experience with MagMind. Your experience is an important reminder that we are all different in our biochemistry, and can have vastly different reactions to any intervention, food, or supplement. Personally I have been taking Jarrow MagMind for about a year, 2 caps every night to help me sleep. It has never bothered me. I have also used Natural Calm sometimes. Have you checked out what the relative dose was between the MagMind you took and the Natural Calm, as slacker suggested? that seems like an important bit of info to take into consideration.
At the same time, having had the horrific reaction you had, if it were me, I would probably steer clear of the MagMind for now and stay with the Natural Calm, which you say has never caused you any grief. When you talk to Ann Hathaway , please let us know what she makes of your similar response to bHRT and the MagMind.

[Tincup]

I take large quantities of magnisium and have for years - many different forms, up to 5.5 g/day, currently around 2g (of the element, not the total weight of the compound). I did take the mag threonate for a while - 3 caps, but the amount of mag was a tiny fraction of my daily intake and could not see any difference from taking it.

[Orangeblossom]

Hi, I had similar the other day with my first (low) dose as well. I took it in the evening thinking it would be relaxing as was when `i took the other magnesium.

I'm thinking of either trying it next time first thing in the morning, or simply going back to the other one. I found epsom salts int he bath relaxing as well 9ish in magnesium).

[ToriLynn1982]

I was having the same symptoms- auditory and visual hallucinations, twice today.. so I googled it and found this forum. So disappointing because it works for me and helps me focus. This is the first time anything like this has happened to me. I am on my third dose. I also had a hard time sleeping last night. Glad to know I am not the only one!