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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Magnesium
        
(Message started by: spidey426 on Jun 14^th, 2006, 9:38am)

Title: Magnesium
Post by spidey426 on Jun 14^th, 2006, 9:38am

I'm at my cycle peak right now.. yesterday I had a constant kip 4 or 5 going for 15 hours straight which spiked to kip 9 or 10's every 2 hours or so. That was from 1am to 4pm..
Then I decided to try out Magnesium, I took 750mg.. beast went away within an hour, not even a shadow in the last 16 hours and slept like a rock..
..just hoping maybe I found my personal cure? Has anyone else had luck with Magnesium?
.. it's just weird, I normally wouldn't jump to a conclusion so fast, but it's almost like I can feel that beast is gone, i feel completely back to normal, not even a shadow of a shadow.. i dunno, we'll see: )

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by Guiseppi on Jun 14^th, 2006, 10:13am

My neuro put me on a regimen of daily magnesium, calcium and vitamin B-2. I stayed on it religously and had a 2 and a half year remission, the longets remission in over 20 plus years. As always with these damned things you're never sure if it's the meds or the beast just morphed again. On the other hand, my cycle started in november of 2005, usually goes 8 to 12 weeks, hasn't let go of me yet!

I've seen several threads about magnesium lately so maybe it is helping. Either way congratulations on the break!

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by floridian on Jun 14^th, 2006, 10:57am

on 06/14/06 at 09:38:51, spidey426 wrote:

..just hoping maybe I found my personal cure? Has anyone else had luck with Magnesium?

Cure? Nope. But I think it has helped me.
I space out the dose over the day to minimize GI upset.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by jon019 on Jun 14^th, 2006, 11:27am

Interesting. I take 250 mg/day for various reasons. Coincidently started during my most recent PF time. Have no idea if it helps or not, but it might.

Even asked the neuro what she thought of Mg re CH.
She dismissed it as an unlikely aide (having seen no benefit in her patients or studies demonstrating efficacy) but did not discourage use.

The same Doc did mention she had heard of kudzu
through the grapevine (and said it in a way that was not dismissive of a non traditional "med" ). I think she is wise enough to know that what is working for me now may not later, so it's good to have options.

Regards

Jon

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by Bob_Johnson on Jun 14^th, 2006, 3:07pm

This topic was a fairly active one here several years ago but has disappeared, for the most part. I quick scan of the major medical literature library in the U.S. showed only two hits from 1995 to date.

This does not say that no one might not benefit from magnesium but surely suggests this has not emerged as an important issue in cluster.

There was a good web site on this topic but it has gone out of business, it appears, since the last couple of times I searched for it I got a blank wall. Again, I suspect this suggests not much action to keep it going, i.e., there are many other treatment approaches to be investigated before trying magmesium as a major approach.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by floridian on Jun 14^th, 2006, 8:17pm

on 06/14/06 at 15:07:17, Bob_Johnson wrote:

Lots of options, to be sure. It's true there are only two studies on magnesium and cluster headache, but a much larger body of research on magnesium and biological clocks/circadian rhythms, or magnesium and migraine. Plenty of evidence that (in general) magnesium is synergistic with melatonin. No research whether that holds true in clusterheads (or if we are atypical freaks), or if the magenesium + melatonin combo leads to reduced pain. Plenty of evidence that magnesium is a calcium channel blocker - not as strong as verapamil, but magnesium is doing other things as well. Magnesium deficiency activates the NMDA/glutamate neurons, which are part of the pain transmission process in CH. Magnesium deficiency ups the levels of cytokines like IL-1 and IL-6, which are co-incidentally abnormally high in CH. And the list goes on.

Magnesium helped around 40% of the patients treated in the study I remember - not a panacea, but not bad. I certainly would not reccommend it as a sole therapy for someone getting hit. But as a supplement, I think it is worth considering. Magnesium deficiency is widespread, and deficiency can cause a wide variety of cardiovascular, immune and neurological problems. As an episodic, I try to take 100% of the daily value of magnesium year round, and when I start to slide into the cluster window of opportunity, I am more attentive to taking it.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by stubborn on Jun 22^nd, 2006, 3:36pm

Magnesium really helped me some but really really bugged my tummy. Any advice while taking it? I take a low dosage.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by floridian on Jun 22^nd, 2006, 5:12pm

1) use the chelated form (gluconate, aspartate, etc) instead of the mineral salt forms (sulfate, oxide).

2) Divide the daily amount you are going to take into 4 or more doses, and take those with some food.

3) Give it time - the gut may adjust after a week or two.

4) More expensive, but less likely to affect the stomach: add 1-2 pounds of epsom salt to a warm bath and soak for 20-30 minutes. The body can absorb significant amounts of magnesium through the skin - the magnesium transporters are 'high affinity, low capacity' - meaning that they are good at latching on to magnesium, but work slowly, which means that you won't overdose (and it won't affect the stomach so much).

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by Kris_in_SJ on Jun 22^nd, 2006, 8:23pm

Thanks for the info, Flo.

I had to give up Magnesium last cycle because of severe stomach (and bowel) reaction. I was on Mag Sulfate. Next cycle I'll try the kind you recommended.

Kris

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by lionsound on Jun 22^nd, 2006, 9:08pm

I take 750mg per night before bed....also helps me sleep a little.
Any more than 750 was too much for my tummy.
750mg plus a bowl of cheerios seems to be okay. :)

I take it, by docs sugggestion, for migraines ...if it helps clusters extra bonus. I'm never entirely sure if it works. I know it doesn't hurt and it does help my sleep go from pathetic to only awful.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by TheDude on Jul 24^th, 2006, 2:35pm

We CHer's kow that CH's are as different as the sufferer themself. There is no exact roadmap to relief that everyone can follow. And, what works this time may not work the next time, but may work the time after. The nature of our beast. One claimed benefit to Magnesium is that it helps nerve inflammation and a nerve behind either the left or right eye (depending which side your attacks are on), have been traced to CH's. So, you try and see. :-/
I have not found Magnesium to work by itself in my case. I have found that Magnesium (Natural Calm) taken with Gingo Biloba and Feverfew with Dogroot, routienely to maintain their levels, has for me lessened both the number, intensity, and duration of most of my attacks. :D You do this until the cycle passes which is indicated by no less than a full week of no headaches.
I also take Quercetin and Claritan to help reduce histamines.
There is still no way to stop these devils until they run their course. There's just ways to lessen the the number, durations, and intesity of most of the attacks to survive the cycle.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by thomas on Jul 24^th, 2006, 3:50pm

on 06/14/06 at 10:57:45, floridian wrote:

Cure? Nope. But I think it has helped me.
I space out the dose over the day to minimize GI upset.

I concurr 100%. It is a standard part of my preventive treatment.

Title: Re: Magnesium
Post by sandie99 on Jul 25^th, 2006, 4:09am

Extra magnesium is a part of my CH treatment. I take a 350mg tablet each morning.

Now some have asked if it helps... well, it sure works with me! In the beginning, when I took the tablet, it managed to stop a hit there and then. And I do recall a time when I ran out of it and I got horrible hits on the next day! Needless to say, I have made sure that it won't happen anymore... :)

Back here I buy huge pack of tablets; one pack lasts 4 months and it costs depending on the brand 8-12 euros/10-15 USD/5-8 GBP.

Sanna