@jode53 Please have your serum magnesium levels checked and consult your cardiologist. Even supplements can be dangerous when too much is taken.

You CAN overdose on supplements and magnesium is no exception. Daily total magnesium requirements are 320 MG for women, about 400 MG for men, from a combination of food and supplements.

Excess amounts can cause side effects from unpleasant (diarrhea, tiredness) to dangerous (low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, impaired kidney function, impaired muscle function.)

In addition, magnesium supplements can interact with medications including thyroid, osteoporosis and blood pressure drugs and antibiotics.

Was a magnesium supplement recommended by one of your health care providers? Were your levels checked to see if you were deficient?

@jode53
Simply because it takes three or four (four of the Solaray brand) capsules to get to 400mg, and the particular ones from Solaray seem to stick in my throat like nothing else I take, I keep it down to one at a time.

Splitting the total dose may be useful, I'm doing that now more for blood pressure than for arrhythmias, but come to think of it, it may be helping with that too, I've found myself skipping a mid-day half of my beta blocker recently with no ill effects.

What I've read suggests not taking more than 400mg as a supplement, but that assumes a well absorbed supplement like glycinate. I've seen higher dose sizes approved for magnesium oxide, the cheapest one, because it is poorly absorbed. OTOH the capsules are small and just perhaps the poor absorption is more like slow absorption and it might be a feature not a bug?

Just tossing out ideas.

Another idea is to get more magnesium from diet, where apparently absorption is not a problem and within extreme limits overdosing is not a problem. Almonds being perhaps the best option.

When I was having my worst problems with arrhythmias magnesium helped to a certain degree but were not a cure at any level I tried. Are you also taking any beta blocker? Chocolate contains natural beta blockers and an ounce or so of dark (72%+) chocolate has noticeable effects, it's just rather more fattening than the prescription pills!

@jode53... How do you keep from having diarrhea?? I take 500mg a day and have to pause for a few days because it causes me diarrhea