Chronic bowel problems, Magnesium and Side effects

I agree

I have taken magnesium glycinate for several years, but only take 120mg per caplet. I take 3 at one time, at bedtime so that I stay regular in the morning and throughout the day with usually no diarrhea unless I've eaten other bm producing foods/drinks like teas, coffee, and/or sugars, etc., I have also been diagnosed with IBS, Pelvic floor dysfunction, IC, Barrett's esophagus and fibromyalgia so I have been on a restricted diet for a year and a half now as well as have been in pelvic floor physical therapy for the past 4 months. I also have to take an essential digestive enzyme with my biggest meal of the day and a special low acid multivitamin. I am aware that you and I may have different diagnoses and problems, but I just wanted to especially share with you in regards to the magnesium, that your dose may definitely be too high, as well as encourage you to try the glycinate magnesium, vs the other magnesium you may be taken. When it was first prescribed to me, my Dr was extremely specific that it must be the glycinate that I take, and also that it was better to take at bedtime. I can't remember if it took my body a few days to get used to or not bc it's been so long ago, but even I have to play around with just taking 2 instead of 3 if I know I'm eaten a lot of stimulating foods/drinks that day.....or on the opposite spectrum, I've even taken 4 bf at once, if I know I've eaten more constipating foods. And, btw, just in case you are wondering what diet I'm on, it's the low fodmap diet for IBS, as well as the low/no acid diet from the IC Network. Both diets have absolutely changed my life for the better! Hope this can be of some help to you! Grace and peace to you

Hello @graceandpeace and welcome to Mayo Connect!

I so appreciate you sharing your story. You certainly do have multiple problems and it sounds as if you are systematically dealing with them as best you can. I commend you for your diligence!

You said that your doctor was "extremely specific" about the magnesium be, "glycinate." Was that a GI doctor? I don't know a lot about the different types of magnesium. Could you explain a bit about glycinate?

A question. The glycinate form is marketed as very gentle on the stomach. If you are using magnesium to alleviate constipation wouldn't it be better to use the forms of magnesium that are not as easily absorbed by the g.i. tract like magnesium citrate and or magnesium oxide? Milk of Magnesia for example is magnesium hydroxide and is, as we know, highly effective for constipation.
It would be good to use the glycinate form for, for example, regulating heart rhythm.
Magnesium citrate is often recommended for constipation and Citro-Mag is a bowel prep used for g.i. clean out prior to certain procedures.

Hi @hopeful33250; thank you for your welcome!

The specialist that first recommended the glycinate to me was actually a Spinal Neurologist. She specifically recommended this particular magnesium to me to help with muscle tension/headaches since it can be used as a natural relaxer (which is also why she wanted me taking it at bedtime, to promote better sleep, which if you don't have enough of can cause and/or flare up chronic pain anywhere in the body through inflammation). But, she also said it would definitely help to keep me REGULATED with my painful spastic bowel movements due to both constipation AND EVEN sometimes diarrhea (IBS). She said it would be much gentler on my stomach as a natural laxative stimulant, without the stomach discomfort caused by other forms of magnesium and laxatives. Six years later, I'm living proof that it can and does work - at least for MY specific health issues; AND, when I told my GI about it a year ago, he said that he had never thought about suggesting the glycinate to his sensitive patients before, but that he would start there, first, from now on, in his recommendations to them.

I am definitely not an expert on anything, so I hope this little bit of information helps, somehow, answer your question!

I have poor sleep and arthritis pain and chronic constipation. I bought some magnesium glycinate to experiment with. Will see if it does anything for me for any of the above. Will report back.