topic Magnesium and Depression in Treatments, health professionals and therapies

Magnesium and Depression

HA1 — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:40:25 GMT

Hi!

I have recently read a few articles on magnesium as a supplement to treat depression. I am keen to try any natural alternatives to ADs and planning to speak to the Psychiatrist about it on my next visit.

In the meantime I would be interested to hear from anyone who might have had some experience with magnesium supplements - did it make a difference? Any side effects? Any views and opinions would be appreciated.

Look forward to any comments.

Regards

Magnesium and Depression

BeeGee — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:14:56 GMT

I wasn't aware of this link, but I do take a magnesium (as Mg citrate) supplement for a different reason, along with calcium (as Ca citrate) and a bunch of fish oil.

It works a treat for my cardiac arrhythmia but I can't say it made the slightest difference to my dysthymia.

Magnesium and Depression

HA1 — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 00:40:53 GMT

Thank you for your reply BeeGee!

I will keep exploring it. Have been told of some nice magnesium rich recepies that sound good; eg. Almond milk, banana and spinach smoothie!!

regards

Magnesium and Depression

Sleepygirl — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:36:22 GMT

I tried to take magnesium supplements but they made me feel nauseous , but you can get magnesium naturally through nuts , jasmine rice , bananas and definitely kale too.

good luck

kristee

Magnesium and Depression

bejewelled68 — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 10:53:34 GMT

I take magnesium, at the moment I take tablets however the powder you mix into water is absorbed better. I find it helps but I also take medication

Good luck x

Magnesium and Depression

bringeroflight — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:36:20 GMT

Hi, some years ago I tried a naturopathic approach with magnesium and De Vera's "predop" - it worked a treat, stopped using it after around a year or so but relapsed into depression and the next time I tried it it didn't work quite as well but still could be worrh a try???

Magnesium and Depression

NaturopathyStudent — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 04:08:51 GMT

Magnesium aids muscle relaxation, so I'd say it is definitely helpful for anxiety and stress. The body also loses more magnesium during times of stress, so it needs to be replenished. Unfortunately Australian soil is quite magnesium-poor, so I take supplements which definitely help with relaxation, mood and quality of sleep (so important to help deal with depression).

Magnesium and Depression

HA1 — Sat, 22 Aug 2015 10:45:58 GMT

Thanks NaturopathyStudent - your post is most helpful. I will most definitely give it a shot. I hear it is also helpful for cramps?!

Magnesium and Depression

danielr — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 01:55:34 GMT

Magnesium is amazing, but it isn't the only deficiency contributing to depression. Others include sunlight, vitamin D, water and yellow foods(Don Tolman suggested it). If you are taking and doing everything else well then magnesium is best taken in the form of Magnesium Chloride (MgCl) through the skin. Pills and tablets are mainly MgO and some suggest it might actually reduce your ability to uptake magnesium naturally because it combines with HCl in the stomach to produce MgCl and water which leads many to have a bowel purge. The body tries to convert all forms of magnesium into MgCl. This might not be the most bioavailable but certainly the most efficient when taken through the skin. To take more in you need enough fats on the skin, so magnesium oil and create an itch and feel uncomfortable. There are Magnesium Creams out there to illiminate the itch from high concentration mag oils, with all natural ingredients. MgCl is the most abundant form found in the planet because it is found in all the oceans. The oceans however are quite toxic so you need to find a food grade magnesium chloride salt with a mineral analysis to show the mercury and lead concentrations. Magnesium is water soluble so to take more and store more you need to be well hydrated with fluoride and chlorine free water. Fluoride, sugar, stress, alcohol, and other chemical, emotional and physical stresses will take out a lot of magnesium from your system.

Magnesium and Depression

crissi — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 06:20:23 GMT

Magnesium ends up making me SUPER depressed. Starts off great- then the depression kicks in .

Really scary.

Magnesium and Depression

startingnew — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 07:47:44 GMT

hi there Hideaway

i was on magnesium for a while and didnt find that it helped with my anxiety or depression it did however help with muscle cramps.

im not sure is a psychiatrsit would be able to help you with natural alternatives but seeing a naturopath might

Magnesium and Depression

Dr_Kim — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 06:37:49 GMT

Ok .. so I am going to be a bit of a dampener on this conversation .. so everyone who is totally into Magnesium , get ready to have a big eye roll.

As a medical practitioner , you get asked a lot of questions about alternative therapies and whether they work . The alternative therapy industry is a huge multi billion dollar industry and they use their dollars in lots of campaigns that encourage people to take supplements for all sorts of things that have no proven scientific basis.

In fact they often encourage healthy people with normal diets to take supplements too ( I see these ads on the TV all the time!)

So its super hard for the medical profession to compete against all that marketing and get it though to people that almost all supplements have NO rational basis for use.

Now of course some people do really need a supplement e.g. , if you are Iron deficient and need Iron , or pregnant women really need certain supplements to help reduce risk of neural tube defects. However, unless you have a diagnosed or proven reason to take them , most supplements are simply excreted by the urinary system ( that means you have very costly urine !)

So.. is there evidence for Magnesium use in depression? Or is it just a case of costly urine ?

As things stand, the jury is still out on this. I haven’t seen reports of trials to prove the link that taking Magnesium will treat depression.

Now , of course it may be that
1. There is that trial in existence somewhere but I haven’t seen it
2. It may be about to be proven , but the info just isn’t available yet
3. That it may not work in theory, but for one individual it works and they swear by it.

I would say to a patient who wants to try it, that as long as it doesn’t interfere with other medications and they take the recommended dose , there is no harm in trying it , but they will probably get better results from things like exercise and mindfulness which have been better studied recently and shown to be helpful.

By the way , BB does have a pamphlet that covers all the alternative stuff for everyone to check out.

A guide to what works for depression

Magnesium and Depression

Maddog1987 — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 22:42:16 GMT

Magnesium is great for depression. I've been using it for 2 months now and it has changed my life. It doesn't just improve depression though it has improved a lot of other things for me such as joint pain, weight loss and energy levels. The thing is you need to take it every day and you need a non-laxative form of supplement. I've been using a great one. I won't share it on here because I don't want to seem like I'm trying to sell you anything but if you do a little search I'm sure you will find it. There a dr called Dr Carolyn dean who has been talking about the benefits of magnesium for over 10 years and has some great information.

Magnesium and Depression

Sirius777 — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 11:11:42 GMT

This reply is disconcertingly unhelpful for people who're grappling with debilitating symptoms. Eastern medicine has used food-based medicine for thousands of years, with well-documented success. I have no faith in Western medicine, and I would never consent to treatment by any physician who would so readily reject thousands of years worth of medical wisdom simply because such wisdom didn't come about from the massive financial backing of big pharma.

Magnesium and Depression

ruralite — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 04:20:38 GMT

I take magnesium along with many other supplements. I have taken numerous anti depressants, to my detriment, wont ever take them ever again. They created a whole lot of problems I could have done without. I am on a orthomolecular medicine program, ( find it on the net )with my psychiatrists knowledge and monitoring. Maybe it is not 100% but I would give it 80%. I have found it to be far, far more beneficial than anti depressants,no zombie like effects,no bodily disabilities. My only complaint is not enough good sleep, been able to boost my sleeping time by getting one hour a day spent sucking up sun light. If you haven't tried it, don't knock it.

Magnesium and Depression

ruralite — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 04:24:32 GMT

I thoroughly agree with you.

Magnesium and Depression

JessF — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 06:51:15 GMT

Hello Sirius, I think the unfortunate hole in the big pharma theory is that, if you believe that a certain treatment is effective, then surely big pharma would be finding a way to monetise it? The fact that they haven't would suggest to me that it doesn't work. Companies that produce "alternative" medicines are not held up to the same kinds of scutiny, and can and do get away with murder in what they claim can work.

I see in Dr Kim's post that she is saying exercise and mindfulness should be looked into, so hardly rejecting thousands of years of wisdom. You can't get more natural than physical activity and meditation. And she also said in her post that if you wanted to give magnesium a go, then by all means do it, but be aware that the evidence for whether or not it works is limited. I would suggest that if you find that advice unhelpful, then you are a little closed minded.

Unfortunately some people are so convinced that they know best that they won't listen to doctors, who have trained for years to know what works and what doesn't. I am happy to trust mine, but I understand that some people are yet to find a doctor they can trust, and that is a sad thing.

Magnesium and Depression

tassietassie — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 09:16:13 GMT

Hi after being struct by depression and anxiety for 20 years, I am willing to give anything a try! How much magnesium is a a good dose.

Thanks

Magnesium and Depression

startingnew — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 08:45:27 GMT

hi tassietassie and welcome

On suppliment packaging itll have directions and dosages on there or consult your gp as they might be able to reccomend a specific dose for you. each person and brand is different so its best to get some professional advice, sometimes pharmacists are really handy when it comes to this sort of thing too.

best of luck

Magnesium and Depression

Trying4 — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 14:46:22 GMT

I was just reading this post with interest after reading an article recently about magnesium being used as an effective treatment for depression.

I notice that everyone seemed to be looking at oral magnesium supplementation. Wondering if anyone had tried transdermal instead. A daily bath with some magnesium chloride flakes or sprays of magnesium oil ?

Many articles say that we absorb mag better through our skin than our gut.

I’d be interested to hear whether anyone had tried magnesium in the bath and helped an episode of depression?