I have begun to suspect that I might have a problem with low magnesium levels and I need my suspicions confirmed or allieved. My suspicions of magnesium deficiency are based upon my medical history and current health.
Medical History:
- I have been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse for many years. The worst thing about it is that I sometimes have chest pains. In some of the websites I visit they suggest that I take magnesium to treat these symptoms.
- When I was pregnant two years ago, I had preterm labor at 4 and 1/2 months that resulted in the rest of the pregnancy being spent on bedrest. One of the "drugs" to stop the labor was magnesium.
Current Health:
- At 42, I am often tired, but always seem to be a little "hyper". Also, I am always feel colder than everyone else.
Based on this history, do you recommend that I take Magnesium? Will it improve my current health problems? Is there any research showing that women who are low in magnesium have more preterm labor?
I recently wrote about my own problems with Mitral Valve Prolapse and preterm labor. However, now I have a question about my 2 and 1/2 year old's diagnosed reflux. She is taking Propulsid and Zantac, which seems to be controlling the stomach pain that she used to complain about. However, I worry about having her on drugs for what may be the rest of her life.
Do you have any suggestions?
BTW, could her reflux (and possible irritable bowel syndrome) be related to the automonic system problem (MVP) that I have been diagnosed with?
In Reply to: Magnesium's affect on Mitral Valve Prolapse and Preterm Labor posted by Michele on February 13, 1998 at 13:03:17:
Dear Michele,
Low magnesium is THE cause of eclampsia and pre-eclampsia in pregnancy. The treatment for that has been known for 50 years. As allopaths, however, we never would do anything to prevent this condition but would heroically flood the patient with magnesium when they started to convulse or we saw their blood pressure go off the top of the chart. Since these conditions are common causes of premature labor, you can see the connection.
Unfortunately, we are in our infancy about this magnesium thing and magnesium is one of the things that can be "normal" for different individuals at many times the levels that are "normal" in others. Some nutrient levels have been found to be "normal" at 1000 times the levels that were "normal" for others.
For now, an intracellular magnesium level could be a good starting place for you to know where YOU are. However, even if your levels fall in the presently considered "normal" range, that may have no relevance to YOUR health.
Once I had my level, with your history, I would get several grams of intravenous magnesium 3 times a week for 2 weeks while taking oral magnesium at that same level (in the hope that some of it will be absorbed & carry on after the IV magnesium gets your storage up enough).
The actual doses were discussed yesterday here in the BB.
Your MVP is not related to your magnesium level other than low magnesium CAN reduce cardiac efficiency AND is the most commonly missed cause of cardiac dysrrhythmias. Your MVP was most likely caused by Candida-Related Syndrome; a condition you could not have gotten without your first having leaky gut syndrome (something that would keep you from absorbing magnesium efficiently. Isn't it interesting how everything works together?
Have you read my note on the homepage about MVP?
Your "tired" feeling is related to the elevated lactic acid in your muscles due to your bracing (which is the most common cause of LGS). Your feeling cold and hyper is due to your dysautonomia which ALWAYS is present in those who are "bracing".
What you really need right now is to learn how all of your conditions are rerlated so you can see what would do you the most good in the short & long run. Toward that end, I can suggest a couple of references that are easy to read and would finally get you pointed in the right direction--in this order:
1. My book would not only introduce you to understanding this but would give you the resources to learn what you figure out what you need to learn to actually do what you need to do (link below).
2 "Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer" by Dr Pelletier, would help you understand all of this in depth. It has just come out in a new edition and you will want a copy of your own since this book was written about you.
THEN, if you still have questions, write again. As you get well, I hope you will take the time to share your experiences with the BB participants. You have been needlessly swinging in the breeze & your experiences would help save others from the same fate.
Walt
My wife is pregnant and she has mvp since birth. I would like to know what the risks are (if any) to her and the baby. She is almost two months into her pregnancy and her doctor spoke of possible necessity to terminate due to risk. Could you please email me some information. I thank you kindly.
a concerned father
DEAR DR,
I HAVE A DIAGNOSIS OF MVP. I WAS RESEARCHING ON THE NET AND SAW YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT CANDIDA, IS THIS CONDITION ASSOCIATED WITH MVP IN ANY WAY? I DO HAVE FREQUENT YEAST INFECTIONS WITH NO UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS. DO THE TWO HAVE ANY LINK?
PLEASE RESPOND,
THANKS, CAIRN
dr. stoll, i am a registered nurse and have a question. i took care of a laboring patient with mvp, who told me she had been smoking marijuana, and came in complaining of an irregular heartbeat. she did indeed have an arrhythmia and was monitored overnight. does marijuana use aggravate this condition? i cannot find any literature on this subject. thanks for your time, nancy
In Reply to: question on mvp posted by anthony on February 19, 1998 at 03:25:03:
Dear Anthony,
If her diagnosis is TRULY MVP, her doc must be poorly informed to suggest such a thing. MVP is never an indication for pregnancy termination. There are a number of heart valve conditions that might be grounds for termination but not MVP!
However, I have yet to see any case of MVP that was not associated with candida and THAT could complicate her pregnancy--though not to the extent of termination.
I would ask the doc for the documentation of what kind of valvular condition she truly has. Let me know what you find out.
Walt
In Reply to: QUESTIONS? posted by CAIRN BAKER, LVN on February 19, 1998 at 11:54:55:
Dear Cairn,
Congratulations for making this connection all by yourself.
I am in MA right now so I can't give you the info you need by link as I usually do. However, if you will go to my homepage (link on this page), and read the article about MVP, you will start getting an idea of how to deal with this.
THEN, if you have more questions, write again.
I will be back the 24th so hold your questions till then.
Walt
In Reply to: marijuana use and mvp posted by nancy on February 19, 1998 at 23:00:16:
Dear Nancy,
MVP does not cause dysrrhythmias. Neither, to my knowledge, does marijuana.
However, low intracellular magnesium does. As you know one of the common treatments for eclampsia and pre-eclampsia is large doses of IM magnesium sulfate.
Low magnesium is regularly caused by LGS which is a necessary precurser for candida which is aggravated by pregnancy. Candida is a commonn cause of MVP. Magnesium is poorly absorbed when someone has LGS.
I could see how this all might be present at the same time. I hope I have given you valuable information to put it all into perspective.
Walt
I'm having a problem with irregular heartbeats.
- I've had candida for 14 yrs.
- stress-anxiety a problem (I often wake up in the morning with 'butterflies' in my stomach.
- had signicant but limited improvement on nizoral about 7 years ago. (was on it over a year)
I include the above history just so you'll have an idea of my general condition. I know what you're advice is on this and i know its good advice. The effort has been there on my part, positive results have just been limited. Meaning, I know, that I have failed to successfully address the stress issue.
The real reason I'm posting this note is the irregular heartbeats I've experienced the last 2 yrs. At first I thought it was stress and did'nt give it a lot of thought. Recently however, things have worsened. A little over a month ago I actually went to the emergency room it got so bad. Subsequently, I've had a stress test done and it showed some abnormal beats that the doctor thinks indicate a 'heart block' ,where the heart skipped some beats before going back to normal. He said I might need a pace-maker. Currently I am scheduled to wear a recording device to confirm that diagnosis. Needless to say I am dismayed, I'm only 34. some observations that may or may not be related to this problem.
- my ribs are out of place in 2 or 3 sports to the point I can't sleep on my left side very long because of the pain. They also pop from time to time. The rib that goes right over my heart is very tender on left & right side. Along the whole rib, not just at the joint. (have had bad ribs & back for many years.)
- about 2 yrs. ago I noticed that while jogging my heart beat very irregular. It would beat, skip a couple seconds than beat again. then maybe 2 beats together, skip 2-3 seconds than beat etc. It did this the second I started jogginhg and the second I slowed to a walk went back to normal. Now the very weird thing about this is that while riding a bike my pulse was normal as far as I could tell. The frustrating thing here is that this did not show up on the stress test.( a treadmill). But when I thought about it, during the stress test, my upper body was in a somewhat similar position to riding a bike. My hands were resting in front of me, not swinging and I was leaning slightly forward.
-just recently experienced shortness of breath in a steamy shower and also shortness of breath and an irregular heartbeat after climbing a couple flights of stairs.
my questions are:
1) could the symptoms I'm describing be related to having candida for so long?
2)could it be caused by a nutrional problem?
3)could it possibly be caused by my ribs? (my dr. says no, but then again he doe'snt believe in chiropractors. I have a D.C. although I hav'nt gone regularly for 4-5 yrs. Pain has been consistent whether being adjusted regularly or not.)
My thinking here is that why a normal pulse when riding a bike but not when running? The only difference is my body position. Maybe when running my ribs somehow impede blood flow or nerve transmition. Is this possible?
4) could a reading on a treadmill test indicating heart block still be stress?
5) what would recomend I do?
thank you very much for all you've done to help people thruout the years.
In Reply to: irregular heartbeat- painful ribs posted by doug on February 11, 1998 at 17:47:10:
Get a DC that will deal with more than just your spine. There are rib, soft tissue, and shoulder girdle problems involved. Your MD is wrong. This has been shown in research as far back as 1939, and many many more times since then. Most MDs don't want to believe it because there is nothing that THEY can do about it. To them it the thought equals one lost patient. Subluxations of T3 and T4 give this symptomatology quite frequently. This causes misplacement and fixation of the rib and causes tension in the cartilage of the sternum. Also, guess where the sympathetic nerves come from and go to the heart? Yep, T3,4.
Get some DEEP massages or find someone who does Rolfing.
Stick with the relaxation techniques.
There IS a chiropractor that can resolve this. He/she should not be that hard to find. Do not be afraid to call chiropractors directly and tell them your story. Use your instincts.
Without this necessary nerve impulse you will end up with a pacemaker. Your MD is telling you that your brain is not getting the right message to your heart. How does that message travel? Through your nervous system. What does most of your nervous system use as a pathway? Your spine.
Heart conditions are nothing to be taken lightly and I have no hesitation in directing you to try another chiropractor since you have already been poked and proded by your MD who is essentialy telling you about a problem that chiropractors fix every day.
Good luck and if you need anymore info please write again.
BTW, a normal pulse while riding because the impact of running cause repeated occlusion of the effected nerve by the pounding.(hands on the bars of a treadmill actually helps because it "tractions" the spine to some degree and reduces that pressure, position is also a factor as the arms down position causes more pressure in the shoulder girdle due to the angle and due to the weight of the arms bouncing up and down) I had a similar problem once while I was in track in high school but instead of heart irregularity it was just pain. Hurt like heck but no problem if my back was adjusted.
In Reply to: Re: irregular heartbeat- painful ribs posted by David Ferguson, D.C. on February 11, 1998 at 20:24:21:
Be very careful. Suggest you see a good Cardiologist. Irregular heart beats can mean cardiac arrthymia. This can go on for a long time until eventually it becomes serious.
Talk to a endocrinologist or rheumatologist. Injuries especially sports injuries can cause inflammation in the bones and joint areas. Summation go see a highly recommended endocrinologist.
In Reply to: irregular heartbeat- painful ribs posted by doug on February 11, 1998 at 17:47:10:
Dear Doug,
I wish I could agree with Alice because she is right as far as she goes with the "cardiac arrhythmia" comment. The definition of cardiac dysrrhythmia IS what you have described. However, her recommendation of still another series of conventional medical specialists is NOT what I would recommend at this time. What you need is someone who sees things in patterns not professionals who only see things from their specialty. "To a hammer, everything looks like a nail!"
I would listen to Doc Dave for now. You have had sufficient conventional evaluation to be pretty sure that what is going on will not kill you very soon. NOW, the idea is to take that time to figure out how this is all linked----
because it IS.
Your C-RS could not have happened without LGS having been present for many years before. LGS notoriously reduces the intestinal tract's ability to absorb the more difficult things to absorb--of which minerals are the hardest.
Cardiac dysrrhythmias as you have described are most commonly associated with a deficiency of INTRACELLULAR magnesium (a mineral). SO, at least you should look into checking that.
NEXT, you need to go to the library & get a copy of a book that was written about you: "Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer" by Dr Pelletier. It has just come out in a new edition and I know you will want to have your own copy for reference------------THIS IS YOU!
By far the most important thing for you to do in the long run is to practice an effective skilled relaxation technique at least 20 minutes twice a day (never within 2 hours of retiring). You MUST check out the technique you have been using to be SURE that it is actually producing the alpha/theta rhythms in the brain needed to actually reverse this condition. I don't care how much you might enjoy your present technique, if it is not producing the "relaxation response" you are wasting your time with it.
Once you have the above information under your belt, if you still have questions, write again. Let us know how you do.
Walt