Sherrine - Magnesium supplements

With taking those supplements and the magnesium in my multiple vitamin, I get a little over 700 mg of magnesium a day.

Potassium helps with muscle cramps, too.  But, I had them soooo bad in my calves and feet that my doctor prescribed quinine.  That helped BUT, when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, I was put on two Citracal calcium supplements a day...one in the morning and one at night.  Guess what?  My cramping went away!  I was shocked to I googled it and, yes, a deficiency in calcium can cause cramping!  So there is another suggestion.  Between the Citracal and the malic acid/magnesium, I never have cramping.  Hope this helps you.

Sherrine

Here are other good doctors that say that malic acid and magnesium do help with fibro pain.  There have been studies done on this, too.  Besides, I know my pain improved a lot after trying these.  But, as you know, what works for one won't work for another.  Malic acid is found in apples. 

In a report in the December 1999 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, The American College of Physicians & American Society of Internal Medicine listed malic acid among the treatments recommended for fibromyalgia pain. The report was entitled "Management of Fibromyalgia".

Source: Annals of Internal Medicine 1999; 850-858. 

~~~~~~~~~

"Magnesium and malic acid are also critical. When malic acid and the other compounds are low, the body often has to shift to the very inefficient (anaerobic) means of generating energy. This contributes to the abnormal buildup of lactic acid that occurs after exercise in CFIDS/FM. This causes muscle achiness and fatigue", Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, From Fatigued to Fantastic Newsletter and author of From Fatigued to Fantastic, A manual for Moving Beyond Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia

Jorge Flechas, M.D., M.PH., a FM and CFIDS specialist from Hendersonville, NC strongly recommends the combination of malic acid and magnesium for fibromyalgia and has utilized the combination on nearly 500 FM patients. He has also participated in 2 clinical studies that have tested these ingredients on fibromyalgia patients. In the studies, patients reported a significant reduction in pain and tenderness within 48 hours of taking the supplements.

Reference:
G.E. Abraham and J.D. Flechas, Journal of Nutritional Medicine 1992; 3: 49-59.

Sherrine

Sherry, I was concerned about the amount of magnesium, too, so I spoke with my pharmacist and he said he fills prescriptions for magnesium that are 1,500 mg!  So that set my mind at ease.  I wasn't worried about the malic acid because it's found in apples.  Plus, I have an excellent doctor that is affiliated with a medical school and he knows how much I am taking and doesn't have a problem with it.  I've been using malic acid/magnesium for several years now with absolutely no problems.  I take three or four a day...depending if I'm in a bad time with fibro.  You need at least 2,400 mg of malic acid to get pain relief.  That's three supplements a day.  I take three in my good period.  Summers are the pits for me here in Florida so I take four a day in the summer.  All the info is in Fibro 101 along with explanations as to how these work in your body.  I get mine at Puritan.com because they are far more inexpensive there but yet the products there are very good.  I have no vested interest in this site but I sure like to save a little money! 

Calcium citrate can dissolve in water so it's easier to be absorbed.  There also is liquid calcium.  It's best to take calcium with food, too.  I use the maximum dose Citracal that also has vitamin D3 in it.  It has 630 mg of calcium citrate and 500 iu of vitamin D3.  I take one in the morning with breakfast and one in the evening with dinner.  The food should help stop it from affecting your stomach.  I have stomach issues too because I have Crohn's disease also so maybe eat half of your meal before taking the calcium and see if that works.  The label says to take 1-2 caplets twice a day but you would be throwing money away because  your body can only absorb so much calcium at a time and the rest is wasted.

I hope this works for you!  Calcium is very important.  I didn't eat much dairy and I stopped drinking milk when I was 9 years old.  I hate milk.  Sooooo, I now have osteoporosis!  I did take calcium carbonate (Caltrate) for years but, because of the Crohn's, I wasn't absorbing it well.  That's when I switched to Citracal.  I put a Caltrate in a glass of warm water and in a separate glass I put a Citracal in warm water.  A half an hour later the Caltrate was whole and hard as a rock.  The Citracal was dissolved...in water!  So stomach acid should make it pass quickly.  Let me know how it goes.

I always suggest to ask your doctor first.  Mine didn't think the malic acid/magnesium supplements would help me.  I asked him if they would hurt me and he said no so I went ahead and tried them.  He was wrong!     

Sherrine 

Sherrine