Epilepsy- Magnesium Deficiency

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

If in doubt, try nutrition first. "

(Roger J. Williams, PhD, in Nutrition Against Disease)

www.doctoryourself.com

 

Sarah and her fiancé Richard wanted to have children as soon as they

were married. Sarah had just been diagnosed with epilepsy, however,

and was offered Phenobarbital as therapy. She and Richard read up on

the drug, and now knew, as did their doctor, that pregnancy while

taking a barbiturate was not ideal.

 

" So we want to look into other options, " Sarah said to me in the

office. " Could vitamins replace the drug? "

 

" I'm not sure, " I said. " My mother has been medicated for grand mal

epilepsy for over 50 years now and it's a really long shot to think

that a nutrient could be enough. Still, Sarah, you have the

advantage of being young.

 

There is evidence that epilepsy in teenagers can be connected with

magnesium deficiency. You've had blood tests done? "

 

" Oh, yes, " she said. " Tons of them, and here's the latest. "

 

She handed me a copy. No one had even looked for serum magnesium.

 

" O.K. then, " I said. " Ask your doctor to check your blood magnesium

levels, and let me know what they find. "

 

So they did check. Sarah's serum magnesium levels were so low as to

be actually unmeasurable.

 

" The doctor was a bit surprised at that, " Sarah said next time we

talked. " So now what? "

 

" Let's try a large quantity of magnesium, starting with a supplement

of 800 milligrams a day. That's just over twice the RDA, so it is

not unreasonable. Then you can gradually work up from there if need

be. You'll know if you are taking too much: the biggest side effect

of too much magnesium is diarrhea. You've heard of milk of magnesia? "

 

" The laxative, sure. "

 

" That is a magnesium preparation. Your supplement will be better

absorbed, though. Especially if you take the right form, take it

often, and really need it. Then your body will soak it up like a

sponge. Try magnesium citrate, or magnesium gluconate. Divide your

daily intake over four or more doses, at least. Then let's see what

we get. "

 

A few weeks later, we met again. Sarah had new bloodwork results in

hand. Her magnesium level was just barely measurable... and she was

taking 1,200 mg a day.

 

 

" Wow! Where's it all going? " Sarah asked. " I've had no loose bowels

at all. "

 

" Your body is evidently using it. This suggests a real, long-

standing deficiency on your part. Of course, nearly 99% of young

women do not even get the US RDA of magnesium. But this is beyond

that. You have a special need for this mineral. The tests confirm

that. "

 

" But wouldn't the blood levels go up more than that little bit? "

Sarah said.

 

" You'd think so, but not necessarily. You are more than your blood,

important though blood certainly is. Serum tests fail to indicate

how much of this or that is actually inside your body's cells. There

are, after all, some 40 trillion of them.

 

Magnesium is involved in over 2,000 chemical reactions throughout

your body. It is needed everywhere and always. Oddly enough, the

cells can be critically low in magnesium and some of the mineral

will often still show up in the serum. In your case, it's more the

other way around. Now that you are supplementing with magnesium,

your cells must be getting it, and there's not much left in the blood

that transports it. There are a lot of tanker trucks on your

highways, but they're empty. The cargo is delivered and now the fuel

is in every home. "

 

" So it looks like I need more magnesium than most people, " said

Sarah. " Well, if I do take lots of it, will I need less of the drug? "

 

" That's the idea. Do you want to run it by your doctor? You could

ask him if he'd consider try gradually decreasing your dose of

Phenobarbital down to the minimum that keeps you symptom free. "

 

She did, and he did. Sarah ended up on the lowest possible dose of

the drug and a very high maintenance dose of magnesium. This was not

an landslide victory for nutrition, but it points to a greater good:

an optimally-nourished body may need very little medication.

 

What are the long-term consequences of millions of Americans taking

less of each of their many drugs? Healthier people, greater safety

and greater savings. Only the pharmaceutical companies could

possibly object.

 

And they do, of course. The US Food and Drug Administration shares

the industry's concern that it might lose its therapeutic monopoly.

Here is a direct quote from FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy David

Adams, at the Drug Information Association Annual Meeting, July 12,

1993:

 

" Pay careful attention to what is happening with dietary supplements

in the legislative arena... If these efforts are successful, there

could be created a class of products to compete with approved drugs.

The establishment of a separate regulatory category for supplements

could undercut exclusivity rights enjoyed by the holders of approved

drug applications. "

 

And a quote from the FDA Dietary Task Force Report, released June

15, 1993:

 

" The task force considered many issues in its deliberations

including to ensure that the existence of dietary supplements on the

market does not act as a disincentive for drug development. "

 

When is the last time you saw a calendar, pen, ad or prescription

pad in your doctor's hand that said " Magnesium " on it?

 

Keep looking. It will be in some quack's office, no doubt.

 

Or not. L.B. Barnett, MD was onto this some 40 years ago. He

wrote " Clinical Studies of Magnesium Deficiency in Epilepsy, "

published in Clinical Physiology 1(2) Fall, 1959. But who cares

about old papers? Our society prefers new lamps for old. New drugs

invariably preempt old minerals. Too bad, when the old lamp

or the old research may hold the genie.

 

Copyright C 1999 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. From the books

QUACK DOCTOR and PAPERBACK CLINIC, available from Dr. Andrew Saul,

Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, New York 14470.

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