Low magnesium

UncleBuddy · February 2016

My brother was on Vectibix but his magnesium levels have dropped to .9 and his heart function has gone down to 25% (ejection fraction rate). They had to take him off Vectix for now until they can get his magnesium under control and the heart function up. They need to figure out whether it's the low magnesium causing the weak heart or the chemo itself. We go to a nephrologist on Thursday to see what can be done. He also has terrible rashes from the chemo. I thought they'd start to heal quickly, but it's taking such a long time.

Has anyone else gone through this?

Lin

Helen321 · February 2016

My magnesium and potassium

My magnesium and potassium dropped so low after my surgery, I ended up having a blood transfusion. I instantly felt 1000 times better. It did not feel good at all. It felt like the life had drained out of me. Then transfusion and instantly I was at peace and my body felt stronger and I was able to rest comfortably. I don't know if the chemo, radiation or surgery caused it (40 days had passed since I finished my treatment). I assume the surgery but that was my doctor's solution.

UncleBuddy · February 2016

Helen321 said:
My magnesium and potassium
My magnesium and potassium dropped so low after my surgery, I ended up having a blood transfusion. I instantly felt 1000 times better. It did not feel good at all. It felt like the life had drained out of me. Then transfusion and instantly I was at peace and my body felt stronger and I was able to rest comfortably. I don't know if the chemo, radiation or surgery caused it (40 days had passed since I finished my treatment). I assume the surgery but that was my doctor's solution.

Wow!

My brother never complains, so I always have to pull it out of him. His doctor has been giving him magnesium infusions a couple of times a week. They keep testing him hoping it will go up, but it hasn't. He is also taking the slow mag pills. He has been off the chemo for well over a month now. The good news is that the tumors were starting to shrink.

What chemo were you on at the time?

Tomorrow is the dermatologist and Thursday the nephrologist, so we'll see what they say.

John23 · February 2016

UncleBuddy said:
Wow!
My brother never complains, so I always have to pull it out of him. His doctor has been giving him magnesium infusions a couple of times a week. They keep testing him hoping it will go up, but it hasn't. He is also taking the slow mag pills. He has been off the chemo for well over a month now. The good news is that the tumors were starting to shrink.

What chemo were you on at the time?

Tomorrow is the dermatologist and Thursday the nephrologist, so we'll see what they say.

Magnesium.

Magnesium.

Since my 2010 operation that left me with a short bowel (no colon, less than ½ small intestine emptying in an Ileostomy), I have had to take intravenous (PICC) hydration at the rate of 2.5 liters/day, every day. Not doing that, I become dehydrated within 24~48 hours.

With the hydration, I require 10ml of 50% magnesium added to it. Dehydration causes an imbalance of potassium, salt, and magnesium. If the potassium goes high, the magnesium will sink rapidly.

Dehydration causes all the symptoms you say your brother has. Very, very few physicians know the signs of dehydration. A CBC can identify dehydration IF the physician is looking specifically for that. Blood pressure is also another method for indicating dehydration; the pressure will drop between being taken from a sitting/laying position, and again quickly after taking a standing position. The dehydrated / low blood pressure patient will usually feel very faint when standing quickly from a sitting/laying position.

It’s unfortunate that something as simple as dehydration can be so easily overlooked and disregarded by so many physicians, but I can attest to the fact that it is.

Chemo, antibiotics, radiation treatments all can cause dehydration. The signs are clear enough to anyone that knows what to look for.

“Been there; been doin’ it”

It’s time for the Bro’ to see a competent Gastroenterologist with the specific purpose of diagnosing dehydration.

(During my last hospital stay a respected urologist was about to take me off the daily hydration. He insisted I didn’t need it. The Gastro and Nephrologist straightened him out.)

Good luck.

John

UncleBuddy · February 2016

John23 said:
Magnesium.
Magnesium.

Since my 2010 operation that left me with a short bowel (no colon, less than ½ small intestine emptying in an Ileostomy), I have had to take intravenous (PICC) hydration at the rate of 2.5 liters/day, every day. Not doing that, I become dehydrated within 24~48 hours.

With the hydration, I require 10ml of 50% magnesium added to it. Dehydration causes an imbalance of potassium, salt, and magnesium. If the potassium goes high, the magnesium will sink rapidly.

Dehydration causes all the symptoms you say your brother has. Very, very few physicians know the signs of dehydration. A CBC can identify dehydration IF the physician is looking specifically for that. Blood pressure is also another method for indicating dehydration; the pressure will drop between being taken from a sitting/laying position, and again quickly after taking a standing position. The dehydrated / low blood pressure patient will usually feel very faint when standing quickly from a sitting/laying position.

It’s unfortunate that something as simple as dehydration can be so easily overlooked and disregarded by so many physicians, but I can attest to the fact that it is.

Chemo, antibiotics, radiation treatments all can cause dehydration. The signs are clear enough to anyone that knows what to look for.

“Been there; been doin’ it”

It’s time for the Bro’ to see a competent Gastroenterologist with the specific purpose of diagnosing dehydration.

(During my last hospital stay a respected urologist was about to take me off the daily hydration. He insisted I didn’t need it. The Gastro and Nephrologist straightened him out.)

Good luck.

John

Thanks John

We are heading to a nephrologist tomorrow. The nephrologist he was originally scheduled to see canceled due to personal issues and won't be back for 6 weeks, so we had to find another doctor.

My brother goes several times a week for blood work. I know they do a CBC and check magnesium/potassium levels I can't honestly say if they are checking for dehydration. He has NOT had diarrhea and drinks lots of bottles of water everyday. I will definitely ask tomorrow when I bring him. This is why I came on here and asked because I was sur others had the same problem.

Dermatologist has him on 2 different cremes for his rash, but it a slow process.

I will update tomorrow with any news.

Thanks guys!

Lin

John23 · February 2016

UncleBuddy said:
Thanks John
We are heading to a nephrologist tomorrow. The nephrologist he was originally scheduled to see canceled due to personal issues and won't be back for 6 weeks, so we had to find another doctor.

My brother goes several times a week for blood work. I know they do a CBC and check magnesium/potassium levels I can't honestly say if they are checking for dehydration. He has NOT had diarrhea and drinks lots of bottles of water everyday. I will definitely ask tomorrow when I bring him. This is why I came on here and asked because I was sur others had the same problem.

Dermatologist has him on 2 different cremes for his rash, but it a slow process.

I will update tomorrow with any news.

Thanks guys!

Lin

Magnesium ad nauseam

Magnesium ad nauseam

I just read the bio.. If Unk had a resection of the colon, they may have removed a critical section that is responsible for uptaking magnesium. (that's an additional problem for me, btw)

Each section of the total intestinal tract is responsible for uptaking different elements. There’s a small section of the small intestine, that if gone, B12 will not be absorbed.

Taking an oral supplement can be useless in that situation, since if the system is not capable of absorbing it, it just gets passed through and out. In Unk’s case, if that’s happened, only intravenous administration of magnesium (or other deficient elements) will suffice.

All of that is where a competent Gastroenterologist plays well.

I hope you guys get the answers you need. Being deficient in minerals can be hazardous to one’s health.

Be well,

John

UncleBuddy · February 2016

John23 said:
Magnesium ad nauseam
Magnesium ad nauseam

I just read the bio.. If Unk had a resection of the colon, they may have removed a critical section that is responsible for uptaking magnesium. (that's an additional problem for me, btw)

Each section of the total intestinal tract is responsible for uptaking different elements. There’s a small section of the small intestine, that if gone, B12 will not be absorbed.

Taking an oral supplement can be useless in that situation, since if the system is not capable of absorbing it, it just gets passed through and out. In Unk’s case, if that’s happened, only intravenous administration of magnesium (or other deficient elements) will suffice.

All of that is where a competent Gastroenterologist plays well.

I hope you guys get the answers you need. Being deficient in minerals can be hazardous to one’s health.

Be well,

John

Thanks, John!

We went to the nephrologist today. i felt it was a waste of time. He was rude and as far as I'm concerned, came up with a half assed plan. My brother has a great gastroenterologist, so I may take you up on your advice and make an appointment with her

Thanks,

Lin

Helen321 · February 2016

UncleBuddy said:
Wow!
My brother never complains, so I always have to pull it out of him. His doctor has been giving him magnesium infusions a couple of times a week. They keep testing him hoping it will go up, but it hasn't. He is also taking the slow mag pills. He has been off the chemo for well over a month now. The good news is that the tumors were starting to shrink.

What chemo were you on at the time?

Tomorrow is the dermatologist and Thursday the nephrologist, so we'll see what they say.

Xeloda, Oxilaplatin and 6

Xeloda, Oxilaplatin and 6 weeks of daily radiation.

peterz54 · February 2016

Mg, transfusions, and Hydrotherapy

I'm not a cancer patient, but am a cardiac patient (was a caregiver for my wife who had Stage IV). I know that low magnesium is implicated in poor heart function and lower health status overall. It's one thing that's checked when you have a heart attack. Normally, you can get enough in your diet if you eat plenty of green leafy vegetables. In any case, Mg needs to be brought up and fast. Supplements are cheap and will help.

Blood transfusion has been mentioned. It's experimental at this point, but blood plasma from the young carries many growth factors which help tissue repair and in mice has been shown to dramatically improve certain heart conditiions. If it was me and I could get a blood plasma transfusion, especially from someone in there 20s. The only drawback is that prolonged exposure to elevated levels of some growth factors may accelerate tumor growth

In my research, I also discovered that sauna or hydrotherapy (heated) significanlty improves several paramaters of heart function, including ejection fraction. It's also good for people needing to preserve muscle mass for periods when a person can't get enough exercise. Too high a temp can raise heart rate too high so care needs to be taken. A siple finger tip heart rate monitor is useful in this situation.

All of this is in the medical literature and never spoke of by my cardiologist - had to find on my own.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-7133.2008.07792.x/epdf Paper on Sauna and hydrotherapy for heart failure patients

Peter

UncleBuddy · February 2016

peterz54 said:
Mg, transfusions, and Hydrotherapy
I'm not a cancer patient, but am a cardiac patient (was a caregiver for my wife who had Stage IV).   I know that low magnesium is implicated in poor heart function and lower health status overall. It's one thing that's checked when you have a heart attack. Normally, you can get enough in your diet if you eat plenty of green leafy vegetables. In any case, Mg needs to be brought up and fast.   Supplements are cheap and will help.

Blood transfusion has been mentioned.   It's experimental at this point, but blood plasma from the young carries many growth factors which help tissue repair and in mice has been shown to dramatically improve certain heart conditiions.  If it was me and I could get a blood plasma transfusion, especially from someone in there 20s.   The only drawback is that prolonged exposure to elevated levels of some growth factors may accelerate tumor growth

In my research, I also discovered that sauna or hydrotherapy (heated) significanlty improves several paramaters of heart function, including ejection fraction. It's also good for people needing to preserve muscle mass for periods when a person can't get enough exercise.   Too high a temp can raise heart rate too high so care needs to be taken.  A siple finger tip heart rate monitor is useful in this situation.

All of this is in the medical literature and never spoke of by my cardiologist - had to find on my own.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1751-7133.2008.07792.x/epdf   Paper on Sauna and hydrotherapy for heart failure patients

Peter

Thanks, Peter

Very interesting . I wish I could get my brother to eat vegetables and exercise. He's intellectually disabled, so he refuses to follow a good diet or exercise plan. It's heartbreaking sometimes but we can only help him as much as he wants to be helped.

He's taking pretty high doses of magnesium orally and is monitored a couple of times a week to see what his levels are. He's been going for magnesium infusions as well.

I'll have a conversation with his onc soon, so we'll see what she has planned.

Low magnesium

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