QUESTION: I have an out of state patient with fibromyalgia who has had high magnesium levels on RBC testing. She was previously taking alkacalm for chronic muscle pain but stopped taking it after the initial test showed high Mg. However, 3 months later, it is still the same. Is this a common finding in fibromyalgia? My initial thought is that maybe it is a compensatory mechanism for her body to deal with the pain but I’d love any thoughts on whether this could be dangerous long term or what can be done to lower her Mg.
ANSWER: This is commonly seen. What’s her RBC Selenium? We see high levels of RBC Mag in taurine deficiency and GSH dysregulation. As well as FMS.
QUESTION: Do you think the magnesium is something that needs to be directly reduced, perhaps via avoiding magnesium containing foods? Or is it more of a symptom of the taurine deficiency and the GSH issue? She did not have the RBC Se checked but this patient has a long and complicated history, including past dx of mercury and tin toxicity which was treated with several rounds of chelation therapy.
ANSWER: I’d first try to presumptively treat (augment GSH cofactors and precursors, and add taurine.). I’d not avoid mag out of hand but watch VitD and calcium intake. The reason for the RBC Se is just that it is a surrogate marker (if high) for poor GSH activity and likely high Hg and other metals that she is likely still dumping.