Magnesium for relief of long covid

[Izzy24]

12 weeks on from a positive Covid test. Still experiencing fatigue, muscle pains, weird smells, insomnia, erratic/fast heart rate, low mood.

I’ve read that magnesium can help with many if not most of these problems, but there are quite a few different forms of magnesium.

Can anyone recommend a form and make which they feel has helped please?

Epsom Salts Have a lovely long soaky bath.

If you want to take tablets, you need the bus-glycinate or citrate. Mg Oxide isn't absorbed well. Never tried a spray but that's supposed to be good.

Epsom Salts in a nice bath are lovely.

Bis not bus!

Thanks both.

Citrate might make you open your bowels quite a lot. Good if you're constipated if course.
Glycinate is meant to be the best absorbed one iirc

Agree, citrate, glycinate or bisglycinate. Malate is also good, especially for low energy.

Capsules (with as few binders as possible) are better than tablets, powder is probably the best. Mag365 is ionic citrate and very well absorbed, might be a good option if citrate suits you. Aim for at least 500mg elemental mag p/d (mag supps are in a compound so only a % of the capsule will be pure magnesium) and build it up (sometimes can affect your guts at first!)

Have you had bloods done? Iron/ferritin, Vitamin D, B12/folate?

@EllenRipley

Yes have just had bloods done and all within normal limits. I take Vit D, Zinc, Vit B complex and CoQ10 daily.

Is there a make of Magnesium you would recommend?

I don’t know if I had covid but I take magnesium taurate for POTS type symptoms after a virus December 2019. I spent ages getting cardiac tests and no one really took me seriously. I saw Dr Gupta a cardiologist online recommended it for ectopic beats and I found it’s helped calm my palpitations in general.

So just a general viral related use not covid.

Thank you NLM20 - that’s really interesting. Can I ask which make you use?

Most of them are pretty good. Do try and take it in the evening as generally, it is a calming down type of supplement

The one recommended was one available on amazon. Cardiovascular something was the brand.
But I bought Viridian at the time and I’ve found it perfect. It helped within about two
Weeks with my feeling of feeling palpitations if you know what I mean? I was having ectopics and feeling them and having POTS symptoms feeling weird and faint.

Check out his YouTube videos. I think he focuses a lot on POTS type syndromes which is now a big long covid thing.

Hi @NLM20

Are you taking the viridian magnesium citrate or their high potency magnesium?

@baroqueandblue

Hi *@NLM20*

Are you taking the viridian magnesium citrate or their high potency magnesium?

It’s viridian magnesium taurate. This was what I’d read is best for palpitations or ectopics.

Ah sorry, you did actually say that earlier in the thread but I couldn't find it on Amazon so I'll have another look. Thanks for replying 🙂

Found it on eBay!

It’s a bit hard to find! I got mine from the local health food shop last year and then off Amazon last time. Good luck with it and hope it helps you! There’s a POTS forum and Dr Gupta raves about this form of magnesium. I found it’s helped the intensity of migraines too and although I had tests to show my palpitations were ectopics and high heart rate when I stood, I felt awful like I was going to pass out with the pounding feelings and racing!
I so sympathise with anyone with long covid as I had this in December 2019 with low sats, silent lungs and awful palpitations. I must still have them but I don’t feel them so it’s a win for me! My heart rate is still high when I stand but over the year it’s stabilised a little to where I don’t feel weird when standing unless for prolonged periods.
I hope those with long covid, the POTS type symptoms also stabilise at some point.

I remember last January thinking how will I every function now if I’m so dizzy when walking and standing. I went to so many doctors about it as I felt sooo awful.

Doctor's Best magnesium powder is pretty good - taste is a bit bleurgh but if you put it in apple juice it seems to mask the flavour.

Citrate is good for helping you sleep. Malate is good for giving you energy.
Start small and build up. You could have a bit of Malate in the morning and a bit of citrate at night. Bisglycinate/glycinate is also recommended but can make some people feel 'weird'. It gave me insomnia and anxiety!

Also Epsom salts in the bath as recommended above are good, but not as good as supplements in my experience.

who says it is good for Long Covid? Before taking supplements have you checked if you get the RDA of magnesium via your diet?

You have to be careful messing about with supplements, they can have downsides as well as good. A hot Epsom salts bath can lower your blood pressure if you are prone to that which will make your heart race even more - I get very unwell from them. As mentioned, many of the oral preps are laxative.

Thanks everyone for all the useful advice.

I'd recommend Herbology (glycinate), Prizmag (bisglycinate), Mad Diet (citrate), Mag365 (ionic citrate) and Kirkman's (malate).

If you're taking Vitamin D, you really need cofactors: vitamin K2mk7 and magnesium at least, boron and vitamin A for maximum effect (all to ensure absorption/avoid hypercalcemia).

It might also be a good idea to check the levels on your results yourself. What the NHS and GPs classify as normal range very often falls far short of current research and often being at the 'lower' end of 'normal' can still make you symptomatic.

Optimal range for D is 120-150nmol, B12/folate is 500+/15 (you would need an active B12 test, not done on NHS and not while you're supplementing, to ensure you don't have 'intrinsic factor' issues with B12 absorption) and serum ferritin 70+.

Vitamin C, zinc, quercetin and a good probiotic are also useful for things like long covid.

Apologies for the unsolicited advice! I'm part of a Vitamin D deficiency group and you wouldnt believe the amount of people who are suffering because their GPs have told them their blood results are 'normal'.

Good wishes for a good recovery x

EllenRipley thank you for your advice.
I will definitely follow it up. Any suggestions for how to organise the blood tests?

No problem Izzy!

Did you say you'd already had tests done by GP? If so, your best starting point is to ask for a copy of the results, so you know what was done and what your actual levels are. You're entitled to see a copy.

If your B12 has been tested then it's important that your folate was too, as they work together. B12 is unfortunately a tricky one because the NHS only measure your serum levels, not what you're storing. An Active B12 test is worth getting as it gives you a truer picture. And both tests can give you 'false' high readings if you've been supplementing. However that's not to say it isn't entirely useless! Your B12 could still be sub optimal even with supplementing and especially if you've been fighting a viral illness (and if you've got an original GP result that pre-dates supplementing, even better).

There's a good few online/private test services like Better You (for D), Thriva, Forth With Life. Just google private blood tests and see who's cheapest or has offers on (most use NHS labs). They're not cheap if you need a few done but a D test shouldn't be any more than £30. Depending on when your GP last did bloods, you could ask for these main ones to be done again - will depend on how amenable your GP is though!

The fb group I'm a member of is Vitamin D and cofactors UK if you were interested, I know there's a few members who've had covid & long covid, so it might be useful. (When you request to join, remember to put 'yes' to the question about reading the introductory files. Then you're in & free to ask questions or search the various threads for info and similar experiences).

Hope that helps!

Yes, really helpful thank you.

GP bloods were only 10 days ago so I will ask for a copy of the results.

👍 great.
Let me know how you get on.