Magnesium supplements - do they work for RLS?

[PhilSwagielka]

I've seen people on here with RLS saying magnesium supplements have helped, so I bought a bottle of 150g magnesium tablets from Holland & Barrett. Are they any good? I'm getting desperate. I take Sertraline and apparently that's a trigger, but I don't want to change my antidepressants because Sertraline has been good for my mental health.

I've also tried Epsom salt baths and stretches/squats before bed, to no avail.

DH takes it for RLS. 300 mg magnesium citrate every night. Took 2 weeks initially to have effect but has worked well since then. Now and then he has to take vitamin d but not often. He got them from nature's best so can't really comment on Holland & Barret's.

Have a look into magnesium oil too (I buy mine from Better You). You could then spray it directly on your legs. I have RLS occasionally and find it works well for it.

Hope magnesium works for you, It didn’t work for me but iron supplements really made a difference

I take magnesium supplements ...not for RLS but for muscle pain. I was advised to take them by an 'advanced physio' that my GP sent me to. At first i thought it was a load of nonsense, he told me to take double dosage for 2 weeks and then reduce to normal dosage. It took 2 weeks for me to notice a difference. And it has really made a difference, so much so that at times i forget to take the magnesium for long periods....i then know about it.

So far so good.

I have heard magnesium helps with insomnia but which one to take, there seems to be so many and how long does it take to start working?

Magnesium citrate is best absorbed and favoured if you want to take for insomnia. You need to take 300mg of magnesium but up your dosage slowly as it might cause diarrhea. So you can start with 150 mg. Take a supplement which has 150 mg elemental magnesium in magnesium citrate and not 150 mg magnesium citrate . In other words , the supplement itself should be magnesium citrate but magnesium itself should be 150mg.
It sometimes does happen that even with 150 mg you keep getting diarrhea which means your stomach is sensitive to it. In that case switch to magnesium gluconate but do try citrate first as it is more effective.

Literallyfedup. I looked up the ones you mentioned and they all seem to be huge pills whcih I have a problem swallowing.

Do you know of anything that comes in capsule form?

It's true that the tablets are huge and even I have to break them into 2 before taking them. The other alternative is natural calm magnesium powder available on Amazon. You can dissolve it is water and take it. It is very popular with insomnia sufferers. You can read the reviews before deciding to buy.

Better You do various magnesium sprays that you spray on your skin, where it is absorbed. There is a Sleep spray: www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/betteryou-magnesium-sleep-spray-60017822?skuid=085190 you can use before bedtime which might suit you better than pills or capsules.

I take magnesium (when I remember) for RLS but the best thing that’s worked for me is a weighted blanket.

Definitely worked for me. I've just said to DH that sometimes I only remember I haven't taken it for a few days when I start getting the RLS on a night.

It was really bad in my first pregnancy, though I sometimes used to get it occasionally before. Then after DS was born I started taking the magnesium for something else and took it all the way through my second pregnancy and never got RLS once, definitely worth a try IMO.

I just buy the cheapy ones from Savers abs they do the trick

this is so interesting.... place marking for future ref!