Guest guest Posted August 27, 2003 Report Share Posted August 27, 2003 Gale, The MINIMUM daily requirement for children 1-3 years old is 80 mg. per day (remember, figure is based on minimum needs of healthy children, not those with health problems or malabsorption issues). The Krispin magnesium scale uses 2.5 - 4.5 mg. per lb. of body weight. If you have health problems, Krispin recommends using the higher number. 4.5 mg. x 24 lbs. = 108 mg. You might feel comfortable staying between 80 - 100 mg. daily. Signs of too much magnesium are lethargy and slow breathing (though you often see these symptoms in other things too). Mostly, with too much magnesium (especially the wrong type of magnesium such as a magnesium salt) you'll see very loose stools or diarrhea. Well, you see that in CF too unless you've got the poop thing pretty well under control. There are lots of products out there that say chelated but their manufacturing process isn't very stable. That's why I like to use Albion Lab's chelates. They've got the whole molecular positive, negative thing figured out so their minerals are absorbed better, and you'll less likely experience digestive disturbances. Personally, I'd definitely stay away from magnesium oxide -- it's the least bioavailable and most likely to cause diarrhea at high doses. We've also tried magnesium chloride and magnesium citrate without results. If you can find magnesium taurate, you might try it but it's hard to find and it's pricier than Solgar's magnesium glycinate. But, as others have said, getting a toddler to take a magnesium tablet is sometimes tricky. Some moms say their child takes it fine mashed up in fruit sauce or yogurt, while others say their kids flat out won't take it disguised in anything. If Abby is pretty good about taking meds that are crushed and mixed in juices, yogurt, fruit sauce, or smoothies then that's one less worry. Kim --- " danieleverettharris " <gale.harris@h...> wrote: > > How much magnesium do you give a 20 month old that weighs 24 pounds > and uses albuteral 2X a day? > > How do we know if we're giving her too much? > > Does it need to be chelated? > > I would really appreciate any answers that you may have. > > Thanks! > Gale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 28, 2003 Report Share Posted August 28, 2003 Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it. Do you do this for a living? You know so much about nutrition. I feel guilty asking for your advice, knowing that I am getting it for free! I wish that Abby lived next door to you. How is your ex husband doing? Will your children be able to see him soon? Who is running the farm? I hope that you are doing well and keeping your spirits up. Gale > > > > How much magnesium do you give a 20 month old that weighs 24 pounds > > and uses albuteral 2X a day? > > > > How do we know if we're giving her too much? > > > > Does it need to be chelated? > > > > I would really appreciate any answers that you may have. > > > > Thanks! > > Gale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Kim, I am hearing a lot about Magneium on the list. My son is 7 months old and I have not heard anything about he needs it or not. How do you know to give or not to give. He had all of his yearly labs done about 3 months ago and they came back really great. Colgan was also eatting better than and not having the digestive problems that he is having now. I was just wondering if it was something that I needed to bring up at next clinic in a week. Thanks Ashauna mom of 2 boys Max and Colgan wcf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 29, 2003 Report Share Posted August 29, 2003 Hi Ashauna, If you have a copy of his year labs, look to see if they tested magnesium. They probably did not. But it doesn't matter because testing magnesium blood level isn't accurate. Colgan may be deficient in magnesium if you can answer yes to the following: --recent surgery --malabsorption (frequent loose bowel movements) --diarrhea and/or vomiting --heavy sweating --poor diet (no fish, dark green vegetables, whole grains or beans) --taking medications known to deplete magnesium such as albuterol, Xopenex, steroids, antifungals, antibiotics (oral, inhaled, and IV). Signs of deficiency may include any of the following: irritability, fatigue, insomnia, restlessness, inattention, mood swings, leg cramps, back muscle spasms, shortness of breath, decreased PFTs, digestive upsets (requiring acid blocker meds), irregular blood sugars... People with certain health disorders routinely show magnesium deficiency, these include people with asthma, chronic sinusitis, chronic headaches, migraines, heart disease, depression, Tourettes, autism, bipolor disorder, arthritis (osteo and rheumatoid), fibromyalgia and others... If Colgan is currently healthy, having only 1 or 2 well-formed by soft bowel movements per day, is eating very well and getting at least 80 mg. magnesium per day through food AND taking a good multivitamin/mineral supplement then I wouldn't worry. But if he is taking any of the meds listed above and if he's having frequent, loose bowel movements, then he's loosing magnesium and you would want to supplement. Some of the moms on this list have said it's hard getting the magnesium tablet into their little ones. Some don't like the taste of the crushed tablet mixed with fruit sauce. There are a couple other ways to boost magnesium levels: 1) Add some epsom salts to the bath water. This is magnesium sulphate and is absorbed through the skin. 2) You can make a homemade cream with magnesium mixed with lotion. Or Bev's CF Pharmacy can compound a cream for you (but they need a doctor's prescription to do this because I checked into it last December). I have a homemade recipe somewhere buried in my files... You mentioned Colgan is having some digestive problems right now. Have you considered giving him taurine? Kim --- Ashauna_and_@w... wrote: Kim, I am hearing a lot about Magneium on the list. My son is 7 months old and I have not heard anything about he needs it or not. How do you know to give or not to give. He had all of his yearly labs done about 3 months ago and they came back really great. Colgan was also eatting better than and not having the digestive problems that he is having now. I was just wondering if it was something that I needed to bring up at next clinic in a week. Thanks Ashauna mom of 2 boys Max and Colgan wcf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 30, 2003 Report Share Posted August 30, 2003 Kim, ummmmm yep I think I need to look into this for sure. Colgan is always very fussy hates to sleep and really does not take a nap he is only 7 months old so I knew this was weird. Seeing that mood and sleep patterns can be affected really make me wonder. Should I ask for a test of some sort to verify or just start supplimenting. Are these kids low in Mag. really pale. My little one is so pale all of the time. No color at all. I know this probably has a lot of reasons just wondering if this could be one cause. As far as the digestive problems they are really bad right now. He is on continuous feeds at night and has not gained by 5 oz the entire time of almost 2 weeks now. I do not know what to do at this point it seems like no matter what I try with his enzymes it does not get better. He is suffering from severe diarreah right now and has for almost 3 weeks. Usually his poops are not hard but are much more formed than they are presently. As far as taurine I am still learning so much at this stage of this. I have no idea what that even is let alone though of giving it to him. Please excuse my ignorance to all of these medicines and suppliments. I feel like a sponge trying to soak up all the info I can and hoping that I can hold onto it all some how. Thanks for help Ashauna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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