Magnesium Injections – Are there any Oral Alternatives?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. This information is meant to share and discuss with your own doctor or healthcare practitioner. It is not intended to override their recommendations.
Why is my doctor recommending magnesium injections?
There are many potential reasons why magnesium injections would be recommended. These include:
- Severe hypomagnesemia – This is when your blood levels of magnesium show you are severely deficient.
- Some cardiac arrhythmias
- Migraine Prevention
- Eclampsia and Severe Preeclampsia:
- Patients who get severe diarrhea with supplemental magnesium
- Patients who can’t, or dislike taking oral capsules
- Patients who have been unsuccessful in increasing magnesium levels through oral supplementation
I don’t want to take magnesium injections, is there any alternative?
In some cases, there may be an alternative (again, discuss this with your doctor)
There are several reasons people may not want to take magnesium injections. Some of these reasons include:
- Invasiveness and Discomfort: Supplements are less invasive and don’t cause discomfort.
- Risk of Side Effects:
- Convenience and Accessibility: Oral supplements are much more convenient.
- Chronic Supplementation: For long-term needs, oral magnesium is usually more suitable. It’s easier to maintain steady levels of magnesium in the blood with daily supplements.
- Cost: Oral supplements are generally far less expensive than injections.
- Underlying Health Conditions: Individuals with certain health conditions may be advised against magnesium injections
- Patient Preference – eg. Fear of needles
What type of oral magnesium can I take instead of an injection?
(Note: As noted above in the disclaimer section, you should share and discuss this with your doctor.)
The short answer is non buffered magnesium bisglycinate
The biggest issue with most (but not all) oral magnesium supplements on the market is that they absorb poorly and cause diarrhea as a side effect. The more magnesium you take, the worse the diarrhea is. This diarrhea also means that most of the magnesium you are ingesting is not absorbing into your body; therefore you effectively aren’t getting much magnesium at all.
If you need to take a significant amount of magnesium to increase the amount of magnesium in your blood, then you need to find a highly absorbing oral magnesium that doesn’t cause diarrhea or upset stomach as a side effect.
The best form of magnesium for not causing diarrhea is non buffered magnesium bisglycinate. (Same thing as non buffered magnesium glycinate).
“Non buffered” is absolutely key, because most magnesium bisglycinate (and glycinate) on the market is “buffered”, which means it has been mixed with large amounts of magnesium oxide. The magnesium oxide is actually what is causing the diarrhea and poor absorption. You need to read the labels extremely carefully. Unfortunately, most magnesium bisglycinate (glycinate) products don’t mention this fact on the front of the label, and many don’t even mention it on the back of the label either.
What type of magnesium is used in a magnesium injection?
Magnesium injections use the form magnesium sulfate.
For more on magnesium injections:
Since magnesium injections use magnesium sulfate, does this mean that oral magnesium sulfate is the best form for an injection alternative?
It does not mean that. High absorption of magnesium with limited side effects is the ultimate goal with magnesium injections.
While it is possible to supplement orally with magnesium sulfate, we recommend non buffered magnesium bisglycinate when taken orally, because it has the highest absorption and causes the least number of side effects for any type of oral magnesium.
Read our article on everything you need to know about magnesium bisglycinate.
Andrew Best
Cofounder - Director of R&D
Andrew educates consumers about the latest scientific research in the natural health supplement field.
