Page 1 of 1

Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff legs?

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 12:19 pm
by Lynn62
I saw my neurologist last Friday for my 6 month follow-up. She said I could take Baclofen for my stiff legs, but it could possibly weaken my legs too much that they would be like a rag doll. I do not want that to happen!

She never heard of magnesium supplements being beneficial for ms leg stiffness, but I would rather try something like that before taking baclofen. When I wake up from sleeping and when I stand up after sitting for a long time, my legs are so stiff it takes a while for me to straighten and walk upright.

My last known magnesium level was 2. On the low side of "normal".

Does anyone find that magnesium would help with leg stiffness?

What dose should I start with? I am sensitive to medication so I would like to start at a low dose.

Thank you!

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 1:41 pm
by jimmylegs
YES - if your serum level was 2, i should think you would see benefits from correcting that low level.

try to get your level into the 2.3 - 2.7 range.

when symptomatic, aim for at least 600mg of mag per day from food and supplements combined. if you have your levels up and you're feeling great, you can pull back to 400mg total mag intake per day.

magnesium food list including mgs of magnesium per serving (note that the amounts per serving of greens is for densely packed COOKED greens).
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... #foodchart

your daily supplemental dose will therefore depend on your dietary intake and also on whether you take supplemental vitamin d3

if you take vit d3, you should DEFINITELY take half your supplemental magnesium with the d3, and the other half at a separate time each day.
this timing aspect is very very very very important.

hope that helps :)

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 4:21 pm
by Lynn62
Thanks Jimmylegs!

I do take vitamin d3 in the morning after breakfast so I will take the magnesium then.

When do you take your second dose and is it taken with food?

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 4:55 pm
by jimmylegs
no probs :D ok sounds good for the am, and the later mag can be in the afternoon or evening, a few mins before a meal or a snack (on the one hand you don't want it getting too mixed up with / chemically bound up with other stuff for this one, but on the other you do want to make sure it gets down into your intestine promptly and doesn't hang around in your stomach for too long).

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 7:45 pm
by NHE
Lynn62 wrote:She never heard of magnesium supplements being beneficial for ms leg stiffness, but I would rather try something like that before taking baclofen. When I wake up from sleeping and when I stand up after sitting for a long time, my legs are so stiff it takes a while for me to straighten and walk upright.
It sounds like your hamstring and/or calf muscles might be really tight. Some targeted stretching exercises could be helpful.

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:09 pm
by THX1138
When I wake up from sleeping and when I stand up after sitting for a long time, my legs are so stiff it takes a while for me to straighten and walk upright.

When standing up from sitting or lying down, do your muscles also suddenly tense up :?:

Great, short video an magnesium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUWL1o2hSrs

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 5:11 pm
by THX1138
One caution when one causes spasticity to lessen:

Muscles that are spastic do not reveal their weakness nearly as much as normally functioning muscles that are of equal strength.
Once spasticity starts going away, one can find that muscles that previously didn't seem so bad (except for the spasticity), now may seem weak, especially if you are out of shape. Out of shape legs can then become wobbly, possibly causing injury.

And of course legs are not the only body part that can be affected.

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 11:40 am
by Lynn62
THX1138 wrote:
When standing up from sitting or lying down, do your muscles also suddenly tense up :?:

Great, short video an magnesium:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUWL1o2hSrs

I don't think they tense up, they take a while to loosen up, though.

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 11:42 am
by Lynn62
NHE wrote:
It sounds like your hamstring and/or calf muscles might be really tight. Some targeted stretching exercises could be helpful.
Yes, I definitely need to exercise more regularly. I got a recumbent bike for Christmas that I need to use more often.

Re: Magnesium glycinate alternative to baclofen for stiff le

Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 11:44 am
by Lynn62
jimmylegs wrote:no probs :D ok sounds good for the am, and the later mag can be in the afternoon or evening, a few mins before a meal or a snack (on the one hand you don't want it getting too mixed up with / chemically bound up with other stuff for this one, but on the other you do want to make sure it gets down into your intestine promptly and doesn't hang around in your stomach for too long).
Thanks for the info!