I have read your wonderfully informative posts on the importance of magnesium supplementation in Lyme disease, and the difficulty getting enough orally.

For those who cannot get IV magnesium (such as myself), I was wondering if epsom salt enemas would be a good alternative?

Apparently quite a bit of magnesium is absorbed in the colon from the epsom salts.

So much can be absorbed in fact that there have been a number of deaths from hypermagnesemia following epsom salt enemas.

E.g http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/500188_1

So caution would certainly need to be exercised if using this approach.

Are you, or anyone reading this, aware of anyone who has used epsom salt enemas as a way of supplementing magnesium?

What do you think of it?

[This message has been edited by felinitie (edited 17 August 2005).]

...Never in a million years. Bad idea.

If diarrhea...FURTHER loss of electrolytes and beneficial bacteria. Bad situation. Bad.

Not to mention the dangers of stopping breathing...relaxing the diaphram muscles too fast by overdosing Mg. (Calcium in a HOSPITAL SETTING) counters this.

BMs ONLY after meals (at LEAST once a day). More than that...likely harmful.

Maintaining Mg levels...SMALL(ish) amts.- often - appear to be the ideal. The turtle wins the race...but it's a long race. The amt. in "Slow-Mg" might not be enough.

In some instances IV Mg to perhaps "jumpstart" the balance may be beneficial, but we really don't know for sure if "a rising tide lifts all boats". It may. Can we truly "flood the system" and force it back in storage? No one knows for certain.

Is age a factor...the # of remaining mitochondria (powerhouses in the cells where Mg is bound to ATP)? Can younger people absorb more?

Mom, 86, post op (GB) given IV K and IV Mg...got diarrhea, but...for 1 year afterwards no knee arthritic pains.

Son, 25, given IV Mg and K for tachycardia. Lots. NO DIARRHEA. Tremendous improvement in not only heart situation, but also mood (neurotransmitters were kapoot).

Still...lots of rebuilding to do...this takes TIME. Does NOT happen overnight.

Hopefully as each new cell is made (2 weeks to 8 months...depending on which kind of cell), they will be "healthier".

The epsom salt baths with baking soda help my son tremendously. But...he is ***no longer infected***, is just rebuilding. (Had food poisoning as trigger and surgery, appendectomy 1 week later...not infected. Drove his beneficial flora to the bottom...weight loss, depression, etc. Was not absorbing or making nutrients.)

Now...using the above...MAY TRIGGER a significant herx when infection(s) are present and ***combining this with abx. use may be really *overdoing* it. Herx responses can be too intense. We don't want too much die-off too fast.

Go slow. The ideal is a good alkaline, low glycemic index, diet. Use good foods and good beverages as your first line of defense. Keep your antioxidant level up.

It does seem that epsom salt enemas would be too risky for all the reasons you mentioned.

I guess I'll just stick to the oral route, and epsom salt baths!

Amiloride?
http://www.chfpatients.com/text/diuretics.txt

But unfortunately it also depletes sodium and folic acid and raises homocystein and potassium.