magnesium Archives • Avoiding Rx

03Oct 2012 by Marjorie 1 Comment

TMJ: a total PIA

I have never been officially diagnosed with TMJ. I'm just assuming that the term applies to the condition I experience every few years or so wherein sitting in one place longer than 20 minutes makes want to rip my jaw out and stomp on it. I keep moving it around, trying to get it to fit together in a way that will stop the dull pain that spreads into my cheeks and face. After the last miserable episode of this during a layover at the airport, which found me contemplating how one goes about locating strangers willing to share their prescription opiates, I looked TMJ up online. The TMJ page on Sandy Simmons' Connective Tissue Disorder site mentioned magnesium, so I added that to my daily regimen. I also began…

26Aug 2012 by Marjorie 1 Comment

Another weird deficiency symptom: oversensitive hearing

symptoms and conditions

Over the past 10 years I've discovered that when my magnesium gets really low I develop an annoying sensitivity to noise. It took me a few years to put it together after the first time it happened. In that case it eventually resolved by itself, but not before I spent several months plotting the demise of an upstairs neighbor. During my last attempts to improve my vitamin D3 status with 15,000 IU a day, I experienced it again. Vitamin D supplements in big enough doses can affect your levels of the B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and for me, vitamin K. And probably something else I'm forgetting at the moment. After a few weeks at this dose, the sensitivity to noise seemed to spring up in a matter of hours. I…

13Mar 2012 by Marjorie 8 Comments

My experience with the Perfect Health Diet’s supplement plan

diets

by guest blogger Steph Steph is maharani at Midlife Makeover Year, where she's exploring new approaches to her health, diet, attitude, family life, and shoes, among other things. She is also one of my few commenters to refrain from mentioning w-bcam s-x, for which I will be eternally grateful. -- mr When I went on the Perfect Health Diet plan, I hoped to clean up my eating habits and address some of my thyroid issues through food choices. As it happens, the PHD plan is not just about food; there is actually a pretty aggressive recommended supplement plan. (Aggressive, that is, for me, as I’ve traditionally been a “multi-plus-maybe-some-vitamin-D” person.) Since the supplement plan didn’t involve drastically cutting sugar or giving up the fresh, hot gluten-filled rolls I was habitually…

19Nov 2011 by Marjorie 1 Comment

A list of supplements that don’t work very well in the versions sold in the US

nutritional therapy, supplements

Updated October 22, 2020. Originally posted November 19, 2011. Over the years I've learned that some of the nutrient supplements on the shelves in the US don't work very well, either because a significant part of the population can't process them, or because the version used is poorly absorbed by the body, or because they are so cheaply formulated that the filler would make you sick before you could get enough of the active ingredient to resolve your deficiency. Here's everything I know so far. Needless to say, the better versions are more expensive and harder to find. Folic acid Processing this synthetic vitamin into its active form requires methyl groups and those of us who are methyl-challenged (low methylators) need to use the methylfolate version. Some sources say that…

07Aug 2011 by Marjorie 38 Comments

Hair loss and hair thinning: a few causes and solutions

symptoms and conditions

Long before I figured out the whole gluten-ruining-my-health thing, I noticed that I felt better the less I ate. This was because like most Americans I ate wheat (gluten) at almost every meal. This revelation eventually led me to such a low caloric intake that I developed a palsy in my hands, stopped sleeping, and lost a third of my hair. To give you an idea of how much hair: I used to wear it in a half ponytail (like this) and about every three weeks the 1/4-inch, spring-loaded barrette I used would break from being stretched too far. Two years later I could put all of my hair in the same type of barrette and the barrette would slide off onto the floor. The switch to gluten-free and back…

13Jul 2011 by Marjorie 31 Comments

Niagarrhagia

symptoms and conditions, treatments

Update 9 July 2022: Here's a summary of what's happened since this I first wrote this post: Menorrhagia ended for me a month after I moved out of my moldy apartment, except for the following times: a four-week monster period (MP) a year later, when I started a new detox binder for mold. I think it was cholestyramine, which is a cholesterol prescription drug used for mold poisoning.another four-week MP when I started a detox binder for lead, in this case EDTA, which is basically a huge dose of sulfur.a five-week monster period when I hit menopause. But then again I was also eating unfermented soy and taking a lot of milk thistle supplements, and the MP stopped soon after I stopped those. So who knows. These experiences support the…