Wow, I'm impressed with the list of test she is doing.

You really did hit the jackpot of Nurse Practioners.

Donna

Hi,

I am geeky enough to be bugged about not knowing why she is checking for magnesium.

I just found that low magnesium can be a symptom of Addison's Disease ( When the adrenal glands are not producing enough hormones.) . . . So she was looking to find out why you have low energy.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000378.htm


Some of us here take magnesium -- At the moment, I can't remember why exactly -- today was a difficult day for my brain.

Mari

It was a very comprehensive list of questions she asked me and when she asked me if anyone else in my family had bipolar disorder I said my dad, his mother, and 2 of my 1st cousins on my dad's side. She asked what year was your Dad diagnosed. I said ummm let's see he shot himself when he was in his late 30's and it was after that. She said OMG I'm so sorry I asked I said oh no, it's okay he lived, I can talk about it. She asked at what age my grandmother was diagnosed but I have no idea.

She said that my thyroid could fluctuate that much in 3 days (recapping here my TSH was 4.96 then 1.86 3 days later) if enough cortisol was in my system. That is when she started talking about adrenal fatigue. She started explaining how cortisol is a flight or fight response and that it can get turned on and stay on sometimes. She asked if I had been under any unusual stress lately. I explained about my friend's suicide in February and it was after that that she told me that she had a good friend who has bipolar disorder. She said that her friend "has to stick to a schedule and that she can't take on too much but otherwise lives a normal life". And also that her friend would know if something new & physical started with her.

So I am glad that I confided in her what I did about my dad and my friend because I believe that's why she confided in me about her friend. And I trust her more now. Because she knows that we with bipolar are not some dumb, un-selfaware alien species like my endocrinologist made me fee. We're just regular people like her friend.

Also, I want to tell this to you guys. She asked me if I ever read medical literature. I said no, I can barely read an entire magazine. ha! Anyway, she said that there is a school of thought in some medical journal she's read that people with bipolar disorder are rapid metabolizers. I can't remember if it was all vitamins or just the B vitamins. Ya'll ever heard of this?

You are right Donna!

I told all this same info of my symptoms to my endocrinologist and all he did was order a thyroid panel. :shaking my head:

AWESOME info!!!

I'm so grateful she's at least interested enough in my case to check into it! Thanks Mari!

Oh I forgot to say that magnesium is in a powdery stuff I take some nights called CALM. It has magnesium and is supposed to help you sleep but I can't take it every night or I get loose bowels (sorry if that's TMI) And I think it is supposed to help with restless leg syndrome. I don't have RLS, just going by what someone else told me.

Yeah, was getting the same results from the CALM. Then I found out on the board that I was taking it wrong. You have to use warm water like the instructions say. The warm water changes it to a form of Magnesium that is absorbable. The kind used with cold water mostly goes through the body -- waste of money unless you are taking it for that reason.

M

oh no Mari, warm? say it ain't so! eeewww! :stomping my feet like a 2 year old: I don't know if I could drink it warm. Thanks for letting me know what I've been doing wrong!

Butterfly,

I used to do it warm and then let it sit until it was room temperature.

Or you could use a little warm water so that it is properly dissolved and only a little later use cool water.

Mari

Hi Butterfly... real glad you found such a great NP!

The B12 tests need to be done before giving supplementation, because giving you the shot first could mask a deficiency. they need to know if you are deficient or not, because if you are they need to figure out why. depending on why, treatment may be temporary or permanent, and how supplementation is given may vary as well (eg sublingual & IV vs. tablets). I am a little surprised she isn't checking folate along with B12, they often go together. Also, homocysteine levels... the test she ordered is usually a followup which can explain high homocysteine levels but if negative will not tell whether levels are high or not. However the B12 check is really important.

Magnesium would be fatigue and stress related. Low magnesium can explain fatigue, muscle aches, tension and cramping.

~ waves ~