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Open Community Question @NightShiftNurse_MN • 45-59F • 200-400 mg elemental, split • Week 12

▲ 29 Helpful • 2 Peer Replies

Female • Age 45-59 • Week 12 Protocol Check: Magnesium for restless legs or migraine, what dose and what labs?

Magnesium is often tried for restless legs and migraine prevention, but the evidence differs for each. The 2012 AAN/AHS migraine guideline rated magnesium 'probably effective' (Level B), and trials used about 600 mg/day of magnesium as trimagnesium dicitrate. RLS data are limited and mixed. For RLS, ferritin is a more established lab to check. Many RLS guidelines flag ferritin at or below about 75 ng/mL as a reason to discuss iron with a clinician. Please share: 1) elemental dose and form, 2) weeks tried, 3) change in headache days per month or RLS nights per week, 4) any ferritin, B12, or serum magnesium results, 5) GI effects. Note that serum magnesium reflects only a small share of total body stores.

⚕ Pinned FDA / NIH / PubMed Clinical Context • Karim El-Sayed — Literature & Label Auditor

The AAN/AHS 2012 guideline classified magnesium as Level B (probably effective) for migraine prevention, with trial doses around 600 mg/day, which is above the 350 mg/day NIH supplemental upper limit. Medical supervision is needed at that dose. Ferritin of 75 ng/mL or below is a commonly cited threshold for iron evaluation in RLS.

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Verified Peer Replies (2)

@NightShiftNurse_MN • Verified Cohort Member • Week 18

One clarification: the 600 mg/day figure in migraine trials is above the 350 mg/day NIH upper limit for supplemental magnesium, so it is a clinician-supervised dose, not a self-start target. People with kidney disease should not self-supplement at all, because magnesium clears through the kidneys.

@SunbeltGardener_FL • Age 30-44 • Week 10

I take 200 mg elemental bisglycinate split into two doses, with breakfast and dinner. My migraine days went from about 8 to 5 per month. My ferritin was 28 ng/mL, so my doctor started iron, which I take 2 hours apart from magnesium.