140 mg elemental Mg bisglycinate + 200 mg L-theanine (8 wks update): I had loose stools on a 'magnesium complex' that contained oxide, so I changed one thing at... — what worked for others here?
I had loose stools on a 'magnesium complex' that contained oxide, so I changed one thing at a time. First I switched to pure bisglycinate at 140 mg elemental, from 1,000 mg of compound, taken with dinner. Second, I added 200 mg L-theanine 45 minutes before bed after week 2. Third, I moved my iron tablet to the morning, 2+ hours away from magnesium. Stools were normal by day 4. Sleep onset improved from roughly 50 minutes to about 30 by week 8, though I still wake once most nights. It's not a cure, and it helped less on high-stress days. I also asked my doctor to check ferritin and B12 (ferritin 41 ng/mL, B12 about 510 pg/mL).
NIH ODS advises separating magnesium from certain drugs, including tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics and bisphosphonates, by at least 2 hours, and the label for your specific drug should be checked. Iron and divalent cations can compete for absorption, so spacing doses by about 2 hours is a common precaution.