Magnesium Imbalance: Causes and symptoms
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More about Magnesium Imbalance:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis Prevention Resources |
Magnesium deficiency most often occurs in people who have been fed intravenously for a long time, whose diet doesn't contain enough magnesium, or who are unable to absorb and excrete the mineral properly.
Secreting too much aldosterone (the hormone that regulates the body's salt-fluid balance), ADH (a hormone that inhibits urine production), or thyroid hormone can cause hypomagnesemia.
Other factors associated with hypomagnesemia include:
- loss of body fluids as a result of stomach suctioning or chronic diarrhea
- cisplatin (a chemotherapy drug)
- long-term diuretic therapy
- hypercalcemia (abnormally high levels of calcium in the blood)
- diabetic acidosis (a condition in which the body's tissues have a higher-than-normal acid content)
- complications of bowel surgery
- chronic alcoholism
- malnutrition
- starvation
- severe dehydration
People who have hypomagnesemia usually experience loss of weight and appetite, bloating, and muscle pain, and they pass stools that have a high fat content. Also, they may be listless, disoriented, confused, and very irritable. Other symptoms of hypomagnesemia are:
- nausea
- vomiting
- muscle weakness
- tremor
- irregular heart beat
- delusions and hallucinations
- leg and foot cramps
- muscle twitches
- changes in blood pressure
Severe magnesium deficiency can cause seizures, especially in children.
Neonatal hypomagnesemia can occur in premature babies and in infants who have genetic parathyroid disorders or who have had blood transfusions. This condition also occurs in babies born to magnesium-deficient mothers or to women who have:
- diabetes mellitus.
- hyperparathyroidism (overactive parathyroid glands)
- toxemia (a pregnancy-related condition characterized by high blood pressure and fluid retention)
Hypermagnesemia is most common in patients whose kidneys cannot excrete the magnesium they derive from food or take as medication. This condition can also develop in patients who take magnesium salts, or in healthy people who use large quantities of magnesium-containing antacids, laxatives, or analgesics (pain relievers).
Magnesium poisoning can cause severe diarrhea in young people, and mask the symptoms of other illnesses. Very high overdoses can lead to coma. The risk of complications of magnesium poisoning is greatest for:
- elderly people with inefficient kidney function
- patients with kidney problems or intestinal disorders
- people who use antihistamines, muscle relaxants,or narcotics
Severe dehydration or an overdose of supplements taken to counteract hypomagnesemia can also cause this condition.
People who have hypermagnesemia may feel flushed and drowsy, perspire heavily, and have diarrhea. Breathing becomes shallow, reflexes diminish, and the patient becomes unresponsive. Muscle weakness and hallucinations are common. The patient's heart beat slows dramatically and blood pressure plummets. Extreme toxicity, which can lead to coma and cardiac arrest, can be fatal.
— Maureen Haggerty
