Use Magnesium and Calcium Supplement to Help Breathing

[borgready]

I have found the use of magnesium and or calcium supplements helps my breathing when asleep. Breathing gets controlled by certain mechnisms when you sleep. The acidity of the blood changes and these mechanisms repond to that to make you stop breathing or make you breathe fast. If you get a lot of apeneas, your breathing can get out of wack. You breath for a few minutes and the O2 level goes to 99 and then your motivation to breath stops(hyponea). When your O2 gets down to the high 80's then you wake up and start breathing again. The more this cycle goes on the worse it gets. I have found that taking these supplements before bed time helps keep the breathing from getting out of controll. I'm not sure how the body responds but I think that the minerals get depleted faster. Those minerals help the body regulate the acidity of the blood. This is my theory and my personal experience. I would like to hear from others to see if it works for them and too see what supplements they use. The supplement don't cure apnea they just help the body deal with the stresses of having too many apneas. For Calcium I use anti acid tablets and for magnesium I use magnesium citrate(1/2 tsp per usage). Both are cheap.

[tonycog]

To some degree, you have described Cheyne-Stokes respirations. Were you diagnosed with CSR or some other type of Periodic Breathing?

Tony

[trytryagain]

I happen to take both calcium and magnesium every night before bed. But, to help prevent osteoporosis. I was told to take it at night for better absorption and they both have a mild calming affect which may help with sleep.

[borgready]

I get the Cheyne-Stokes respirations when something gets out of wack. That can be from having a bad apnea several times and being too stupid to put the mask on. Yes, I said stupid. Reason and rules go out the window when your tired. You can be thinking about something and lay down and its lights out at the flip of the old sleep switch. Heck I go to sleep while standing and eating. I can't get my restorative REM sleep. I go to sleep and sleep good as far as I know with the machine. But I can't get to that REM restorative sleep cycle using the Bipap machine. I sleep with out the machine and end up getting bad apenas. I used to be able to get to that REM sleep cycle by sleeping a couple of hours without the machine. Its getting harder and harder to get that anymore. The apneas get too bad when not using the machine. Using the machine, I just end up falling asleep somewhere other than bed. So my sleep can get really screwed up sometimes because I stay in the early stages of sleep. I go into the dreaming sleep and I quit breathing to long. So I don't know what my problem is. I have had sleep problems since my early teens. I have not found a qualified doctor yet and most likely never will. I get tired of being jerked around by money grubbing doctors. You go to what you think is a sleep doctor and then he wants to give you the sleep study. They get that money out of you for the sleep study and then its like hit the road buddy I don't want to hear your BS problems. Just use the machine.

[nanwilson]

I get the Cheyne-Stokes respirations when something gets out of wack. That can be from having a bad apnea several times and being too stupid to put the mask on. Yes, I said stupid. Reason and rules go out the window when your tired. You can be thinking about something and lay down and its lights out at the flip of the old sleep switch. Heck I go to sleep while standing and eating. I can't get my restorative REM sleep. I go to sleep and sleep good as far as I know with the machine. But I can't get to that REM restorative sleep cycle using the Bipap machine. I sleep with out the machine and end up getting bad apenas. I used to be able to get to that REM sleep cycle by sleeping a couple of hours without the machine. Its getting harder and harder to get that anymore. The apneas get too bad when not using the machine. Using the machine, I just end up falling asleep somewhere other than bed. So my sleep can get really screwed up sometimes because I stay in the early stages of sleep. I go into the dreaming sleep and I quit breathing to long. So I don't know what my problem is. I have had sleep problems since my early teens. I have not found a qualified doctor yet and most likely never will. I get tired of being jerked around by money grubbing doctors. You go to what you think is a sleep doctor and then he wants to give you the sleep study. They get that money out of you for the sleep study and then its like hit the road buddy I don't want to hear your BS problems. Just use the machine.

Borg
Perhaps if you slept with your machine ALL night EVERY night you would have less problems.

[Otter]

I have found the use of magnesium and or calcium supplements helps my breathing when asleep. Breathing gets controlled by certain mechnisms when you sleep. The acidity of the blood changes and these mechanisms repond to that to make you stop breathing or make you breathe fast. If you get a lot of apeneas, your breathing can get out of wack. You breath for a few minutes and the O2 level goes to 99 and then your motivation to breath stops(hyponea). When your O2 gets down to the high 80's then you wake up and start breathing again. The more this cycle goes on the worse it gets. I have found that taking these supplements before bed time helps keep the breathing from getting out of controll. I'm not sure how the body responds but I think that the minerals get depleted faster. Those minerals help the body regulate the acidity of the blood. This is my theory and my personal experience. I would like to hear from others to see if it works for them and too see what supplements they use. The supplement don't cure apnea they just help the body deal with the stresses of having too many apneas. For Calcium I use anti acid tablets and for magnesium I use magnesium citrate(1/2 tsp per usage). Both are cheap.

My guess is that the effect you're seeing has more to do with the role of calcium and magnesium in the contraction and relaxation of the muscles and nervous function in general than blood pH. When these minerals are deficient, the nervous system gets cranky and muscles can spasm. If the smooth muscle controlling your bronchial passages spasms, that would add to respiratory effort and make desaturation more likely.

Are you seeing a decrease in central apneas with these supplements?

[georgepds]

....But I can't get to that REM restorative sleep cycle using the Bipap machine. ...

Can you tell me how you know this?

FWIIW, I use a bipap and just started using a zeo to monitor my sleep. According to the zeo I'm getting rem sleep

[fiberfan]

My guess is that the effect you're seeing has more to do with the role of calcium and magnesium in the contraction and relaxation of the muscles and nervous function in general than blood pH. When these minerals are deficient, the nervous system gets cranky and muscles can spasm. If the smooth muscle controlling your bronchial passages spasms, that would add to respiratory effort and make desaturation more likely.

Thanks for jolting my brain a bit, I didn't take magnesium last night and not only were my restless legs bad my asthma is worse this morning - serious but at least I have a reason for the icky symptoms.

[Otter]

Thanks for jolting my brain a bit, I didn't take magnesium last night and not only were my restless legs bad my asthma is worse this morning - serious but at least I have a reason for the icky symptoms.

And something you can do about it. Do you feel better today?

[harmanx]

I stumbled upon calcium and magnesium as a remedy for central sleep apnea as well. I've been taking just one half an anti acid for years -- and when I stop, the symptoms return within a couple days. (I experimented to find a minimum dose, since extra calcium in men can be associated with arterial plaque -- and settled on half a tablet. Less than half causes symptoms to return for me.) The magnesium is already in an anti acid along with the calcium. I also tried regular calcium/magnesium supplement pills -- and those also work.

One helpful aspect of experimenting with things like supplements to find a cure for sleep apnea is that there's no real risk of placebo effect -- since one is completely unconscious when apnea sets in.

The way I came upon this was by trying different electrolytes at bedtime. (I did this figuring that electrolytes just might boost the causative weak nerve signal between the brain and diaphragm.) First I tried salt -- after a few nights it was clear that it wasn't helping my symptoms. Then I tried potassium (the main ingredient in a salt-substitute we had in the pantry) for a few nights -- it also had no effect. The benefit from calcium/magnesium was a welcome epiphany, though. I haven't tried experimenting with just calcium or just magnesium -- so, if one is the true cure, I don't yet know which.

[Grace~~~]

Are y'all monitoring your Magnesium and Calcium levels in your bloodwork?

I'm in a situation where I get bloodwork done at least weekly but until this nightmare of mine began I never had it done more than once a year through my 20s and 30s.

QUEST DIAGNOSTIC has now joined the ranks of labs allowing you to order many of your own blood tests.

If you're currently NOT monitoring your magnesium and all of your levels it would be REALLY INTERESTING to compare what your brain and body are telling you and comparing that to the levels on the blood test. Maybe you could keep a chart of your feelings and let a friend monitor the blood and after three months or so see what comparing that data tells?

These are OUR BODIES and we should be able to pay for inexpensive and quality testing ourselves. Too much wasted money on the medical system and not enough coverage when you really need it.

I have had the same PPO insurance for 25 years. Obviously never missed a payment, always paid a lot but now they have raised me to $1655/ mo with a $10k deductible. I could easily qualify for disability with my diagnosis but I keep hanging on trying to do the right thing in the most unfair system. <excuse rant ... I try to keep this iceberg under the sea level but sometimes it pops up a bit >

God give me wisdom.


~~~anyway here's that Quest info:

Link in this thread
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=173836&p=1279072&hi ... t#p1279072

[nicholasjh1]

I get the Cheyne-Stokes respirations when something gets out of wack. That can be from having a bad apnea several times and being too stupid to put the mask on. Yes, I said stupid. Reason and rules go out the window when your tired. You can be thinking about something and lay down and its lights out at the flip of the old sleep switch. Heck I go to sleep while standing and eating. I can't get my restorative REM sleep. I go to sleep and sleep good as far as I know with the machine. But I can't get to that REM restorative sleep cycle using the Bipap machine. I sleep with out the machine and end up getting bad apenas. I used to be able to get to that REM sleep cycle by sleeping a couple of hours without the machine. Its getting harder and harder to get that anymore. The apneas get too bad when not using the machine. Using the machine, I just end up falling asleep somewhere other than bed. So my sleep can get really screwed up sometimes because I stay in the early stages of sleep. I go into the dreaming sleep and I quit breathing to long. So I don't know what my problem is. I have had sleep problems since my early teens. I have not found a qualified doctor yet and most likely never will. I get tired of being jerked around by money grubbing doctors. You go to what you think is a sleep doctor and then he wants to give you the sleep study. They get that money out of you for the sleep study and then its like hit the road buddy I don't want to hear your BS problems. Just use the machine.

NM this is an old post

[Janknitz]

I take a magnesium supplement because most people are deficient in magnesium and it helps me with sleep and leg cramps. I take Vitamin D3/K2 supplement for keeping calcium in the bones where it belongs and good artery function. I do have my D3 checked occasionally and it's in the ideal range.

I do not take a calcium supplement--you should get calcium from your diet (leafy greens, fish with bones). Too much calcium can cause calcium to leach from your bones and deposit in your arteries. D3/K2 work in synergy to prevent that.

Whether you can really influence the pH of your blood with calcium and magnesium supplements you ingest is questionable. Our bodies are set up to exquisitely fine tune our pH balance within a very narrow range, or we would die. One thing that CAN influence pH is acidification due to the breathing issues you describe, and that's why you were prescribed a CPAP device.

When I was a teen and one of my BFF's got pregnant, my mom remarked "birth control doesn't work in the drawer". I would say something similar to you--CPAP doesn't work if you aren't using it. More than most of us here, your life depends on using your CPAP, so it's time to stop making excuses for yourself. If you need to get a second unit to have beside the couch or wherever, you should do that. You should not fall asleep without it. Don't try to rely on oral supplements to fix your blood chemistry without understanding possible unintended consequences. If your settings aren't giving you optimal treatment, that can be fixed.

[ChicagoGranny]

Honestly sounds like your therapy pressure may be off. If you're not getting into REM (which is questionable unless you got that from a sleep study) then it's probably because the pressure isn't high enough. I would ask for help adjusting your pressures if I were you.

The post you are replying to is 8 years old. The member hasn't posted in 3.5 years.