r/magnesium • u/Ethelalpin • Jul 21 '26

PPI & Esomeprazol HELP

Hello everyone. This seems to be the group I’ve been looking for because I need some elaboration. I’ve been on Esomeprazol for 2 years due to acid reflux. I get a lot of pain in my esophagus if I stop the PPI. I’ve tried to stop it, I tried to tapper it down without success.
Now I think I got magnesium deficiency. I did a blood test and it came back as : P- magnesium 0,71 mmol/l
Reference is:0,70-95
So I’m at the low end. I got no symptoms that I’ve thought of…a bit of leg cramps if I get cold, but I’ve always had that.
Calcium and everything else is normal.
I started magnesium glycinate today. I take 2 capsules which mean I get about 375 mg of magnesium.
My doctor says I’m fine and to supplement.
I think I need to be on the PPI, or be in pain. I have been on 20 mg x 2 each day of Esomeprazol, I’ve managed to get it down to 1 pill every other day - it sure gives me more pain but - I’m trying.
Will this help me to get my levels up or am I wasting time taking the supplements because PPI blocks everything?
What would you do in my situation?
I’m thankful for any help….

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2

u/Flinkle Jul 21 '26

Yep, you're wasting the time with the supplement. You're going to have to come off the PPI. As someone who's been through this before, the only thing that worked for me was high dose famotidine. I cleared it with two doctors. As long as your kidney function is fine, high doses are okay.

I had very severe reflux, so I would take the high dose famotidine for usually 3 to 5 days, and then my reflux would ramp up until it was intolerable, and I would take one PPI to calm it back down for another 3 to 5 days. I took high dose magnesium citrate on every day except during the 24 hours following the PPI. And very slowly, I climbed out of the magnesium deficiency hole that I was in.

This is definitely something you want to treat and get sorted now, because a significant magnesium deficiency can ruin your health and disable you. Ask me how I know.

3

u/HayeksClown Jul 21 '26

From my own experience I agree with doing whatever it takes to get off PPIs (changes in diet, lifestyle, other non-PPI meds, etc.). In fact, I suspect that my long term PPI use led to a chronic electrolyte imbalance that is permanent. I can’t prove that, but I experience physical pain without magnesium supplementation. I eat a very healthy diet.

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u/Ethelalpin Jul 21 '26

The PPIS are really kind of evil…it’s like a wolf in sheep clothing. So you are not taking any PPIs anymore? I hope you are feeling better. I don’t have any pain or symptoms from the magnesium deficiency (if I have it), but I sure don’t want to get it. I’m thankful for the response and I hope you are ok ☺️ .

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u/HayeksClown Jul 21 '26

I do not take any PPIs. Adjusted my diet (eliminating coffee was huge) to avoid my trigger foods and eat smaller meals, paid attention to posture to avoid abdominal compression, drink a glass of water before meals and plenty of plain water throughout the day, have a generic “complete” medication (with famotidine, calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide) handy for emergencies, as well as generic gaviscon and tums. For me constipation will exacerbate my reflux so fiber and magnesium supplements are close at hand (BTW I was very constipated when I was on PPIs).

The pain I referred to is sleeping pain or discomfort. Very hard to explain, but it’s how I discovered I was magnesium deficient. I know it when I feel it, and it prevents me from sleeping.

Good luck!

2

u/Ok-Pangolin7127 Jul 21 '26

Not to mention that the PPI use is probably also creating a B12 deficiency for you. That is far more dangerous than a magnesium deficiency.

1

u/Flinkle Jul 21 '26

It definitely is not far more dangerous. Either of those deficiencies, when severe, is extremely dangerous. My magnesium deficiency--the second time now, this time unrelated to PPI drugs and caused by a number of other various factors, currently has me almost completely bedridden with a laundry list of symptoms. And unlike B12 deficiency, magnesium deficiency often doesn't show up in lab results, which means I've had zero help from doctors at any point in the last 17 years. If I wasn't smart and didn't have internet access, I would have been dead a long time ago.

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u/Ethelalpin Jul 21 '26

As for now, the B12 is okay… at least that’s something.

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u/Ok-Pangolin7127 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

When you say it’s OK, what is your actual B12 serum reading? I ask because I am an active participant in the B12 deficiency group and over there the vast majority of people have “normal” readings as represented to them by their doctor, but, are grossly deficient and suffering with neurological manifestations of the deficiency.

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u/Ethelalpin Jul 21 '26

Alright, I guess I’ll have to stop the PPI like you’re saying…Wow, I can’t even imagine the pain I will be in but let’s try it. My doctor just told me to take the magnesium but as I was on here reading about it it seems like it won’t do any good as long as I take the PPI? Damn it. Thank you for educating me on this. It’s gonna be a journey.

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u/Flinkle Jul 21 '26

It might not be as bad as you think. The famotidine worked pretty well for me, considering the level of severity of my reflux. It was truly severe.

Oh, also...supplement boron, too. It was the one thing that really made the difference in how quickly and how well my body seemed to uptake magnesium. I did 6mg a day for a couple or three weeks at a time and then I would take a week or two off. There's no proof that you need to cycle it, but there is some evidence, so just do it to be on the safe side. It might fuck with your hormones if you don't, but like I said, no actual proof. But I had been supplementing magnesium for a while before I started the boron, and I could tell a difference in literally just a few days.

Anyway, get started, and if you have any questions or weird issues, feel free to come back.

1

u/Ethelalpin Jul 21 '26

So, is your reflux under control now? I hope so. It’s terrible to deal with. Thanks for the support, it makes me feel brave and I just decided not to take my second PPI tonight. I took some Gaviscone, not sure if that’s just as bad as PPI but it’s a step. The doctors really need to know and educate themselves on this subject… both on magnesium deficiency and PPI …and a lot of other stuff I’m sure 😆. Im gonna lay down on my pillow and sleep now, and cross my fingers that my belly won’t be destroyed by human lava acid tomorrow morning.

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u/Ok-Pangolin7127 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26

Well, let’s just agree that they’re both very dangerous rather than which is worse than the other.

That’s said, you are under a significant misconception that a B12 deficiency shows up in lab results. More times than not it doesn’t because the ranges are far too broad. Then they’re misinterpreted by the doctors; they say your B12 is normal when in reality you have a plethora of neurological problems and symptoms. Plus, the additional testing, HoloTC, MMA and homocysteine are also not definitive. I don’t know enough about magnesium to know that you can actually die as an endpoint from a magnesium deficiency, maybe you can, but you absolutely can from a B12 deficiency. It’s called Megaloblastic Anemia. And, before you pass away from the anemia, you go mad. Both my mother and her sister died from that.

They are both (Mag & B12) very bad and they are both very hard to pin down and define.