I was on pretty high levels of prednisone and was having really bad calf cramps. I read that prednisone can deplete electrolytes. I was having frequent blood tests and sodium and potassium were fine. I asked that magnesium be tested and guess what, doc, fine as well.

Never learned the cause of the cramps. I kept a squeeze bottle of mustard on my night stand, because a dollop of mustard stops cramps nearly instantly for me. After tapering off the prednisone cramps ceased.

I hate that drug but when it's necessary use it.

Is my best guess. I've seen a few over the last few months.

Not high on my list of concerns for my health.

I'm sure most of the folks bugging you about it have no idea what magnesium does in the body and absolutely no clue what a low magnesium level looked and acted like, you know...symptoms. But they hear the snake oil peddlers and wanna solve that non-problem because some idiot on a website is selling something.

what's the most common deficiency you encounter (other than common sense, of course)?

It doesn't rain all the time, as the regional stereotype would have you believe. But we do get less sunlight than other parts of the country.

Vitamin D deficiency is the easiest thing in the world to treat; we just give the patient Vitamin D. Problem solved. (Routine monitoring included, of course).

The midwest gets more sunlight than the northwest, I'm sure, but we're not the sunniest part of the country, either. I found out my vitamin D was low a few years ago and have taken a supplement ever since. If that test hadn't been included in my routine bloodwork, I'd never have known.

Last edited Fri Sep 12, 2025, 11:52 PM - Edit history (1)

getting information from actual medical folk and scientists seems to be coming a concept from the past..........

Advertisers use psychology to make us believe we need something we really don't need. Just about every product shown on TV, online, or in an ad tells us how much better off we'd be with their product. The drug and supplement industries are notorious for this. Not feeling your energetic self, take this pill. Testosterone levels down, take this pill. Erectile dysfunction, take this pill.

I get a physical every year and my doctor goes over my lab results with me. The only supplement I need is a Vitamin D pill daily. The rest of my levels like iron and such are within normal levels. In most cases, eating reasonably healthy meals is usually enough for most people.

I was referred to a dermatologist earlier this year for a rash on my ankles. As he was going over what medications I took he asked about supplements. I told him I only take Vitamin D per my doctor's orders. He ask if I took any other and I said No. He was surprised considering I was 74 years old and didn't take any other supplements. I guess most of his older patients take a number of supplements.

Yes, indeed.

IF one can afford to eat healthy.

And then there are food allergies. And some of find that when you get older, you don't need as much food, especially if you get less active. And if you have some food allergies, and I do, you may have to avoid entire food groups. I'm 80 and have arthritis and therefore mobility issues, and rarely leave my house - and yes, I am taking Vitamin D, and some other supplements. All have been run by my PCP when I started, and any subsequent PCPs. But I am not taking, and will not take, magnesium. I tried it once and got diarrhea.

even pasta - I've recently seen a new variation of various pastas that are protein enhanced. And that cow's milk is making a comeback since it has more protein than plant-based milk (soy and oat and so on). Many other foods too are advertising protein enhancements.

I think the article was in a very recent Consumers Reports, but might have been in one of the AARP magazines. Anyway they concluded that people eating a healthy diet get plenty of protein.

I thought WTF! I think I eat a healthy diet, but I'm working on cutting back on meat. For some time I've maintained a targeted 4 oz of meat a day average (that's a "quarter pounder" -- just one all day), so that I get enough protein to maintain strength (I'm elderly), but don't torture more meat-producing animals than necessary with horrible lives. I'm at the point where I'm ready to cut back to 3 oz meat a day, but I'm wondering how far down can I cut? I read somewhere else that someone my age (old) and male and size should get 83g (IIRC) of protein a day. That's a lot.

4 oz of chicken is about 29g protein (boneless skinless chicken breasts are 7.31g protein per oz, for example), leaving about 54g protein remaining to be gotten from other foods each day. Shoot - a lot of other good sources of protein, are tortured animal products (eggs, milk, cheese), and I'd like to cut back on those too.

(I substitute fish for some of my meat "quota" - 9 oz drained tuna, and 26 oz salmon per month)

How many damn beans do I have to eat a day?

Anyway, a worthless article "anyone eating a healthy diet gets enough"

Oh, I have been consuming whey protein powder (about 25g protein per day), thinking it's a plant product. Until recently, I looked it up - it's an animal product, sigh. There are varieties that claim to be "grass fed" that I'll have to look into, that can't be as bad as regular dairy cows that don't have anywhere near enough room to even just turn around... their whole lives.

The article did point out that what we should really be focused on is getting enough fiber -- 90% or some such large percent of the U.S. population are getting less than the recommended amount. I do buy whole-grain versions of pasta and bread, beans, prunes...

Magnesium is water-soluble.

products like special pasta varieties to name just one example?

Great. Something to look forward to.