Hi everyone,
i was just wondering how much magensium you take a day. I switched brands, and thought my current supplement has less mg than my former, it is making my bm much softer.
I am taking 600-900mg/day.

I take 800 mg a day!

what's the difference between taking magnesium supplements and Milk of Magnesia? is it the same basic ingredients, just different form?

What brand of supplements do you use Chris?

I think the main difference is that some supplements are less effectie than others. Right now I'm using Solgar with silica.

I need to amend my post. I just looked and I take 1200 mg of Magnesium Glycinate a day.

The brand is KAL.

Nothing beats the AF friendly foods that are already rich in magnesium like spinach, other greens, and even halibut.
Unless you're trying to shoot well beyond the RDA, then just a few servings of select foods will get you there easily, and you don't have the absorption problems that pills create, it's simply not an issue at that point.
I was always a bit afraid of taking too high a dose of any mineral...

Be it magnesium oxide (supplements) or magnesium hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) apparently the body will use either for it's nutritional needs.
A quick google found the following nugget about magnesium hydroxide (MOM version, though not necessarily MOM in the study).
Magnesium may be beneficial for bladder problems in women, especially common disturbances in bladder control and the sense of “urgency.” A double-blind trial found that women who took 350 mg of magnesium hydroxide (providing 147 mg elemental magnesium) twice daily for four weeks, had better bladder control and fewer symptoms than women who took a placebo.12
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Ency/Index.cfm/Id/2879002
So if you're using MOM, you'd need to take that into account in adding up your daily magnesium intake totals.
My bottle of Mom says that 1200mg is the dose. Using the numbers above and a little math, I get 504 mgs of elemental magnesium from a single dose of MOM.
The US RDA is around 400mg, unless you are pregnant. Many argue this is too low, that the RDA should be raised.
But it is always safe to avoid continuous high doses of minerals...

Ok This may sound stupid, but can sompne explain MOM to me? It is a stool softner right? Not a laxative. Is it ok to take long term?

Thanks
Patty

It is an osmotic saline stool softener. The bottle will say it is a saline laxative but it is not a stimulant at all. It only softens the stool.

MOM is a miracle! it's freed me from a life of pain after over a year of struggling with this fissure. depending on how much of a dose i take each night, it makes my BMs liquidy to super soft every day. i never have any pain going to the bathroom, or at all afterward. i take between 1-2 tablespoons each night. (it's in the form of a liquid that you drink, followed by a glass of water.)
overall, MOM has been the ONLY thing (even moreso than surgery) that's helped me. i plan to use it for a LONG time, and everything i've read on the internet has suggested that long-term use of products like MOM and Miralax is okay. if yo'ure still having pain, you should try it!