NOW Supplements, Magnesium Citrate, Enzyme Function*, Nervous System Support*, 240 Veg Capsules

Chronic Constipation

I am a health professional but I am not a doctor. Nothing that follows should be taken as medical advice. 30-something female, average weight. I've dealt with chronic severe constipation all my life. You name it, I've tried it. Diet modicifaction, loads of water, exercise, yoga, flax, stool softeners, fiber supplements. I was very close to giving up and visiting a gastroenterologist because I was sure there had to be SOMETHING wrong with my GI system. Well, I did some research, gave this product a try and within 3 days it has changed my life. I poop like a "normal" person now. The only side effect I've expericned has been slightly lowered pulse and bloodpressure....A good thing since both had started to creep up recently due to stress/anxiety. Be careful to start out SLOW! Nobody likes diarrhea. Start with just one cap per day for a couple days and see what it does

212 persons found it helpful

Contains Silicon Dioxide!

I specifically bought this brand and supplement because the packaging in the Amazon listing does not include silicon dioxide. Remind me again why we need silicon dioxide? Oh, that's right... WE DON'T. For someone who has chemical sensitivities, this is extremely important to know. Like a fool, I assumed that what I received today was the same product I ordered. Nope. I took one capsule and within 10 minutes had a splitting headache. I looked at the bottle and saw that it contains this additive. It's an anti-caking agent and whitener. Why do I care if it's white rather than the natural color of pure ingredients? And why do I need anti-caking if my stomach acids are going to break it down anyway? Exactly. I DON'T. I'm so annoyed. So not only did the price go up and the amount of mg per capsule went down, so now you have to take 3 capsules instead of 2 to get the same 400 mg (which is what I used to purchase), but now I also get the added "bonus" of silicon dioxide. I usually love Now brand vitamins and respect the company's values, but this one is just a NO. Thankfully Amazon refunded the purchase

185 persons found it helpful

Approved for Potency

I have mixed feelings about this supplement. I have migraine and hashimoto disease. Because of this, my doctor suggested I take a combination of additional supplements to support my thyroid and to provide migraine prevention and Magnesium Citrate was one of them. With so many vitamin companies out there, it is difficult to tell which products are authentic so I purchased a subscription to a lab company that tests product ingredients, potency claims and heavy metals. I trust this lab because they do not accept advertising. This product was approved for all it claimed (see pic) so I chose to purchase this. Unfortunately, like many people, I didn't notice I needed 3 capsules to equal the recommended 400 MG daily. However, when I looked around at other approved supplements, most do not contain the "citrate" version of magnesium that my doctor specifically recommended and if they do contain citrate, they are either not approved by the lab or they also require multiple capsules to get the dose. The best alternative I could find was a 2 capsule requirement for the dose and it was less expensive per dose. It's too late to return this Now product so I will finish it and reconsider my options. In the meantime, this product is clearly working for me. I take at night and my morning constitutionals have become more regular, which has been a great side effect. Update: I didn't want to take three capsules per day so I switched to another brand so I could reduce to two daily. Unfortunately, the other brand's tablets were enormous. They were easily the largest supplement tablet I've ever taken. They looked like I was taking a 1/2 stick of chalk. So I decided to switch back to these so I don't worry about putting my life in danger just by the act of swallowing the pill. Turns out the grass was not greener

141 persons found it helpful

changed my life

As for everyone who is complaining that 500 mg is 3 pills..read the labels before you buy..a lot of pills work this way. The 3 pills works for me because i take a pill morning, noon, and night instead of 500 mg at once. I have suffered from daily migraines since puberty that has severely affected my life. I've tried many preventatives, acupuncture, cranial sacral, and many more. Nothing works. I settled into a life of taking zomig a few times a week. I have even taken magnesium with calcium and a drink form. I'm glad I gave it another try with these pills. I did read that mag with calcium affects its absorption. I take 3 of these a day and I hardly get any more headaches. Maybe one a week if I have alcohol. I have also tried cutting chocolate and nuts out of my diet. Migraines are all about your threshold, if it is high than it can be triggered a lot more easily. I would say these definitely work to make you less susceptible. And I sleep so much better. I used to panic if I didn't have a migraine pill on me..now I panic when i'm running low on these

125 persons found it helpful

Good Quality, Good Price

This is a great, standard magnesium supplement, affordable and effective, which I take mainly for anxiety and sleep and general relaxation. I find the citrate form much more effective than the often-touted mag glycinate, which for many--myself included--actually increases anxiety, as glycine has the potential to increase either GABA (relaxing) or glutamate (excitatory). Unlike many manufacturers who cut their various magnesium forms with the awful mag oxide, NOW does not, except on products clearly stated to contain it. I'm mainly writing this review to counter the numerous 1-star reviews complaining that you have to take 3 capsules for the 400mg. "I thought it was one pill, I wish it was one pill," etc. etc. If you were to take the full 400mg at once, many would soon be sprinting for the bathroom for a fairly unpleasant experience. Magnesium isn't meant to be taken all at once, but throughout the day. These capsules are perfect for that, so that a single capsule does not produce the kind of laxative effects that high-dose mag citrate is used for. Every time I see these reviews for various supplements complaining about the "deceptive" "per serving" description I feel annoyed: the first thing anyone should be doing before purchasing a supplement is reading the back label, where all of this is clearly delineated. Seems basic enough to me. As I said, many supplements are not meant to be taken in a single large dose, particularly magnesium. And while supplements are not drugs, they're not necessarily benign either, especially at high doses

56 persons found it helpful

What's all the gripe about?

I see all the complaints about how you need to take 3 to get the 500 mg. I don't care at all! I prefer to take it 3 separate times through out the day, as 500 all at once is too much for my body and wipes me out. I take one in the morning with breakfast, put the other 2 in my pocket and take the other two later; one at lunch, one before bed. That way I am getting a slow and steady release of magnesium into my body. If you google info on magnesium, you will find the benefits of taking lower amounts more frequently. This is perfect. Thank you, NOW. I have no more leg cramps, muscle spasms and I sleep better. I like the capsules as they are and I can't figure out why people are saying they are HUGE, they are not huge at all

37 persons found it helpful

Works

Had cancer surgery and needed something to grease the intestinal wheels as it were. The liquid version of this is very effective but has a hideous taste. Like drinking acid with lemon juice. It works without the urgency of the liquid but has given a surprising boost to my mental and physical alertness. I don't know why but I've made no other changes to my diet. Perhaps when one gets older unexpected things like magnesium deficiencies sneak up on you. Who knows. But it does fulfill it's primary mission of kick starting the gut

36 persons found it helpful

A little education about the possible biochemical mechanism behind Magnesium citrate

I have TMJ and grind my teeth nightly. Before using this, I was waking up with daily morning headaches. I had previously tried all kinds of OTC as well as prescription pain meds, along with wearing a nightguard for sleep, and nothing except this supplement has made such a great impact. For the skeptics, the theory behind why this is beneficial is fairly simple, Na is the dominant cation which leads to depolarization (aka activation) of neuronal signaling. Depolarizing of the cell will lead to muscle contraction, in my case, the temporalis muscle. Ca and Mg both are competitive inhibitors of Na. So, when you take this Mg supplement, you are flooding yourself with Mg in an effort to decrease the number of muscle contractions you would otherwise have. For someone with TMJ or bruxism, their body is more use to nighttime grinding. This is anecdotal, but I can tell you that I do not sleep without first taking my Mg pills nightly. And, since I have started taking these, the frequency of my morning headaches has significantly decreased. One caution though:, These will give you looser stools. And, I take 1 pill every night before bed. The bottle recommends taking this three times a day, which in my case is unnecessary. So, for my purposes, 1 bottle lasts me 90 days. If anyone has any questions about this, feel free to comment :-

33 persons found it helpful

I found my answer to IBS-C!

I have suffered from chronic constipation for about 15 years now-I am 46. I did a lot of research and tried different things (yogurt, probiotics, fiber supplements) and was bound and determined to figure it out for myself. I am not a run to the doctor type of person. After reading about magnesium citrate I decided to give these supplements a go. And let me tell you, my constipation is a thing of the past. I started with 3 a day but when that seemed too much (going twice a day, watery stool), I lowered my dose to 1 q am and 1 q pm. This is the magic formula for me. And if I do feel a little backed up I can always add the afternoon dose. I do not eat a lot of magnesium-rich foods so no doubt I was pretty depleted. I am sleeping better and my mood has improved as well. Look, if you have IBS-C you have nothing to lose by giving these a try-just check the interaction list of meds to make sure this is okay with your other medications

32 persons found it helpful

Magnesium Citrate, 400 Milligram

I purchased the Magnesium Citrate, 400 Milligram for the issue I was having with feet/leg cramps that would literally wake me up and keep me up no matter what I tried. I have been taking the mag. citrate now for about 3 months. It took about two weeks for the mag. citrate to get into my system fully; once it did, I have not had any real cramp issue

25 persons found it helpful