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Article: Overuse of antacids, laxatives threatens magnesium overload.
- Article from:
- Environmental Nutrition
- Article date:
- December 1, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Environmental Nutrition, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Imagine a woman paralyzed, in a coma and on life support, with doctors indicating a poor prognosis for recovery and her family about to give up all hope. Then a routine blood workup shows what no one had suspected--extremely high levels of magnesium. After receiving proper treatment, she's back on her feet in less than a week.
This strange, but very real case involved a 69-year-old woman hospitalized after downing two bottles of magnesium-containing antacids a day for several months. Because the symptoms of her worsening magnesium poisoning included nausea and constipation, she kept taking more, making matters worse. Still, she was lucky.
Since 1968, 14 people ...