Taking them daily cannot hurt, nor can consuming natural foods high in this mineral. I've been taking magnesium for a while now along with potassium. I believe they both help.

An adult body contains approximately 25 g magnesium, with 50% to 60% present in the bones and most of the rest in soft tissues [4]. Less than 1% of total magnesium is in blood serum. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/

For me, it depends on the day and how Im feeling, but I try to get at least 400mg on a good day/night and as much as 1200mg on a bad day. Of course theres a few other supps I take along with that.

I've been reading up on this a bit and have decided to try a magnesium supplement for a while to see how it goes. I've had my blood tested, and serum Mg levels were normal, but then it seems that serum levels alone don't tell the whole story. Like Hwkmn said, only about 4% of your total Mg is present in blood serum, so you can have a real deficiency and your blood work won't show it. Doctors tend to dismiss you when you talk about electrolyte deficiencies, as Big Pharma can't make any money selling you a prescription for Magnesium.

From the reading I've been doing, numerous studies have been done with more accurate testing that shows up to 80% of participants in those studies had Mg deficiency. Basically my takeaway from it is that it's difficult to get the recommended amount of Mg from diet alone, even if you're eating all the right foods.

I'm going to start with 100mg/day of chelated Mg (supposedly one of the most bioavailable forms) and dose up at regular intervals until I get to 400mg (which is the approx. recommended amount for an adult).

I've been taking 400mg of Mg Glycinate and potassium daily for about 2 years. My AF episodes have been greatly reduced and my nighttime palpitations almost eliminated.

What kind of magnesium do you all take? I was looking at that article that Hwkmn posted and there are many types that seem beneficial in one way or another. From your experiences, what works best for Afib?

I know that magnesium can help a lot of things and that most of us are deficient. I started taking Slow-Mag 5 or so years ago, which, in combination with vitamins, bio-identical hormones, and D-Ribose, helped cure my fibromyalgia I had had for 17 yrs! I took 2 am and 2 pm. I get it at CVS. I don't know what's best for a-fib though, but thought I'd put this out there since I know it worked for something else. If I don't take it, and don't eat bananas, I get restless legs too.

Oh, also I was having cramping in my calves and my magnesium levels were normal. My doc at the time said it wouldn't hurt to try some supplements. Three days after starting them, the cramps were gone. (With Slow-mag)

I always had cramping and Natural Calm actually worked.

I've heard lots of great things about Natural Calm for years. Tried it, but it seemed to make me too relaxed. My muscles felt kind of limp. I only took a very small about compared to what it said to take. I've heard that works for FM also. Guess I'm just sensitive to it with out the added calcium.

Ive taken between 600 and 900mg of magnesium since 2010. Although it hasnt helped my a-fib (which Ive only had since 2013) it has slowed my heart rate down a bit (nothing drastic) and done wonders for my digestive system.

The first time I had an a-fib attack (it was 1am and I was in the mountains and couldnt get to a doctor or hospital; total panic) the only thing I could think of to do was to take some extra magnesium (I believe I took something like 600mg at once) it calmed me down enough to be able to sleep. Boy, was I glad to wake up the next morning. I truly thought that was going to be my final night! I was glad I had the magnesium with me.

Take care,
atp

IMO, just as we dont sit down to a meal of one food, its not any one supplement that will benefit us. Mag works well with Potassium, Coq10 and B12. Hawthorne is a great rate control supplement. And then of course there is how we get these into our system, the right foods being the best vehicle by far. Thats why theyre called supplements, not sustenance.

I'd like to investigate potassium some time in the future, but need to do more reading about it, and possibly get some more blood tests to see where I'm at.

If you've already got enough Mg, the body has a mechanism for getting rid of any excess you ingest without too much potential for serious harm, but potassium can be much more dangerous if you have an excess.

boyinthebush, to answer one of your questions: from the reading I've done, it seems like magnesium glycinate (or chelated magnesium) is one of the most absorbable, bioavailable forms. Magnesium oxide (which is what almost all the supplements in the grocery store contain) is pretty much useless, as you'll only be able to ingest about 10mg from a 400mg dose.

I've just started using Mg in the last week or so. My resting heart rate had suddenly jumped from the low to mid 40s to the high 50s and low 60s. After starting it, my resting heart rate is coming back down into the mid 40s again. I also cramp very easily. I haven't noticed much difference there yet but I understand it takes time to really make a difference.

I'm not really surprised if I'm deficient in some minerals as I drink a lot of fluid. When I'm doing an endurance event I can drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes or so and still end up slightly dehydrated. I've focused on salt and potassium during the events but it appears that I need to focus on some others before and after to maintain a good balance.