Sorry to hear about your extremely low magnesium levels. After surgery, my potassium tanked and I had several infusions - the most painful infusions I've ever had. I hope the magnesium is not so bad.

One way I get magnesium is to take a calcium/magnesium supplement, similar to Tums, for the calcium and heartburn relief. I used to use Rolaids, but haven't been able to find the tablets for a while. Mylanta has magnesium, and I recently found a CVS brand. The nice thing is that the calcuium and magnesium balance each other -- calcium can be constipating, magnesium sometimes has a laxative effect.

Here's a good Web site for magnesium:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/magnesium/
It looks like almonds, cashews, and spinach are especially high.

I get foot/leg cramps when my potassium levels are low. I try to eat a banana every day to help with that. Yogurt helps as well.

Best of luck to you. It just doesn't seem fair that when we least want to eat, we have to pick foods for our blood. Oh well, if it works....

Thanks, good info. The Mag. isn't too bad it is just having to run for it. They are going to wait a week before next blood to check mag. I stopped at the store after my infusion and shot today and picked up two bags of spinach and two jars of nuts. Also found a total cereal w/almonds that had a good level of mag. I know what you mean about eating. Ughhhh today I'm not feeling like much of anything that's for sure. Thanks again, Barb

Hi Barb, I only had a magnesium infusion once. It was after the fourth infusion during my initial set of chemotherapy. I also developed C-Diff (a serious bacterial infection that causes diarrhea). I became terribly sick during the week after chemo and ended up in the hospital with my electrolytes messed up and blood counts low - plus I lost 7 pounds in a week. I got fluids, three units of red cells, then magnesium and finally potassium. (Yes, pootassium burned but they put a cool pack over my vein. It is amazing how much better I felt after all of this.

I always eat a lot of nuts. I don't take any extra calcium since my doctor doesn't want me to have any more bowel problems than I already have. Nuts are an excellent source of dense protein. I hope you levels rise soon. I would certainly pump your doctor's brain about what's going on with you! Best wishess, Janet

I had very low magnesium levels as well,a common side effect of carboplatin, my onccologist told me. I tried oral suppliments but that gave me diarrhea, eating magnesium enriched foods would not have been adequate enough to raise the level, so I had 3 infusions with the last 3 cycles of chemo which helped a lot. The disadvantage of this was it took an extra hour for my chemo and it stung a bit as it went through. It looks like your towards the end of your chemo so don,t worry your magnesium will be normal in no time. Keep us informed. Carol

Yeah the diahrrea is horrendous with all the mag supplements they want me to take so I guess that is why they have been doing the infusions. I am always the first one there in the morning on treatment day and seem to be the last, because of the extra bags of stuff I have to get. I can't take oral compazine because I had a reaction to that so they have to hang a bag of anti nausea meds. So that takes longer. Hopefully only one more carbo/taxol to go. Then a CAT. Not sure after that yet. Thanks for the comments ladies. I appreciate it.

I wanted to post this website in case anyone else becomes magnesium deficient due to Carbo or Cisplatin:

http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/MagneDerm-Transdermal-Magnesium-Gel-by-Designs-for-Health-DFH.html

A frriend dropped off a bottle of this for me a few days ago. It is worth a try because trying to keep the oral supplements in my body is not working out too great. I never new a magnesium gel existed. At least it isn't going through my intestinal tract at the speed of sound.