Talk:Hypomagnesemia

message: I changed the definition of hypomagnesemia back again to low blood levels rather than total body magnesium. The word hypomagnesemia literally means low blood levels of magnesium. This can be indicative of total body magnesium depletion, but that doesn't change the definition. At least three medical dictionaries I consulted seem to agree on this definition. Also, most symptoms (neuromuscular and cardiovascular) are caused by a decreased level of magnesium in the blood, not a decreased amount of magnesium in the whole body. --WS 13:39, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Technically you are correct, the word refers to bloodlevels. Yet practically magnesium bloodlevels are not related to symptoms (neurological effects are not the primary symptoms), nor even a lack of magnesium (deficiency). Please read the article as to why. Since hypomagnesemia is usually symptomatic as result of total body levels, I would prefer that to be included in the definition.--Nomen Nescio 15:13, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Even if the symptoms are not directly related, that doesn't change the definition. Of course things can be explained later on, but you can't just change the definition of a word because you don't like it. (If you really want another definition, start the article total body magnesium depletion or something similar) --WS 15:37, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  Or probably better: Magnesium deficiency (medicine) (ICD10 code: E61.2). --WS 16:21, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree with WS, and I've created a stub article at the subject he's suggested. But I do think that in the articles we should acknowledge that in many contexts the terms are used interchangably, even if there is a subtle distinction between them. --Arcadian 18:10, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree we should adhere to the literal meaning. However, in the new stub it is suggested hypomagnesemia is lack of magnesium. My point is just that this is wrong. Hypomagnesemia can be present without magnesium deficiency and vice versa. Therefore they are not the same. Hypomagnesemia has no clinical significance, for practical reasons we use bloodlevels, but this is inherently subject to incorrect interpretation (see article). This should also be reflected by the new article. --Nomen Nescio 19:10, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Would you mind fleshing Magnesium deficiency (medicine) out a bit to reflect that? --Arcadian 19:34, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Definition of hypomagnesemia

message: The article states, "Lack of magnesium inhibits the release of parathyroid hormone, which can result in hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia. Furthermore, IT makes skeletal and muscle receptors less sensitive to parathyroid hormone." [allcaps added for emphasis]
Questions:
1. Does "it" mean "magnesium" or "lack of magnesium?"
2. If "it" means "magnesium," then this implies opposing effects of low magnesium.  What is the net effect: increased PTH activity (reduced PTH level, but an outweighing increase in PTH sensitivity) or reduced PTH activity (an increase in PTH sensitivity, but an outweighing reduction PTH level)?
An answer to these questions that includes reference to an online medical research or review article would be appreciated.
Leeirons (talk) 18:13, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Hypomagnesaemia inhibits PTH release and causes resistance to what PTH there is. Review article: http://jasn.asnjournals.org/content/20/11/2291.full Arripay (talk) 21:04, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Apologies, have just seen that this has already been addressed in the article. Arripay (talk) 21:40, 22 October 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Need Clarification on the Effect of Hypomagnesemia on PTH 

message: Following a few instances of "skipped heartbeats" in a brief period 20 years ago (after receiving no diagnosis of trouble nor suggestion for improvement from a physician) I hit upon the remedy of taking magnesium from a Usenet enthusiast, which I've done in the form of Epsom salt in well under the recommended laxative dose - at first after skipped beats, but eventually in response to the sensation of weariness in the heart or other muscles to prevent the skipped beats from happening.  Mind, I never had the problem much and have gone a long time without having one at all now, but since the body's response to one is a massive injection of adrenaline they tend to stand out.  I haven't found much documentation for or against a few things I've noticed.
* Does ham or other processed meat reduce serum magnesium?  I eventually tracked down that the "skipped beats" seemed to follow consuming large amounts of preserved meat almost exclusively, but not other salty food.  It's gotten to the point that if I dig deep into a holiday ham I take the Epsom salt as an "antidote" right afterward.  On the other hand, healthy eating with lots of fruits and vegetables seems to prevent the need for this.
* Can serum magnesium be determined by taste?  I haven't been doing lab tests, but I've noticed that sometimes when I think I'm in need of it, Epsom salt can taste literally as sweet as sugar, while at other times it can be intensely bitter.
* Do skipped heartbeats reflect fatigue?  As mentioned above, I feel as if that is the case - that the heart can "stumble" like a tired runner to cause a missed beat.
* What does a normal missed beat look like on an EKG?  Is it like one lone torsades de pointes in the middle of a normal pattern, or a flat line, or a single peak with reduced intensity?
* An underlying reason for my interest is that I tend to think that cardiovascular disease, being very common in the population, should not come unannounced - that rare and "normal" abnormalities like a skipped beat could be harbingers of future problems.  Is there any sense to that way of thinking? 70.15.116.59 (talk) 21:27, 9 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Some questions about when your heart "skips a beat" 

message: it should probably be clarified that hypomagnesemia from diuretic use is from loop diuretics.  magnesium is not resorbed in the collecting tubule, for instance, so K-sparing diuretics should not cause hypomagnesemia...  71.234.109.192 (talk) 00:55, 13 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  diuretics 

message: "Hypomagnesemia results in increased efflux of intracellular Mg" should be changed as "Hypomagnesemia results in increased efflux of intracellular K". So i changed it.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sinharaja2002 (talk • contribs) 12:58, 15 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: correction

message: In cows, there are two types of hypomagnesemia - why does this article focus entirely on humans? Maybe an expert in veterinary medicine could help here. I know it colloquially as 'the staggers' and know it has relevance to BSE, as it was firstly misdiagnosed before 1986.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.105.61.252 (talk) 02:15, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Staggers

message: I would like to add the following discussion at an appropriate point:
 
"Hypomagnesemia is a potentially life threatening problem if not handled promptly and properly. The patient will exhibit tremors and tetany at the beginning but this may not be visible if they are bedridden and only receiving casual monitoring. As the deficiency becomes more severe, they will appear to fall into a coma and become unresponsive. Very soon after this, the heart will lose power in the left ventricle. This will cause a pressure difference across the lungs. Fluid will burst into the lungs and the patient will not be able to breath. The damage from this is irreversible and death will follow shortly after. The cause of death for these patients is almost always listed as heart failure. But a closer review of the patient's history would reveal that this is not the root cause - the root cause is hypomagnesemia."
Does this addition need to be approved by someone or do I just put it in ? Bluesky2013 (talk) 00:10, 3 October 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Do you have a reliable source for this information?  Read WP:Verifiability,  WP:Identifying reliable sources and WP:MEDRS. The second part is nlikely to be acceptable, because Wikipedia does not give medical advice. JohnCD (talk) 19:08, 16 October 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm rather skeptical. The first part claims, for example, that there's a comparatively vast number of misdiagnosed deaths due to hypomagnesemia - that would likely require some very carefully designed, large-scale studies to detect, or it's pure  original research and guesswork. The second part is worse and in the end turns into a how-to guide. Huon (talk) 21:00, 16 October 2013 (UTC)

text: The problem is that you are presenting something new by pulling together material from existing articles, from textbooks and from your own experience; but that falls under Wikipedia's definition of original research, specifically the section WP:SYNTH: "Do not combine material from multiple sources to reach or imply a conclusion not explicitly stated by any of the sources." JohnCD (talk) 13:47, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Addition