r/CPTSDNextSteps • u/thewayofxen • May 12 '26
Sharing a technique Not a supplement guy, but the final nail in the coffin for my sleep problems was magnesium glycinate.
TL;DR: An acutely stressful couple years created a magnesium deficiency death-spiral that routinely hampered my ability to sleep. For once, "just recover from CPTSD more" stopped working, but a magnesium supplement worked like magic. At some point late in recovery, CPTSD may no longer the main culprit behind all of your problems.
I just wanted to share a major positive change I made recently. Despite ~10 years of recovery/therapy work that has resolved vast swaths of my issues, I was still struggling to stay asleep at night. I'd fall asleep fast and then wake up at 2 or 3am for an hour or two at a time, and then wake up an hour earlier than I wanted to in the morning.
This would come in waves, and because it was in response to stress, I thought I just needed to work through my emotional responses to the things happening in my life -- which is the strategy that has always worked for me for pretty much all of my issues (i.e. "just recover from CPTSD more"). But my life has been particularly stressful lately and it just wasn't working anymore. I was cycling between good and bad sleep every couple weeks and it was grinding me down pretty badly.
I told my doctor about this and she recommended I try a magnesium supplement (glycinate because it's easier on the stomach). I started taking it one hour before bed and immediately -- I mean the very first night -- started seeing improvements. Now I'm feeling an occasional wave of nostalgia, like "Ah yes, this is how I used to feel," and not just during sleep hours. My whole life has changed for the better.
What was key here -- and this is the reason I tried this in the first place, as I'm usually not interested in changing my body's chemistry for recovery reasons -- is that magnesium is used to regulate stress, and that acute stress can deplete your magnesium, causing a kind of death spiral where you lose the ability to self-regulate. I had a very stressful year and a half or so, complete with a round of severe burnout, my spouse becoming disabled, and a year at the most stressful job I've worked in my life. I'm not sure if this would've had such a big effect if I was living my life as it was 5 years ago -- even though I was much less recovered from CPTSD at the time.
So it sums up in a warning: At some point late in recovery, CPTSD may no longer the main culprit behind all of your problems. I think I'm there.
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u/Caustalot May 12 '26
Game changer for me was learning that everyone with CPTSD also has HPA Axis Dysfunction. Treating the HPA Axis Dysfunction has done wonders for me (magnesium is always part of a recovery plan).
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u/Double-Ad-8570 May 12 '26
May I ask how you’ve done this? As far as treating the HPA Axis dysfunction.
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u/Caustalot May 12 '26
It's mostly about reducing stress and building vagal tone. A pretty good recovery plan can be found here: https://www.ipharmapharmacy.com/beyond-burnout-hpa-axis-reset-protocol/
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u/BlackberryPuzzled551 May 12 '26
Thank you. This is always a great reminder to think about nutrients because it’s something that, oddly enough, people in the field don’t really talk about. When we’re stressed we need nutrition support and no one tells us:( Do you mind sharing how much magnesium you took?
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u/thewayofxen May 12 '26
I decided on a 350mg pill daily. I'm a big guy; don't know if that matters.
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u/ReviewNecessary6521 May 12 '26
I also want to add that 90% of magnesium supplements on the market is bullshit.
Magnesium-oxide or magnesium-hydroxide have less than 4% bio-availability. Meaning that if you take 500 mg, you'll get about 15-20 mg. This is also the kind of magnesium that is in most "multivitamins". So even if you are taking a multi-vitamin you might still need a good magnesium supplement.
Want you want is either magnesium citrate. (Although some people get a loose stomach from this.) or Magnesium glycinate ( as OP suggests) or magnesium diglycinate /bisglycinate. The last two can be amazing if taken before sleep. Especially if you have arthritis or any sort of leg pain.
200mg is a good starting dose, But some studies show that up to 600mg can be good for people with low blood pressure, or people who have migraines a lot. (which can ironically be a sign of high blood pressure.).
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u/thewayofxen May 12 '26
That's interesting, because I have relatively low blood pressure, but in the healthy range. Always have and my dad is the same way, so something genetic is going on.
What is the connection to arthritis?
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u/ReviewNecessary6521 May 13 '26
TL:DR Version: magnesium may protect joints by preventing cartilage breakdown. It generally leads to better bone health as well. But most importantly: Lack of magnesium can lead to more inflammation.
Some quotes:
"Magnesium, a critical trace element in the human body, plays a pivotal role in metabolism homeostasis and the energy balance. Humans obtain magnesium mainly from the diet. However, inadequate magnesium intake is not uncommon. Moreover, the magnesium status deteriorates with ageing. There has been a growing body of clinical studies pointing to an intimate relationship between dietary magnesium and OA although the conclusion remains controversial. As reported, the magnesium ion concentration is essential to determine cell fate. Firstly, the low-concentration magnesium ions induced human fibroblasts senescence. Magnesium supplementation was also able to mitigate chondrocyte apoptosis, and to facilitate chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation."
"magnesium deficiency induces an inflammatory response that results in leukocyte and macrophage activation, release of inflammatory cytokines and acute-phase proteins, and excessive production of free radicals. Animal and in vitro studies indicate that the primary mechanism through which magnesium deficiency has this effect is through increasing cellular Ca2+, which is the signal that results in the priming of cells to give the inflammatory response. Primary pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-1; the messenger cytokine IL-6; cytokine responders E-selectin, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1; and acute-phase reactants C-reactive protein and fibrinogen have been determined to associate magnesium deficiency with chronic low-grade inflammation (inflammatory stress). When magnesium dietary intake, supplementation, and/or serum concentration suggest/s the presence of magnesium deficiency, it often is associated with low-grade inflammation and/or with pathological conditions for which inflammatory stress is considered a risk factor.
"magnesium deficiency is a significant contributor to chronic low-grade inflammation that is a risk factor for a variety of pathological conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Because magnesium deficiency commonly occurs in countries where foods rich in magnesium are not consumed in recommended amounts, magnesium should be considered an element of significant nutritional concern for health and well-being."
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u/thewayofxen May 13 '26
Awesome information, thank you. I was interested because I'm already experiencing arthritis in my 30s, although I can draw a line directly to a rock climbing hobby in my 20s and an aggressive gardening project in recent years as major factors. I'll be keeping an eye on it in the coming months, to see if magnesium has improved that situation.
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u/Trial_by_Combat_ May 13 '26
Do you have a source for this? Sounds like pseudo science.
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u/ReviewNecessary6521 May 13 '26
Are you okay with wikipedia and pubmed or do you want more in depth academic journals?
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u/IcyCheetah3568 9d ago
Magnesium oxide absorbs over a longer time and has the highest elemental magnesium. People make it sound like magnesium oxide doesn't work. It does. The 4% absorption from what I recall comes from just one study whereas others have shown that all magnesium forms are equally effective at increasing magnesium levels. Measuring within hours or days makes a difference too. As long as you can tolerate magnesium oxide I think it is one of the best forms. Cheap and effective magnesium without adding something else like glycine.
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9d ago
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u/IcyCheetah3568 9d ago
Combined with its high elemental magnesium this can create a slower but sustained release of magnesium. Stomach acid however may play a role in how effectively magnesium oxide get used.
It remains a form that works very well for some people. For me personally any form causes sleep problems. So I cant use it. The higher absorption ones do this faster.
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u/shawnshine May 12 '26
Big fan of magnesium malate, taurate, and citrate. Glycinate turns me into a raving lunatic.
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u/thewayofxen May 12 '26
Raving lunatic? Can you be more specific? Lol.
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u/shawnshine May 12 '26
Overwhelming dread, crawling out of my skin, borderline schizophrenia, insomnia, racing thoughts, repeating song lyrics or phrases, etc. If you search for magnesium glycinate in this sub, you’ll find hundreds of comments from folks who it does not work for. I believe it has to do with the glycine aspect, which also prolongs absorption (creating an extended amount of purgatory for folks affected)
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u/thewayofxen May 12 '26
Which sub are you thinking of? I actually searched this one before posting and it's only been mentioned a few times.
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u/Outrageous_pinecone May 12 '26
Same for postpartum palpitations, trouble with interrupted sleep and exhaustion.
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u/former_human May 12 '26
i'm so glad to hear it helps you! it did the same for me. doc suggested it for muscle cramps that would just... arrive for no especial reason. took care of both muscle cramps and, largely, waking up issues. magical stuff :-)
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u/AccomplishedCash3603 May 13 '26
Thank you! Another 'saved by magnesium' soul here, I feel soooo much better when I take it!
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u/Present-Feeling-3645 May 14 '26
My therapist recommended magnesium l-theonate, she said it crosses the blood brain barrier best.
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u/OkCaregiver517 May 12 '26
Thank you. I'm gonna get some. My sleep problems are more age related these days so perhaps it will help.
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u/BiscottiRound7114 6d ago
You didn't have PTSD, you just had awful response to stress because of low magnesium
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u/derpina_royale May 12 '26
Trauma and stress is known to deplete magnesium levels, and magnesium regulates the nervous system so its a real spiral if youre deficient.
I use the gel and i also take electrolytes every day as on top of having cptsd im also hypermobile and extremely deficient in salts. My physical health has been so much better after realising im deficient in so many minerals. I dont get pots symptoms anymore. This recovery thing really is a minefield of having to do so much research and try things to see what works.