300-500mg of Magnesium citrate to keep bowels moving OR NOT?

I know our bodies change with age. We don't exercise much. But take in consideration, we don't eat as much either. You know, what goes in comes out. This thing where Hospitals, especially, think patients need to go everyday is ridiculous. They had my Mom on laxatives and stool softeners. In her whole life, she never went everyday. As soon as she got home we stopped the softener and laxative. They didn't work. The only thing that worked on Mom was Milk of Magnesia. Her Dr. said if she didn't go by the 3rd day, give it to her. Actually, later on, our problem was the other way. Too soft. So, I cut out coffee and apple juice. It helped.

The problem with laxatives is the body tends to depend on them after a while.

She is not getting to much magnesium, that is why it is not producing a bm.

Increase the amount of magnesium until you get results.

My body uses a ton of magnesium, I take 1200mg daily and sometimes 1600mg if I get stove up.

Truthbetold - If your mom can't handle thin liquids (dysphagia) there are thickening products that can be added, I liked thickenup clear with xanthan gum - ask about what is available at your local pharmacy.

I would like to suggest something that worked for constipation, almost too well. Activia probiotic drink or yogurt. One a day is all that was needed. Another thing that worked well was Kefir, We have to stop using these things daily cause it has worked too well in our case.

If the person isn't eating a lot, they probably won't be going daily, no matter what.

This is a battle mom fought for years and believe me we tried EVERYTHING. First, going once every 3 or 4 days is still within the range of normal so as long as she isn't uncomfortable and the bm isn't hard as a rock don't panic. Some illnesses or medications can mess up the normal speed of the gut and bowel so things just take longer. Start with the easy, natural stuff like making sure she is getting enough fluids and her diet includes enough fiber (prunes and/or fiber supplements like psyllium). Talk to her doctor if she needs help on an ongoing basis. For us Miralax type laxatives (peg 3350) were a game changer, and they are safe for long term use.

This is a question for her doctor. Too much magnesium can be detrimental for her. Discuss alternate methods instead of mag citrate - fiber (Metamucil), hydration (48 oz daily), walking, and prune juice (4 oz heated up in microwave at bedtime).
My advice to my patients is if no bowel movement in 3 days call the MD for instructions. They have a fairly new med called Lynzess (sp?) that is effective too.

First, have you double checked with Mum’s doctor to ensure there are no possible contraindications for giving her Magnesium? It sometimes does not play nice with other meds.

How much water is Mum drinking? Does she get any exercise? Has her diet changed at all over the last few days? Does she have fecal breath? Does she have abdominal pain?

She may need a stool softener.

Have you tried giving her the larger dose again?