Milk of magnesia is a laxative taken to relieve occasional constipation and to help produce bowel movements. The active ingredient is magnesium hydroxide, a mineral that is essential for muscles, nerves and bones and helps regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and heart rhythm. While magnesium can protect the kidneys against disease, people with a kidney condition should avoid taking it in supplemental form. Too much increases your risk for toxicity.
Supplemental Magnesium
Magnesium is abundant in a variety of plant and animal foods, making magnesium deficiency in Americans not as common as elsewhere. If dietary intake is low, the kidneys are capable of storing the mineral and limiting magnesium excretion. The recommended daily allowance for magnesium supplements -- not dietary magnesium -- in healthy men is 400 to 420 mg and 310 to 320 mg for women. Taking too much supplemental magnesium can cause toxicity, putting you at risk of hypotension, fatigue, confusion, cardiac disturbances and deteriorated kidney function.
How It Works
Milk of magnesia is an antacid and a laxative. Its purpose is to reduce acids in the stomach and promote bowel movements. The name comes from the appearance of the medication and the active ingredient, magnesium. While milk of magnesia is sold over the counter, it should not be discounted as a potentially dangerous supplement. Taking magnesium every day could cause a buildup in your system and lead to magnesium toxicity. A person with a kidney disorder should use this type of supplement with caution since her kidneys are not capable of eliminating toxins properly, making the risk for toxicity even higher.
Kidney Disorder
A person with a pre-existing kidney disorder or disease is unable to tolerate excess amounts of magnesium and are susceptible to magnesium toxicity. Taking a supplement like milk of magnesia could overwhelm your kidneys and prevent them from eliminating excess magnesium. Signs of magnesium toxicity are changes in mental status, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, muscle weakness, breathing difficulties, very low blood pressure and heartbeat abnormalities.
Interactions
You should talk to your doctor about taking milk of magnesia if you are taking other medications. Magnesium supplements could reduce the absorption of certain antibiotics if taken too close together. To avoid this interaction, take magnesium supplements at least one to two hours before or two hours after taking a quinolone or tetracycline antibiotic. Milk of magnesia can also increase negative side effects of blood pressure medications and reduce the effectiveness of medications that treat an underactive thyroid.
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