I'm somewhat confused on the supplements. I've been having leg cramps and feeling extremely weak in the legs and sometimes arm. I have read through various posts that I need calcium, magnesium and potassium. Right now I am finishing up some calcium I had which when divided into 3 doses contains 563mg of calcium and 243mg of magnesium, the potassium I just bought is the 99mg one which says it contains magnesium but not how much. I also got a bottle of magnesium which is 400mg per tablet. I know I should take 4 of the potassium pills a day and tomorrow will be able to get new calcium at a higher dosage. I am not sure what to do with the magnesium. How much magnesium is too much? Do I need the extra 400mg of magnesium or am I getting enough from the calcium and potassium pills? How long does it take for you to start feeling better? I have been on the low carb diet for 2 months and felt great except for some leg cramps at night but yesterday my legs just went totally numb and I collapsed so I immediately began researching this as I had not been taking any vitamins or supplements. Any help or insights would be appreciated! Thank you.

Ouch Dedare, I feel for you. The numbness and the cramping is a definite sign of severe magnesium deficiency. The good news is once you start taking both calcium and magnesium you will feel better almost immediately.

Your dose of cal/mag is not enough, however. RDA for Calcium is between 1000-1500 mg, depending on your age and sex (women require more than men, the elderly require more as well). Calcium can be safely tolerated up to 2000mg, but you don't need that much.

The RDA for magnesium is 400-600, again it varies by age/sex. Often when cramping is severe a little more is a good idea. It's also a good idea to get the doseage of both combined in one pill as the two minerals work in tandem. Taking several pills throughout the day is also best, your body can only use so much at a time, so excess is wasted.

Potassium has no RDA, but while LCing it is agreed that 400mg is best.You can take pills or you can use a product like "NuSalt" or HalfSalt, and sprinkle it on your food in place of talbe salt - it's a potassium substitue. The only warning here being that potassium can interefere with blood pressure meds and some heart meds, so if you're on either see your doctor first. Always make sure you're well hydrated when taking potassium.

If you take one of your cal/mag pills before bed you'll notice a huge improvement in your sleep, along with a cesation of any night cramping - it really works well.

make sure your calcium is a citrate or a malate, you do not want calcium carbonate from oyster shells - it's a lot harder to absorb and doesn't do near as good a job as the others.

Hope you're feeling well soon!
-Nat