More Frankensteining my #fibromyalgia – Magnesium Oil

(Usual disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, I don’t play one on TV, and I’m not recommending anything I say here is a cure or even appropriate treatment for you or for any medical condition. Consult your medical professional, pharmacist, shaman, or what have you before you undergo any kind of treatment regimen. The information provided here is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any particular kind of ailment, curse, or other affliction, and is for educational and information purposes only. This is my opinion only, use at your own risk, I assume no responsibility for your use/misuse of the information presented here, and for the love of Ganesh don’t run with scissors, you maniac.)

I haven’t talked about my fibromyalgia in a while. I’m actually in a flare right now (ugh) due to a lot of stress and some other stuff going on.

But a friend told me about something she makes up to help with pain, and it’s helped another friend of hers a lot with pain, so I’m going to give it a shot. Magnesium oil isn’t really “oil” per say, but it’s “oily” when made. You can buy it pre-made or make it yourself from magnesium chloride bath flakes, and the recipe she gave me is super-easy to make and I’m going to give it a shot.

(Warning: We’re not talking straight “magnesium,” the extremely flammable element. So stop panicking, you fellow Mythbusters fans.)

I did have my doctor check my magnesium levels, and they were within normal ranges.

Which, as any of us with fibro knows means absolutely bupkis. You can be “normal” and something be out of whack. Just ask both my GP and my cardiologist, who, after running me through a full battery of tests, have NO idea why my heart is slightly out of whack and the meds they have me on for that work. They’ve basically said we don’t know, keep taking them. Which, in this case yes, I’m going to take them, because not taking them means palpitations, irregular and racing heartbeat, and episodes of syncope/near-syncope that basically took away my ability to drive a lot of the time for fear of one of those episodes hitting me.

Magnesium is one of those things that, just like potassium, if it’s out of whack, can cause a lot of different issues. I used to take a magnesium supplement but the company discontinued the one I was taking. I did swap to another one, which helps, but consider our old standby friend, Epsom salts.

Aka magnesium sulfate.

What do people recommend when you’re all achy and sore? Yep, crawl into a bath with Epsom salts.

So how is magnesium oil used? Externally. And you make it with magnesium chloride flakes, which apparently leave less of a residue behind.

This is the recipe page she linked me to, for starters, to make my own magnesium oil spray.

But she told me the following:

Now I like to do a half cup flakes, a quarter cup boiled distilled water…… and once it cools, add in a quarter cup helichrysum hydrosol.

The helichrysum hydrosol prevents the stinging effect one normally gets with mag oil IF there is a deficiency.

OH when I add my oils to it, I use it like any other carrier oil when it comes to dilution.

The stuff I’ve ordered to make this are products she recommended simply because they’re the ones she uses (yes, my Amazon affiliate links are included):

• Magnesium chloride flakes
• helichrysum hydrosol

My friend keeps what she makes in a glass bottle. You might want a glass spray bottle to keep this in for application purposes. (EXTERNAL USE ONLY. You spray it on you.)

I’m waiting for the helichrysum hydrosol to arrive. Once it does, I’m making myself a batch and I’ll let you know how it works for me.

You can buy magnesium oil already made, but if I can make it myself for a fraction of the cost and very little effort, I’m willing to do that. (Stand back, y’all. I’m about to do SCIENCE!)

Meanwhile, I’ve been using my Young Living Oils Idaho Balsam Fir since it came back into stock. It’s a component of the “morphine bomb capsule” recipe that I have personally found helpful. (NOTE: Be VERY careful what oils you use for internal use. Do NOT use cheap oils!) You can also try that blend topically, especially if you aren’t sure about the safety of the brand of oil you’re using for internal use. You can try diluting it with a carrier oil if you have sensitive skin. I have an external mixture I use in a roller ball bottle, substituting spruce for the fir, and including other oils such as lavender, wintergreen (an analgesic), rosemary, clove, and black pepper.

Research, research, research! Don’t just look at one informational page. And don’t take fantastic claims at face value. You DO need to be careful with essential oils, even the quality ones. Just because they’re “natural” doesn’t mean they’re “effect-free” or automatically “safe.” You still need to be careful and RESEARCH.

For me, “Frankensteining” my fibromyalgia and managing my pain without simply falling back on commercial “pain medications” that bring me more bad side effects than good results means a multi-pronged approach. (Codeine-based medicines are not an option for me.) I use a couple of mild prescription drugs, supplements, essential oils, a TENS unit, and other things all together to help me function. After what I went through on Cymbalta, I refuse to go through that again. (Again, it might work great for some people, but not so much for me.) Not to mention, with my body, if I resort to stronger meds now, they might not be effective on me in 15-20 years when I REALLY am struggling with pain issues.

Something else that I LOVE is YLO’s Stress Away blend. I frequently diffuse it in my office, at bedtime, and in a small USB diffuser in my car when I have to drive.

(Yes, I’m an YLO rep but I don’t “sell” it. If you sign up under me, great, if you don’t, great, but you do get benefits and better pricing if you sign up. I used these oils for YEARS before I signed up, and if you know me, you know I don’t pimp stuff just because.) If you already use essential oils–or want to–and have questions, feel free to contact me, and I can hook you up with people who can answer your questions.

Fibromyalgia is a very complex diagnosis that is far from a one-size-fits-all approach. Things that work great for me might not only be ineffective for someone else, but might even be harmful. This is why I encourage you to find what works for YOU and don’t be afraid to try non-traditional approaches. It’s extremely important to have a GP who supports you and your path and doesn’t just try to medicate you without bothering to explore all options. Some people might need diet modifications, or certain exercise regimens, or whatever works for THEM.

The reason I share what I learn here is so that it hopefully will start people in a similar situation as I am thinking in new directions about their diagnosis, creatively seeking options that first do no harm, but also might give them relief of at least some of their symptoms, or at the very least a reduction in the severity.

You are your own best advocate for your care. Do not simply trust what a health care professional tells you. Research, research, research, and don’t forget to talk to your pharmacist, too. They are valuable fonts of information, sometimes even more so than your physician in some cases, because they need to be aware of how herbal supplements interact with medications. So it’s not uncommon for them to have better and more complete and recent knowledge regarding interactions.

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