Discharge Instructions for Hypermagnesemia

Diet changes

You will need to limit all foods that have magnesium. These include:

• Dark green, leafy vegetables, including salad greens, spinach, collards, kale, and chard

• All nuts and nut products, including peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, peanut butter, and almond butter

• Seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin, and squash

• Beans, including black, lima, navy, kidney, white, garbanzo, and great northern

• Soy products, including tofu, soybeans, and soy milk

• Millet, including puffed millet cereal

• Brown rice, including brown rice cakes

• Avocado, including guacamole

• Dried apricots

• Bran cereals

• Oatmeal

• Chocolate and cocoa powder

• Milk (all types)

• Meal replacement bars and drinks

• Fish such as halibut and tuna

Other home care

• Don't take antacids or laxatives.

• Don't use enemas that have magnesium. Read the label before you use an enema.

• Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines and supplements you take. Some may increase magnesium levels.

• Take all medicines as directed.

• Don't drink alcohol. If you need help stopping, ask your provider about programs in your area.

• Take your pulse as often as advised. Tell your healthcare provider if your pulse rate is slower than 60 beats per minute, or as directed.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your healthcare provider, or as advised. Your healthcare provider will need to watch your condition closely. You may need extra care if you have a health condition that causes your hypermagnesemia.

Call 911

Call 911 right away if you have:

• Trouble breathing or shortness of breath 

• Chest pain

• Loss of consciousness or fainting 

When to call your healthcare provider

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:

• Weakness or fatigue

• Irregular or slow heartbeat

• Dizziness