other things to consider:
• Have they measured RBC magnesium, potassium, sodium by any chance? 
• Do you have an MCV value you can share on a blood test? Anything above 89 can indicate a possible need for B12/B9 which can lead to neuropathy as well. Of course, there may be other reasons, but these nutrients are usually the most obvious ones that can contribute to spasms and neuropathy.
• Were your blood sugar levels checked? Fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1C? Higher blood sugar can lead to oxidative stress that can injure nerves/tissues and lead to neuropathy.
• Mercury toxicity can have neurological effects as well. Any amalgam fillings? Or regular intake of tuna? 

Regarding the MRI – will it be with or without contrast?

would you mind sharing the results with reference ranges for blood sugar and B12 pls. Functional interpretation differs greatly from conventional ranges looking to diagnose disease.

have you seen an osteopath who can look at both muscles and your skeletal alignment? Might be a good idea if you suspect a structural issue.

Hey ,

Do you know what your doctor wanted to rule out? I guess it all comes down to a risk assessment: do you think the MRI is worth the information it will give you? 

If your doctor wanted to rule out a pinged nerve, I would just wait a while. Lots of times a pinged nerve goes away after 4 to 6 weeks. In that time you can evaluate how other lifestyle factors are affecting your muscle spasm as well. Sleep, stress, caffeine and a lack of water can all cause contribute to the cause.

Since your complaints did get better with magnesium you could try to optimize your personal dosage. I personally see that many of my clients benefit from somewhere between 300 to 1000 mg of elemental magnesium per day. 

A lot of personal needs depend on factors you are probably familiar with. We need more magnesium in times we are
• sleeping less
• sweating more during the day
• experiencing more stress
• drink more coffee or caffeïne
• consuming more processed and refined foods
• consuming more protein

Being with B Better gives you the perk we can evaluate your labs with a functional interpretation. Just like Bernadette, I am curious about your labs as well!

 Magnesium usually comes attached with an extra bonus molecule. It is the bonus molecule that makes the difference.

• Magnesium glycinate – is magnesium attached to the amino acid glycine and therefore you get some benefits from glycine. Usually, I advise the glycinate form with spasms because glycine is calming. It can also help with muscle tightness and headaches
• Magnesium malate – Here the bonus molecule is malate which is very well absorbable as well without causing GI discomfort. Again I would advise malate with spasms, muscle tightness and headaches as well. Some research shows that magnesium malate helps with fibromyalgia complaints.
• Magnesium L-threonate – The L-threonate helps the magnesium to pass the blood-brain barrier. Therefore it can help better with anxiety – although personally, I have some good results with magnesium glycinate as well.
• Magnesium taurate – Here the bonus comes from the taurate molecule. Magnesium taurate has been shown efficient in patients with arrhythmias. Just like glycine, taurine can be used as a calming neurotransmitter and it helps support nerve growth.
• Magnesium aspartate – Aspartate and malate can form the aspartate-malate shuttle which plays an important role in transporting electrons in glycolysis.
• Magnesium citrate – This one I usually use with constipation.

The ‘best’ form of magnesium depends a bit on what causes the problem. I usually would recommend my clients to start with the glycinate or malate form. If anxiety is exacerbating the symptoms I would use de L-threonate form as well.

Personally, I don’t use the aspartate form as much. Not that it is bad, but I find myself using glycinate, malate, L-threonate and citrate the most.

The rules aren’t hard either. I have noticed that some people felt more relaxed with the citrate form than the glycinate form as well for some reason.

Electrolytes
Yes, when you work out replenishing your electrolytes is a good idea. Losing electrolytes can cause cravings for salty foods as well. Another reason for the loss of electrolytes can be chronic stress. Did you experience an increase in stress lately? Increases in stress aren’t always emotional. Pain, workouts, and infections can all cause stress as well. 

Here are some sugar-free ideas to replenish electrolytes:
• Sole – a solution of water and salt (click here to see a recipe) 
• A product used to stay in ketosis called keto electrolyte drops from Trace Mineral Research (click here)

I hope this helped!

 thanks for sharing. I typically like to see B12 above 600pmol/L. And were fasting insulin and HbA1C also measured at the same time as the fasting glucose that you can share? It’s difficult to draw any conclusions from a fasting glucose alone.

 MCV seems to be ok here. Is it consistent with previous test results? In functional medicine, we don’t really focus on 1 marker but rather a set of patterns and trends over time.

With regards to sodium and potassium, you can see that your potassium is at the higher end of the clinical reference range and sodium is at the lower end of the “functional” range. Do you crave salt? Are you supplementing with potassium? If not, then this pattern could point to parasympathetic dominance which can happen over time when stress becomes chronic. And keep in mind that “stress” can be physical, biological or emotional. Would you agree this is the case for you?

You can watch this video here in the Mineral Balance course where I explain the different dynamics between potassium, sodium, and chloride.

Was your cortisol level ever measured?