So, I'm assuming that mag stands for magnesium? And...I'm guessing this is something they give to prevent PTL? I see so many people groaning about taking it and I'm sure there's good reason. What, exactly, are the side effects you suffer from being given this treatment?
Mag is short for magnesium sulfate. It's used to stop contractions and PTL. I don't know all the possible side effects. I was on it for 48 hours to stop my PTL. It is a muscle relaxer, so it made all my muscles weak. They had to rush a lot of it into my system to stop my contractions, and I got very hot and threw up a lot. Once they lowered the rate that it was going in the IV, I just felt woozy, hot and drugged. My eyesight was blurry, and I just felt really weak. I don't know if it crosses through the placenta or not.
It feels exactly like a bad flu. The nurses tried to tell me I would feel horrible, like the flu and I couldn't picture it until I actually got it and yes that is what I felt like. Achy, stuffy, hot, stomach hurt, just bad! I had to take it after delivery because I developed pre-eclampsia symptoms. Yes, AFTER delivery...I couldn't believe it.
Like a pp noted, it is used after delivery when you were suffering from pre-eclampsia or HELLP. That's why I had it and it definitely made me feel horrible. My poor OB came in during labor to tell me we were going to need to do a semi-emergency c-section and start mag and I started crying. She thought it was because of the c-section but I just didn't want to deal with the mag. Mag and c-section don't make for a great recovery. I have heard of a couple of people who didn't get bad side effects but the majority of us hated it.
Yes, it is not a fun thing to go through. I felt like I was having a heart attack and I was soooooo hot. Like I was on fire. Your body does get use to it and some of the symptoms go away, but the blurry eyesight was horrible because I couldn't read or watch TV.
I was on mag for 4 weeks. Usually they don't let you stay on it as long as I was (or at as high of a dose as I was on) but my contractions were so out of control, that even when they tried to lower it they were scared I would have had my girls way too early. I had absolutely No side effects at all from the mag, but my nurses and doctors made it very clear that I was the exception.
I felt like I was burning up from the inside. I could barely open my eyes and I was exhausted and anxious at the same time. I was on it for 2 days to stop PTL and then they put me back on terbutaline (which was also awful, but not as awful as the mag).
I was admitted to the hospital with preeclampsia and had a pretty high blood pressure. The Dr's there told me that there was no actual evidence to show that it stops PTL, although it is given for that reason I was told it was given with very high blood pressure to stop the patient from having seizures. I was only on the mag for one day and they were rushing it in pretty quickly. It made me hot and very nauseous. Within two hours or so of having it removed, I felt normal again.
I hated it! It makes all your muscles feel really heavyand you feel drowsy, but you can't sleep because, they come and check on your reflexes every 15 minutes (blood pressure, temp, knee reflex hammer thingy, listen to your lungs). The worst part for me was feeling like i had a fever. It was literally 62 degrees in hospital room. My husband was wrapped in a blanket and I was moaning for cold washcloths. Nothing worked. Feeling hot is no fun when on 3 monitors at once as well as IVS. Hope you don't have o be on this for too long. There is something else called turbutaline - that is not so bad.
I was only on mag for 24 hours. I received it an hour before my C-section and then was on for 23 hours after delivery. I didn't find the mag that bad at all. At first I felt really hot, like my blood was boiling, but that went away after about 15 minutes and I didn't notice any complications after that. I wanted to respond just so you know that not everyone has the horrible symptoms!
I had the vomitting, dry heaves, burning sensations, lost the ability to walk, slurred speech, and couldn't really think. Oh, I passed out a couple of times too. I was so scared that they would put me on it my second PTL visit. I cried to DH that I was willing to do ANYTHING else. Fortunately the terb worked well enough. I've heard progesterone may be helpful for PTL also.
Like ppt, I was on it for two weeks for preeclampsia and high blood pressure. I was one of the lucky ones and didn't throw up. I did, however, feel like I was burning up and it made me very tired and sluggish. One of my nurses told me they always keep mag patients' rooms at like, 54 degrees because they get so hot. It wasn't nearly cool enough in there for me!
