Discharge Instructions for Hypermagnesemia

You have been diagnosed with hypermagnesemia. This means you have too much magnesium in your blood. This can occur in people with kidney failure. It can also occur if you are given magnesium salts. And it can occur if you take a medicine that contains magnesium. These include some antacids and laxatives.

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