Magnesium has 5 documented interactions in Magellan’s curated dataset, covering Loop diuretics, Thiazide diuretics, Bisphosphonates (osteoporosis drugs), Potassium-sparing diuretics, Proton pump inhibitors (acid reducers), Quinolone antibiotics and others. Each entry below gives the mechanism as the cited reference states it, the direction the risk runs, how serious that reference treats it, and what to actually do about it — which is, in every case, a conversation with the clinician or pharmacist who manages the prescription rather than a decision you make alone.
What it is. Magnesium is an essential dietary mineral and the second most abundant intracellular cation, serving as a cofactor in hundreds of enzymatic reactions involved in energy metabolism, protein synthesis, and nerve and muscle function. Magnesium glycinate (magnesium bis-glycinate) is an organic magnesium salt chelated with the amino acid glycine, one of several supplement forms used to raise magnesium status.
Where it sits on the evidence. Magellan grades the supplement itself as Moderate evidence, with a typical studied dose of 250–500 mg elemental magnesium/day (sleep trials used 250 mg as bisglycinate or 500 mg; BP analyses center near ~370 mg/day). That grade is about whether it works, not about whether it is safe alongside your medication — the two questions are independent, and this page answers only the second.
Products this covers: Magnesium L-Threonate · Magnesium Glycinate.
How the risks cluster. The entries split across 2 different mechanisms — nutrient level; absorption and timing — and they are not managed the same way: an absorption problem is fixed by separating the doses in time, an additive or opposing effect is not.
Safety and efficacy are separate questions, and this page only answers the first. For the second, the study Magellan’s coverage of Magnesium rests on is:
“RCT (n=155): 250 mg elemental magnesium as bisglycinate improved insomnia severity versus placebo at 4 weeks (ISI −3.9 vs −2.3, p=0.049; small effect, d=0.2), with greater response in low-dietary-magnesium participants.”
A strong result does not make a supplement safe alongside your prescription, and a documented interaction does not mean the supplement does not work. Magellan grades those two things separately, and neither grade moves for a commission.
Magellan’s Medication Safety Check runs entirely on your device — type the medicines you take and it flags every documented interaction in this dataset. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Open the Medication Safety Check →Chronic use of these diuretics increases urinary magnesium loss and can lead to magnesium depletion, which may affect how much supplemental magnesium is needed or how levels should be monitored.
Medicines in this group include: Furosemide (Lasix), Bumetanide (Bumex), Torsemide (Demadex), Hydrochlorothiazide (Hctz, Microzide), Chlorthalidone (Thalitone), Indapamide (Lozol).
Magnesium can bind bisphosphonates in the gut and reduce their absorption; separate doses by at least 2 hours before or after the bisphosphonate.
Medicines in this group include: Alendronate (Fosamax), Risedronate (Actonel), Ibandronate (Boniva), Zoledronic acid (Reclast, Zometa).
These diuretics reduce urinary excretion of magnesium and can raise magnesium levels; combining with magnesium supplements may increase the risk of elevated magnesium, particularly with impaired kidney function.
Medicines in this group include: Spironolactone (Aldactone), Eplerenone (Inspra), Amiloride (Midamor), Triamterene (Dyrenium).
Prolonged PPI use (typically over a year) can independently cause low serum magnesium (hypomagnesemia); the FDA advises considering magnesium level checks before long-term PPI therapy, which is relevant context for anyone also taking magnesium supplements.
Medicines in this group include: Omeprazole (Prilosec), Esomeprazole (Nexium), Lansoprazole (Prevacid), Pantoprazole (Protonix), Rabeprazole (Aciphex).
Magnesium forms insoluble complexes with these antibiotics in the gut, reducing their absorption and effectiveness; take the antibiotic at least 2 hours before or 4-6 hours after magnesium.
Medicines in this group include: Ciprofloxacin (Cipro), Levofloxacin (Levaquin), Moxifloxacin (Avelox), Doxycycline (Vibramycin), Minocycline (Minocin), Tetracycline (Sumycin).
These are the warning signs that go with the medication classes on this page. They are general safety-netting, not a prediction that any supplement will cause them.
If something feels seriously wrong, do not wait for an appointment. Call 911 (US) or your local emergency number.
Severity describes the interaction as the cited reference frames it, not how a specific person will react. A “minor” entry in someone with kidney disease, on five other drugs, can matter more than a “major” one in someone on nothing else.
This is a curated set of interactions with citations — not an exhaustive pharmacology database. An interaction that is absent here has not been ruled out; it may simply not be documented in the references Magellan curates from. Supplements are also not batch-tested for identity or contamination the way prescription drugs are, so what is on the label is a claim rather than a guarantee. And most of these entries come from case reports and mechanistic work rather than randomized trials, which is exactly why the sensible response is a pharmacist review rather than either alarm or dismissal.
5 documented interactions across 4 supplements.
43 documented interactions across 24 supplements.
7 documented interactions across 6 supplements.
8 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Magnesium.
3 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Magnesium.
7 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Magnesium.
5 documented interactions · shares a drug class with Magnesium.
The mechanism and the research behind the compound itself.
The mechanism and the research behind the compound itself.
A–Z of every supplement and drug class in this dataset, plus how to read an interaction.
What the research actually shows, graded independently of affiliate commissions.
Not without checking with the prescriber or pharmacist first. Magellan's dataset grades this as a moderate interaction: Chronic use of these diuretics increases urinary magnesium loss and can lead to magnesium depletion, which may affect how much supplemental magnesium is needed or how levels should be monitored. (Source: Magnesium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.)
The cited reference specifies an interval: Separate doses by at least 2 hours before or after the bisphosphonate. Confirm the exact timing with the pharmacist who dispensed the medication, because it depends on the formulation.
5 interactions are documented in Magellan's curated dataset: 5 moderate. They cover Loop diuretics, Thiazide diuretics, Bisphosphonates (osteoporosis drugs), Potassium-sparing diuretics, Proton pump inhibitors (acid reducers). Absence from this list is not proof of safety — it means no interaction is documented in the references we curate from.
Magellan lists the typical studied dose as: 250–500 mg elemental magnesium/day (sleep trials used 250 mg as bisglycinate or 500 mg; BP analyses center near ~370 mg/day). Dose matters for interactions — several of the entries on this page describe effects that only appear at supplemental rather than dietary intakes.