Symptomatic Hypermagnesemia in the Absence of Renal Failure

Hypermagnesemia is an uncommon clinical finding, and symptomatic hypermagnesemia is even rarer. Symptomatic hypermagnesemia has a low incidence of occurrence, because the kidney is able to eliminate excess magnesium by rapidly reducing its tubular reabsorption to almost negligible amounts. Renal failure is the most common cause of hypermagnesemia. [1] Other causes of hypermagnesemia such as lithium therapy, Milk alkali syndrome, exogenous intake, Addison disease, tumor lysis syndrome and hypothyroidism are much rarer. [1] We report a case of symptomatic hypermagnesemia, in a sixty-one year old woman that has been taking milk of magnesia for chronic constipation.