Magnesium
Magnesium oxide
4.0 (279 owner comments)
RegularityBloating & gas
“Now at 32 I have not had an attack like this in almost a year whilst taking 400mg of magnesium oxide every night before bed..”
What owners report →Medical disclaimer: GutVerdict summarizes what people say about supplements on Reddit. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement, especially if you are pregnant, take medicines, or have a medical condition. New, severe or worsening symptoms (such as blood in the stool, weight loss, fever, or night-time symptoms) need a doctor, not a supplement. Full disclaimer.
Magnesium · capsules, tablets or powder
Magnesium citrate: What People With IBS Report on Reddit
Illustration, not a product photo.
Magnesium bound to citric acid. Unabsorbed magnesium draws water into the bowel (osmotic effect).
4.0 GutVerdict score
843 owner comments (329 with a clear rating) from r/Constipation, r/SIBO, r/IBS, r/Microbiome, r/Supplements, November 2025 to October 2026. Top 14% of the 36 rated supplements.
Owner sentiment3.4
Recommendations4.5
Tolerability4.8
ValueNot rated
Value is not rated: the example products differ too much in dose to compare cost fairly. How we score.
The short version
Magnesium citrate is rated about average among the supplements we track: 4.0/5. Of 329 rated owner comments, 221 were positive, 30 mixed and 78 negative; 19 mention an unwanted effect. People talk most about regularity and pain & cramping.
Reddit comments are self-reported and unverified. They tell you what people noticed, not whether a supplement works or is safe for you.
Forms differ a lot; see magnesium citrate vs oxide vs glycinate. Before starting, check gut supplement safety and interactions. Compare the top-rated options for loose stools by symptom.
What it is
- Magnesium is a primary ingredient in some laxatives, and high doses of magnesium salts commonly cause diarrhea.[NIH Office of Dietary Supplements]
- A 2021 systematic review looked at over-the-counter options for chronic constipation, including magnesium.[PubMed]
Safety and interactions
- The NIH upper limit for magnesium from supplements is 350 mg a day for adults unless a doctor advises more; the risk of magnesium toxicity rises with kidney disease.[NIH Office of Dietary Supplements]
- Magnesium can reduce absorption of some antibiotics (tetracyclines, quinolones) and osteoporosis drugs (bisphosphonates); space doses apart.[NIH Office of Dietary Supplements]
Supplements can interact with medicines. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist first, especially if you are pregnant, take prescription medicine, or have red-flag symptoms. See supplement safety and interactions.
Reports by symptom
| Context | Rated owner comments | Positive | Negative | Unwanted effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBS-C & constipation | 234 | 153 | 57 | 12 |
| SIBO | 95 | 76 | 13 | 3 |
| Pain & cramping | 51 | 31 | 14 | 5 |
| Bloating & gas | 43 | 28 | 10 | 3 |
| IBS-D & loose stools | 24 | 13 | 9 | 1 |
| After antibiotics | 11 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| Stool form | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
What Reddit owners say
Commonly praised
- Regularity: 31 owner comments
- Pain & cramping: 17 owner comments
- Bloating & gas: 12 owner comments
Common complaints
- Side effects: 17 owner comments
- Urgency & loose stools: 7 owner comments
- Pain & cramping: 7 owner comments
4/5“Today I would take some magnesium citrate, because wherever is fermenting in your gut needs to be released not stuck up inside of you.”
4/5“I want to recommend the magnesium citrate gummies by Nature Vitality brand.”
5/5 Fast-actingRegularity“My daughter called & suggested Magnesium Citrate.”
2/5“Taking more and more laxatives, drinking Magnesium Citrate as a last resort, NEVER AGAIN.”
2/5“I used Magnesium Citrate for prep before a colonoscopy and it did not work.”
+30 more owner comments
4/5 Pain & cramping“update on this cause it wouldn’t post for a few days: symptoms got really bad after that post, i switched to a liquid diet yesterday and i drank a whole bottle of magnesium citrate, it did make me have more overflow eventually but nothing substantial.”
4/5“I take 4 magnesium citrate gummies before bed every night (Nature Vitality “calm” brand) and they have greatly helped.”
2/5 Side effects“If anything, they made me feel worse and I used to resort to drinking magnesium citrate (like the ones they give you for colonoscopy prep)”
4/5 Pain & cramping“You can try taking magnesium citrate at night, about 2 hours after eating, it helps relax the spasm.”
4/5 Regularity“So far the only thing that kinda helped was to learn what foods I react the worst on and trying to avoid them, as well as having regular BM (sometimes with help of magnesium citrate) hope you feel better!”
4/5 Pain & crampingRegularity“Sucks nobody got back to you, you get a comment & then ask for advice & the people burn off the post, they say magnesium citrate & oxide help, I was on pain meds for a number of years for my back, took what the doctor told me too, all…”
5/5“Try magnesium citrate. Take the pills or powder(in a drink) before bed. Lifesaver for me.”
4/5“-I’m sure you’ve heard of using magnesium citrate for motility/constipation, but I would highly suggest taking in powder form if you don’t already.”
4/5“For better quality magnesium, I’ve also used magnesium citrate capsules from Pure Encapsulations on a more consistent basis.”
5/5“Magnesium Citrate 450mg/day is the only thing that has worked for me.”
4/5“(Breathing during that experience was a real challenge.) Then I asked the doctor what they used for my pre-colonoscopy procedure, and it turned out to be magnesium citrate.”
4/5“The only thing thats worked for me is, magnesium citrate, but that's not good long term because a Dr told me that it can damage the nerves.”
3/5 Stool form“Ooof good luck solider🫡a note on the magnesium citrate, drink so much water to not only help activate it, but also to help your body feel better after dealing with… the after math.”
4/5“What worked for me after 7 days of not being able to go to the bathroom was a bottle of magnesium citrate.”
1/5“Mag citrate was a hellacious experience for me.”
4/5“It’s not as strong as magnesium citrate.”
4/5“(I think people talk of magnesium citrate but I’ve not tried it) You’ll probably be happy 24h later.”
4/5“I learned from a gastro focused dietician that a clinically effective dose of mag citrate starts at 400mg and goes up to 8-900.”
2/5 Stopped working“I was taking 600 mg of magnesium citrate and was in HEAVEN!”
2/5 Bloating & gasPain & cramping“I’d take bottle of mag citrate unless you are in severe pain with nausea, possible vomiting (especially stool), or can’t pass even gas.”
2/5“I took mag citrate liquid yesterday (the whole 10oz) and it was pretty useless.”
5/5“I’m sorry for laughing but I’ve been using mag cit a couple times a year for a decade (I have dysmotility of my entire GI tract and got blocked frequently) so I think it’s hilarious whenever someone REALLY learns the powers of mag cit.”
4/5“I now take Magnesium Citrate capsules twice a day.”
2/5 Taste & texture“* Magnesium citrate (I used to mix half and half lemon flavored mag cit with 7 Up soda for taste but it's still terrible.”
3/5“if you go to the hospital and they don’t help try magnesium citrate powder.”
1/5 Bloating & gas“Right now I'm just very, very uncomfortable because the magnesium citrate absorbed water into all of that stool, so what was stable but backed up stool is now much larger stool that's somewhat blocking things whereas it wasn't before.”
4/5 Pain & cramping“Better options in these situations for me have been saline enema or magnesium citrate depending on how quick I need relief..”
1/5 Bloating & gasStool form“I recently stopped taking it all together and now I do Magnesium citrate x 3 caps b4 bed.”
4/5“They also x-rayed me like you and said I had a right side stool burden, but no obstruction so they told me to drink a bottle of magnesium citrate which I did and it flushed me out going from brown to lighter color liquid as i used the…”
3/5 Side effectsTaste & texture“I'm not sure if this will help and disclaimer that I am absolutely not a doctor so please take this with a grain of salt, but when I had to have a partial colonoscopy, my doctor made me drink a whole bottle of magnesium citrate.”
Example products
These are examples of Magnesium citrate products sold on Amazon. They are not ranked by Reddit and the score above is for the ingredient, not a specific product. Check the label for dose and other ingredients.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Now Supplements, Magnesium Citrate, Enzyme Function*
$18.99 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Pure Encapsulations Magnesium (Citrate), 90 Capsules
$20.50 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Example product · not Reddit-scored
Nutricost Magnesium Citrate 420mg, 240 Veggie Capsules, 60 Servings
$17.95 on Amazon (price as of 2026-11-03). Prices change; check Amazon for the current price.
Research to read
Published studies (we list them so you can read the evidence yourself; inclusion is not an endorsement):
- Am J Gastroenterol 2021: Efficacy and Safety of Over-the-Counter Therapies for Chronic Constipation: An Updated Systematic Review.
- Magnes Res 2003: Mg citrate found more bioavailable than other Mg preparations in a randomised, double-blind study.
FAQ
What do people with IBS say about Magnesium citrate on Reddit?
Across 843 Reddit comments from people who say they have used it, 221 of 329 rated comments were positive and 78 negative, for a GutVerdict score of 4.0/5. These are self-reported experiences, not clinical evidence.
Do people report side effects with Magnesium citrate?
19 of 329 rated owner comments (6%) describe an unwanted effect such as gas, bloating or an upset stomach. Check the safety notes on this page and ask a doctor or pharmacist before starting.
Who talks about Magnesium citrate most?
Most rated owner comments come from people with IBS-C or constipation (234 comments, 153 positive).
Is Magnesium citrate scored on clinical evidence?
No. The score summarizes Reddit owner comments only. Factual statements on this page link to NIH or PubMed sources, and nothing here is medical advice.
Related supplements
Magnesium
Magnesium glycinate
3.7 (264 owner comments)
RegularitySide effects
“Manage stress (I take L theanine and magnesium glycinate and it’s helped me to have a calmer response)”
What owners report →
Digestive enzymes
Digestive enzymes
4.3 (809 owner comments)
Bloating & gasPain & cramping
“I began to take 1 capsule before each meal together with digestive enzymes and my symptoms lessened by about 70-80% in a few weeks.”
What owners report →Comparisons: Magnesium citrate vs Magnesium oxide · Magnesium citrate vs Magnesium glycinate
Last updated 2026-11-03. Mentions scanned: 2448 in 1550 threads.