If you’re referring to the viral claim “Never use magnesium if you’re taking any of the following medications…”, the word “never” is misleading.
Magnesium supplements can interact with certain medicines, mainly by reducing their absorption. Important examples include:
Certain antibiotics — especially tetracyclines such as doxycycline and quinolones such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin. Magnesium can bind these drugs and reduce absorption.
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Office of Dietary Supplements
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Oral bisphosphonates — such as alendronate, used for osteoporosis. Magnesium can reduce their absorption.
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Office of Dietary Supplements
Some diuretics (“water pills”) — these can alter magnesium levels, rather than necessarily making magnesium supplementation forbidden.
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Office of Dietary Supplements
Long-term proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) — such as omeprazole and related drugs can themselves contribute to low magnesium levels.
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Office of Dietary Supplements
In many cases, the issue is timing rather than completely avoiding magnesium. For example, NIH guidance recommends taking magnesium at least 2 hours before or 4–6 hours after certain antibiotics, depending on the specific antibiotic.
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Office of Dietary Supplements
Also, people with kidney disease need particular caution because impaired kidneys may have difficulty removing excess magnesium.
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MedlinePlus
Bottom line: Don’t stop a medication or magnesium supplement based on a viral list. If you give me the medications you’re taking, I can check each one for magnesium interactions and tell you whether spacing them apart is sufficient.
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