• Pains – sharp, cutting, shooting, lightening-like, rapidly changing place, causing restlessness and prostration
• Better warmth or heat, pressure, worse cold
• Enuresis after catheterization.

Source: Mineral kingdom
Synonyms: Phosphate of magnesia. Magnesium phosphoricum
Prover: Dr W. H. Schussler, Dr W. P. Wesselhoeft, J. A. Gann of USA Duration of Action: 40 to 50 day
Miasmatic Background: Psora
Temperament: Nervous
Diathesis: Lithiasis and rickety
Thermal Relationship: Chilly patient

Introduction and History: It is a great antineuralgic and antispasmodic remedy. It is a very precious and important tissue remedy. It occupies an important place amongst some of the best neuralgic remedies.

Magnesia phosphorica is found in blood corpuscles, muscles, brain, spinal marrow and in various other tissues of the human body. It is a very good remedy for pain especially for crampy, spasmodic, griping, digging, boring, cutting, stitching, gnawing pains, which are mostly neuralgic in type. It is a right sided, polychrest remedy of the highest order.

Description: It is made by mixing phosphate of soda with sulphate of magnesia. The crystals resulting are six sided and needle-like. They have a cooling, sweetish taste. They are sparingly soluble in water; 2 parts of magnesium sulphate are dissolved in 32 parts of water and mixed with a solution prepared by mixing 3 parts of sodium phosphate in 32 parts of water. This solution is set aside to crystallize, which takes about 24 hours. Boiling decomposes it. It exists in grains of cereals, and can be detected in a considerable quantity in beer.

Preparation: This salt is triturated with sugar of milk to prepare decimal triturations, according to the rules of homeopathic pharmacy.

Constitution and Physiognomy: It is especially suited to thin, emaciated, highly nervous, chilly persons of dark complexion.

Ailments From: Exposure to cold winds, dentition, standing in cold water, catheterization, prolonged exertion, suppressed diarrhoea, working in cold clay, mental exertion.

Seat of Action (Pharmacodynamics): Nerves, muscles, right side, face, head, brain, uterus, intestines, etc.

Physio-pathological Changes (Pathology)

1. Magnesium salts are cathartics and diuretics. Therefore, a deficiency of Magnesia phosphorica causes severe constipation and oliguria.
2. Magnesia phosphorica activates enzymes like Phosphatase and Enolase. Deficiency of Magnesia phosphorica increases calcium levels in the tissues like, tendons, ligaments, aorta, kidneys, etc.
3. Deficiency of Magnesia phosphorica causes nephro-calcinosis by formation of tiny microliths in the lumen of nephrons, almost entirely confined to the thick ascending loop of henle.
4. Magnesia phosphorica is a constituent of white matter of the brain that is, axons.
5. Deficiency of Magnesia phosphorica produces increased central nervous system irritability, disorientation, convulsions, and psychotic behaviour.
6. Abnormally low concentration of Magnesia phosphorica in extracellular fluid causes an increase in acetylcholine released by motor nerve endings at synapses resulting in muscular excitability which can even produce tetany.
7. Effects of magnesium are similar to potassium. Excess or lack of magnesium impairs cardiac contractility. Magnesium slows rate of impulse formation at SA node. Magnesium deficiency produces increased proportion of calcium level which will make the heart stop during systole.
8. Magnesia phosphorica deficiency also raises cholesterol levels and causes its deposition in blood vessels resulting in atherosclerotic changes with spasmodic neuro-vascular disorders. For example, ischaemia, gangrene, etc.
9. Magnesia phosphorica deficiency is often associated with hypokalemia and hypocalcemia; for example, diarrhoea, vomiting, etc.

Characteristic Mental Symptoms (Psychology)

1. Weak memory, forgetful; dullness and inability to think clearly.
2. illusions of the senses. Indisposition to physical exertion.
3. Carries things from place to place.
4. Talking to herself constantly or sitting still in moody silence.
5. Comments all the time about the pain, with hiccoughs.
6. Indisposition to mental efforts. Sobbing with lamenting.

Characteristic Physical Guiding Symptoms

Discharge: Thin, watery, sour, staining indelibly or lumpy, plug-like, albuminous.

Tongue: Clean and dry. Twitching of tongue, saliva sticky.

Taste: Sour or bitter.

Neuralgia: Neuralgic pains, facial neuralgia, supraorbital or infraorbital, right sided, intermittent, spasmodic, lightening-like pains. Neuralgic pains better from heat.

Periodicity: Pains come periodically. Spasms, every 23 days.

Flatulence: Flatulent distension of abdomen with constrictive pain that is, flatulent colic, forcing the patient to bend double, relieved from heat and rubbing.

Violent pains: Neuralgic pains are violent. Sudden paroxysms of pain extorting cries. Neuralgic spasms, hiccough many times a minute.

Shifting: Every night neuralgia shifts from place to place.

Spasmodic: Various kinds of spasms – whooping cough, cramps in calves, tetanus, chorea, lockjaw, etc. Spasms without fever. Spasmodic hiccough day and night with retching.

Sudden pains: Lightening-like, sudden paroxysms of pain, exhausting the patient, suddenly changing place.

Cramps and convulsions: Spasmodic convulsions, with stiffness of the limbs, clenched fingers and thumbs drawn in. Spasmodic retention of urine. Cramps of the extremities, violent cramps in dysentery.

Dread: Dread of cold washing or cold bathing, cold air, uncovering, moving, etc.

Time aggravation: All symptoms are aggravated from 4 to 9 pm.

Right-sidedness: It is a right sided remedy having special affinity for the right side.

Menses: Menses early, dark flow, stringy, pains worse before, better when flow begins, vaginismus, shooting, lightening and darting type of pains.

Toothache: Neuralgic toothache at night, rapidly shifting; worse eating, drinking, cold things; better by heat.

Enuresis: Nocturnal enuresis, from nervous irritation, after catheterization; urine pale and copious.

Headache: Headache begins in occiput and extends over the head; face red, flushed, worse 10 to 11 am or 4 to 5 pm.

Dysmenorrhoea: Spasmodic pains in dysmenorrhoea, better by bending double and after flow begins.

Colic: Flatulent, forcing the patient to bend double; better from warmth, pressure and rubbing.

Chilliness: Chill runs up and down the back with shivering. Dread of uncovering.

Important Characteristic Features

Abdominal colic: It is a very good remedy for abdominal colic. Pain anywhere in the abdomen. Pains are spasmodic, cramping, sharp, stabbing, cutting, stitching, shooting in type. Pain comes in paroxysms. Pains change their place rapidly; intolerable pains; great distension of abdomen; patient gets relief by rubbing, warmth and pressure, by bending double. Patient wants to loosen clothes. Symptoms worse by touch. Colocynthis is also a remedy for abdominal colic. Both have similar colic. Patient has to bend double, both are ameliorated by hard pressure and warmth, but in Magnesia phosphorica pains are relieved more by pressure than by heat. On the contrary, in Colocynthis, pains are relieved by heat more than pressure. Colocynthis, has left sided colic while Magnesia phosphorica has right sided colic. In Colocynthis, colic is due to anger with indignation, which is not found in Magnesia phosphorica.

Neuralgia: It is an excellent remedy for neuralgia. Right sided neuralgia, especially of face, teeth, Supra or infra orbital region; pains dart along the course of the nerve. Pains are unbearable like lightening, rapidly changing place and worse by a draught of cold air, motion and better by bending double, heat and pressure.

Dysmenorrhoea: It is a very good remedy for membranous dysmenorrhoea. The pains are neuralgic and crampy preceding the flow and the great indication for the use of this remedy is the relief from warmth and the aggravation from motion. Menses are too early, stringy and dark; pains are sharp, stabbing, stitching, cutting, shooting, especially on the right side, coming and going like lightening. Pain worse before the flow begins; better by heat, bending double, lying on the right side.

General Modalities

Aggravation: Cold air, cold draft, cold bathing or washing, motion, touch, right side.

Amelioration: Warmth, heat, pressure, bending double.

Remedy Relationships

Antidotes: Lach, Bell, Gels.

Compare: Cham, Coloc, Bell, Lac-c, Lyc, Caul.

Comparison

Cramping pain in abdomen and pelvis: Caul, Coloc, Mag-p.

Colic better by hard pressure: Coloc, Plb, Mag-p.

Dysmenorrhoea better after flow begins: Mag-p, Lach, Zinc.

Potency: 3x, 6x, 12x, 30, 200, 1000.

Dosage

1. Schussler recommends 6x trituration.
2. Dr J. C. Morgan advises 30x in water and frequent doses in colic. It works well in CM potency in dysmenorrhoea.

Repetition: It should be repeated frequently from half to one hour according to the acuteness of the disease.

Therapeutic Value: Colic, Convulsions, Cough, Cramps, Dentition, Dysentery, Enuresis, Headache, Intercostal neuralgia, Locomotor ataxia, Menstrual disorders, Neuralgia, Toothache, Whooping cough.

Note: It acts better when given with hot water. That is why they say, Magnesia phosphorica in trituration may be so administered. In potentized forms, it is to be given without hot water.