SIDE EFFECTS AND WARNINGS

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/03/2009: Elsa from New York, NY writes: "Re MSM, BACK PAIN, AND MIGRAINE HEADACHES:

MSM and glucosamine in combination were extremely helpful to my lower back and hip pain (arthritis), but it triggered daily migraines, so I had to stop taking it. I can take glucosamine alone without getting the headaches.

But about arthritic pain: I have found that applying arnica gel, which I get at the health food store or from iherb, stops the pain. (It also helps prevent/reduce bruising.) I wake up with a bad backache, apply a tsp or so onto my back and hip (rubbing it in well), and can get back to sleep.

I wish I could take MSM. My husband takes it every day and has no aches or pains."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  11/18/2008: TammyQ from Chicago, IL writes: "msm caused severe mood swings in me, then severe depression, so if you have mood disorders, i don't recommend to take it."

This was my third trial of MSM. I took what I was told was likely the minimum effective dose. On this trial, I intentionally chose a different brand of MSM, in hope that any additive or contaminant in the first brand which might potentially have caused the first 2 migraines would not be present in this new brand.
This time, I developed a migraine 3 days after starting MSM. (Usually, things that trigger migraines in me most strongly do so overnight if ingested orally, but fragrances/fumes/smoke do so w/in minutes, via the nasal route. Things less "migrainogenic" for me take 2 to several days at 1 serving/day, but act more quickly w/several servings daily. While I wish there was an environmentally controlled, double blind, placebo-controlled study of MSM side effects, so most other variables could be eliminated, after 3 trials I consider it very likely that MSM caused my migraines, despite use of a migraine-reducing medication, & consider it likely it would do so in others who are prone to migraine headaches.

Migraine triggers:
This is somewhat individual, & doctors don't all agree on items, such as tomatoes.
-Foods: For me, migraine triggers include all foods & beverages high in tyramine (an amino acid), so I eat a low tyramine diet, eliminating or reducing foods such as tomatoes (fresh are less of a problem than tomato sauce, catsup, or paste), some fruits including bananas & all citrus fruits, a few veges & beans including avocados & fava beans, processed or organ meats including liver, hot dogs, balogna, & salami, cultured dairy products such as yogurt, buttermilk (regular milk is OK), & aged cheeses (fresh cheeses such as cottage & farmer cheeses are about all that are OK), fermented products including all alcoholic beverages (red wines are notorious), soy sauce, chocolate, monosodiumglutamate, abbreviated "MSG", (which legally can be hidden on food package ingredient lists in the U.S. under the term "natural flavoring"), etc.
-Caffeine* (including in coffee, tea, & some medications including some headache medicines)--ironically, caffeine can both help treat migraines & can trigger migraines, so avoid it unless you have a migraine already, but if you get one & have no other remedy available, it is worth a try to have a cup or two of tea.
-Estrogens in food or medicine: Foods high in natural estrogen-like compounds such as sweet potatoes & soy beans, plus medications w/estrogen (even w/low-dose estrogen, such as some birth control pills & hormone replacement therapy), & including the estrogen-like compounds now known to leach out of plastic food & beverage containers such as milk or water jugs
-NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: such as Motrin (Ibuprofen), Alleve/Naprosyn (Naproxen sodium), Feldene, Clinoril, Indocin, etc. which are said to cause a rebound effect, intially helping, but making migraine worse w/continued use (but Tylenol, which is not an NSAID, seems to be OK)
-Other medications: Variable. (According to at least one specialist, narcotic pain medications make migraines worse, though in my experience this is NOT the case if the person is on a stable, long-term dose. Rapid increases, reductions, or fluctuations in dose DO trigger migraines, in my experience.
-Smoke: Tobacco smoke(including second-hand), & other smoke including wood smoke, & incense
-Perfumes, Colognes, & Scented Products: highly individual but includes air freshener products in all forms, scented soap or laundry detergent, fabric softener, scented oils (including for aromatherapy), scented candles, scented personal products, such as shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, scented lotions, etc., & scented household cleaning products, including scented air or surface disinfectant sprays
Chemical odors: including unscented household cleaning products w/fumes, freshly printed newspapers, nail polish remover (acetone), "liquid bandages", many disinfectant sprays, moth balls, dry cleaning chemicals, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, propane, natural gas, "bug sprays" (insecticides), "weed killers" (herbicides), fungicides, formaldehyde (including in plywood, & as preservative for animals used for dissection in biology labs such as in high schools & colleges), paint fumes, glues (white glue is usually OK), various solvents

Hint: If you smell a problem scent unexpectedly when out in public, try breathing through your mouth until out of range. If it is just a matter of a few steps to get out of range of the scent, hold your breath & walk rapidly upwind (if outside) & away. Apparently it is the short, direct route from the nasal nerves to the brain (&/or blood supply to the blood-brain barrier) which allows such rapid migraines induction from scents. When one inhales the same substance through the mouth to the lungs, avoiding nasal exposure, these substances do not seem to trigger rapid-onset migraines. They can still trigger breathing problems in those w/asthma."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  08/10/2008: Denise from Brooklyn, New York writes: "I just started taking 1000mg of msm with 1000 mg of vitamin c and GSE to treat my melasma but today my third day I am feeling kind of strange, anxious, restless and nauseos I dont know much about this supplement and am a little concerned. As much as i want to get rid of the melasma my health is first does anyone know if this passes I already suffer from insomnia and this is making it worse. Would the vitamin c and GSE work on its own?"

[WARNING!]  07/21/2008: Lisa from SF, CA writes: "MSM sort of a warning... I started taking MSM a few weeks ago, in the hopes of getting rid of, or at least fading, the melasma I have. I started with 2000mg capsules in the a.m. Then increased to 3000mg, and last week to 4000 mg., a combo of tablets and powder (just because I had both, so mixed 'em up). I have not noticed a difference in the melasma, (I am applying topically, too) but have experienced sleeplessness. I already have a problem with insomnia, so this is not good. I noticed the sleeplessness got really bad after increasing to 4000mg., so I've cut down to 3000mg. I really noticed the increase in energy when I started taking the MSM, despite a lack of sleep. About 2 months ago, I began taking SAM-E for mood, and it seems to have helped, but that is also a sulphur compound, so perhaps that with the MSM is too much?"

[WARNING!]  06/26/2008: Lisa from Rockwell, NC writes: "MSM WARNING: I began having heart palpitations and chest tightness & discomfort after taking MSM for 3 weeks. It did help with hip pain but I had to discontinue it because of side effects. This forum is excellent! I'm glad to know it wasn't just my imagination & that other people have had these side effects."

[WARNING!]  11/27/2007: Paula R.Wagner from Tulsa, OK writes: "re: MSM suppliment, 1000 mg -- I had some bad symptoms similar to Joanna's taking only 1 capsule a day for several days. I'm not allergic to any substances to my knowledge but awoke with difficulty breathing, very sharp pains in my sides, an ache in my back,and my eyes dried out. I'm not real fond of this MSM supplement. Also, my mood was downcast.Watch yourself with this one.."

[WARNING!]  11/27/2007: Sherry from Jacksonville, North Carolina writes: "re: Side Effects of MSM -- I am so greatful to God for this forum. I can totally relate to DL from CA, that posting is almost a total duplicate of what I just recently experienced. I had been having constant pain in my legs and feet for over a year and had, had my fill. I did some research and came across the MSM. I was also diagnosed with asteopenia about the same time, so I decided to try it. Two night ago I had my son take me to the ER, I was having a lot of what's been discribed here concerning the heart beating weird, anxiety(I quess) because I don't know how else to expain how I was feeling, shaollow breathing, heaviness of chest etc. All this had been going on for sometime and I normally could meditate on scriptures and it would go away, this night was different. My jaunt to the ER, showed irregular heatbeat, palputaions to be exact. However, all of my blood work came back normal, showing no previous heart attacks or heart desease. I have been refered for a stress test. I am going to discontinue my use of MSM and see what happens. I will keep you posted as to what happens after I am no longer taking this product. Oh yeah, one of the other effects is headaches. I also started getting headaches that wouldn't go away. I sorta fluffed that off figuring it was a sinus thing, however these aren't sinus area specific. So, I'm thinking this is all related. Time will tell. I am very happy for those folks that this works for. Of course, every bodies matabolism is differnt, so what works for others may not work for someone else. I am very happy for those folks that this works for. Of course, every bodies matabolism is differnt, so what works for others may not work for someone else. Anyone else that may have related info. that would be helpful to my situation please feel free to e-mail me. God Bless"

[WARNING!]  10/25/2007: Joanna from New York, New York writes: "I started taking 2 grams of MSM per day for about 9 days (NOW Foods brand in capsule form). As soon as I swallowed a capsule, I became excessively thirsty. I'd even wake up in the middle of the night to drink 2 full glasses of water. I perspired much more (perhaps from all the water I drank), which didn't bother me because I liked sweating more in the sauna. I got pains in my body, especially in my arms and hands - I felt like I was getting arthritis/tendonitis, which was weird because I thought MSM was supposed to help if you have that. My bowel movements increased from 1 per day to 4. At night I'd notice my heart was beating fast. I can usually walk for miles but I got really scared when I found I had trouble walking fast and breathing well on a fairly short walk. I was searching the web for allergic reactions to MSM but couldn't find any. The only other supplement I was taking at that time was 50mg of Ubiquinol (CoQ10). So I stopped taking both. The thirst and breathing/heart problems went away fairly fast, but the pains in my arms lasted a few weeks. Since the time I stopped taking it (probably 1.5 months now), I've been getting sharp pains in my upper abdomen (left and right sides), which have been slowly getting better."

[WARNING!]  10/20/2007: Tanya from New Orleans, LA writes: "MSM caused anxiety-- I'm glad to see i'm not the only one. I took some organic MSM and that stuff made me sooooo nervous, rapid heart beat and my nerves felt "fried". OMG this stuff grabbed a hold of me and wouldnt let go. I remembered I took this stuff and stopped. This happened twice. Now i know it was the MSM. I even took some prescription anti anxiety med and the feeling would not go away."

[WARNING!]  05/04/2006: DL from BH, CA writes: "I recently bought powdered MSM for a sports knee injury. The pain in my knee literally went away overnight after the first dose on MSM. I got excited and doubled the dose for the next 5 days. At that same time, I started to have anxiety attacks when I lay down to sleep. It felt as though my lungs weren't getting enough oxygen and I started to get paranoid that I was going to stop breathing during the night! My chest felt as though it had an enormous amount of pressure on it. After a few days of this, I realized it had to be the MSM and stopped taking it. My breathing issues went away 48 hours after stopping the MSM. In the future I will take much less of this!"

[WARNING!]  04/21/2006: Steve from NM writes: "I started to take MSM recently and started to have anxiety late at night before sleeping. Funny -- you don't hear anything about the side effects of MSM, yet clearly I was having a reaction."

SKIN PIGMENTATION

[BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS]  03/10/2009: Jodie from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia writes: "I have used msm for 8 months for pigmentation. At first I had many symptoms of an adverse reaction such as lethargy, headaches, diarrhea and felt dizzy constantly. I also had gradually increased the dose over a couple of weeks. After a couple of months I could no longer stand it and stopped taking it. I eventually started taking it again after I stopped drinking Alcohol and coffee for a couple of months and began eating a lot of fresh veges and fruit. I also changed the brand of msm to a pure crystal form (100% crown msm). To my surprise I have had absolutely no reaction this time and am taking up to 12 mgs daily. My pigmentation is slowly breaking up and fading slightly. It has reduced my pigmentation by approximately 30% (It covered most of my face)."

TENNIS ELBOW

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