Art (California) on 07/13/2025
Yes, a friend had his TSH level significantly decline once he started on borax, but not with other friends where their TSH levels were not affected. Science suggests that boron has the potential to increase TSH levels, but not in all people.
So yes, it appears to be very individual.
At 6 months into borax, I would have expected it to have resolved your arthritic pain. Since the niacinamide is no longer causing the rash, maybe you can increase it again and reduce your borax dose back to Ted's recommendation for women.
Keep us updated on your progress.
Art
Giorgio (UAE) on 07/13/2025
Betsy (Virginia ) on 07/13/2025
Katzie (Cancun, Mexico) on 07/13/2025
Laurie (BC) on 07/13/2025
Kendra (Pa, PA) on 07/13/2025
Fran (London) on 07/13/2025
Katzie (Cancun, Mexico) on 07/13/2025
I used all my standard infection remedies, ie colloidal silver, hydrogen peroxide, castor oil packs, ACV, etc. All worked to a degree as the wound never got bigger, and the redness and heat went away, but the wound was not healing, more like just holding-the-line. There was no puss in this wound.
I read a post on another site where the person said that if you like a cure and feel it's working, then stick to that. I realized out of everything I'd been trying, onion packs felt the best. I knew the infection did not like it as after being wrapped, it would sting for 10 minutes, and then go away. Never any puss pockets to pull out, but it felt so much better so I ended up using it every day for almost a week. After that the wound was red no more, was getting smaller and the pain lessened.
This wound woke me up several times at 3am or 4am with pain, not severe but it hurt. Knowing that every infection leaves damage behind, I was concerned. I also noticed alot of people missing legs around here, too. Wow.
The skin around the infection was also affected: slightly swollen (just slight), pink but not red, and I felt a burning/stingy/tingly sensation, like it was slime growing "in" my skin (which is probably what it actually was).
After 5 weeks of the thing, I realized that everything I'd tried all facilitated the release of oxygen and the wound wasn't gone yet, so my thoughts turned to smothering it. I used an egg white, whipped it with a fork (to facilitate easy application), and used a small brush to cover the entire area, from the top of my foot to my knee. I did this in the morning. I could feel some slight pain an hour or two later, but never felt it again. Must've been in its death throes. The infection was gone by the next day!!
In looking at pictures online, I realized I may have had that flesh eating disease, but it never progressed past that first morning in size, redness, pain, etc. And I hear that it is a fast progressing disease and I had to fight it really hard to just hold it in place and not get worse. Did I have it or not, I will never know, but the pics sure were similar. I was too scared to look them up before I could get a handle on this thing and my eyes popped out when I saw similarities to my own wound. Did simple things like an onion and an egg stop flesh eating disease - the answer is, it could have; I sure think so. I've had infections before in my time, but never one like this. I am glad to see it gone!
Stay well, everyone.
Hollyhock (America ) on 07/13/2025
Betsy (Virginia ) on 07/13/2025
This morning I read another person’s account of how borax decreased her TSH to the point that she’s had to take about half her thyroid med. I guess it’s different for everyone?
Niacinamide worked well for me by itself until I developed an itchy rash so I had to discontinue it. After a few months I added it back but at a reduced amount of 500 mg twice a day. Between the two I have much less pain, though it’s not completely resolved. Was hoping to experience that after being on the 1/4 tsp for a while (which has only been 6 weeks as of now).
B.
Scott (Turkey) on 07/13/2025
Art (California) on 07/12/2025
I have a somewhat biased view toward HP because I see it as a potent oxidizer and I am more sensitive to those effects of HP and as such I would err on the side of caution and test the 1.5% solution first, for myself. If I was able to tolerate that level, I might consider going as high as 2% HP, but that would be my limit.
At 3% and as a soak that I would be leaving my feet soaking in for minutes, I would have concerns for the skin on my feet, but that's just me and others may not have a problem with soaking their feet in 3% HP for 5 or even 10 minutes.
You may have noticed I almost never suggest HP for this reason on EC.
Art
Art (California) on 07/12/2025
To answer your question regarding borax and elevated TSH levels, yes, this could be a possible contributing factor based on the boron content of borax, as boron has shown the potential to raise TSH levels in some people.
What can you do if you want to continue taking borax? You could consider trying 1/16th teaspoon of borax or you can rely solely on niacinamide or niacinamide plus another antiarthritic, but in my experience niacinamide may not be sufficient by itself.
Dr. Rex Newnham said that the benefits of borax are not fully reached until the 2 to three month area, but in my experience I have seen people take a year to reach full benefit. If I understood you correctly, you are just past one month into borax. So in my opinion, doubling your dose was not an optimal choice. You said that when you got the high reading you were still at 1/8th teaspoon, if I understood you correctly. Instead of doubling your dose at that point, it might have been better to halve your dose to 1/16th teaspoon each day for 5 days per week with weekends off.
Increasing the dose may have increased the speed of effect, but it may now have further increased your TSH level even higher, if it actually is a contributing cause. I understand the pain makes you want to speed the process, but borax is only going to work so fast at Ted's recommended dose for women.
Art
Wanda (Spring, Texas) on 07/12/2025
Art (California) on 07/12/2025
You said the following, ' I had symptoms of feeling a Hoover in my body every night for a year but episodes get worse some nights when I get up to pee during sleep I lay back down and feel like my body is still moving internally. I started getting dizzy allot and nausea '.
These are known side effects of the blood pressure medication Lisinopril as discussed here :
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/lisinopril-side-effects.html
Here are three relevant quotes from the link :
' feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings '
' dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position '
' nausea '
There are quite a few other blood pressure medications that your doctor can have you try instead of Lisinopril, but you should probably taper off of it slowly to avoid withdrawal issues, which you absolutely should discuss with your doctor before stopping Lisinopril.
You are at the max dose for Lisinopril and this increases your chances for getting the many side effects of Lisinopril as discussed in the link above. I highly recommend that you fully read that side effect link to make sure you do not have any other of the many known side effects of Lisinopril.
Another consideration, once you are off of Lisinopril, is trying some natural alternatives to hypertension medications that are discussed on EC.
Rosuvastatin can have an effect on the heart rate or pulse, but your doctor would have to determine if that is the cause of your depressed heart rate.
Art
Phil (Arizona ) on 07/12/2025
Virginia (Mechanicsville, VA) on 07/12/2025
Please let me know.
Kind Regards
Virginia
Betsy (Virginia ) on 07/12/2025
Well, here we are approaching mid-July already. I wanted to drop in and provide an update on my borax supplementation.
Through trial and error, I’ve found that the amount that works best for me is 1/4 tsp daily in my morning coffee. Been at this dose since early June and am having much less osteoarthritis pain.
That said, I also have non-Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism which unfortunately got way out of whack recently, likely due to using CBD gummies in the evenings for several months. I discontinued those, but a new-to-me internal medicine doctor decided in early June since my TSH was 37 (and as recently as a week ago it was 58) that my Armour thyroid needed to be increased from the 105 mg I’d been on for a few years (with good results) to 120 mg. That turned out to be too much. After being off Armour for about 2 weeks, I began again today at 15 mg and will gradually increase by 15 mg per week with labwork in 4 weeks.
Question: is it possible that the dramatic TSH increase I experienced be a result of the borax supplementation? I was under the impression that it actually helped to regulate hormones.
For what it’s worth, the last time I had had it tested prior to June, it had risen to 12 from a normal level of 4; the general practitioner doctor I was seeing at that time didn’t think I needed to treat it. So it continued to climb. And yes I was on 1/8th tsp of borax during that period.
I don’t want to stop the borax, as between it and the Niacinamide, it’s really reduced my pain to a very manageable level. But if it’s playing havoc with my thyroid, I may have to rethink it. Your perspective would be very much appreciated.
Thank you as always for your time and insight.
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Rob (Kentucky) on 07/12/2025
When you go across the sea to England you will find Wintergreen Oil is currently recognized in their official medical book, the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia as a specific remedy for rheumatoid arthritis. That means if you have joints, muscles and tendons, bones or nerves that hurt and you put Wintergreen Oil on the area externally, it fixes it. Wintergreen works in two ways, one way is to quickly relieve discomfort and the other way is to break up the uric acid or other deposits. Then the body can flush them out. This is why we say you should also drink a large glass of clean natural water. Even better, you can drink a diuretic tea. This is a tea which will encourage the kidneys to go to work. As examples, try Peppermint tea or Alfalfa tea to flush the crystals and wastes out of the body that the Wintergreen Oil breaks loose. It should also be mentioned here that this new disease you hear so much about called fibromyalgia is very similar to what used to be called by the old fashioned word "rheumatism". It just so happens that Wintergreen Oil can be used externally for rheumatism with pretty good results.
The benefits of wintergreen EO stem from its main compound, methyl salicylate (about 98%). Its analgesic effects rival that of the traditional over-the-counter painkillers, such as aspirin.
I’ve seen formulas back in the early 1900s with amounts of wintergreen oil as high as 10-40% dilution ratio with a carrier oil like olive and peanut oil and massage the joint pain areas and rub the pain away. Ringmaster Pain Relief Rubbing Oil (told to him by George Washington Carver and invented around 1950) Pain Relief formula conatins 40% Methyl Salicylate (wintergreen oil) 60% peanut oil.
Similar product from Philippines that falls under the old school proprietary medicines is EFFICASCENT OIL and can be found online. It contains (Methyl Salicylate 21% “wintergreen” + Camphor + Menthol + Eucalyptus Oil + Mineral Oil.
I make a very similar formula at 35% Menthyl Salicylate that I use on people with gout. The last time I used it was on a young man who had been grossly overweight but managed to loose most of the weight but suffered from gout in his knees. After 3 days of applying my formula, his gout in the knees was gone. I spoke to him one year later and asked if it had returned… he said NO
Cmaynard (Chula Vista California ) on 07/11/2025
