The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Palpitations
Posted by Marsh (Colorado) on 03/13/2021
We purchased pure MSM in November (2020). My husband takes it daily and he feels it's helped his frozen shoulder and joints.
After the 7th day of 1/2 teaspoon MSM, I was besieged by heart palpitations. They finally began lessening in January. Made appt with cardiologist, all tests came back fine. I increased magnesium to 400mg 3x day, a banana and himalayan sea salt, which eliminated the palps.
2 days ago, I tried about 1/8 teaspoon of MSM and yup, a couple palps occurred. I think I'll try 1-2 crystals because my joints were feeling much better to see if that keeps the joints and heart happy.
Anxiety, Caution for Pets
Posted by Deirdre (Ct) on 08/28/2020
Thank you for your great post on MSM, Art!
I think people do need to be very careful when they take MSM orally. I have taken it in the past and it caused anxiety and this sensation of pressure on the heart that was intense! I think that is a common side effect for people starting out on MSM.
Turns out you also have to be equally careful with dogs too! I gave a very small amount to my dogs in their dinner recently to help with arthritis and the next day, one of them wouldn't stop whining all day. He was clearly feeling punk from the supplement. No more of that! After 24 hours it left his system and he was back to his happy old boy self.
I will have to try it topically (on myself, not the dogs) and see if has the same side effects.
Cough
Posted by Wendy (Ny) on 05/07/2018
Sulfa is not the same as sulphur. Two completely different things. When they say "sulfa allergy" it usually involves rx drugs. Sulphur is a very common component to food in low amounts, so it's unlikely one would have a sulphur allergy.
Headache
Posted by Zach (Upstate, Ny) on 11/14/2015
I recently started taking MSM (about 3 days ago) first day I took 1000 mg tablet on my way home from work (I stopped at a local supermarket at 5:15 am cause I work overnights) and had insomnia that night... should have read not to take it before bed. So I tried it the next day 1000 mg 2x's. Felt exhausted, slight headache and I drank distilled water about half a gallon.
Next day I took 3 tablets (1000 mg each) finished the other half a gallon of distilled water and had same symptoms. I woke up after that my eyes were pounding in my skull worse headache and exhausted more than usual. I want to take advantage of the benefits but I can't do 2 weeks of the detoxing.
Could it be I got a low quality (wegmans brand MSM), taking too high a dose (i weigh 230 6'5 male) , or is it just not for me? I take atenolol for pre hypertension celexa for my social anxiety, and aderal for adhd. my anxiety gives me slight ocd like behaviors as far as "ticks" go. I have zero emotion on the meds so I'm trying to get off them.
Headache
Posted by Joyce (Manteca, Ca Usa) on 04/13/2013
I was so happy to find this site. I took 2 tsp MSM for 2 days and 1/2 tsp for 2 days and 3 weeks later I'm still having reactions. I wake in the middle of the night with my body buzzing and I'm having headaches (which I've never had in my life). My energy level is very low. I'm 75 and very healthy otherwise; I'm still working as a substiture teacher. I'm allergic to sulfa and that may be the problem since some others on the site said they were unable to take MSM because of that. I was really hoping it would help with my shoulder problems. I have a damaged rotator cuff (inoperable) from hairstyling for 34 years.
Palpitations
Posted by Steve (Centennial, Co) on 10/29/2012
I have been taking MSM for the past week or so. I had heart palpitations yesterday. One thing that msm appears to do is purge the body of heavy metals. I suspect it may also take with it some of the necessary minerals that are key for the electrical signaling of the heart to function properly (like some other heavy metal detoxes I have taken before). As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I took a general overall mineral supplement and the palpitations ceased immediately. I will have to monitor this point forward. Less MSM. More minerals. For detox the key is not to take them together as then it is just sweeping out the minerals you took, rather than the heavy metals deeply imbedded in fat and bones. For detox it appears there needs to be 6-8 hours in between the taking of the minerals and the taking of the msm. Hope this helps in your own research.
How to Deal with Side Effects
Posted by Dawn (USA) on 05/21/2022
★★★★★
I've had the same experience. Started taking for my back pain I've had since a really bad accident years ago. The pain got excruciating for a week or two then it went away after so kept taking. I still take daily and have none of the severe pains I was living with for the last 15 plus years.
Body Aches
Posted by Jas (Plano, Texas) on 08/11/2022
MSM SIDE EFFECTS: I accidentally skipped a dose and my body aches are better and no leg cramps... those were severe and nightly and concerning. Have been on normal dose for weeks... but forget it... am done.
Hair Loss, Fatigue
Posted by Art (California) on 05/14/2022 2684 posts
Denise,
It seems reasonable to stop the FGDE for three months to see if your reported symptoms reverse. Three months is a reasonable amount of time when testing effects on the hair because it grows slowly. It clearly does not seem to be working for your hair at this point anyway. There are silica containing supplements which may also be effective for your hair and nails if it turns out the FGDE is the cause of your problems.
As far as the MSM, it can be used topically as a cream or spray that you can make yourself and may be similarly effective as oral consumption. You can spray it directly on the affected joints. Usually 4 to 5 grams of MSM per ounce of distilled water is what I have found useful.
Art
Extreme Detox Symptoms
Posted by Fiona (Kilkenny) on 05/12/2018
I believe this is the most accurate take. MSM is wildly powerful: many of us looking for wholistic "cures" are already quite unwell and the detox process is no joyride. Take Vit C, start small with the pure MSM powder (and v.early in the morning) and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Add some physical movement, again start out gently, and enjoy the road to recovery!
Anxiety
Posted by Cheryl (Philadelphia ) on 05/06/2017 2 posts
I have had insomnia for a long time. I currently had it under control when put on nature throid for Hashimoto's. I also take sleep mess which weren't really working before. Then I started MSm and started with 1 gram and increased by a gm/ day for 10 days. Fine until the 10th day when I started to become anxious and couldn't sleep and had a massive headache for 3 days. I cut back to 1gm and the headaches and anxiety went away but I still have the insomnia. Don't sleep at all for 2 nights and 3rd night sleep 3-4 hours. Thinking of stopping the MSm for a few days to see if it helps the sleep. I was using the MSm because I have chronic neck pain and some back pain and most recently injured my rotator cuff and want to avoid surgery.
Progesterone
Posted by Rvee (Finland) on 02/28/2017
I have used MSM powder(Doctors Best) two periods. I started with a small dose 1/4 teasp to 1 tablespoon.
It helped my back pain but what really scared me off was excess hairloss and PMS. I´m not kidding, I lost both periods on MSM half of my hair. I was really sceptical it was MSM what was causing those, but had to believe since it happened twice.
I created very sore breasts and I act like a maniac before menses so I had to get rid of MSM.
Now I´d like to know, since there is so little information of MSM and women hormone balance, what is actually causing this? My own opinion is that women with oestrogen dominance suffer the most of MSM. MSM might somehow decrease progesteron levels on pre-menopausal women. I found earlier a link about the progesterone levels and MSM, but I lost it.
Do you have any information about this?
Anxiety
Posted by Marsh (Colorado) on 05/10/2021
Yes, magnesium is important. I think I may have leaky gut or my system doesn't absorb what it requires. I have to take 2-3 400mg magnesium, a banana for potassium and use Himalayan salt every day or my calf cramps at night and heart palpitations can be brutal. Calm is good but after taking it for 2 years, my teeth became sensitive to the citric acid. Someone here on EC suggested Black walnut for tooth sensitivity and it works very well.
Headache
Posted by Mary (Tn) on 04/23/2016
Sounds like your dosage is too high too soon. Headaches are a sure sign of that. Start low, and add dosages week by week. If you get headaches or any undesirable affect back down on dosages for awhile then proceed to desirable dosage.
Hives
Posted by Lana (Carthage, MO) on 03/12/2009
I have learned something interesting with MSM. I took the NOW brand for 30 days to help with Lupus. It was working great w/no side effects other than insomnia, which stopped when I cut the dosage down from 4000 mg daily to 20000 mg daily. (take it first thing in the morning) After finishing that bottle, a friend offered me a bottle that she was not going to take. It was a different brand than I had taken previously. Within 2 days, I had hives & swelling up my arms & a severe headache. I talked to the owwner of a Health Food Store in town & she said some MSM products are not as pure as others. This particular brand had 345 mg of sulfur in it. The reaction I had was to the sulfur, not the MSM. I stopped it & the rash & headache went away. I am back to taking the NOW brand with no problems. Make sure you buy your MSM at a reputable dealer, not just anywhere. Talk to the salesperson & be sure it is pure MSM.
Depression
Posted by TammyQ (Chicago, IL) on 11/18/2008
MSM caused severe mood swings in me, then severe depression, so if you have mood disorders, I don't recommend to take it.
Depression, Exhaustion, Mental Fog
Posted by Michelle (UT) on 09/14/2023
I took a small amount of MSM one day because I had read about so many health benefits of sulfur. I felt great at first, but then when I took another small dose I started feeling like you did, Extremely tired, lethargic, etc. I felt like I had been drugged and I just wanted to sleep all day. It really concerned me and I read up on what was happening to me. Apparently some of us don't process sulfur well and it can build up in our systems as well as the toxins that it knocks loose. The mineral molybdenum helps to convert the sulfur into a more useable form for the body, as well as helping to get rid of the toxins from the sulfur. I took two doses of molybdenum a few hours apart and felt like a new woman! I strongly suggest you start taking molybdenum to counteract the effects of the sulfur from the MSM. Good luck!
Hair Loss, Fatigue
Posted by Charity (faithville, Us) on 05/14/2022
MSM is for repairs and requires added vitamin C.
Elevated Cortisol Levels
Posted by Sarah (Nsw Australia) on 02/02/2018
I started taking MSM 5 years ago. It has helped me with inflammation in my body. Firstly, always check that MSM is streamed distilled and not solvent distilled, there is a big difference. Most MSM comes from China where it is chemically distilled and not good for your kidneys. I recently found out that my cortisol level is high and this could be due to MSM so I have come off it and can already feel my aches and pains returning.
My point is get your cortisol levels checked just to be on the safe side of MSM.
Also, when MSM is ground into a powder it depletes the benefits by half. They grind it as to make it easier to package. There are companies that do offer steamed distilled MSM but you need to ask them, and most of them don't know. If it comes from China, it will be chemically distilled. To buy MSM from China direct would cost about $12 a kg.
I buy mine from Canada through an agent. I just wanted to share that often we don't know what we are taking or how it's produced. Ask before you buy, only buy granules and be aware your controls level may be elevated from taking it.
Headache
Posted by Janet (Indiana) on 11/15/2015
Zach, When I started MSM the first time I could not breath, felt awful. Found Earth Clinic, got off wheat products. Then I tried MSM again. No problems. First check the ingredients if it contains titanium dioxide, it can make you sicker than whatever you are taking the supplement for. There are other ingredients that are not great but titanium dioxide seems the worst offender. I have read much about it and the new nano technology and it is the first additive to be used with this in it. I inadvertently took MSM with it and was very ill for 2 months headaches aches tiredness just terrible feeling. I also had some chest tightness. I upped my usage of alkalizing drinks of Apple Cider Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to three a day, and used hydrogen peroxide spray from Earth Clinic's video to push it out of my system .I am almost over it, it took awhile, about a month. Janet
Insomnia
Posted by Nicole (Australia) on 12/23/2013
Hi everyone, I first decided to take msm sulphur because I wanted to detox and see if it could improve my rosacea and keratosis pilaris, among other health problems. I took 1 tsp for a week, the first few days I noticed it make my insomnia worse so I decided to take it in the morning, but nothing changed my insomnia was still worse, I also noticed my constipation was worse. I decided not to take it today and actually had a bowel movement. I just wanted to know am I taking too much? how much should I start off with? I was only taking 1 tsp why was this happening? Thanks in advance for your help:)
Anxiety
Posted by Kathy (Covington, Virginia) on 11/26/2010
I have read all the feedback on msm. Now I am confused. I am having pain in my knees and legs. Have for sometime. I mix 2 capsules of msm in lotion and apply as much as needed. This seems to help, but not for long. I would like to start taking msm by mouth, but now if it causes anxiety i can't do that. I already have chronic anxiety and am taking zoloft, have been for ten years. The msm i use is pure. What can i do?
Anxiety
Posted by B (Munich) on 12/25/2022
According to my own (bad) Experiences, I do explicitly NOT recommend taking MSM together with Zoloft (Sertraline). MSM can strongly affect the Effects of SSRI-Antidepressants.
Anxiety
Posted by Tom (Regina, Sk) on 11/26/2010
★★★★★
Any 'anxiety' reaction to the MSM is not seen in the majority, and even when it is it is likely simply the reaction to the body having too many waste products moving around at the same time due to MSM's nearly unique property of opening up cell membrane porosity for better efficiency moving things in and out across that membrane. This is for ALL organs and tissues, so in fact one minor problem but one to note well is that in addition to this temporary condition, there may well be a reaction ALSO caused by taking RX meds at the same time as being on a MSM regimen, because the increased porosity will cause the RX drug dose to be in effect multiplied, maybe 25%, 50%, or even double or triple! And what is one symptom of too high a dose of anti-depressant/anxiety medication? Why, it's ANXIETY! (Just do a Search. )
Also, remember it takes days at least even once stopped taking any RX drug for it to be really well cleared out by the liver and kidneys. So even if one goes off the drug in order to take MSM, it is best to wait several days at least before starting MSM. (one can lessen this down to non-existent by simply slowly increasing the daily MSM dosage, a week at a time, starting at the lowest dose for body weight and then after a month or two getting up to the highest). BTW, the antidepressant RX drugs have what must be the highest placebo effect of any drug class, at least for 'depression'(placebo effect for this drug class on other prescribed conditions like OCD, anxiety, etc. not given):www.newsweek.com/2010/01/28/the-depressing-news-about-antidepressants.html
It seems I am not alone in having moral qualms about blowing the whistle on antidepressants. That first analysis, in 1998, examined 38 manufacturer-sponsored studies involving just over 3,000 depressed patients. The authors, psychology researchers Irving Kirsch and Guy Sapirstein of the University of Connecticut, saw as everyone else had that patients did improve, often substantially, on SSRIs, tricyclics, and even MAO inhibitors, a class of antidepressants that dates from the 1950s. This improvement, demonstrated in scores of clinical trials, is the basis for the ubiquitous claim that antidepressants work. But when Kirsch compared the improvement in patients taking the drugs with the improvement in those taking dummy pills clinical trials typically compare an experimental drug with a placebo he saw that the difference was minuscule. Patients on a placebo improved about 75 percent as much as those on drugs. Put another way, three quarters of the benefit from antidepressants seems to be a placebo effect. Remember this is NEWSWEEK talking, THE Establishment mass news outlet, so for them to put it out there means it's already long obvious to most.
Did you read over the ANXIETY section?:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/anxiety.html
If anything, there's too many things there you can try! So pick one that's cheap, easily available, and has some YAYS behind it.
Boils
Posted by Alex (London, England) on 07/05/2009
★★★☆☆BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
I have just started taking MSM for IC cystitis. I feel an improvement already but have come out in big spots over my head and neck like boils. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this part of the detox? Love to you all Alex
