MSM Side Effects: What You Need to Know Before You Take It

MSM: So far I am having great benifits. Been 2 weeks. I was taking msm in pill form to start, then capsules. Now I am taking crystals. Pain is no longer keeping me awake at night but dry mouth is. Could the dry mouth have something to do with the product coming in contact inside the mouth or did it just take me that long to develop it. I really do not like the pills or capsules. This dry mouth is really annoying. I have to sip water all night.

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

I have been reading about the many health improvements that can come from taking MSM, so I ordered some 100% OptiMSM Silicon Dioxide. I had read it could help with muscle pain, stress, seasonal allergies, sleep, etc, and I did notice that a couple of hours after taking 1/4 tsp., I could breathe through both sides of my nose, not usual for me. However, at the same time I began coughing, which I thought was a fluke.

The next day, I took another 1/4tsp. and the same thing happened. Clear nose, increased coughing, until I woke up this morning with a lost voice, much coughing and tightness in the chest. Has anyone else had a similar response?

I have no temperature, so I am not sick. I was pretty much unable to understand the article that Art posted, (my lack of knowledge, nothing against the article, Art) so if that was a warning, please post in simple terms so I will understand.

Could this be an allergy to MSM? Maybe just a fluke?

I also want to let people know that I stopped taking my LDN for all of December in order to try Daisy's recommendation for non-alcoholic Essiac tea tonic, (which I feel helped to detox my system, but did not alleviate the Lichen Planus as it did for her), and I have been very achey, and feeling less well than normal. I will not be doing that again!

I didn't realize how much better I felt all the years I have used it, and I can't remember even having a cold in over six years that I have been taking it. I am thinking about trying the GAPS diet soon to see if I can rid my body of these autoimmune problems.

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?

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.

Dear Art,

thank you once again for your tips and further references. As I have had several MRIS and they have shown that the lower part of my spine healed after the accident at a very acute v shaped angle so the vertebrae will always get in the way of the nerves and cause excruciating pain. I have been doing yoga for at least 23 years now and that keeps me walking and supple but as I mentioned that doesn't help so much with the pain. I have asked neurosurgeons if I should get an operation done and they all said that with my situation surgery would not help and it actually could cause more suffering. I rarely take any pain killers because I wouldn't have any kidneys or liver left with the years that I have this problem. Hence my delight when I started the MSM. I will start taking a lower dose and Molybdenum as see how I go. I will keep you posted. Wish me luck. Oh and by the way, thank you for the Magnesium oil tip. It has helped me somewhat with my neck pain and my migraines. Kindest regards to you Art.

Art,

I have been drinking 1/4 of a teaspoon of MSM powder in a glass of water every day for the last 3 weeks plus 2 drops of molybdenum every night and have had no side effects at all. I have had great results with the pain in my lower back subsiding by 90%. I do hope this is it. I feel almost like my old self again. the magnesium oil is doing a great job too. Thank you for all your advice Art. God bless you.

Regards,

Dimitra65

Dimitra65,

I am glad that the MSM and mag oil are working very well for you and thank you for the update! A 90% decrease in your back pain is awesome!

Art

Hi GiftOpfer der MSM-Lügen,

Earth Clinic has been on top of the situation with MSM, not only telling us the good reports of the community members, but also the potential negative side effects as discussed here :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/msm-side-effects.html

While many people report very good results with MSM including myself and friends, obviously MSM gives many people new problems as discussed in the above link which EC was smart enough to warn potential users about the potential downsides of MSM! One consideration is that some MSM products may not be what they claim to be.

Art

You started with too high a dose. You need to start with a slow dose and go extremely slow if you want to avoid the detox herx reaction

I have been taking MSM in crystal form approx 1-2grams, although the knee pain in my joints improved, I noticed that my hair was coming out a lot! I have also taken DE for about 3 years which thickens my hair and makes my nails so strong. But my skin has gone crepey and dry ( I noticed this when starting DE, and was told to drink more water and eat more vegetables and fruit.)

My husband is now on MSM for pain and is experiencing much more fatigue. I think I will have to stop for a while to see if it is the MSM, maybe stop DE too, as my skin is painfully dry and my hair still falling!!! Any advice please 🙏

Wanted to thank you for posting the page of side effects from MSM.

I started taking it for joints (had a bum shoulder), skin and hair.

Started 1 capsule of 1,000 mg in the morning. Second day took 2.

Bottle mentioned therapeutic dose was 4 capsules. Day 3 I took 4.

Also had used 2 different skin lotions at the time on my face. My face sometimes reacts to serums and lotions.

Day 5 my face was reddened with several round red raised areas. They were only mildly itchy, at most. They turned into raised eczema patches which have persisted for 3 weeks now.

I wasn't sure if it was lotions or msm. Searched online but didn't see anything that said that msm could CAUSE a reaction. In fact, many sites mentioned that it was a treatment for eczema.

I couldn't see an ingredient that was unusual in the lotions. I searched again and came across this site. Now I'm certain. Thank you!

MSM causes joint pain...

I now realize that msm is the culprit behind my wrist pain. I had stopped taking it about 1 year ago and I just restarted. I am taking .5 tsp. of Kala health OptiMSM.

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.

The body does a lot of healing and cleansing at night, so taking elements that help this process can trigger insomnia.

Some say that taking MSM late can keep them awake, but it's more likely the healing and detox response. Also some people may be unaware they have parasites. They become active at night. Taking MSM can help to deal with them, but initially it may make them very aggravated, and trigger a lot more activity.

Persevering with the MSM will usually find those detox or other issues resolving. Sulphur (MSM) aids the detox process and helps the body assimilate and use nutrition far better, so healing responses are often enhanced.

Could someone help. This is strange. I started talking MSM a couple days ago and after second dose had palpitations and they don't stop and have been going on 24 hours now. I stopped taking MSM after it began and its still happening. Breath is hard to catch sometimes and I do not have these but maybe 2 a month and it's usually once. My BP is spiked at times and I have always had LOW LOW blood pressure. This is really creepy. I am also getting off white sugar at the same time and using brown for 4 days. So what's going on here? Don't yang about going to a Dr. If I hadn't already I wouldn't be here. They say nothing wrong but anemia.

Side effects: Insomnia and severe depression after taking msm for 3 weeks.

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

WARNING!

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.

Githe, why don't you try staying at 1/4 tsp. for the benefit without the side effects?

"This too will pass" (from my favorite Aunt).

Cheers from Down Under

Hot sauce. Cayenne/hot peppers are euphoric and stimulating, and decongestant.

Coffee

Green/black tea

Ginger

Thyme

Tomatos

MSM said to take a 1/2 tsp 2-3 times a day. So I took 2. I was so exhausted. Told to take with Vitamin C so I did. When I took it I felt fine, then a couple of hours later I felt stoned and tired.

My scalp broke out badly. I have been on MSM for 2 weeks.

I have went down to a 1/2 tsp a day and I take it in the evening around dinner time. It helps me sleep but if I take it too close to bedtime it keeps me awake.

This has been a strange drug for me. I also broke out in a rash on my arms. That has seemed to subside but the stoned feeling I can't wait for it to go away. Good luck to all. Remember what doesn't affect you may affect someone else.

I started MSM a couple of weeks ago because I discontinued my Chondroitin Glucosamine, and I have been experiencing cramping in my feet and legs. I see from this article that my occasional insomnia may also be from taking my MSM later in the day when I have forgotten it in the morning. I have also recently experienced some mild emotional lows.

My sister rages about MSM, so I started taking it! Maybe after 2 weeks, I started itching. It seems like everywhere, even my ears! Now I am trying over the counter remedies but nothing helps!! I will stop it and see what happens!

Grace,

Some people can not tolerate MSM for various reasons and it appears that you fall in that category. As good as MSM is for some people, it can have substantial negative effects for others. EC has created a page on MSM side effects because there are so many reports of it. I am not reactive to MSM but many people are :

https://www.earthclinic.com/supplements/msm-side-effects.html

Art

Since it oxygenates your blood it gives you energy. so start with small doses and take it first thing when you get up. I take it instead of coffee. never before bed. (I learned that just like you did.)

Good luck.

Sore gums is due to vitamin C deficiency.. you may have already had a slight deficiency and the MSM made it worse. As you detox, you are also losing nutrients. I would stop taking the MSM, get an organic whole food form of Vitamin C, not ascorbic acid, and start on it for about a month before taking msm again. I would take no less than 2,000 mg daily and break it up as much as possible.

Shelleyjr: I also had very high Calcium levels as per hair analysis. Bill from Philippines says it's probably due to leaky gut or malabsorption. I feel like I have made improvements in that category but will need to repeat test for sure.

Sunbathing for Vit-D should help absorb the calcium in the event that your gut isn't doing well. An herbal parasite cleanse might be of big value as parasites are very common in folks, particularly those w/ pets or livestock. Oil of Oregano will kill any pathogens in the gut.

As for the MolyB and excessive copper, it appears warranted to add at least 50mg Zinc daily as Zinc will combine w/ Copper to form Zinc/Copper Superoxide Dismutase, a major antioxidant enzyme in the body. Ionic Major & Minor Mineral supplement will help bring about a balance of minerals. Taurine will help mineral function. A complete B vitamin will combine w/ minerals to form coenzymes involved in many metabolic processes. Vit-E and Selenium will combine w/ the CoQ10 for a major antioxidant boost.

Pineapple, Turmeric, and Omega 3 fats are the major ant anti-inflammatory naturals. Magnet therapy is a powerful anti-inflammatory.

Thank you for a simple and very informative comment.

Thank you for this information. I have Sciatica and it subsided until I started to take quality organic MSM (2 weeks now).
I will observe what will happen over the next couple of weeks.

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.

MSM & Migraine Headaches:

I tried MSM after reading in several places it helps w/joint deterioration & pain, & also seeing that it is a component of several glucosamine & chondroitin supplements.

Years earlier, my orthopedic surgeon (a Johns Hopkins University professor) recommended Cosamin DS (a brand of glucosamine & chondroitin w/no added MSM), which he also takes, because it's purity & dosage accuracy were verified in (independent, double blind, placebo controlled) research trials. I took the it for years w/no side effects, & w/much pain relief & improved function. I saw other brands of glucosamine & chondroitin w/MSM, which Cosamin DS does not contain.

My doctor was not opposed to my trying MSM, but he was adamant I stick w/Cosamin DS, although it costs more than most other brands. My pets' vets also insisted I use the same company's pet formulation (Cosequin) & not switch their brand. I decided to stick with it, but add in MSM separately, which my doctors did not oppose.

Within a couple of days after starting MSM, I developed a migraine. Initially mild, it worsened over the next 10 days, becoming severe. I'm prone to both muscle spasm & migraine type headaches, & can distinguish clearly between them. I didn't initially attribute the migraine to MSM, since so many other things can trigger migraines, including stress, irregular sleep, hormonal cycles (especially during peak estrogen levels), as well as certain foods/beverages, medications, smoke, fragrances, & chemical odors/fumes.
I'd learned I must stay on a preventative medication (in my case Verapamil), which enables me to avoid most migraines. With it, I can get away w/some things which otherwise trigger my migraines, including certain favorite foods (in small amounts) & unavoidable whiffs of problem scents & tobacco smoke. (See list of common migraine triggers at end, if interested).

I stayed on the MSM, regulated my sleep cycles (no late nights or sleeping in), avoided stressors, & avoided known migraine triggers--including the foods I sometimes 'cheated' on & places where I could be exposed to problem scents or smoke (malls, rest rooms, smokers, crowds, etc.). Friends & family helped by not exposing me to perfumes or scented products & staying across the room if they had tobacco smoke on their clothes.

These measures had always worked in the past, but this migraine did not lessen. An increase to the maximum dose of Verapamil did not help. I temporarily went on a diet of unprocessed foods w/simple ingredient lists, began stress reduction techniques, & avoided new medications & household or personal products, to no avail. After a 5 week period in which I should have been through a full female hormonal cycle (& into the next one) w/no reduction or fluctuation in severity of the migraine, I was concerned. By week 6 I was spending a lot of time in a dark, quiet room, & getting a little desperate. Lights were like daggers & sounds were like bomb blasts. I considered a trip to downtown Washington, DC, to see a trusted migraine specialist, but couldn't imagine making the trip.

As I looked back for what was new in my regimen since onset of the migraine, I considered the MSM. It seemed so innocuous, but it was the only truly new variable I could identify. No literature available to me at the time I first considered taking it had mentioned anything about MSM & headaches. There was little mention of side effects at all, other than sulfa allergy, at the time. I asked two pharmacists, but neither had heard of MSM triggering headaches, nor had my doctors.

It made sense to all of us that I stop the MSM immediately, but if the migraine ceased, we knew it could be coincidence. The migraine DID cease within about a week of stopping the MSM, & I went back down to my original dose of Verapamil a week later. My primary doctor suggested I just stay off MSM.

However, MSM was enough help for my joint pain that I wanted to be as sure as possible that it was not coincidence that the migraine ceased after stopping MSM. I waited a month, during which I stayed on my migraine reduction/avoidance routine & had NO migraines. Then, while continuing this routine, being careful to add in no new foods, products, medications, or other supplements, I restarted the MSM.

Unfortunately, the migraine returned again, about a week after restarting the MSM while eliminating all other variables that I could control. Of course, there were variables I could not control outside a research setting, including my own knowledge of whether I resumed taking the MSM & when. However, there have been so many times I thought things would cause me a migraine but they did not do so (or conversely I thought they would not cause a migraine but they did), that I strongly suspected the MSM was the cause of my protracted status migrainosis.

About 4 years later, I was diagnosed w/a more severe joint disease, which eventually causes destruction of the entire affected joint. With 8 major weight-bearing joints involved & few treatment options, I decided to try MSM one more time. I had been nearly migraine-free for the better part of a year. With my doctors' agreement, I went doubled my Verapamil (to the maximum dose), went back on my strict migraine avoidance/reduction routine, waited 10 days so my body had the full benefit of these measures, & restarted MSM.

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.

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?

Nicole, did you start with too much? Any new supplement should be tried bit by bit and maybe one by one.

Art,

Thank you so much for your reply. I do not have arthritis. The back pain is associated with a motorbike accident.