PDA

View Full Version : How Much MSM?



leandrahime
March 16th, 2011, 07:43 PM
I've been scouring past posts of the forum since "MSM" is too short of a term to search for. It seems that everyone takes it, but no one says how much they take. Can anyone tell me the average dose, the maximum dose, and the best way to take it?

selderon
March 16th, 2011, 07:50 PM
All I can think of is "main stream media", which seems wrong.

Oh. There is a nutrient called MSM that goes along with chondroitin and glucosamine that is important for dogs. I think the green lipped mussel is one source. Is that right?

littlenvy
March 16th, 2011, 07:57 PM
Right now I'm taking 1000mg.

I think people take between 500 to 2000 mg. With 2000 being the norm. It is wise to start off with smaller amounts and increase with time.

Firefox7275
March 16th, 2011, 07:59 PM
Please don't take nutrition advice from anyone other than a suitably qualified health professional.

enfys
March 16th, 2011, 08:05 PM
MSM is used by people to for hair because it is high in sulphur. Lots of food is high in it too, and other nutrients. There are plenty of lists online of dietry sources of MSM.

I don't take it.

PineappleJello
March 16th, 2011, 08:12 PM
I believe I take around 2000 mg (pill form) of MSM daily. I stopped for awhile and noticed a change (for the worse) in how much my hair was growing. I quite like MSM, I also take biotin and salmon oil.

mira-chan
March 16th, 2011, 08:16 PM
I take 1000mg a day, but not for my hair. I take it for my joints which ache without it. I have no side effects at this dose, nor do I know if it has any effect on hair. I've been taking them for 3 years or so.

MSM- Methyl Sulfonyl Methane
It's a form of biologically available sulfur. Elemental sulfur can't be used by the body.

As for suitably qualified health professionals, I have had them make very stupid mistakes with me. :mad: I do lengthy research on every supplement I choose (NCBI, in addition to general information). I do suggest people do thorough research before taking something as supplements and herbs can have negative interactions with certain medical conditions and medications. If you are taking medications then definitely consult with your doctor.

MSM side effects, especially at higher doses, are migraines, vivid dreams and possibly mild depression. This is especially for doses of 5,000mg and higher. Everybody is different so keep an eye on things and don't introduce more than one thing at a time.

Schmoomunitions
March 16th, 2011, 08:29 PM
I take 1000mg a day

Cirafly24
March 16th, 2011, 08:43 PM
I use Nature's Way OptiMSM- 1000mg capsules, twice per day for a total of 2000mg a day. When I first started taking it (along with 1000mcg of Biotin), I had a growth spurt. However, I haven't seen any amazing growth since then, so I'm not sure if it's doing anything for my hair. HOWEVER, I have tendonitis and inflamed cartilage in my knees, and it has helped *so* much with that. My knees don't even hurt anymore.

Fairlight63
March 16th, 2011, 08:49 PM
I take what it says on the bottle to take. 1 1,000mg. tablet.

McFearless
March 16th, 2011, 09:12 PM
I think if your doctor hasn't prescribed MSM you shouldn't take it. I usually go by what is on the bottle for my supplements. Some people will advise scary amounts of biotin, folic acid, msm, etc that aren't good for the body.

Hotrox
March 16th, 2011, 09:30 PM
Doctors only focus on treating disease

If you are interested in eating and supplementing for health and wellness, you'll be hard pressed to find a doctor who is interested or has the time to support you in this. You are ultimately responsible for your own well being so take time to learn, listen and investigate what works well for YOU.

I take 1000mg of MSM daily

turtlelover
March 16th, 2011, 09:47 PM
I've taken a 1000 mg/day in the past and I thought it helped w/ some muscle aches and pains, though I can't say I noticed much difference in my hair.

getoffmyskittle
March 16th, 2011, 09:49 PM
Search tip: you can add an asterisk to the end of a word and it will wildcard the search (so, if you search for "brush" you only get results for brush, but if you search for "brush*" you get "brushing," "brushed," etc. as well). This is also great for circumventing the four character limit; searching "MSM*" should bring up all the posts that talk about it. HTH ;)

Firefox7275
March 17th, 2011, 01:55 AM
As for suitably qualified health professionals, I have had them make very stupid mistakes with me. :mad: I do lengthy research on every supplement I choose (NCBI, in addition to general information). I do suggest people do thorough research before taking something as supplements and herbs can have negative interactions with certain medical conditions and medications. If you are taking medications then definitely consult with your doctor.


There are many types of health professional qualified to give nutritional advice, I doubt you have tried them all. People do not need to consult with their GP each time you consider a supplement, there are medical professionals far more suited to that task. Just because you undertake thorough research, doesn't mean everyone else does. Most of the 'research' I see people quoting is opinion or quackery. That is not to suggest you are, but you have no idea what the OP's skillset is. :(

Firefox7275
March 17th, 2011, 01:58 AM
Doctors only focus on treating disease

If you are interested in eating and supplementing for health and wellness, you'll be hard pressed to find a doctor who is interested or has the time to support you in this. You are ultimately responsible for your own well being so take time to learn, listen and investigate what works well for YOU.

I take 1000mg of MSM daily

Which is why I referred to suitably qualified health professionals and not doctors. From twenty years of working in healthcare I can assure you not all doctors are only focussed on treating disease.

Mesmerise
March 17th, 2011, 04:12 AM
Doctors only focus on treating disease

If you are interested in eating and supplementing for health and wellness, you'll be hard pressed to find a doctor who is interested or has the time to support you in this. You are ultimately responsible for your own well being so take time to learn, listen and investigate what works well for YOU.

I take 1000mg of MSM daily

Yup agreed! I do my own research and don't listen to medical professionals who haven't been trained in supplementation! I have no doubt there ARE those who know about supplements etc. but mainstream doctors, well... I wouldn't necessarily take what they say is gospel.

I think my MSM supplement is about 1500mg, although in the past I had it in crystalline form, and I used to add a teaspoon to water and drink it! Yummy... sulfur...

Firefox7275
March 17th, 2011, 05:20 AM
Yup agreed! I do my own research and don't listen to medical professionals who haven't been trained in supplementation! I have no doubt there ARE those who know about supplements etc. but mainstream doctors, well... I wouldn't necessarily take what they say is gospel.

I think my MSM supplement is about 1500mg, although in the past I had it in crystalline form, and I used to add a teaspoon to water and drink it! Yummy... sulfur...

Nobody on this thread has actually suggested consulting a mainstream doctor.

oktobergoud
March 17th, 2011, 06:22 AM
My tablets contain 750mg so I take one or two a day, never more, even though the package says you can take 4 of them..

mira-chan
March 17th, 2011, 04:44 PM
There are many types of health professional qualified to give nutritional advice, I doubt you have tried them all. People do not need to consult with their GP each time you consider a supplement, there are medical professionals far more suited to that task. Just because you undertake thorough research, doesn't mean everyone else does. Most of the 'research' I see people quoting is opinion or quackery. That is not to suggest you are, but you have no idea what the OP's skillset is. :(
I completely understand that and mentioned doing thorough research before hand. :flower: Not disagreeing with you on that at all. Things should not be taken without the thorough research. If someone does it's completely at their own risk, and there IS a risk. It stress that to my students all the time (I teach pre-med biology labs...and would run if I saw some of them as a nutritionist.:run:).

Unfortunately not everyone has access to such a professional or can't afford it. Sad as it is. :( It is much easier to get such advise in Europe than in much of the USA. Some people have issues visiting/ affording the GP here. :(

dropinthebucket
March 18th, 2011, 04:55 AM
General concensus for those supplementing with sulphur is that one 1,000 mg tablet/per day is usually fine, for anyone with no pre-existing conditions or contraindications.

For arthritis, dosage can be higher. I was on 6,000 mg/day. Hair had a real growth spurt! However, since sulphur can interfere with the absorption of iodine, large dosage can cause thyroid problems. Even a small dosage should be considered carefully if thyroid is already an issue. HTH

Robbi Dehlinger
March 18th, 2011, 04:56 AM
I take usually 2 capsules a day, I think each is 1000mg maybe 100?

Firefox7275
March 18th, 2011, 07:40 AM
I completely understand that and mentioned doing thorough research before hand. :flower: Not disagreeing with you on that at all. Things should not be taken without the thorough research. If someone does it's completely at their own risk, and there IS a risk. It stress that to my students all the time (I teach pre-med biology labs...and would run if I saw some of them as a nutritionist.:run:).

Unfortunately not everyone has access to such a professional or can't afford it. Sad as it is. :( It is much easier to get such advise in Europe than in much of the USA. Some people have issues visiting/ affording the GP here. :(

Thank you for your reply. I know what you mean about biology students, I've worked in two universities and studied as an adult at degree level a couple of times. Super scary levels of misinformation! :p

I appreciate people don't all have access to a personal trainer or dietician or whatever, but that is not a reason to take - or worse, recommend - supplements willy nilly (general point, not aimed at you :o ). It frightens me that those who think silica and omega-3 are vitamins are giving out healthcare advice. IMO those of us who do have the knowledge need to be pointing LHCers in the direction of a balanced diet. As I am sure you know, there is a stack of information on this on the US government and many other public/ non-profit organisations websites both home and overseas. There is also plenty of guidance on eating healthy on a tight budget. :D

I can't do this on my own (certainly not without coming over as preachy or a know-it-all or party pooper :( ) so I really need people like yourself on board. For my part I am happy to give pointers to anyone that is interested, not on hair nutrition but on nutrition for health and wellbeing. I see that as a way of putting back into this community and in any case I love what I do! :cool:

mira-chan
March 18th, 2011, 08:42 AM
Thank you for your reply. I know what you mean about biology students, I've worked in two universities and studied as an adult at degree level a couple of times. Super scary levels of misinformation! :p

I appreciate people don't all have access to a personal trainer or dietician or whatever, but that is not a reason to take - or worse, recommend - supplements willy nilly (general point, not aimed at you :o ). It frightens me that those who think silica and omega-3 are vitamins are giving out healthcare advice. IMO those of us who do have the knowledge need to be pointing LHCers in the direction of a balanced diet. As I am sure you know, there is a stack of information on this on the US government and many other public/ non-profit organisations websites both home and overseas. There is also plenty of guidance on eating healthy on a tight budget. :D

I can't do this on my own (certainly not without coming over as preachy or a know-it-all or party pooper :( ) so I really need people like yourself on board. For my part I am happy to give pointers to anyone that is interested, not on hair nutrition but on nutrition for health and well being. I see that as a way of putting back into this community and in any case I love what I do! :cool:
It's hard to do that. Especially when what you are trying to say goes against the cultural diet a person grew up in. Some of the high school students I've worked with didn't know a potato was a plant (because it wasn't green). :bigeyes:

College level students are usually a bit better but not always. Mind you these students also come from areas of the city where vegetables are actually hard to find and distances of carrying things home are prohibitive. It's getting a bit better, but very slowly.

Igor and I usually stress about overdose and side effects of supplements whenever we post on them. I have friends who are nurses and dietitians (or ones in training) so I have back up on that.

My supplements are all for health more than hair. MSM helps support my hypermobile joints, stopping what would have been chronic pain. :(

/hijack (sorry!)
(Firefox maybe we should take this to another thread or the profile messages? It is great talking to you.)