MSM?

[Pixie0763]

I thought I saw a thread for supplements, and another that specifically mentioned "MSM"? Can someone tell me what this is? :o Thanks!

[infinity_girl]

Methylsulfonylmethane is sulphur. It is supposed to make your hair grow faster. I've been taking it for about 4 months and it works for me!

[Pixie0763]

Thanks Infinity Girl!

I am glad I asked; if it is any kind of kin to sulfa antibiotics, I'm allergic. Hmm, so I might end up with long, lovely hair, but be covered head to toe in hives? I think I'll pass on this one.

[celebriangel]

From what I have read in the MSM thread, there are people who are allergic to sulfa antibiotics but still take MSM with success.

This is likely because sulfonamide (the common group in sulfa antibiotics) and Methysulfonylmethane have nothing at all in common, except that they both contain the extremely abundant element sulfur. Which is to say they are about as related as trees and plastic (both contain carbon).

From wiki: It is important to make a distinction between sulfa drugs and other sulfur-containing drugs and additives, such as sulfates and sulfites, which are chemically unrelated to the sulfonamide group, and do not cause the same hypersensitivity reactions seen in the sulfonamides.


So you should be fine. Mostly, people seem to take it to reduce shed. Seems to be working for me!

[Red Rapunzel]

I'm interested. Infinity girl and celebriangel: How much MSM do you take every day?

[owlathena]

I've taken 2000mg every day (1000 w/ breakfast, 1000 w/ lunch, I cant take it in the evening because then I have trouble falling asleep) for the past 8 months and havent noticed any change in my hair, but I think it helps my joints (arthritis) so I keep taking it.

[archel]

I'm allergic to sulfa and I can still take MSM - matter of fact, it's in the joint supplement I take along with the glucosamine/chondroitin.

[infinity_girl]

I'm interested. Infinity girl and celebriangel: How much MSM do you take every day?

I take 3000mg per day (as recommended by the manufacturer - Holland & Barrett own brand). I take two in the morning and two late afternoon.

I started taking it around June time and since then I have a baby fringe (which is really annoying at the moment) growing under my long fringe. It's about 2-3" at least.

[celebriangel]

I'm taking 2000mg per day in 2x1000mg tablets.

I'm not sure it's making my hair grow faster, per se, but it *definitely* put a stop to my end-of-birth-control shed. Now I get 6 hairs when I comb instead of about 20-30.

[HuggyBear]

I love my MSM! I take the powder. Right now, my dosage is about 1.3 g. per day (half of the manufacturer's - Source Naturals- recommended dosage). It's not really increased my growth as far as I can tell but it has decreased my shed rate, cleared up my seasonal allergies, and helped keep my skin clear.

Just be careful when taking MSM. Don't start out at a high dosage. Start small & work your way up if you need to. Some people, including me, can get massive headaches from taking too high of a dosage.

[Airmide]

I've been slacking on my MSM but just bought some more from Trader Joe's last night. I am allergic to some antibiotics but I've never had any trouble with the MSM. I've found it's supposed to be good for a whole huge list of things. It seems to be one of the few things that help my husband's allergies too.

Where is everyone buying their MSM? At Trader Joe's it is $4.99 for one hundred 1000mg tablets. I usually take 2 a day, but seeing higher dosages here, I may increase my dosage.

[HuggyBear]

Where is everyone buying their MSM? At Trader Joe's it is $4.99 for one hundred 1000mg tablets. I usually take 2 a day, but seeing higher dosages here, I may increase my dosage.

I used to get mine at a local natural foods place but now I get it at Vitacost because it's way cheaper. I get 35 oz of Source Naturals MSM powder for around $26. It lasts a long, long time.

[Airmide]

I used to get mine at a local natural foods place but now I get it at Vitacost because it's way cheaper. I get 35 oz of Source Naturals MSM powder for around $26. It lasts a long, long time.

When you take the powder, how do you do it? Do you just mix it with water or juice or something? Or do you have to buy capsules to load it into?

[HuggyBear]

When you take the powder, how do you do it? Do you just mix it with water or juice or something? Or do you have to buy capsules to load it into?

Usually, I mix it in my orange juice or a smoothie every morning. Can't taste it at all that way. :)

[jennescence]

Is it safe?

[KwaveT]

I take a 1000 mg MSM pill in the morning and another 300 mg pill in evening. The latter pill has herbals that contain other ingredients like Silica. I found a very good information page on MSM. It explains all sorts of different uses for MSM. You can access the page here (http://falconblanco.com/health/msm/faq.html).

[celebriangel]

Is it safe?

MSM is water soluble, and doesn't have as careful a balance, interaction-wise, as biotin for example (which is part of the b-vitamin complex, and any disruption is...not such a wonderful idea). Water soluble means that you can take extra and pee it out, though it's still not wise to consume massive doses in case it puts and extra load on your kidneys.

It's the fat soluble vitamins that people are generally caught out with. They bioaccumulate, which is really not what you want. vitamin A & D are common culprits.

MSM is toxic at a doses of 1050g (a whopping great amount = 1kg) and it looks like it's still safe at doses of 40,000mg per day, though I really wouldn't take that much. It does interfere with copper absorption - not that this is a great problem, since we mostly eat more copper than we need since it is present in pretty much every food (pretty much all plants and animals bio-accumulate it).

Basically, having done lots of research myself, I have come to the conclusion that the dose I am taking is safe enough for my comfort. It is less than was given to humans in arthritis studies, for example.

[StephanieB]

Thanks Infinity Girl!

I am glad I asked; if it is any kind of kin to sulfa antibiotics, I'm allergic. Hmm, so I might end up with long, lovely hair, but be covered head to toe in hives? I think I'll pass on this one.
I'm allergic to sulfa drugs, but I can take MSM. HTH

[MsBubbles]

For all it's worth, I'm also allergic to sulfa drugs, and MSM made me feel bad in a sulfa-allergy type way (minus the burning rash). So I had to give it up. It's really annoying because I really want to take this stuff.

[YepLilly]

I just started taking MSM 1500mg a few days ago, let's see how it goes! I bought mine through Amazon (Doctor's Best brand).

[honeyblonde]

I love MSM!! I do notice more growth when I take it! :)

[owlathena]

I'm taking 2000mg per day in 2x1000mg tablets.

I'm not sure it's making my hair grow faster, per se, but it *definitely* put a stop to my end-of-birth-control shed. Now I get 6 hairs when I comb instead of about 20-30.

How long after quitting did your shed happen? I experienced a massive shed in august/september and I couldn't figure out why. I've been thinking of going to the doctor. I stopped taking bc pills (tri-sprintec) in may, I never suspected them as the culprit.

[Pixie0763]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to give it a try and see what happens. :)

[islandboo]

I used to take MSM for my joints as well as my hair but had to discontinue it because it gave me vivid and very unpleasant dreams. Most people do fine with it but it can have side effects that aren't worth the benefits for some folks.

[celebriangel]

How long after quitting did your shed happen? I experienced a massive shed in august/september and I couldn't figure out why. I've been thinking of going to the doctor. I stopped taking bc pills (tri-sprintec) in may, I never suspected them as the culprit.

A very short time - only a few days. But by then my body was protesting against the hormones with every fibre of its being, so...

However, changes in your body can take up to 3 months to show in your hair, and I'd been stressed for months. So it could indeed be the bc pills.

I know that some people get a fall shed for no apparent reason every year, though.

[Red Rapunzel]

Thanks for the dosages. I think I'll try it. If only I could get the rest of my hair to grow as fast as my bangs!

[Erin1152]

I feel like I should mention that while I did see faster growth, I also had insomnia associated with the msm. I did some research, and it seems to be a rare side effect, but it does happen. In the end, I couldn't deal with it. I also was having horrible mood swings while on it, also.

[Red Rapunzel]

I just researched MSM and found that it can help many conditions. I have Lyme disease and allegedly MSM can help that dark disease too - so I'll definitely be trying it!

[melmmo]

I'm going to have to try this!