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pscot

(21,023 posts)
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 06:43 PM Mar 2015

Has anyone used DMSO

for arthritis or other joint pain? I've seen vague claims about it's effectiveness and equally vague alarms but I never knew anybody who actually used it to treat pain and mobility issues. Any large animal vets out there?

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Rhiannon12866

(203,041 posts)
1. I didn't use it for arthritis, but I went to a doctor who used it
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 06:55 PM
Mar 2015

I was given DMSO for chronic pain, helped in the short term but I eventually had surgery. However, most of my doctor's patients who had DMSO treatments were there for arthritis. I once had my treatment at the same time as an 87 year old man who said he'd been feeling so much better that he planned to go waterskiing when he went to Florida that year. From my experience, it can be quite effective, though I'm talking about IV treatments rather than using it topically.

Mosby

(16,168 posts)
3. the analgesic effect is topical
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 07:18 PM
Mar 2015

Dmso has only been approved for iv use for bladder infections and disease.

Rhiannon12866

(203,041 posts)
4. My doctor provided lots of literature on the subject. I had my treatments in the '90s.
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 07:41 PM
Mar 2015

The authority on DMSO is Dr. Stanley Jacob, appeared on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace at one point to discuss DMSO. Apparently the impediment to general use is that a double blind study is impossible since you can tell if you've used it and so can everyone else. After an IV DMSO treatment, there's a fishy taste, which I did experience, and you also emit a distinctive odor for awhile after treatment. The man I talked to said that his wife complained about his smell and my mother said I "smelled like garbage."

I brought my grandmother for treatment since she did suffer from arthritis pain, but she couldn't stick around long enough to go through more than a couple of treatments. I'm in New York and my grandmother retired to NC. I actually talked to Dr. Jacob on the phone in California, trying to find an NC doctor who used DMSO for my grandmother. They are few and far between, but I was very impressed with the results I experienced and even more so by talking with other patients who were being treated for arthritis.

Also, it's important to use medical grade DMSO for IV use rather than over-the-counter. Here's Dr. Jacob's website, if you're interested:

http://www.dmso.org/

Rhiannon12866

(203,041 posts)
10. My doctor passed on the 60 Minutes transcript, among other things, but now it's on YouTube:
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 09:36 PM
Mar 2015

It's a pretty old interview, but a good one, and he hasn't changed his mind in all these years. I had my treatments in the '90s, but Dr. Jacob is still around.


DMSO Dr. Stanley W. Jacob Part_1



DMSO Dr. Stanley W. Jacob Part_2


DMSO Dr. Stanley W. Jacob Part_3

Rhiannon12866

(203,041 posts)
11. BTW, aside from the inability to do a double-blind study with DMSO
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 09:43 PM
Mar 2015

The pharmaceutical companies are opposed to it for obvious reasons. It's quite inexpensive and readily available - though medical grade is necessary for IV treatments like I had - and they can't make any money from it.

But it really helped the arthritis patients my doctor treated with it and I was impressed enough to bring my grandmother for (IV DMSO) treatment, too.

safeinOhio

(32,532 posts)
2. I first used it around 1964
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 07:13 PM
Mar 2015

still try it once in a while. For me it works, some time on muscles and tendons but not on joint.

Must be very careful about cleaning the skin first. It takes everything on the skin into the body. About a million diff bacteria on the skin plus all the other stuff. P

I buy a tub of it at Tractor Supply for less than 10 bucks and it last you for years. Doesn't take much

shraby

(21,946 posts)
5. In the 1980s Mr. Shraby wrenched his knee at work and after it should have been better it still
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 07:43 PM
Mar 2015

bother him from time to time. He tried the DMSO on it a couple of times and it hasn't bothered him since.

Warpy

(110,913 posts)
6. It didn't do anything for RA
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 07:55 PM
Mar 2015

and the effect on pulled muscles was minimal when I tried it back in the 70s.

I've always thought it probably works better on horses than people, at least better than on me.

Burping garlic was a side benefit.

rurallib

(62,346 posts)
7. used it for pains back in my playing days in the 70s and 80s
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 08:31 PM
Mar 2015

worked well, but the family said get that stink out of here.

Jane Austin

(9,199 posts)
12. My vet used it to reduce swelling
Sun Mar 29, 2015, 11:19 PM
Mar 2015

in an ear hematoma one of my dogs had.

If it reduces swelling, it might be helpful for arthritis and other inflamatory conditions.

I got the roll-on kind, which is very handy to use.

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