7 User Reviews
| 5 star (2) | 29% | |
| 4 star (2) | 29% | |
| 3 star (2) | 29% | |
 (1) |
14% |
★★★★☆
I have been taking Borax 5 days on 2 days off from 10/1/2020 till now for 13 months for joint pain. My condition has been improved, but no cure and still have a lot of pain. Should I continue with borax, or stop? I like to ask your opinion and advise, specially Art Sobrig.
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike,
You didn't say how much Borax you are taking. I take 1/4th level full measuring teaspoon mixed in a quart of water and sip throughout the day until done. I drink a quart of this mixture on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then I take Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. So in total per week, I am consuming 1 teaspoon total of borax in water which is approximately 3.75 grams of Borax per week. This was Ted's protocol for men. The women's dose is half the man's dose.
The doctor who popularized boron and borax for arthritis decades ago, Dr. Rex Newnham, said it could take up to 4 months to realize maximum benefit from borax or boron for arthritis. So if you have been taking the correct dose of Borax, you have taken it more than long enough to reach maximum effectiveness that you are going to get from it. When I tried the women's dose, it did improve my arthritis, but not nearly as well as the men's dose which I have been taking for about 13 years with very good benefit.
Art
(IA)
11/01/2021
Mike,
Yes, if you were taking a whole liter of water with 1/4 teaspoon of borax in it complete each day for 5 days of the week, you were getting a quarter teaspoon each of those 5 days for a total of 1 1/4 teaspoons of borax per week and with the length of time you have been taking it, you have achieved maximum benefit for your arthritis.
Although borax has shown very significant benefit for arthritis relief, it has not shown the ability to repair damage caused before you were taking it and this may be one reason that you still have pain although less of it.
You don't give much information such as what type of arthritis you have been diagnosed (there are many many types) with and how long you have had it or which joints are affected?
There are many arthritis alternatives and EC has most if not all of those remedies listed in their arthritis section which you can review. A few examples would be DMSO, MSM, Curcumin, multiple Boswellia extracts and derivatives, Gallixa, Ginger and ginger extracts, Thiamine (for RA), Aloe Oil, Skullcap, magnesium oil (MO), Glucosamine multis, homeopathy (many), TENS (OA), Devil's Claw, to name just a few.
I am partial to Borax because it has shown the ability to put arthritis into remission for many people and it has other healthful benefits, but nothing, whether prescription drug or supplement will work for everyone all of the time.
Many of the supplements listed on EC will fight the inflammation and possibly the oxidative stress associated with OA and RA and for these antiinflammatory agents, I do feel that some of the Boswellia extracts are quite potent, but these and others will have to be taken regularly and are not likely to put the disease into remission, only relieve pain.
Some people report that DMSO, in some cases may offer remission, but in others only pain relief. DMSO has never been a good pain reliever for me, but I am likely the exception and not the rule. Related to DMSO is methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) which is easier to use, in my opinion, than DMSO and can be taken orally or topically or both, but many people have reported significant side effects with the use of MSM and I believe that EC has an article outlining these side effects.
I have written about other topical pain relievers here :
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/pain-relief-remedies-art-solbrig.html
And here :
https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/tens-pain-therapy-at-home.html
And here :
https://www.earthclinic.com/blog/value-of-good-compounding-pharmacist.html
Mike, it is likely to come down to trial and error for you to see what works best for you. I don't want to lock you into any one thing, but just emphasize that there are many options to consider and going over ECs Arthritis Remedies of which there are almost 100 at this link is an excellent place to see what options you can consider :
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/arthritis.html
Art
(Millersville)
11/03/2021
Mike,
I have noticed that wheat and sugar both aggravate my joint pain.
Giving them up could help. It's a pain. But then, so is arthritis.
Holly
(Canada)
11/11/2021
Try potassium. You can eat a banana every day, which has the perfect amount of potassium. Or pills from the Health Food store.
(Des Moines, IA)
11/03/2021
Thanks, Holly. I will give it a try.
Borax
★★★☆☆
Hi Art Solbrig,
I have joint pain and in the last 4 weeks, used Ted's borax remedy, 1/4 teaspoon on the liter of water for 5 days. Not that much improvement.
Any suggestions? Thank you.
Mike V.,
I'm not sure from what you wrote if you have taken borax for 4 weeks or 5 days, but 5 days is not enough time to deal with arthritis. Do you have an actual diagnosis of a type of arthritis? There are other reasons for joint pain, not just arthritis.
Which joints specifically, hurt you and is it constant or almost constant pain? You do not say how long you have had this joint pain, but if it has been awhile, it can take longer to feel results. In the case of long standing joint pain, it can take 3 to 4 months to see maximum benefit, but at 4 weeks, there would normally be at least some benefit.
You say,
' Not that much improvement '
and that sounds like there is some small amount of improvement and that would be normal in the second week of borax for many people. If it is just 5 days of borax, then you seem on track, but the length of time on borax is not clear to me.
Are you taking a statin drug such as Atorvastatin or Simvastatin? It would be helpful if you gave more information.
Lastly, let's double check exactly what you are taking. You should be taking one quarter teaspoon (US measuring spoons) of borax in one liter or quart of water each weekday which should be a total of 1 1/4 teaspoons total per week. A quarter teaspoon is equivalent to about 980 mg of borax total per weekday with weekends off to make it easier to remember.
Art
(Des Moines, Ia)
08/20/2020
Hi Art,
I greatly appreciate your advise, I am taking 1/4 teaspoon of borax 5days/week, and I am on my fifth weeks now.
I am 71 years old this problem starts about a year ago, siting and standing up is paifull, but walking on flat floor, I have no problem. I am taking one medication Dilantin for epilepsy since I was 24 years old for prevention plus baby asprin, recently also started to take full spectrum CBD, that doesn't help either.
Thanks,
Mike V
Mike V,
That is helpful information!
The Dilantin you have been taking for decades is well known for causing osteopathy (bone disease), bone fractures and hip pain! If you have mentioned your hip pain to your doctor, he should be aware of the connection and can try and take steps to prevent further damage. Here is a study which discusses this very issue. Note the date of the study is 2015 which means that doctors were aware of this problem well before 2015 because it takes many reports from users before studies are started to investigate and confirm the problem.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4668458/
Another study adding confirmation to the idea that long term use of Dilantin can lead to osteoporosis:
Phenytoin is another name for Dilantin. Given that this is different than arthritis, borax may or may not be helpful, but since borax contains boron and boron can be helpful for bone issues such as osteoporosis, it may be worth continuing the borax, but it will take longer than the 3 to 4 months I mentioned previously to get measurable benefit. Since you have taken Dilantin for decades, there could potentially be damage to the bones. I know this is not probably what you were hoping to hear, but it may be time to have a talk with your doctor about this adverse event.
Dilantin can also cause problems with teeth.
This article shows how women lost bone density after just one year on Dilantin and you have been on it for decades:
https://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/news/20080429/epilepsy-drug-dilantin-may-speed-bone-loss#1
Given the above, I can only discuss what I would do for myself under similar circumstances as I am not a doctor and can not give medical advice. I would first discuss the situation with my doctor and then I would start taking many of the supplements that are known to improve bone density such as boron/borax, calcium, vitamin K-2, magnesium, vitamin D (to reach the upper half of the reference range of 30~100 ng/ml for 25 OH d serum test), 5 dried prunes per day, zinc, etc.
You may wonder why 5 dried prunes per day? here is the reason :
A doctor might want to prescribe Fosamax, but I would shy away from this one due to potential side effects and not always the best outcomes.
So these would be my immediate considerations that I would initially try to see if I can reverse any bone damage and protect the bone that I do have as well as prevent fractures or further bone loss.
Art
(Des Moines, Ia)
08/21/2020
Mike V,
Unfortunately, Phenobarbital has a similar effect on bones as outlined here :
If I had no other options for myself, I would delve into the supplements that I had planned on taking as mentioned in my last reply to you, to try and counter the negative effects of this class of drugs and try to improve my bone integrity that way.
Art
Borax
★★★★☆
Hello Team Earthclinic,
I have had pain in my left big toe for many years now. I have looked at the most common causes and honestly can not figure out what it might be. It hurts in the top knuckle of the toe and then down to the tip. Think about if you balled up your hand to make a fist the knuckle down to the tip.
It always felt like it needed to pop but no matter how hard it was pulled on it just would not pop. I have been taking a good bit of Borax in my morning coffee and a few weeks ago I was able to get that knuckle to pop. It hurt so bad and actually left a small bruise above the knuckle. Some days it hurts really bad and some days I hardly notice it.
It has begin recently to pop on its on and does not hurt as bad as it did the first time it popped. It mostly pops once after I wake and I stretch.
Just wondering if maybe the Borax is finally loose in up what ever is wrong with it. I have an x-ray scheduled but am avoiding hospitals at this time. I also take Black Strap Molasses on that cup of coffee and some coconut oil.
If it's gout or arthritis it sure has taken the Borax a long time to work. I am thinking it is an old injury such as turf toe or broken toe or the Hallux Rigidus. It does stay swollen in that knuckle and the bone falls slightly protruded up.
But the popping that it is doing now seems like it might work it's way back to normal.
It may be possible to speed the process up by also soaking the offending toe in a mild borax solution.
Art
Borax
Hello everybody. Will someone let me know if we should stop other medicines which we use to treat arthritis if I am using borax as a treatment?
Borax
★★★★★
I've been taking borax daily in a cup of tea ( 1/3 teaspoon ) to help with my joints ..I used to wake up in morning and have my knees clicking my wrist sore. Been about half year, I hardly feel any aching joints. All clicking is gone.
Borax
★★★☆☆
BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS
I found that borax eliminated my feet (both) pain of at least 4 years duration (caused, I think by many years standing on concrete floors at work) other joints were also becoming painful. I built slowly (over 4 weeks) until my dose was a half teaspoon per day. However I've stopped as I couldn't sleep. I felt good at first but could only sleep for perhaps one hour per night. I was exhausted. I waited a month then started the whole regime again. Same result, no pain but no sleep either.
(Hotspot, Tx)
04/12/2016
Russ, try taking ornithine when you take the borax. It is supposed to mop up the toxins from the dead micro organisms. It works for me. I take about 3 of the now brand capsules about 8 o clock pm and then another 4 right before bed. The insomnia is noticeable if I don't take them.
(Bama)
04/13/2016
(Ferndale)
04/14/2016
Namaw - have your tried activated charcoal tablets for your ibs-d? They help my husband a lot. He takes 4 tablets at breakfast and bedtime and it has reduced his ibs-d symptoms.
(Eastern NC)
04/26/2023
MH,
Regarding the borax related insomnia, try consuming your full dose of borax before 10:00am and see if that helps. You can also try reducing the dose a bit. So if you are taking a level full 1/8th teaspoon try an 1/8ty teaspoon that isn't quite full.
Art
(Eastern NC)
10/01/2023
★★★★★
Thanks Art. I found that when I use this Mon-Fri in the mornings it's so much better. I dial it back if I start feeling over energized. Probably my most favorite thing about taking it is my jaw feels so much better (life long bruxism and intermittant TMJ).
Magneto,
I'm very happy to hear that this change to the timing and dosing of your borax regimen is working better for you and also helping your jaw pain! Thank you for your helpful feedback!
Art
