Berberine

yerrag

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Now that I know how much it is I'm taking, I might start not taking to it well.

But I was taking it for a week, and I was fine not knowing it lol.

I'll know tomorrow if it improved my 3 hour after meal glucose numbers. It was 108 last last, after a week of berberine at 3 x 500mg daily.

I seem to be feeling less hungry though and being more alert though. I don't know, but maybe 3 x5g of berberine each day would be nasty, but 3 x 1g of the extract would be manageable, and the extraction process enables the dosage that would work for me.

My blood glucose levels, 3 hours after lunch, went down to 100 from 108, from the same day and time last week, and from 102 two weeks before. It's a positive development, but I'll have to see continued progress in the lowering of blood glucose levels. I'd like to see it in the high 70s to low 80s levels.

I had an incident of loose stools today, but lately I've been going to the loo more often, like 3-4x/day. Not sure if it's all due to me taking the berberine extract Huang Lian or due to the doxycycline I'm taking.

More due to the fact that it can raise noradrenaline via MAO-A inhibition and there's studies showing it can raise whole-brain noradrenaline levels.
Maybe it's this, as my blood sugar regulation can still stand a lot of improvement. Thanks.
 

yerrag

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that seems like a lot. guts doing okay?

if dried herb = goldenseal then its fine

but if dried herb = extracted berberine then that is a crap ton

I was doing well with the Huang Liang at 1g x 3 daily, but only after taking it after a meal.

When I decided to take it right before a meal (I did this because taking it after a meal was making me hungry), I had diarrhea, and if it wasn't diarrhea, I was still taking more trips to the loo with soft stool.
 

yerrag

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My blood glucose levels, 3 hours after lunch, went down to 100 from 108, from the same day and time last week, and from 102 two weeks before. It's a positive development, but I'll have to see continued progress in the lowering of blood glucose levels. I'd like to see it in the high 70s to low 80s levels.

Today, I got my blood sugar, and as usual, it was taken 3 hours after I finished lunch. And surprise, surprise - it's at 84. Last week, it was 100, and the other week, it was at 108. This was with me using the berberine extract Hua Liang from Activeherb. I was taking it at 1g x 3 each day, which would be equivalent to 5g x 3 of the berberine herb each day, IF I interpreted Activeherb's description of the extract as a 5:1 concentrate, relative to the dry weight of berberine herb.

I'm assuming the improvement in my blood glucose levels attributable to Huang Lian, but I'm taking also 1 gram of Da Huang, rhubarb at the same level of dosage, although I am taking Da Huang for a different reason. Huang Lian was taken to lower my blood sugar, and Da Huang was taken for its anti-bacterial effects towards periodontal bacteria.

I'm also taking other substances for other reasons, so the improvement on my blood sugar could very well be a synergistic effect of Huang Lian and any of the other substances.

I emailed Activerb to verify whether the 5:1 concentration of their berberine extract Hua Liang is as I understood it to be relative to the dried berberine herb, but they seemed to have ignored my question, and only answered the other question I posed together with it. Just to be sure it was an unintentional omission, I asked them again. Will let you know what the response is, if there's one. If there's no reply forthcoming, I'll just consider that to be them playing safe and not wanting to say anything categorically, to protect themselves.

I'm going to reduce my dosage to 2/3 from now on though. I've been getting looser stools now, and last night I had cramps, so the looser stools and a higher frequency of defecating is definitely leading me to lose more potassium than usual.

I'll update you in a week on my blood glucose levels, and if my good blood sugar levels stick, I'll do a home 5-hour OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) to see how my OGTT curve looks like.

Note: Since I'm low on potassium, I'm going to load up on potassium thru more fruits and meat this coming week. By the next week, I'd be able to get a better indication of my blood glucose levels, as the low potassium condition tends to lower the absorption of glucose into cells.
 
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yerrag

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'm going to reduce my dosage to 2/3 from now on though. I've been getting looser stools now, and last night I had cramps, so the looser stools and a higher frequency of defecating is definitely leading me to lose more potassium than usual.
I'm back to full dosage on Huang Liang as I realized my loose stools wasn't caused by my suspected high dosage levels. It turns out I was taking mag bicarbonate mixed with a solution of salt and potassium chloride, and the reaction results in magnesium chloride, which doesn't go well with my gut. So, there's that.

I emailed Activerb to verify whether the 5:1 concentration of their berberine extract Hua Liang is as I understood it to be relative to the dried berberine herb, but they seemed to have ignored my question, and only answered the other question I posed together with it. Just to be sure it was an unintentional omission, I asked them again. Will let you know what the response is, if there's one. If there's no reply forthcoming, I'll just consider that to be them playing safe and not wanting to say anything categorically, to protect themselves.
As I suspected, Activeherb doesn't want to go out on a limb, and prefer that I just figure out the answer myself. And I have: I would rather take Activeherb's Huang Lian at 3 x1 g/day to get the full effective dosage of berberine working to improve my blood sugar regulation, than to take 3 x 5g of berberine in its dried form, be it taken as a powder or taken in capsule form. As a powder, it is torture at that amount, and as capsules, I would gaggle at the thought of taking that many capsules.
 

Grapelander

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I bought the pure powder - it was a little unwieldy (yellow fingers, bad taste).
I mixed with MCT oil and now keep in the fridge. It mixes right in and solidifies when cold.
I take a chunk of this out with a spoon and dump into sugar to use as a pill.
Great antibiotic.
 

yerrag

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Today, I got my blood sugar, and as usual, it was taken 3 hours after I finished lunch. And surprise, surprise - it's at 84. Last week, it was 100, and the other week, it was at 108. This was with me using the berberine extract Hua Liang from Activeherb. I was taking it at 1g x 3 each day, which would be equivalent to 5g x 3 of the berberine herb each day, IF I interpreted Activeherb's description of the extract as a 5:1 concentrate, relative to the dry weight of berberine herb.

I'm assuming the improvement in my blood glucose levels attributable to Huang Lian, but I'm taking also 1 gram of Da Huang, rhubarb at the same level of dosage, although I am taking Da Huang for a different reason. Huang Lian was taken to lower my blood sugar, and Da Huang was taken for its anti-bacterial effects towards periodontal bacteria.

I'm also taking other substances for other reasons, so the improvement on my blood sugar could very well be a synergistic effect of Huang Lian and any of the other substances.

I emailed Activerb to verify whether the 5:1 concentration of their berberine extract Hua Liang is as I understood it to be relative to the dried berberine herb, but they seemed to have ignored my question, and only answered the other question I posed together with it. Just to be sure it was an unintentional omission, I asked them again. Will let you know what the response is, if there's one. If there's no reply forthcoming, I'll just consider that to be them playing safe and not wanting to say anything categorically, to protect themselves.

I'm going to reduce my dosage to 2/3 from now on though. I've been getting looser stools now, and last night I had cramps, so the looser stools and a higher frequency of defecating is definitely leading me to lose more potassium than usual.

I'll update you in a week on my blood glucose levels, and if my good blood sugar levels stick, I'll do a home 5-hour OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) to see how my OGTT curve looks like.

Note: Since I'm low on potassium, I'm going to load up on potassium thru more fruits and meat this coming week. By the next week, I'd be able to get a better indication of my blood glucose levels, as the low potassium condition tends to lower the absorption of glucose into cells.

This is a thread on berberine, so I'll touch on the blood sugar lowering aspect of using it first.

I stopped taking my blend of herbs for a week. I was having frequent soft bowel movement and I can now trace back for sure to my use of the herbal blend of huan liang/ta huang/chitosan. Huang Lian is a 5:1 extract of berberine and Ta Huang is a 5:1 extract of rhubarb. I blended 3:3:1 huan liang:ta huang:chitosan and take these mixed in water, split over 3 after meals.

I was taking these for two weeks, and blood sugar sent down from 102 to 100 after week 1, and then to 84 after week 2.

I stopped for a week (because of loose bowels), and my blood sugar went up to 107.

So there it is. Huang Lian at 3 x 1g/day (equiv. to berberine dry herb at 3 x 5g/day), was able to lower my blood sugar. Given that I took this as a blend, I could be wrong but it's known that it's berberine that has the blood sugar lowering effect.

But now, I should discuss about the blend, and why I think it was causing me to have loose stools after 2 weeks of use. Hint: the loose stools is a good sign.

For that, here's the thread: Loose Stools - Maybe A Good Sign I'm Successfully Disrupting Gut Biofilm?
 

TibRex

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This is a thread on berberine, so I'll touch on the blood sugar lowering aspect of using it first.

I stopped taking my blend of herbs for a week. I was having frequent soft bowel movement and I can now trace back for sure to my use of the herbal blend of huan liang/ta huang/chitosan. Huang Lian is a 5:1 extract of berberine and Ta Huang is a 5:1 extract of rhubarb. I blended 3:3:1 huan liang:ta huang:chitosan and take these mixed in water, split over 3 after meals.

I was taking these for two weeks, and blood sugar sent down from 102 to 100 after week 1, and then to 84 after week 2.

I stopped for a week (because of loose bowels), and my blood sugar went up to 107.

So there it is. Huang Lian at 3 x 1g/day (equiv. to berberine dry herb at 3 x 5g/day), was able to lower my blood sugar. Given that I took this as a blend, I could be wrong but it's known that it's berberine that has the blood sugar lowering effect.

But now, I should discuss about the blend, and why I think it was causing me to have loose stools after 2 weeks of use. Hint: the loose stools is a good sign.

For that, here's the thread: Loose Stools - Maybe A Good Sign I'm Successfully Disrupting Gut Biofilm?

The loose stools is due to Ta Huang [Da Huang], a laxative - this is typically prescribed for constipation in TCM and a 5:1 extract is really too potent. Berberine often has the opposite effect if taken in excess. It's advisable to daily dose berberine at 500mg x 3. Da Huang should not be taken for too long as it is considered toxic. You can get more info here : [1] da huang [2] huang lian, Coptis chinensis, Complementary and Alternative Healing University     現代中藥辭典
 
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yerrag

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The loose stools is due to Ta Huang [Da Huang], a laxative - this is typically prescribed for constipation in TCM and a 5:1 extract is really too potent. Berberine often has the opposite effect if taken in excess. It's advisable to daily dose berberine at 500mg x 3. Da Huang should not be taken for too long as it is considered toxic. You can get more info here : [1] da huang [2] huang lian, Coptis chinensis, Complementary and Alternative Healing University 現代中藥辭典

Thanks. It's a nice site.

I was mistaken. 3 x 1g of 5:1 Ta Huang isn't equivalent to 3 x 5g of Berberine as berberine is only a part of the whole Ta Huang herb.
 

TibRex

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Thanks. It's a nice site.

I was mistaken. 3 x 1g of 5:1 Ta Huang isn't equivalent to 3 x 5g of Berberine as berberine is only a part of the whole Ta Huang herb.

BTW, it's spelt 'da huang' [new spelling as used in China] though it was spelt 'ta' in the past. But the 'd' is pronounced as [unaspirated] 't'. There is, unlike English language, no 'd' or /d/ sound or phoneme in the phonetic inventory of Mandarin Chinese. The 't' in the word 'tian' [] meaning sky is [aspirated] 't', similar to that in English. 'd' and 't' are two distinct phonemes in Mandarin Chinese. So the 'd' sound you hear in the word 'dao' [formerly 'tao'] is incorrect. It should be unaspirated 't'. Practically all 't' [technically /t/ phoneme] sounds in English are aspirated. The 'da' [] in 'da huang' [] actually has 3 different pronunciations [= da, dai, tai]. The first two are unaspirated whereas the last one is aspirated. You can hear all 3 of them, if you're interested, by going to the website the link of which is shown in the attached word file. When the webpage opens, click [1] namely, the double arrow icon to open the menu and then click [2] for the microphone icon/app and you'll then hear all three different pronunciations for the same word.
 

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yerrag

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BTW, it's spelt 'da huang' [new spelling as used in China] though it was spelt 'ta' in the past. But the 'd' is pronounced as [unaspirated] 't'. There is, unlike English language, no 'd' or /d/ sound or phoneme in the phonetic inventory of Mandarin Chinese. The 't' in the word 'tian' [] meaning sky is [aspirated] 't'. 'd' and 't' are two distinct phonemes in Mandarin Chinese. So the 'd' sound you hear in the word 'dao' [formerly 'tao'] is incorrect. It should be unaspirated 't'. Practically all 't' [technically /t/ phoneme] sounds in English are aspirated. The 'da' [] in 'da huang' [] actually has 3 different pronunciations [= da, dai, tai]. The first two are unaspirated whereas the last one is aspirated. You can hear all 3 of them, if you're interested, by going to the website the link of which is shown in the attached word file. When the webpage opens, click [1] namely, the double arrow icon to open the menu and then click [2] for the microphone icon/app and you'll then hear all three different pronunciations for the same word.
Thanks. China had Russian help them with the spelling. That's why it's screwed up, using Latin alphabets as instructed by people whose native script is Cyrillic.
 

Andi9090

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Jul 30, 2023
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Poland
Hi,

I need help after taking berberine my body reacted very depressed. I have symptoms similar to PFS even though hormones are all fine. I have been battling chronic fatigue, brain fog for a long time, and the worst thing that has happened is the lack of feeling arousal and huge erection problems.

I know that berberine works with dopamine receptors, but I am not convinced that this is where the problem is. I had serious suicidal thoughts. I read further and found Diindolylmethane (DIM), which helped me a lot to alleviate suicidal thoughts.


Can I ask for help? Everyone appreciates berberine, but my body reacted completely the opposite way.
 

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