Is this what you're using?

Can you describe a starting dose?

Ok, I read the entire thread on the BHCL and think I know what to do and I even placed an order.

Gosh, maybe this stuff would even help my intestines out!

Nancy
Ron got a large supply from China.
I don't presume to speak for him but:
Berberine is usually called "huang lin su".
You're at the right place and ordered the right thing.
I take 4 pills(they are very small)30 minutes before each meal.
This stuff works better than any prescription med I've used
to keep my BG in reasonable levels.It's supposed to be very
good for helping with GI problems as well.
I think Ron takes 15 pills a day.12 a day is a convenient number because the stuff is packaged in small vials containing 12 pills.
If your BG is normally low,watch out for hypo.
Cheers
Eddie

It isn't low. Lately it seems to hang out around 100-110.

I think I got the right stuff ordered. Fingers crossed!

Nancy
You definitely ordered the right stuff.
"Huang lin su" or coptis is the same as berberine.
I have pretty much experienced the same effects as
Ron.I noticed the stuff on his "Berberine HCL" thread a few
months ago.
Cheers
Eddie

Huang Lian Su is Berberine HCL....

My brand name is from China, but I'm sure it is the same ingredients. Eddie is doing really well with it...

Nancy, if you're hovering around 100 to 110, it will get you into the 80s' or 90s', depends on your activity level and carb levels.

I'm at 100-150 carbs and very active all day long... I average between 85 and 95 almost all the time, with a few lower readings. After meals I used to go to 150-160, but since on Berberine HCL, my after meal numbers stay under 125 and sometimes as low as 100...

I will warn you though.... After a couple of months, you may have a little gastric upset. I took it almost 6 months straight before noticing an upset, stopped for 3 1/2 weeks and got back on it and doing ok. I will rotate 2on/1off from now on....

Bitter melon works nicely also. I used it while I was off of the berberine. I will be trying Aloe Vera, Fenugreek Seed and Banaba leaf extract in the future on my off time from the berberine, but only one of them at a time and I will test their effectiveness.

I never hypoed on Berberine, but I also don't take anything else to lower blood sugar, except gymnema sylvestre... I've taken berberine when my blood glucose was as low as 80 and never had a problem... Somehow it just doesn't cause hypos for me. I do think Eddie is right, if you're taking something else, such as metformin, watch for hypos....

Also, I used another herb and have used it for about 2 or so years now.. It is made under the name brand D-Care and can be bought on the internet. It is called D-Care Sugar Blocker, but it is really Gymnema Sylvestre. I take that 2 or 3 times each day. If I eat too many of the wrong carbs, I take as many as 4 of the Sugar Blockers. The Gymnema has "no" known side affects.

The Huang Lian Su/Berberine is not sold for diabetes control. It is sold to control diarrhea. I've read research of things that are possible by taking it and I'm living proof that it works if taken in a sufficient dose for a period of time. Herbs are not a quick fix and some results will take a while to realize. Your blood glucose will probably come down within a few hours though....

Other benefits of Berberine is this: Helps with weight loss (32 pound loss since on it in March), lowers cholesterol (down to 135 from well over 200) and triglycerides (down to 95 from over 400) and lowers blood pressure (down to 120/65 from 135/85)...

Good luck with it Nancy! I take 500mg 2 times daily and sometimes 3 times daily. Eddie is having success with it at 400mg 3 times daily.

If you've not seen my before/after photos, check them out (a picture is worth a 1,000 words)... I just posted a really unusual photo today..

Well, I hope it helps with the weight loss! I've seen pictures of you, you look fabulous!

I have had blood sugar climbing over the last few months. I suspect I could probably get diagnosed as a diabetic if I had a GTT but since I don't normally eat much carbs (except loads of low carb veggies), my blood sugar doesn't get too out-of-hand. Either my liver is dumping too much sugar or I'm insulin resistant. No idea which!

I hope the herbs work, your story was compelling and hearing it is helping Eddie made me decide to try!

Does the berberine cause constipation? I can not have that. I hate not being able to poop. they gymnema does this to me. I've tried it three different times. Always after about four or five days on it I get bound up. It does a marvelous job of controlling my apetite and that's why I always give it a try. But if berberine works better I will look for it.

Soapluvr
Supplements affect people in sometimes very different ways.
It's really impossible to answer your question about berberine.
It might be worth a try-very inexpensive.
Eddie

In all the research I've read, it only says that berberine can possibly cause gastric upset over prolonged use. I only experienced mild diarrhea after 5 months of constant use. It never caused constipation.

My wife, who is a TCM Doctor says; when taken to control diarrhea in the 100mg to 200mg doses twice daily, it should not cause constipation. She is doubtful that it would cause constipation over prolonged use at the higher doses, but as Eddie says, you never know. I'm doing ok with it now and plan to only do 2 months on and 1 month off from now on, so I don't anticipate any more problems...

It's definitely worth trying and risking a gastric upset. There are no other known side effects, so it is a minimal risk in my opinion...

I'm going to try it. I don't know why gymnema causes constipation. I hate that. It suppresses my hunger so well that in the past I put up with it for a few weeks but then couldnt' take it anymore. Now I"m taking it but only one capsule right before breakfast.

I'm going to try the berberine although it looks like it's not a common herb and might be difficult to find. I did a search on it and found it in Zyflamend a combo herb from New Chapter that I often use for inflammation (arthritis is sometimes painful) but I doubt there's enough in it to lower glucose.

Go with what works.... Eddie found a good price and a good website to get it from and is doing well with it... Not sure yet what it is you're getting into, but if you could post the link to it, we can look at it and comment on it....

Also, Gymnema has no known side effects, so I doubt it is causing your problems. My gymnema source is not a capsule, but a pill. I get it at D-Care.com and just follow their "buy" link, as it is actually sold through an authorized distributor. I buy the D-Care Sugar Blocker. Go to D-Care.com to learn more about it.... It is cheap and effective, in my opinion of course and in two years, I've not had any problems associated with it... Perhaps your gymnema source has another ingredient in it that is causing your problems with it..... Post that, as I'm curious what it is you're actually taking...

Good luck on the berberine. Monitor often, that is my prescription with all the things that I do and not too sure about it when I first start something...

Let us know how it is going. Give it a week or two before giving up. If you start at 300mg or less and get no results, increase it to 400mg or 500 mg and go as much as three times daily before giving up on it. I'm sure you'll see some results, just not sure the impact of it all... I really would like to hear your opinions on it.... I'm confident if you take it for a month, you'll be talking about unexpected weight loss and if you're checking blood pressure, cholesterol and such, you'll see a drop after a month on it...

If you have questions as you get started, please post...

each time I've tried the gymnema it's been in capsule form. Can't remember what companies though. Probably generic company like vitamin shoppe brand. I have a delicate system anyway and get constipated at the drop of a hat seriously so it could have been something else that did it like you said.

I dont' need to lower my cholesterol or lose weight or lower my triglycerides. I need to control my hunger and lower my fasting blood sugar. I"m waiting on a glucose monitor to get here but when my other monitor was working my fast glucose would be between 98-108.......not good.

The beauty of the berberine, it won't lower anything more then needed, so if your cholesterol levels and blood pressure are in normal ranges, it won't lower it below normal rnages.... As for it helping you lose weight... It does and it doesn't... It does help me control eating in two ways. 1. I can go longer periods without eating and 2. I feel fuller a little sooner.... But, where it doesn't, is that you can still ignore it and eat all you want, as I've been doing lately. I've been using it for the BG control, but I need to let it do its work on helping take off some recently gained 7 pounds....

I got my new monitor in the mail today. I checked my blood two hours after my second meal.............115. And that was a fairly low carb meal. I try to keep my carbs around 20 grams of "net" carbs at each meal. Sometimes I go over a bit but not by much. I don't think 115 is that good. Is it?

I will check my fasting glucose in the morning but I don't have high expectations for that either. I must have a crappy pancreas.