Becky,

When you tried the berberine, what was the dosage and the frequency? and was it the HCL or the Sulfate type of Berberine?

Also, at the time you were taking it, what was your BG numbers like?

I have readings in the low 80s' in the day time and if I took Berberine now, it might not make a difference, but if I was in the 110s' and took it, I'd get about a 15 point drop. My point is this: In my experience, it normalizes BG and doesn't as much lower BG. Once we're in the 90s' for an average, it is not going to have much of a lowering effect, I'm pretty sure about that...

I'm glad that Herbalist Doctor is working out for you. Please tell me by private message if you don't want to say here, who is this Chinese Doctor and where can I find him/her....?

Ron

In answer to your question..........I don't remember what the type of berberine it was. I ordered it online from two different places and it came in a bottle with these tiny black pills. I think I took six three times a day and I remember definitely not taking them before I ate. I couldn't always remember to do that. I can't remember getting great readings so I stopped taking it. Might have lowered it five points or so but I know I never got into the 80's.

My Chinese Medical Doctor is Dr. Hui Ouyang in Friendswood TX



dro~yinandyanghealthcare.com
www.yinandyanghealthcare.com

I've been going since October.

Becky,
Thanks... I looked up his site, which gives his credentials and his background from China is similar to my wife. His expertise in his practice is similar except for his chiropractic experience. My wife told me there is acupuncture and some Chinese medical massage that is good to treat diabetes, but she had not used this method, but I'll try to get my wife to meet with him on one of our trips to Houston area.... I'm hoping they can exchange ideas. I'd be interested in letting my wife do acupuncture or medical massage on me for diabetes control...

Yes he is a chiropractor too. He has adjusted me a couple of times but I prefer my regular chiro. He has a better touch. Probably been doing it longer. Dr. O. did help me when he adjusted me but it wasn't very pretty during the process.

I was a bit surprised the acupuncture helped with diabetes. It's helped me with that more than anything else. I've seen some benefit for my arthritis.

I went in there for a treatment one time all plugged up from alergies and very achey in the sinus area......he stuck needles around my sinus area and after my treatment I felt like a million dollars. The pain never came back.

Ron if you and your wife do meet him ...........if he asks how you heard about him tell him it was Rebecca Bova. I don't use a nickname with him (becky). I for some reason didn't want to tell him my name was becky yet I sign checks with rebecca and all my credit cards have Rebecca. I was thinking about the difference in cultures. I don't know if nicknames are used in China like they are here. No one has called me Rebecca since my grandmother was on this earth.

I'm starting back with low dose Berberine use today. I used to do 500mg 3 times daily at a time when no supplemental control meant BG numbers in the 130-160 range at best, but nowadays, without supplements, I am managing 85-105 range most of the time, so I'll be using 400mg, twice daily and see if my numbers come down a bit... I'll post results or lack thereof in a week or so... I'm hoping to adjust it downwards, perhaps as low as 300mg, once a day, but I'll stay with 400mg twice daily for 3 or 4 weeks to see how I adapt to it...

I took the berberine for about a week, but discontinued it since yesterday. I feel my overall health is good and I've been enjoying the control by diet & exercise alone and didn't want to upset the cart, so to speak. I think I'm more comfortable now than I thought I was. My BG did drop a few points, but not enough to make me continue with usage....

Of all the herbs I've ever taken to control diabetes, I have to say this is the least subtle herb and the effectiveness of it is noticeable within hours of taking it. With some herbs, it took weeks to see any results..

I have recently started making an extract of berberine and related alkaloids from the Barberry bush, which is VERY common where I live in Michigan. Haven't found any wild yet, but there are bushes in several yards on most blocks around me.

Fortunately a neighbor has several and knows of my odd habit of growing medicinal herbs and making extracts. A couple of branches of this stuff, seems to yield quite a bit of berberine+relateds, as evidenced by the deep yellow color that results from simply letting this stuff sit in water, didn't need to boil it. Two extractions of the same wood gave up a rich yellow that was just as deep in the second, could have probably gone for a third.

Of course the hard part is cutting up the wood, a shaver like what is used for carrots works well for outside bark, any number of other implements would work for getting the wood in pieces. Most herbalist references say the branch bark or root bark are used for berberine, but the yellow color in the wood itself is a giveaway that it is also there.

I realize that there do not seem to be many herbalists or chemists here from what I have read, but anyone with the most basic knowledge of chemistry can make the extraction and concentrate the berberine+related alkaloids. One very quickly realizes when studying the use of herbal medicines that the combination of active chemicals is almost always going to be the best way to go, one reason that pharmaceuticals can be so problematic with toxicity is the isolation of one ingredient.

Just giving this info out in the hopes that someone can use it, in the spirit of general interest, of course, this is not medical advice and I am not suggesting anyone start making the extract and drinking it or otherwise taking it internally. Do some research on barberry and berberine, for those interested. There are other plants with a concentration of berberine, goldenseal was already mentioned, and a member of the Coptis family...Barberry seems to be the most common and easily available.

I noticed with an extract kept in the fridge, it remained clear. I left one out overnight and it was cloudy in the morning, which usually means bacteria are at work, obviously not a desirable thing. This stuff is supposed to be effective against a number of bacterial nasties, but obviously cant be effective against ALL. So keep it in the fridge if you start playing around with Barberry wood extractions.

Where I live, Oregon Grape is marketed as a near equivalent to Goldenseal (for the berberine) and much less expensive.

You live in Oregon. I have taken oregon grape. It works. Also constipates me. Right now I'm finding that turmeric works pretty well .........not quite as well as berberine but almost.

I grew up in Oregon. Been years since I've been there.

You can also get Oregon Grape online at Swanson....but I guess since I'm in Oregon, I find it on the shelves here. I tend not to get constipated, but I take extra fiber (golden flaxmeal) every day...and make sure I drink a LOT of water. No problem.

Hello to anyone reading this: I originally posted about Berberine, and haven't visited back in quite a while, especially this link.

I want to add, there is a highly effective difference between the Berberine Hydrochloride which I used and had success with the Berberine Sulfate which is found in many of the plant material mention in the last few posts.

I've been a controlled Diabetic since 2007 now, medicine free, and only occasionally use any herbs for control, mostly I control with diet, exercise and weight maintenance...

I no longer use or recommend straight Berberine, as any long term use has a side effect of causing diarrhea, and after reaching that point, even if rotating off of Berberine for a few months, the diarrhea will return as quickly as the product is used again. The Berberine I used was the Chinese version aka Huang Lian Su....

I now use an herbal formula, much safer, needs no rotation, can be used long term without any side effect, but it is not available here in the USA yet... My wife and I are hoping we could be the first US Distributor of this product, but this would be quite an investment, so we're not sure if we'll ever see that to fruition.

I pretty much stopped posting on this website as my wife, who is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor from China and I have opened a retail Chinese herbal health store near our home.

I've become a little more expert than most, but I'm still learning new things about herbs daily from my wife, who dedicates her entire life to her practice. I've learned that making your own herbal extract, if you don't know the chemistry of herbs, whether from a single herb or an extract from a formula can be dangerous and even lethal. If anyone wants to do it on their own, that is a personal choice, but for anyone to advocate that it is easy to do and hints around at encouraging others to do it based on their experience or results is ludicrous. If you don't have superior knowledge of herbs, don't make your own. Like anything in life; too little can be of no benefit, and too much can be harmful....

As time permits, I will try to post something new I've learned about diabetes to help those visiting this forum. Get focused, increase your knowledge of all the little things you can do for yourself to help your present stage of health improve and do as many of the things you know are good as consistently as you can. No matter what any Type 2 Diabetic does, they will never be more than ONE meal away from being out of control. Be vigilant, but keep a good mood, never stressing over anything.....

Ron

Thanks for the update Ron. Good to hear from you.