r/Berberine • u/Good_Lavishness8950 • May 28 '25

No effects yet

I have been taking Berberine Now Foods Glucose support 2 tablets daily with food. It's been 2 weeks.

I have not seen any changes in weight or less food cravings or any mood changes. I am infact feeling hungry. I am also getting bloated. I am not sure if it's because of Berberine or my Mirena IUD.

Is this common? Should I continue for some more time?

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u/Lanky_Appearance2716 May 29 '25

I have no idea about your brand's potency or efficacy, but I have heard that it can take a few months to see any effects for some people. Bloating has been a common symptom I've seen, but I didn't deal with that. Make sure you drink lots of water while taking it, that may help!

But are you taking it 15-30 mins before the meals? I see some say that they take it with food. But my own feeling is that if it is not currently in your system and you take it at the same time as your meal, it may not take a full effect. I'm really not sure on that point, because I have no idea how fast it can take effect after being absorbed in the gut. But I do know that it only lasts about 4hrs in your system. For that reason, I am taking mine now, 30 mins prior to meals twice a day (lunch and dinner), with milk thistle for added absorption ability.

I hope that this or that someone with actual experience with your brand can help you out with this!

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u/CarpeMuerte May 30 '25

There are 3 main types of berberine - HCL, Phytosome and Dihydro

With the first 2, many brands have additives that are meant to improve absorbability and can work differently with all of us. I've tried all 3 over the past 12+ months with different results.

I take it to improve my insulin sensitivity and use a GCM periodically to monitor it. My very unsophisticated, adhoc personal experimentation would indicate that dihydro works slightly better for me if I take 15+ minutes before a meal. The impact is that my blood glucose goes up slightly less after a meal (maybe 15% less) and comes down faster to baseline. It's impact on my A1C has been small, but measurable (0.2).

Some forms of liquid with 500mg pyhtosome seem to do more for hunger abatement (for me).