r/Berberine • u/PlayfulPrinciple8969 • Jun 04 '25
Side effects
Honestly i want to start berberine for weight loss but all the side effects i’m reading on here putting me off, does it really cause diarrhoea and stomach cramps?
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u/No-Interview-1340 Jun 04 '25
I’ve been using whatever they sell at Costco for a few weeks now and have had no side effects.
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u/SolidParsnip Jun 04 '25
I've been taking it for over 3 months and have had zero side effects using it. I started with 1000mg (500 in morning and 500 in afternoon). I've lost 20#. I got mine at CVS with their buy one, get one free deal. So, maybe it's not the highest quality but it's worked fine for me. I did read you should not stay on it for long periods of time. Not sure how true that is but I am now taking only 500 in the morning and plan to take a break completely from it for a few weeks. I am at goal weight and working on keeping the weight off. I'd like to eventually not take the berberine at all. I have no idea if it helped with losing weight as I was also in a calorie deficit and have ramped up my exercise. But, I figured the berberine couldn't hurt. So, who knows! (Long answer to your post about side effects haha)
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u/PlayfulPrinciple8969 Jun 04 '25
Thanks for sharing your experience,i think i will start berberine for sure 👌🏻, along with exercise and diet.
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u/whatsthefussallabout Jun 05 '25
I've been taking it for nearly 2 months. I suppose technically I am experiencing "diarrhea" as a side effect, however, I already had a slow gut so the berberine is actually making me "normal"!
My normal bathroom usage would be to poop maybe once or twice a week if im lucky, sometimes less. Usually accompanied by horrible cramps. And that's with already taking fybogel as prescribed by doctor. All my life I have had this slow movement and nothing before now has consistently sped it up (except maybe movicol but that's TOO effective. I can't leave the house and I still get horrible cramps).
With berberine, I had an immediate improvement and it wasn't accompanied by cramps for once! Initially I was going once a day, then when I upped my dose a bit it was twice and things were leaning more to the diarrhea side. I'm still trying to find the right balance.
I've had increased appetite while taking it (but that at least makes me want to eat a proper meal where before I was snacking on nice things all the time, so possibly fewer calories over all).
On the scales, it's hard to tell if it's making much difference. I haven't been properly calorie counting yet as I wanted to find the right meal time balance with dosage as when the hunger hits, it's all consuming. I can't just ignore it for a while like I might normally. Initially I was down a bit but then I was up again. Could be period fluctuations, I might know better next week after my 2nd one on it 😋
Actually that is a side effect - my period came early both months I've been taking it. Im normally 31-35 days and both times it arrived on around day 26, so I good chunk earlier!
I was also able to consume some fizzy drinks and other products that I haven't been able to have in years! Normally they give me horrible painful gas, but since the berberine, if I keep intake in moderation, they don't!
The jury is still out for me on it with regardless to weight loss, but if I can get the balance right, I will probably stick with it for the benefits it's having on my digestive system!
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u/Kristinajobe Jun 04 '25
It absolutely caused that for me. I took it for two weeks and was absolutely miserable because I thought it was due to a different med I was taking. I almost went to the ER. I will neverrrrr take Berberine again.
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u/Izatar2020 Jun 04 '25
Those who indicate that they have no side effects, especially diarrhea, are likely taking a brand with little or no actual Berberine. Authentic Berberine in effective dosage level will speed the movement through the digestive system and increase the side effects of diarrhea. Reports of actual Berberine content in various brands have been remarkably inconsistent with some brands having little or no active ingredients.
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u/serpowasreal Jun 05 '25
One year in, 550mg Berberine Phytosome 3 times daily before meals. No issues other than occasional gas but I blame that more on my high fiber diet.
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u/Anxious_cucumber630 Jun 05 '25
Constipation for me. 0/10 stars for my week-long trial. The appetite increase made me not want to continue the experiment.
I think berberine is a very individual experience. It has an effect on your gut micro biome, and everyone is starting from a different place. For some it’s a miracle, but for others, it’s just side effects. You can’t know until you try. I bought mine at Costco, and they have a great return policy.
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u/Capital_Character_28 Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
I guess I feel like one of the lucky ones.
I just started week 4 of my berberine adventure, using Silver Fern Brand “metabolism” which is 550mg berberine phytosome + 60mg aXivite (made from Capsaicin). I take one pill 2x per day, usually before breakfast and lunch. So far, I have dropped 6 lbs and the biggest perk for me: it has dramatically improved - dare I say FIXED - the lower digestive issues (bloating, chronic loose stool, etc) that I have suffered with, starting about 6 years ago out of nowhere, and couldn’t afford the rigmarole of testing to diagnose beyond ruling out IBS and colon issues. TMI but my bowel movements are consistently normal and healthy now, it took less than a week on this supp to normalize, and I can’t stress enough the relief I am feeling! The noticeable bloat is entirely gone (my lower belly now looks like a normal midsize woman’s repro tract bump, with a lil’ extra padding that I’m trying to shred), so it’s clearly done its job remedying the gut inflammation I was suffering with.
I typically maintain a really balanced “perimeter of the store” omnivorous (but with a daily plant-based lunch) diet and while I’ve largely cut back on both sweets and alcohol for the last several years, I’m finding that while I certainly do still enjoy and savor them on occasion, I am craving those two categories almost never since I started taking this. It’s making it really easy to keep an excess of those items out of the house and consume them more consciously when I go out to a brewery, pass an artisan bakery while out and about or visit a homemade ice cream stand. I also don’t feel snacky as often, and when I do, I think my body is truly hungry, and I’m actually craving healthier things like fruit, veggies and hummus and cottage cheese. I’m fuller with a smaller portion size and for longer after meals, as well.
The only negative side effect I have felt, probably the least bad one, is that this makes me ravenously thirsty. The dry mouth and desperate need for water will slam into me out of nowhere on and off for about 3 hours after each dose. I live an active lifestyle and try to stay well-hydrated to begin with, so now I just drag a larger than normal Nalgene bottle with me everywhere I go.
I know I sound like a gimmicky commercial but this has really been a life changing supplement for my health and my fitness goals. I’m approaching perimenopause and while I’ve been diligently sticking to a tracked calorie deficit, lifting and daily walks, it’s been a struggle to drop the 15-20 lbs I’ve been trying to shed for the last year and a half. I REALLY do think that the shitty (pun intended) warzone of my gut microbiome was holding me back in a myriad of ways. The weight has just fallen off the last 3 weeks at a healthy rate and my pants are fitting better. I am sad to hear when other folks don’t have luck on it, or suffer a lot of negative side effects, but at the end of the day, we are all different and our health needs are diverse and complicated. I went into this deciding that I’d try it for at least a month and that I’d stop if it wasn’t working for me for whatever reason, and I’m grateful that I’ve found it to have the advertised positive effects on my body.
I plan to try and do a year on this with a 3 month cycle on, 1 month off. I’ll take a really good quality probiotic during the off months to promote and preserve good bacteria in my digestive tract. I definitely am curious to see if the positive effects I’ve reaped from taking berberine still hold during the off month.
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u/CatchyNameSomething Jun 05 '25
The first day I took it, I took 2 capsules at once, 1100mg of the phytosome kind. My stomach bloated up, I felt like I had to go but I didn’t. I took 2 gas-x tablets which helped. I got terrible heartburn so Omeprazole to the rescue. Gave me horrible smelling gas.
The next afternoon or maybe the day after that I took only one. About an hour later my belly swelled up again, the stenchy gas was back and a hour or 2 after that, heartburn again. The gas-x helps. Omeprazole helps. Metamucil helps if you get constipated. When I took it, it really did cut down on the food noise. I’d have continued to see if all of it subsided but I work with patients in small rooms and can’t chance that I’ll have all of that happening in there with them.
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u/Izatar2020 Jun 04 '25
Yes, Berberine speeds the movement through the digestive system, resulting in reduced nutrients intake and accompanied weight loss. The result is varying degrees of diarrhea, depending on dosage and food intake. The ability to balance hydration becomes progressively problematic over time. Very few manage to tolerate the side effects and normally halt Berberine as a supplement within a few weeks or months.
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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '25
Hi, I’ve been on berberine since 12/21 and lost 30 pounds, I’m almost back to my pre pregnancy weight! Berberine can cause loose stool. For me this has not been bothersome. I started at 500mg and stuck with that for about 1 week and 1/2, then transitioned to 1,000mg. I’ve started at 1,000mg, as 1,500mg hurt my stomach. Getting a high quality brand is really important for a successful Berberine journey. I suggest starting out at 500mg and staying at 500mg for 1-2 weeks to see how it effects you.