Berberine

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R3m3dy
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by R3m3dy »

SufferingfromSSRI wrote:I am currently trialing Berberine and Icariin in the recommended dosages along with L-Histadine, L-Cysteine, Ginkgo Biloba, and daily Cialis @ 5mg.

I am less than a week in so no results to report.

The main issues I am trying to fix are genital numbness and disconnect, pleasureless orgasms, and anhedonia.

Should I be concerned about the 5-ar inhibiting effects of Berberine?

I take 5g creatine daily for weightlifting performance and plan to combine that with some Cistanche Tubulosa. I have never been super high in DHT (patchy beard, no sign of MPB @ 31) and am afraid of it going TOO low. Test levels are in the normal range @ 581 ng/dl total, 137ng/dl free/weakly bound.

In trialing Berberine and Icariin I don't want to do any androgen modification or I at least want to limit any androgen suppression or boost it if I can.

Any thoughts? Anything I should take in conjunction?
Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. This was a big concern for me but I had no problem androgen-wise. Now that I'm off berberine, it's possible that my beard may be growing a little bit quicker but I can't say for certain. If you want to add anything else, I would recommend adding ~10mg boron per day as it will increase free testosterone and at least 6g of citrulline malate (which equals about 3 g of l-citrulline) per day which helps blood flow. Don't worry about boosts to your androgens.
DrugsAreBad wrote:I've had some success with berberine. But I need 1000-2000 mg. Don't take all at once and take with food. It's bad for your stomach.
Can you describe your successes? What differences have you noticed with the higher doses? What dose did you end up settling on as effective in that range, or do you alternate?


I will give another update on my icariin/berberine experience in a few days since I am now finished. Overall it was positive for me and I plan on doing it again shortly, but using a higher dose of berberine the entire time instead of just for the last month.
SufferingfromSSRI
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by SufferingfromSSRI »

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. This was a big concern for me but I had no problem androgen-wise. Now that I'm off berberine, it's possible that my beard may be growing a little bit quicker but I can't say for certain. If you want to add anything else, I would recommend adding ~10mg boron per day as it will increase free testosterone and at least 6g of citrulline malate (which equals about 3 g of l-citrulline) per day which helps blood flow. Don't worry about boosts to your androgens.
Well thats great because I already have both Boron and Citrulline Malate! Thanks! I will provide my Berb/Icariin report here when I can say one way or the other.
DrugsAreBad
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by DrugsAreBad »

R3m3dy wrote:
DrugsAreBad wrote:I've had some success with berberine. But I need 1000-2000 mg. Don't take all at once and take with food. It's bad for your stomach.
Can you describe your successes? What differences have you noticed with the higher doses? What dose did you end up settling on as effective in that range, or do you alternate?
Initially I feel numb, but 24 to 48 hours after I take berberine, suddenly erections just start working great. This effect diminishes over a few days, but I think my baseline has some remaining improvement. Maybe taking it for longer periods could improve baseline even more. Libido does not improve though.
SufferingfromSSRI
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by SufferingfromSSRI »

Should we try cycling berberine (2 weeks off one week on but for a period of 6 months or so) to see if the baseline improves in the off weeks?
R3m3dy
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by R3m3dy »

DrugsAreBad wrote:
R3m3dy wrote:
DrugsAreBad wrote:I've had some success with berberine. But I need 1000-2000 mg. Don't take all at once and take with food. It's bad for your stomach.
Can you describe your successes? What differences have you noticed with the higher doses? What dose did you end up settling on as effective in that range, or do you alternate?
Initially I feel numb, but 24 to 48 hours after I take berberine, suddenly erections just start working great. This effect diminishes over a few days, but I think my baseline has some remaining improvement. Maybe taking it for longer periods could improve baseline even more. Libido does not improve though.
This is interesting. Is this after a single day at 1000-2000mg that you seem to notice this rebound effect, or after consecutive days of dosing?
SufferingfromSSRI wrote:Should we try cycling berberine (2 weeks off one week on but for a period of 6 months or so) to see if the baseline improves in the off weeks?
It's possible that this could be worthwhile. You would have to play with the dosage to see what works best for you. As I mentioned, I will personally be running a higher dose the entire time I run it again than I did the first time to see what happens.


I will be giving my final review on berberine/icariin following my next sexual encounter. I am entirely off both now but want to confirm one last thing before I give a final update. I do plan on running the combination again very shortly, although I may try St. John's Wort again and if I do I would likely put off berberine until I finish the SJW. Anyone aware of any specific potential issues with running both at the same time?
SufferingfromSSRI
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by SufferingfromSSRI »

R3m3dy wrote: I will be giving my final review on berberine/icariin following my next sexual encounter. I am entirely off both now but want to confirm one last thing before I give a final update. I do plan on running the combination again very shortly, although I may try St. John's Wort again and if I do I would likely put off berberine until I finish the SJW. Anyone aware of any specific potential issues with running both at the same time?
I'd like to know of potential effects of the combination of SJW & Berberine as well. I do know one thing. I will NOT be continuing Tadalafil alongside the SJW. That combination is supposedly quite dangerous. I am taking 5mg of Tadalafil daily for long-term effects.
R3m3dy
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by R3m3dy »

SufferingfromSSRI wrote:
R3m3dy wrote: I will be giving my final review on berberine/icariin following my next sexual encounter. I am entirely off both now but want to confirm one last thing before I give a final update. I do plan on running the combination again very shortly, although I may try St. John's Wort again and if I do I would likely put off berberine until I finish the SJW. Anyone aware of any specific potential issues with running both at the same time?
I'd like to know of potential effects of the combination of SJW & Berberine as well. I do know one thing. I will NOT be continuing Tadalafil alongside the SJW. That combination is supposedly quite dangerous. I am taking 5mg of Tadalafil daily for long-term effects.
Have you found any evidence suggesting it might be dangerous? I know that Squirtle has some concerns about it due to SJW's interaction with the enzyme that processes tadalafil, but everything that I have been able to find suggests that it will simply reduce the effectiveness by (theoretically) up to 50%.

Combining the 3 would be interesting since berberine and sjw have opposite effects on the enzyme through different mechanisms, potentially "balancing" the metabolism of the drug to an extent. However I'm not sure what kind of risks that might yield, if any.

I had no issues taking PDE5 inhibitors with berberine (it was a positive experience, actually) which one would think would be more risky than taking them with sjw.
Jaxx
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by Jaxx »

Curious to hear if people continued berberine in the last couple months!
Samsa
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by Samsa »

After taking berberine 1000mg for four weeks I seem to have crashed. Slight improvements in libido from beginning of week 2 until end of week 3 when it all went sour.
Jaxx
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Re: Berberine

Unread post by Jaxx »

Samsa wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:24 am After taking berberine 1000mg for four weeks I seem to have crashed. Slight improvements in libido from beginning of week 2 until end of week 3 when it all went sour.
could you please elaborate on your crash and did you stop it now?
mrstaircase also reported increased numbness for instance, which went away after time. But thats no guarantee this is the case for you ofcourse.
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