Hi, I'm starting a new experiment with myself, a combination of cinnamon and berberine to rebalance the methane producing organisms in my bowel. I have been using berberine for a long time and it has some positive effect but not enough. That's why I'm adding cinnamon now. Cinnamomum zeylanicum ('true' cinnamon, cinnamomum Verum)
17th of January 2022. Started taking a single strain probiotic (Bifidobacterium lactis hn019) and will stop (temporarily) taking cinnamon/berberine/butyrate) so I am able to notice the effect this probiotic has on my overall health.
26th of January 2022 My gut doesn't agree with the probiotic so I won't take it any longer. Did add garlic to my regime of natural antimicrobials.
13th of February 2022 Did stop taking cinnamon. Now only take berberine/garlic extract and oregano.
7th of April 2022. I did totally stop taking natural antimicrobials and did start a new trial using butyrate acid instead 1100 mg, twice daily.
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Meleber
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I forgot to mention that I did start taking one capsule containing 500mg Cinnamon (200 mg bark powder (cinnamomum burmanni) and 300 mg bark extract (cinnamomum spp.) (4:1)) 4 days ago.
After some further reading I decided to take a different species of cinnamon. Instead of cinnamomum burmanni I now take cinnamomum Verum (extract, 500mg twice daily).
I've been taking 1 capsule of cinnamon for almost one week now. No noticeable side effects / adverse effects but also no noticeable positive effect yet. I'm now increasing the dosage to 2 capsules daily, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I take this together with berberine 500 mg, two tablets daily.
Yesterday, when on my bicycle / e-bike, I suddenly started to yawn. For me this is a symptom of relaxation. And this morning I felt the muscles in my face relaxing. Could this be the result of taking cinnamomum Verum (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), that my bowel is starting to work better? If so, it's promising. I don't feel much difference in my abdomen / bowel till now.
Also a little adjustment in the dosage berberine I take. I decided to lower the dosage berberine from 500 mg twice daily to 250 mg twice daily, by breaking one tablet in half.
I think that in 4 to 6 weeks I should be feeling / seeing some improvement in my abdomen / bowel / stool (or not) but also in the rest of my body (a lot of bodily symptoms). It's still possible for me to slowly increase the dosage of cinnamomum verum. Safe daily intake is around 4 g maximum and I am now taking 1 g (500 mg twice daily). My planned next increase in dosage with 500 mg will be around the 13th of December, when not noticing to much side effects and improvements in all over the body symptoms as a result of a dysfuntional intestines.
Maybe it's another sign that things are getting a bit better. Instead of waking up around 5.00 in the morning, this morning I woke up around 7.15! Of course still to early to tell but it has been since a very long time that I woke up this late in the morning. So 🤞🏻
The genus Cinnamomum includes a number of plant species largely used as food, food additives and spices for a long time. Different traditional healing systems have used these plants as herbal remedies to cure diverse ailments. The aim of this comprehensive and updated review is to summarize the biodiversity of the genus Cinnamomum, its bioactive compounds, the mechanisms that underlie the pharmacological activities and molecular targets and toxicological safety. All the data in this review have been collected from databases and recent scientific literature including Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect etc. The results showed that the bioactive compounds of Cinnamomum species possess antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and neuroprotective effects. The preclinical (in vitro/in vivo) studies provided the possible molecular mechanisms of these action. As a novelty, recent clinical studies and toxicological data described in this paper support and confirm the pharmacological importance of the genus Cinnamomum. In conclusion, the obtained results from preclinical studies and clinical trials, as well as reduced side effects provide insights into future research of new drugs based on extracts and bioactive compounds from Cinnamomum plants.
"Other traditional uses include urinary tract infections, relieve the abdominal discomfort, and improves digestion, antidiabetic, analgesic, and neuroprotective effects "
Because what I feel, notice in my body since last Sunday I won't increase the daily dosage of cinnamon (500 mg twice daily) for a while and I might even stop taking berberine (250 mg twice daily currently) so I can rule out any additional / complementary effect of berberine. I've taken berberine for a long time but now have the feeling that cinnamon is more effective treating my symptoms. Future will tell if this is true.
Just learned that a good friend tested positive for COVID-19. I did meet him a couple of days ago so it can be that what I feel in my body could also be COVID related symptoms. Now in quarantaine till the result of the official PCR test is available. Time will tell if it is COVID related or an effect of using cinnamomum verum
Result of official test for the covid-19 virus is negative. But because I tested within 5 days after the contact with my comrade I'll have to do another test and stay in quarantaine for two more days. I'll do a home test on Saturday. Tested negative on Saturday 🙂
Since it doesn't feel right after I stopped taking a low dosage berberine I will add it again. Now back to the original dosage berberine (2 * 500mg) and cinnamon (2 *500mg) .
Hi, I order the cinnamon online - supernatureproducts.com - in the Netherlands. There are a lot of shops selling cinnamomum verum (cinnamon verum, cinnamomum zeylanicum). I assume you're living in the UK and it must be available there too.
Till now not much improvement in my direct bowel related symptoms like constipation. I was constipated yesterday after I did eat something on Tuesday that isn't well digested. So I still need to take a laxative like bisacodyl several times a day (I try to cut the small tablets in half). Luckily not completely blocked.
So regarding the direct bowel related symptoms I don't feel much improvement yet but overall I do notice improvements like having a bit more energy lately and also feeling somewhat better in my head, positive neurological effects.
It's two weeks now since I started taking cinnamomum zeylanicum, the first week just one capsule (500mg) to feel how my body reacts and then increased the dosage with another capsule of 500mg. I take one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. Since I do feel some positive changes in my body I won't increase the dosage yet.
I wrote that I wouldn't increase the dosage cinnamon I take currently (500 mg twice daily)yet but I decided that I will. Also because I did stop taking berberine. So as from today I'll take 1500 mg cinnamon, divided in three dosages, three capsules of 500 mg, over the day (around 6 o'clock, 14 o'clock and 19 o'clock). Will do this for at least a week to see, feel what the additional effect of 500 mg cinnamon has.
Thanks I live in Scotland . But will look it up here . It’s being tired all the time . And like you tried a lot of different stuff . But I also need to take laxido a few Times a day . Doctors here are limited as the hospitals and referrals are all back logged . But keep the update as you just never can tell what works 😊
"The kind of hope I often think about...I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.
Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. In short, I think that the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, and the only true source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit and its efforts, is something we get, as it were, from “elsewhere.” It is also this hope, above all, which gives us the strength to live and continually to try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do now."
Lactulose breath test negative for hydrogen, not tested for methane (producing organisms). So could still be a methane producer because of my dysfunctional bowel. Hope my regime of Berberine and cinnamon (and the laxatives) will somewhat alleviate the symptoms. It looked promising till I stopped taking berberine and increased the dosage of cinnamon. So as I wrote in an earlier post back to square one, 500mg berberine and 500mg cinnamon verum, twice daily. It will take some days again before I can notice some positive effects. Hopefully in a week feeling somewhat better.
Think that I feel just a little bit better but wished I hadn't stopped taking berberine a week ago. Will stick with the current regime and hope I'll notice some more small improvements in my overall health in the weeks to come. Did also order butyrate to add to my regime, as from January 2022.
Hi, interesting to read your ‘regime’ and obviously wishing you a successful journey, tho we know it may have ups and downs.I think I have methane dominated sibo, tho not acknowledged by health professionals! I have started taking a gut enzyme with Betaine Hydrochloride 3 times a day before meals, as I think my stomach acid is too low and has allowed the growth of these organisms. I have never tried Berberine, does it increase your energy levels?
Berberine did just slightly increase my energy level. That's why I now do this experiment with myself, adding cinnamon verum. In two weeks time I intend to add butyrate if I don't feel any increase in my overall health and energy level.
Because I'm not feeling well at all and since I received the butyrate supplement I ordered,I thought why not start taking it now instead of two weeks time. I took one capsule (Aliness, Poland) yesterday in the afternoon and within a couple of hours I noticed that I felt more 'relaxed' / fatigued / sleepy so went to bed early. The adivse is to take two capsules daily (morning / evening) but for now I will take just one, in the evening.
I was thinking why not take the recommended dosage now instead of waiting another week? Normally I would have waited for a week to feel how my bowel reacts on a supplement I started to take.
But, and maybe also because of Christmas?? I decided to go for it already.
I know, start low and go slow 😉 but also follow your gut feeling. And use my other brain, I sometimes tend too forget.
Now I just have to wait and feel what happens in my body in the weeks to come. 🤞🏻
Maybe, as usual 😉 , I'm a bit too enthusiastic in increasing dosages of supplements. It doesn't feel too well in my bowel / body. It just might be the IBS but want to be sure I'm not 'overdosing', I'm taking more than my body can cope with. That's why I decided to cut back the dosages of the three supplements for a while. So as from today I will only take one capsule / tablet of each supplement (berberine, cinnamon and butyrate).
My idea / hypothesis still is dysbiosis as result of functional bowel problems / slow colon transit. Therefore I added another natural antimicrobial product, St John's Wort. I had very good experiences with some antibiotics, a tetracyclin and amoxicillin clavulanate (Augmentin) in the past though the effects subsided gradually after the course of antibiotics ended. Also St John's Wort has antidepressant properties and in my case this can be beneficial too. I remember when I became severe depressed after bowel surgery (ileus ) in 2002 I also started taking St John's Wort and after a while I noticed a positive effect. That's when I did visit my GP and he prescribed me a SSRI. The question is did I start feeling better because of the antidepressant effect of St John's Wort or was it because of it's antimicrobial properties, keeping in mind that I probably have had bowel problems / problems with my digestive tract since my early childhood.
A week has past since I halved the dosage of the 4 supplements with antimicrobial properties I take. Feeling improvement, some alleviation after a week. That's how long it takes for my body to adjust. I now will try to stick to the current dosage for the rest of the month of January to see/feel if I notice some more alleviation in my all over the body symptoms due to my dysfunctional intestines. The for me most noticable positive (neurological) change is that I started to listen to music again. Also feeling / noticing some more emotions. Was able to ride my motorcycle on new years day and enjoyed the short ride!
What do I take currently (medication / supplements)
Venlafaxine, 187,5mg (to manage depression and anxiety, most probably caused by dysfunctional intestines)
bisacodyl and cascara sagrada (alternating) 3 or 4 times daily as laxatives to keep fecal material moving through
Mylan creon digestive enzymes (10.000 lipase or 35.000 lipase) when I know I'm taking food that contains more fat than usual. I have discussed it with the gastroenterologist and he told me I could take it despite I don't suffer from pancreas / pancreatic insufficiency.
low dosage Berberine/St John's wort/cinnamon/butyrate (combining these because, amongst others, the antimicrobial properties to treat what I think is dysbiosis caused by my dysfunctional intestines)
multivitamins, extra vitamin C, cod liver oil / fish oil
Also thinking about adding rhodiola rosea or garlic to my regime of supplements with antimicrobial properties if after a month (end of January / beginning of February) I don't notice further improvement / alleviation of my IBS related symptoms.
I can't heal my intestines, this is something I probably was born with, genetically predisposed so need to take laxatives every day, 3 or 4 times a day.
However I can try to alleviate the bodily symptoms as a result of my dysfunctional intestines.
I took rhodiola in the past and remember it had some positive effects on my overall health. In first instance I became more fatigued but after a while, when my body got used to taking this natural product, I slowly started to feel a bit better, not well.
Never tried supplementing garlic in the past but it also has some interesting properties.
And than there's Vaccinium myrtillus. It also has interesting properties that could be beneficial for alleviating IBS related symptoms.
Also could up the dosage of one of the four supplements I currently take.
Have to make up my mind which one to choose in a month's time.
For now I won't change anything. Start low and go slow, is what I sometimes tend to forget. 😉
Cinnamon seems to have some effect on the symptoms caused by a dysfunctional gut and so does berberine. But till now I don't feel that much difference in my overall well-being that I will stick to this regime, mix of supplements. When I looked in my kitchen cupboard a week ago I found a box with capsules, a probiotic strain, I ordered a while ago and I want to give this one a try. I already started taking it. I now intend to stop taking berberine and cinnamon so I will be able to notice the effect is has on my health. As usual, 🤞🏻
Till now I'm combining the probiotic and cinnamon verum/berberine. I take the probiotic in the morning on an empty stomach and the natural antimicrobials (berberine and cinnamon verum (in a low dosage)) in the evening. This morning I woke up at around 7.20 almost two hours later than normally! Hopefully this is a sign that the single strain probiotic I currently take is beneficial for me.
My gut/body really doesn't agree with the probiotic so I won't take it any longer. Back to my 'old' regime, only natural antimicrobials, berberine/cinnamon/St John's Wort and a laxative (3 to 4 times a day). And of course mind what, how much and when I eat.
Did stop taking St John's Wort. Currently three different natural antimicrobials and increased the dosage as from the 31st of January. I take 500mg berberine, 500mg cinnamomum verum and 250mg garlic extract twice daily. Still a lot of gas (methane?) in my intestines.
Short update. I did add oregano to my regime of natural antimicrobials.
Now taking berberine/garlic extract/oregano and cinnamon and also bisacodyl 4 times during the day. The latter because of my dysfunctional intestines (motility issues), my food/fecal material isn't moving fast enough through my intestines.
Since I did add oregano and also did adjust the dosage of the garlic extract (I took too much, stupid me) I'm feeling a little bit better, less worse.
Still troubles with the gas in my intestines that hardly will move through (trapped gas) but fortunately I still do fart and was able to go for a short ride on my motorbike today. 🙂
Did stop taking cinnamon. Now only berberine/garlic extract and oregano. Also did start with a very low dosage of a probiotica mixture that could influence the MMC, the motility of the small intestine, research showed (Lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium bifidum) . Made an appointment with my GP because I want to try an antibiotic (have good experiences with a tetracycline and also amoxicillin / clavulanate) and therefore would like to be referred to an university hospital in the region to discuss my medical situation. I still think that it could be more than 'just' IBS, the working diagnosis (no definite diagnosis) that was made in 2019. This is my gut feeling, also based on my overall symptoms and the fact that my mother and father have bowel issues. So already predisposed, 'bad' genes. I just want to rule out other disorders/diseases/syndromes, hence my question for a referral to a specialised university hospital.
Instead of a referral to the university hospital to discuss the use of antibiotics, I asked and got a referral to a neurologist. There are a lot of all over the body symptoms/signs which indicate that a (inherited?) problem with my peripheral nervous system (neuropathy) could be the underlying cause of the problems with my intestines. I know that when this should be true, there's no cure currently but it would give me some peace of mind.
I think I will no longer update this post. The natural antimicrobials I'm taking might have some effect. I'm also taking a low dosage of different probiotics, venlafaxine (almost two decades) and multivitamins. Recently I did add a low dosage Rhodiola Rosea because of my chronic fatigue and other symptoms. Besides this I mind my diet because of my dysfunctional intestines. Almost don't take insoluble fibres and have to mind my fat intake. I do take lactose free dairy products and eat buckwheat bread. And need to take laxatives 3/4 times during the day to keep it flowing in the intestines. When I have spoken with the neurologist I might open a new post.
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