Betaine Dosage

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DebE13
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Betaine Dosage

Post by DebE13 »

I've been using the Betaine Hydrochloride tablets (bottle says each pill equals 95mg of hydrochloric acid) for about a week. I have been using one with breakfast since it's usually a very small portion of fruit or vegetable. I normally feel mildly sick to my stomach or just not ready to eat early in the morning. Then I've been trying 2-3 pills with lunch and dinner when I eat my protiens. At 3 pills I've finally decided that I still don't feel any burning or warmness. I remember a post saying that the need for 4 pills is not usually needed by most people. How do I know if I'm not like most people? hahaha, I already know that I am not but do I dare try 4?

I still have 3-4 WD/day with 3mg entorcort and immodium. The immodium doesn't seem to help with the D but just makes it harder to "go." The best comparison I can come up with would be that the D stays the same but instead of having a 1 inch pipe the immodium shrinks me down to a half inch pipe. It all comes out the same just harder (not literally). if that makes sense?
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi DebE,

Most Betaine HCL tablets are labeled at 600 or 650 mg, (though someone mentioned that they had some 400 mg tablets). If yours is only rated at 95 mg, then that's why you aren't noticing any effect. You would need to take 6 or 7 of them to match a single 600 or 650 mg tablet.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by tlras »

I agree with Tex. From what I've read on www.scdlifestyle.com, the dose you are taking is very low. If you go to their website, they have some links to where you can buy the Betaine. If you can't find it, just ask them. They are good about answering usually.

I can't remember your story in regards to the Entocort. Were you on a higher dose before? Are you tolerating the Entocort well? Some people have to taper down to lower dosages very slowly to prevent the D from coming back.

Have you tried taking more Immodium? I usually took 3 (not at one time) the first day, then I took 1 every day...which worked 100% for me. I know someone on here who took a pill 3 times a day. For some reason, OTC anti-diarrhea meds work wonders for me.

I hope the Betaine (try higher doses) will work for you soon. Make sure it has Pepsin in it.

Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
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DebE13
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Post by DebE13 »

Aww, really? Guess I'll look on-line for one with a higher dose. There was only one bottle at Vitamin World and it doesn't have Pepsin in it. I was just thrilled they carried it and it that it was GF/SF/DF. Although, I'm relieved because I couldn't figure out why I wasn't noticing anything. I did take five with lunch and dinner- still didn't notice anything. I have a hard time swallowing pills so it will be much better to order a different brand.

Terri- I've tried two immodium but it seems to cause more cramping and discomfort. I usually hold off on more than one if I know I'm doing something where I want to be sure I won't have issues or if I'm having overnight guests. Maybe I should give three a try to see if that helps with alternating days with entocort. I took 9mg at first and tapered easily to 6mg. I've been at 3mg/day since March. I often have D at this dose but have also had Normans too, so I'm reluctant to bump it back up. I've opted for eliminating more food choices in hopes I would figure it out. I seem to tolerate it well, my only comparison is the prednisone I took prior to it and that was awful. My vision is often blurry and I don't feel like I can see quite as well as I should but the eye doc told me my RX hasn't changed.
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DebE13
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Post by DebE13 »

Any suggestions on a brand that's safe to use?
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Post by tlras »

The guys from www.scdlifestyle.com actually sent me a few links on where to order them but it'll take some looking for me to find it. I should have written them down. They are scd legal which I assume means gluten/dairy/soy free. They would definitely be starch free. Let me see if I can locate it on their site.

Imodium can cause some stomach pain with me and some fullness the first couple of days but it always goes away. I have heard that Imodium Plus may help with that but haven't taken it yet. I think it's called Imodium Multi-symptom. I suppose if I were having some Norms with the 3mg of Entocort, I would keep the Entocort dose the same for now as well. Wishing you the best.

Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
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tex
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Post by tex »

DebE,

The brand of the bottle I have is "Nature's Plus", manufactured by Natural Organics Laboratories, Inc., of Amityville, New York. The ingredients are:

Betaine HCL 600 mg
(from beet molasses)

Other ingredients :

microcrystaline cellulose, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, pepsin, bromelain, pancreatin, papain, silica, and pharmaceutical glaze

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by tlras »

Tex....just curious in case I get the go-ahead to take some. I have trouble swallowing pills also. Are they capsules? Are they huge? I can usually do well with any size capsule but tablets...not so good.

And thanks for letting us know!

Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
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tex
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Post by tex »

Terri,

These are tablets, and they're larger than an aspirin. They're about 7/16ths of an inch in diameter, and about 1/4th of an inch thick, which makes them look thick. I would rate them as fairly large tablets.

You're most welcome,
Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Post by tlras »

Thanks Tex!

@DebE....I found the link to other Betaine Hcl meds that are SCD legal. Here they are:

Now Betaine HCL
Twinlab Betaine HCL
Thorne Research Betaine HCL

I haven't looked into them yet, but hoping one is a capsule. I can't figure out how to copy the link to their blog about it. Not very computer literate here. But go to their website I mentioned above and you should be able to find it.

Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
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tex
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Post by tex »

Terri,

To post a link, all you have to do is to copy the internet address (URL) for the website that's shown in your navigation bar near the top of your browser. Then paste it into your post here. (be sure to leave an empty space before and after the address, so that browser interpreters will be able to tell exactly where the URL begins and ends. The system will automatically convert the address you posted into a live link when we view it in our browser. If the URL is long, the system will automatically convert it into a short URL.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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DebE13
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Post by DebE13 »

Great! Thanks for the suggestions- I'll be ordering some tomorrow. By the time I'm done swallowing 6 pills I'm too full to eat! :roll:
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Post by mzh »

Here's what I've been using very successfully.

http://www.vitacost.com/Solaray-HCL-with-Pepsin

250 capsules for $12.95 at Vitacost.com.

Capsules go down fine for me but not everyone can do that, I guess.. Just average or slightly below average in size.

Gelatin and the ever-present magneseum stearate. No other additives.

Marcia
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Post by ObsessedMrFixit »

Howdy folks,

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread here, but I'm curious if anyone takes what I'd call large doses of Betaine HCl?

I'm asking because I took the "string test" for HCl, and came up with no stomach acid. Really. None. pH of 7, maybe 6. So, my N.D. says sometimes the capsule doesn't make it all the way to the stomach, and that's probably what happened to me.

Well, ok, but we (me and my N.D.) both think that I have low stomach acid. So, I'm taking Betaine HCl to increase it. Also taking some lemon juice with each meal to stimulate digestion. So far, I'm noticing perhaps a slight improvement in digestion (based on the end result), but it's hard to tell. I'm up to 8 capsules (520mg each) of HCl with each meal. I've yet to notice the expected warm sensation. My doctor says not to worry, and I've heard of people taking 9, or (I think) even 20 capsules with each meal. Geez, 8 is enough to make you wonder how many calories are in these....that's a lot of pills to swallow!
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tex
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Post by tex »

Hi,

That's definitely a substantial dose. One would think that it would have a strong effect. I wonder if your parietal cells could be damaged. Did you ever take a PPI for a while?

Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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