4 replies to this topic

[jimrandomh]

I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I recently started taking sulbutiamine (350mg/day). It had an immediate, positive and *dramatic* effect on my energy level and overall subjective well being. I did some PubMed research, and found that, while no study of sulbutiamine on diabetics has ever been done, there is some reason to believe that this may be typical for diabetics.

Sulbutiamine is a derivative of thiamine (vitamin B1), which differs from regular thiamine mainly in that it readily crosses the blood-brain barrier [1]. Thiamine is depleted by metabolic pathways associated with high blood sugar, and thiamine deficiency is associated with a number of common diabetic complications [2]. Normal dietary intake of thiamine is not be sufficient to prevent deficiency in diabetics [3]. Research shows that supplementing thiamine, and another lipid-soluble derivative, benfotiamine, may prevent diabetic complications [4]. However, benfotiamine does not cross the blood-brain barrier at all [5], so it can't alleviate thiamine deficiency there.

I'm trying to gather reports on diabetics' experience with sulbutiamine, to find out whether my experience is typical. If you do try it, please post answers to this survey here:

(1) How much sulbutiamine did you take?
(2) Did it improve your energy level? If so, how much, on a scale from 0 (no improvement at all) to 10 (life changing)?
(3) Did you notice any side effects? List any side effects you noticed.
(4) Did you notice any change in your glycemic control? If so, what were your average glucose readings for the 30 days before you first took sulbutiamine, and for all the days since?
(5) What was your last HbA1c?
(6) Are you type 1 or type 2? What is your age, sex, and approximate weight?
(7) What is your average daily intake of thiamine from multivitamins and other dietary supplements?
(8) Anything else related to sulbutiamine you may have noticed

If you are not diabetic, then sulbutiamine might still be good for you, but please keep your experiences on a separate thread. Consult your endocrinologist before starting. Sulbutiamine is classified as a dietary supplement, meaning it can be purchased online or over the counter without a subscription. In powdered form, it tastes vile, so either get it in gel caps, or buy empty gel caps to assemble yourself. Good luck, and I hope it benefits you as much as it did me!

[1] Pharmacologic and therapeutic features of sulbutiamine. Van Reeth O. http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12973384
[2] The potential role of thiamine (vitamin B1) in diabetic complications. Thornalley PJ. http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18220605
[3] Thiamine deficiency in diabetes - is diet relevant? Vindedzis SA, Stanton KG, Sherriff JL, Dhaliwal SS. http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18777496
[4] Vitamin B1 blocks damage caused by hyperglycemia. Obrenovich ME, Monnier VM. http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12844520
[5] Benfotiamine, a synthetic S-acyl thiamine derivative, has different mechanisms of action and a different pharmacological profile than lipid-soluble thiamine disulfide derivatives. Volvert ML, Seyen S, Piette M, Evrard B, Gangolf M, Plumier JC, Bettendorff L. http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/18549472

[pycnogenol]

Hi jimrandomh,

Thanks for the links.

I currently do not take Sulbutiamine but do take Benfotiamine @ 250-500 mg daily.

What other supplements do you take for glucose management?

[bran319]

Has it had any effect on your glucose levels?

[jimrandomh]

Has it had any effect on your glucose levels?

Not that I've noticed. At least, not directly; extra energy can be converted into exercise and glucose management-related work, which do make things better, but the credit goes to those things and not to sulbut. (Do remember to watch out for lows if you exercise more than usual.)

What other supplements do you take for glucose management?

None for diabetes or glucose-related purposes. (For non-diabetes-related purposes, piracetam, choline citrate and vitamin D). If anyone knows of credible research to suggest that any particular supplement is helpful in managing glucose, I'd be very interested in seeing it. But note that to be useful, it would have to do something other than just lowering glucose, because insulin is better for that. And to convince me it's worth trying, it would have to have either a plausible mechanism of action documented in peer-reviewed literature, or a blinded study, because below that threshold of evidence there are too many false claims.

[pycnogenol]

None for diabetes or glucose-related purposes. (For non-diabetes-related purposes, piracetam, choline citrate and vitamin D).

Vitamin D supplementation is thought to be helpful for diabetes or so I hear.

http://www.vitamindc...hDiabetes.shtml

Edited by pycnogenol, 03 September 2010 - 03:22 PM.