This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I've recently added hibiscus tea to my regimen and it has produced wonderful results for me. My energy level is suddenly just amazing. I feel like the energizer bunny and some sensory issues are improving beyond what I had experienced thus far on the medication I am taking. Aside from some leftover numbness in my hands, I feel NORMAL!

I am wondering if the tea wouldn't work as well on its own (without a medication I am taking). So, I'm looking for people willing to try drinking 3 cups of hibiscus tea a day for at least 2 weeks. It can interact with some medications like acetaminophen so you would need to look out for that.

Anyone interested in giving it a try and sharing results?

Sounds interesting Moose. I can't start until I find a source of hibiscus. What benefits caused you to think of trying it?

Rough day here otherwise. MRI seeking later disease development for confirmed diagnosis was meant to be this morning. It is now Tuesday. My stress levels are over maximum and rising.

So sorry about the stress, Cali. Do you think you can find a way to eliminate some of the sources? Some things just aren't worth it.

I started drinking the hibiscus tea because I needed something to squash my aldosterone just a bit more than the .1 mg clonidine patch I was using. Hibiscus has been studied and is believed to be an ACE inhibitor and aldosterone blocker. It worked (according to my neck tension barometer) and I am feeling wonderful. It knocked out my weird leg sensory issues. I thought my energy was pretty good after starting clonidine. The hibiscus tea gives me crazy energy though not in a hyper way. I could not wear myself out yesterday, no matter how hard I tried. I think it did more than just inhibit aldosterone. It feels like there was some kind of bonus factor. Here's a list of other benefits...
http://www.herbal-treatment-remedies.co ... s-tea.html

I found organic hibiscus tea bags at my local granola store, Sprouts. $3 for 16 bags, I think. I hope you can find some and I hope it helps! Please share your experience good/bad/neutral if you try it.

Hang in there

I thought that you might want to give this a try, one pound of dried organic hibiscus is $14.49 from vitacost.com. Using the bulk tea with a wire mesh tea ball will be more cost effective than buying prepared tea bags. The equivalent cost for a pound of your tea bags assuming each tea bag contains 2 g of hibuscus would be $42.50.

NHE

Thanks NHE! I'll give vitacost a try when I run out of the tea bags.

Thank you for your kind thoughts Anonymoose!

And thank you for suggesting Vitacost NHE!

I'm in as soon as my supply of hibiscus arrives.

I have switched out my daily 3 cups of green tea for hibiscus for a week now. The only change I have observed is that my hands seem to be warmer, especially in the 3 to 4 hours after I drink the hibiscus tea. I do not know the mechanism; I am not even sure the hibiscus tea is responsible.

I will continue for at least another week until my supply runs out. If I see any changes, of course I will continue longer.

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My hypothesis: excess insulin (hyperinsulinemia) plays a major role in MS, as developed in my initial post: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-discussion-f1/topic1878.html "Insulin – Could This Be the Key?"

For those with low blood pressure, I don't think you should try hibiscus tea. High aldosterone is unlikely to be your problem. And the tea will probably make you feel worse. (Yes, I was a complete idiot about low blood pressure until I felt it for a few days. Not fun stuff!)

You might want to try an adrenal support supplement, like Vesta takes.

Any health food store with bulk bins of dried herbs is bound to have dried hibiscus. I know its not the best way to get the hibiscus intake but if you mix in a little honey or sugar and then chill it, it makes the most delicious and refreshing iced tea. Love it. I've always got a supply of dried hibiscus and I am up for drinking 3 cups for 2 weeks. Count me in!

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Dx: 9/8/11 RRMS
Gluten and dairy free diet
copaxone x3: let's hope the third time is the charm!
http://mylaceybrain.wordpress.com

Has anybody tried a hibiscus supplement? For example...
http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-hibisc ... ed-utirose

My bulk tea just arrived.

I am going to drink at least one cup per day and see how I do. I have low normal blood pressure, 110 over 70, so I won't drink three cups.

my blood pressure is borderline often. usually in the 120's over 80's range. it would be good to get that down. 3 cups it is.

_________________
Dx: 9/8/11 RRMS
Gluten and dairy free diet
copaxone x3: let's hope the third time is the charm!
http://mylaceybrain.wordpress.com

I completed 2+ weeks of the hibiscus tea experiment. I saw no additional changes after warmer hands in the first week. Frankly, I got tired of the taste of hibiscus tea and am glad to be back with my green tea/lemon.

By the way, my blood pressure has always been in the same range as mmpetunia's (Meagan's).

_________________
My hypothesis: excess insulin (hyperinsulinemia) plays a major role in MS, as developed in my initial post: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-discussion-f1/topic1878.html "Insulin – Could This Be the Key?"

i began this wanting to come at it somewhat scientifically and given that i work on a hospital unit i decided i would begin with taking my blood pressure each day i worked 3-4 times a week and keep track of the results. they ranged from 110's over 60-70's with a heart rate in the 60's each time. once while taking my blood pressure a doctor saw me and asked what i was up to. i explained that i was going to try drinking hibiscus tea to regulate my blood pressure. i told him about my often borderline high readings and my family history of high blood pressure. his response was that my pressures were fine. they were healthy and nothing to worry about and that parameters for healthy blood pressures had changed again to say that anything under 140/80 was totally fine (this is a doc who rounds on a brain injury unit with a large percentage of the patients being hypertensive stroke victims so i guess he knows what he's talking about)...eh what?! haha they have changed again?!

anyhow, i am going to check my pressure one more time tomorrow at work as a baseline and then begin the hibiscus tea experiment. i figure it might be helpful to me in other ways such as antioxidants so i'm going to try it but also keep a close eye on my pressures since they are within a normal range and i don't want to pass out from low blood pressure (my pressure is sometimes pretty low--90/50 range)!! haha. i will keep you all updated on how it goes!

_________________
Dx: 9/8/11 RRMS
Gluten and dairy free diet
copaxone x3: let's hope the third time is the charm!
http://mylaceybrain.wordpress.com

Hi,

I should report that I tried the hibiscus tea and didn't like it. I am still drinking it every once in a while for the vitamin C and other benefits, but I am not drinking it every day.

I have returned to green tea in the morning as my primary tea. At night I am rotating between chamomile and mint since both have been shown to be good for general health.

It was a good experiment and it didn't work for me.