I have been having some stomach trouble anyway but if I try to do to many supplements it seems to get worse. I think it is the alpha lipoic. Does anyone else have this trouble. The other supplements I take are fish oil, ALC, NAC, Bentofomide(recently), ubiquinol, d3, allone multi powder. Thanks.

The Alpha Lipoic Acid puts upsets my stomach as well and puts me in left field big time to where I can't process. I tryed over and over to take it with food and other methods. Since ALA is such a robust chelator, I personally think it is trying to pull metal out that is stubborn and that is what's giving me the hard time. It really turns me into a vegetable, I have a serious (detox??)reaction every time I take it. In addition to it spiking my reflux. Ubiquinol can have a milder but similar effect after taking(I take this a couple times a week). I use GliSODin, Pomegranate, Selenium and Grape Seed extract as well as others like NAC, Curcumin and Holy Basil here and there. Starting to take Vitamin C again as well.

I tried the R form of lipoic acid and got a very intense digestive attack along w/ diarrhea. Since I have IBS, I just figured it was that but on reflection, the pain and cramps were not like those of "normal" IBS. I wish I could continue with it since it seems to help so many. I wonder if there's an injectable form...maybe bypass the GI tract.

I don't get any upset with r-lipoic acid. In fact it is very energizing. I had to start slow with 50mg because it revved me up so much. Now I use 100mg a day.

Make sure you take your supplements with enough water, so they dissolve properly. You can take them with food also.

Alpha lipoic requires much higher doses daily than r-lipoic because part of it is not biologically active. It is a combination of racemic lipoic. The smaller doses of r-lipoic are easier to tolerate.
I wonder if some filler is in that and is to blame? I have such a sensitive system, and r-lipoic does not bother me at all.

Try to space them out during the day, homer. And make sure you drink a full glass of water, so they dissolve well and move along. Carnitine has a diarrhea warning in really high doses like 10 grams. At lower 500mg a day, it should be much easier.

--it is, well, strongly acidic.

As Mrs. Dnotes, one is better off taking it after a meal, with a lot of water, to help buffer the acid effect if oneis subject to it. And I have personally found significantly less reaction with the R-lipoic form conmpared to alpha, as one can take that in much smaller quantities for the same salutary effect.

The only exception to taking with food...is B12. This is best taken alone, on an empty stomach, with nothing to follow for at least an hour.

Also, I have noticed that the new supplements I am trying...
l-arginine and l-citrulline cause heartburn for me regardless of when I take them. They are HUGE tablets, I can barely swallow them, but I can't escape the heartburn. It is worse on an empty stomach, and I can't take them at all at bedtime.