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Posted 8/10/2015 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
As I stated in another post today, I started my herbs Samento and Banderol yesterday.

I'm curious of the safety of taking these two herbs over a long term period? That is all I'm on besides my supplements: b12 shot, vitamin nutritional supplement, probiotic and fish oil.

I know they are like an antibiotic but just a natural one and I know they are more gentle on you. But I still worry that they bad for you/body?

I know Lyme is no good for you so I have to take it but is it pretty close to the same thing like taking antibiotics long term?
Posted 8/10/2015 1:53 PM (GMT 0)
Good question. I doubt there are any long term studies on this stuff and its effects on our health, but would be nice to hear from people who have been on this combo long term.
Posted 8/10/2015 4:09 PM (GMT 0)
I've read many stories of people who've healed but continue to take a few herbs to maintain wellness, Samento being one of them. Not sure about other herbs though, and I do know people recommend taking breaks from herbs to give your body a break from them.
Posted 8/10/2015 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I made a pretty good guinea pig!! LOL!! I used only herbal treatments for healing for 2 years, then last year I started using astragalus to help protect me from future reinfections and will continue to take it the rest of my life most likely.

You don't have to take breaks from many herbs, as they have many elements in each herb that not only work together, but help to protect the body. Here are a few links so you can see that even a Master Herbalist like Buhner agrees, instead of relying on information from little ole me. smilewinkgrin

buhnerhealinglyme.com/basics/protocol-harmful-if-i-dont-have-lyme/


buhnerhealinglyme.com/herbs/herb-resistance/



buhnerhealinglyme.com/herbs/developing-resistance-to-herbs/
Posted 8/10/2015 4:25 PM (GMT 0)

Sniogra said...
I've read many stories of people who've healed but continue to take a few herbs to maintain wellness, Samento being one of them. Not sure about other herbs though, and I do know people recommend taking breaks from herbs to give your body a break from them.

Yeah, my plan is to stay on an herbal maintenance protocol for a while, even after I recover. I kind of like the idea of using samento banderol long term to play it safe from lyme. For me the risks are worth it, whatever the risks might be, especially when compared to the wrecking ball lyme has been in my life I'll take logical measured risks to keep protecting myself!
Posted 8/10/2015 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the responses.

Traveller, I checked out those three links and there is good information but it doesn't talk about if herbs are safe. I'm not taking about side effects but more of is it damaging to my body/organs etc putting Samento and Banderol into me everyday over the long term? For me I would be worried about using long term antibiotics so I'm trying to find out if herbs are the opposite as far as toxic/damaging for your body. I'm pretty sure I've come across info saying that herbs are safe because they are "non toxic". I'm a worry wart. I'll be 27 this month and I've been a pretty good worrier most of my life. I like to know the details on everything :/

I have felt good about all the supplements I've started a month ago, the vitamin supplements, b12 shots, fish oil, probiotic ... taking these I know I'm supporting my body and doing it good. But now after yesterday adding in these herbs (Samento & Banderol) I'm wondering if I'm now adding in damaging things for my body? Know what I mean? Sorry if I sound jumbled and repeating things , blah.
Posted 8/10/2015 5:38 PM (GMT 0)
Herbs can be very powerful and dangerous, so I think your caution is wise and it's a good idea to research.

That said, given the widespread use of these particular combos and hearing peoples' stories about being on them I feel quite comfortable in taking them myself. Especially when you consider the alternative: letting lyme/coinfections run amok unchecked. I believe the risk of lyme and the damage it does to the body is a much greater risk than the risk of taking the herbs to try and control lyme. This is my opinion.

Nothing is 100% perfect fool-proof. But I wouldn't worry too much, just keep researching!
Posted 8/11/2015 12:44 AM (GMT 0)
Well, I live with these infections for 40 years, so I can confirm living with these infections doesn't work very well!! Yes, I'm alive, but for a lot of my life, I was sidelined in one way or another, and bed ridden for portions too. I now suffer from some permanent damage too, thanks to having these infections for so long.

I healed using only herbs and used them for 2 years, then got reinfected and did it all over again for another 5 months. Is this ideal? Nope! That's why I started astragalus, so that I don't have to keep treating Lyme every summer. I will likely stay on it the rest of my life, and I expect that to be around another 50 years - unless they find a way to eradicate Lyme! smilewinkgrin
Posted 8/15/2015 2:24 AM (GMT 0)
If you search the internet extensively you might find some studies done on the safety of the herbs. Some herbs will have more research than others and some maybe none at all. There are sites that publish studies on herbs just like there are studies for chemical safety and such. When I was researching the safety of the herbs I took I think I searched things like "-herb name- safety", "-herb name- research", "-herb name- toxic", "-herb name- side effects", and I also searched specific side effects like death or infertility and probably other things. I came across many studies done on the herbs I was researching but sometimes I had to go far into the google search page numbers to find what I wanted. I was mostly interested in toxicities, reported deaths, organ damage side effects, and things like that. I think pubmed has studies on herbs. I can't remember any names of other sites, sorry :/ I just found everything off google search though.
Posted 8/15/2015 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
Yellowdaisy: Do you remember anything in your research on Samento & Banderol as far as safety and organ damage etc? These are the two herbal antimicrobials I am using.

Thanks for the tip on searching!
Posted 8/15/2015 5:45 PM (GMT 0)
The way I look at it - it's either live like this and continue to get worse...or treat. For me - It's not an option to allow the bacteria to flourish and the infection grow.
I can't imagine how horrible I would feel in 5 or 10 years if I didn't treat. I feel lousy already!!!
Posted 8/15/2015 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
You might want to read some of Buhner's work, JessicaMommy. I think you'll feel a lot more comfortable with the herbs.

Here's an overview:

www.betterhealthguy.com/images/stories/PDF/PHA/2010_4.pdf

Buhner's books are excellent. I've read his book on Lyme several times, the coinfection book that covers babesia, erlichia and anaplasmosis. I just bought his book on herbal antibiotics and recently ordered his coinfection book that covers bartonella. He explains each herb in-depth, its actions and heincludes info about studies, etc. There are extensive bibliographies at the end of each book.
Posted 8/15/2015 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks CD - Will go and buy one of his books tomorrow.
Posted 8/15/2015 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
I have the Buhner "Healing Lyme Co-Infections" - lots of information in there. Some of it I had to read twice....and I don't think it was because of my lyme brain (well, maybe a bit...lol) ...it's just very detailed.
Posted 8/15/2015 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
And I'm reading "Herbal Antibiotics" by Buhner, and it's a really wonderful read!! It will be very eye opening for many people!!!!

I gained confidence in Buhner's abilities before ever reading any of his books. It was by watching and keeping up with those on here that were using his protocols, and reading his site. He claims a 75% success rate in treating these infections with his protocols, and I believe it.

To be perfectly open and honest, it's the pharma abx that scare me more than the herbs. But that's a discussion likely meant for a different time.

Bottom line - people have used herbs for centuries to safely and effectively treat all kinds of ailments. Pharma drugs are much more of an "experiment" since they are much newer - and we are already seeing many diseases that are resistant to pharma abx, but not to herbs.
Posted 8/16/2015 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
Does the Buhner books also talk about supplements to take to help with your healing from lyme? Such as ALA+R, omega 3, multivitamin etc...
Posted 8/16/2015 2:03 PM (GMT 0)

JessicaMommy said...
Does the Buhner books also talk about supplements to take to help with your healing from lyme? Such as ALA+R, omega 3, multivitamin etc...

Yes....the recommendations are located throughout the book as they relate to specific symptoms and overall Lyme health.

Dr. Burrascano (one of the founding members of ILADS) makes supplement recommendations in his "Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines" The recommendations start on page 27 here:

www.lymenet.org/BurrGuide200810.pdf
Posted 8/16/2015 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks CD!

Quick question for you because I know you take both these supplements... ALA+ R and acetyl-l-carnitine.
As you know my LLND just prescribed me these last week and I have been hesitant to start them. I've decided I want to start the ALA +R this morning but I'm still not confident on taking the acetyl-l-carnitine yet, I want to read more and talk to my LLND on Tuesday about it. But my question is, is it out to just take the ALA+R without taking the acetyl-l-carnitine or are they suppose to be used together? I don't think I want to use the carnitine - but the ala+r sounds ok... just not sure if its defeating the purpose or are they two different supplements you don't need to take both if you don't want to.
Posted 8/16/2015 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
Well, Dr. Burrascano has ALA on his list of required supplements and acetyl-l-carnitine (along with SAM-e which I also take) is listed as an optional combination for "special circumstances". In this case, the supplements are used for neurologic symptoms.

I would imagine your LLMD has your best interests in mind with supplement recommendations.

I see no reason why you couldn't start R-ALA now and then talk to your LLMD about acetyl-l-carnitine....
Posted 8/17/2015 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
I went to Chapters tonight to get one of Buhner's books but they didn't have any in stock of the one I wanted so I had to order it. It will be in the next couple weeks. I ordered "Healing Lyme: Natural Healing and Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis and its Coinfections." Hopefully this is a good one to get. Didn't have a chance to glance through it as none were in stock.
Posted 8/18/2015 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
The Lyme book is a good place to start. I think you'll find that you'll need to read the book multiple times....it's that packed with information.

I just bought the coinfections books and am loving them...same deal with the volume of information. (there's like 100 pages' worth of bibliography entries in one of them!)

I get all my books on Amazon (I'm a Prime member and get "free" 2-day shipping). They were selling the Kindle version of Buhner's Herbal Antibiotics book for $2 and change. I couldn't resist ;)
Posted 8/18/2015 12:18 PM (GMT 0)
I'm looking forward to the book coming in so I can read it! It's too bad he has the second edition of the book coming out in a few months and I just bought this one. I didn't want to wait to get it, though!
Posted 8/18/2015 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
Helpful thread & links! For all you Buhner readers, if you had to choose 1 with the most important up to date herbal concoction healing remedies, which one (the latest)?
Posted 8/18/2015 3:31 PM (GMT 0)

happyjo said...
Helpful thread & links! For all you Buhner readers, if you had to choose 1 with the most important up to date herbal concoction healing remedies, which one (the latest)?

His latest-greatest Lyme & Co's book is the 2015 book on anaplasmosis, babesia and erlichiosis co-infections.
Therefore, the above-mentioned information for those particular infections is in there.

There is no info about Lyme nor other coinfections per se in the 2015 book.

I learned that people can not only have asymptomatic babesia infections but, they can also have asymptomatic bartonella infections.....all possibly acquired before the tick bite and all can impede healing from Lyme.

I then bought the babesia/erlichiosis/anaplasmosis co-infections book and the bartonella/mycoplasma book :)

I have had the need to re-read the books....multiple times lol They're like textbooks - no way, no how can I remember everything after the first read.

Post Edited (cd3764) : 8/18/2015 9:44:30 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/18/2015 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
I have his Herbal ABX and Herbal Antivirals books that sit right besides me all day long so I can refer to them any time I have questions about an herb.

I LOVE his books as they are written so that they are relatively easy to read and understand.

I wish I had known about the Kindle deal though!!! I would have bought every single one of his books!!!
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