Money.

Kathie, Something doesn't add up right!

Woodland Essence 4 ounces of Red Sage is $32. And Skullcap was only $40

Do you think maybe they gave you 8 ounce bottles??

Anyway, here are places I have gotten my herbs from

SageWomanHerbs - Salvia Miltiorrhiza (Red Sage) is $28 for 4 ounces.

I have gotten it from Amazon - HawaiiPharm adn it is $29.75 for 4 ounces.

That's what I did Girlie. I went and added it up and it doesn't add up. I think someone goofed or she bought 8 ounce bottles.

I take 17 different herbs. When you think about the fact that an 4 oz bottle only lasts two weeks if you're taking 1/2 tsp 3x daily, it was adding up VERY quickly.

I now make all of my own tinctures with the exception of Motherwort and Houttuynia because Buhner recommends fresh leaf tincture for those two.

I found a source for fresh Motherwort but there's a 10 lb minimum - a bit too much lol

If I didn't opt to use organic ethyl alcohol, I could save a bundle but I want to avoid GMO.

Still, my homemade tinctures cost probably 1/3 what I was paying for store-bought and I must say I have a sense of connection to the herbs that are healing me because I turned them into my medicine.

It took a bit to figure everything out and get things organized. But, my kids call me a shaman now ;)

I plan on maintaining inventory of certain tinctures for the rest of my life.

That's exactly what I needed to know. That is what I need to do, then. I've made my on tinctures in the past (nutritive, supportive tinctures for clients)
Thanks, cd!

cd - We had a discussion on here a while back on the different strength of the Sage Woman Herbs - compared to Woodland essence.

Wasn't the SWH - lower strength meaning you need to take more? I don't remember the result of the discussion..

Girlie said...
cd - We had a discussion on here a while back on the different strength of the Sage Woman Herbs - compared to Woodland essence.

Wasn't the SWH - lower strength meaning you need to take more? I don't remember the result of the discussion..

Now that you mention it, Girlie, I remember the conversation but not the outcome lol I think we got so caught up with the math lol

I'll tell you this much....with all the herbs I'm taking, I'm sure you're not surprised to know that I've bought many bottles of tinctures from each company. I can tell you that preparation (ratios/alcohol %) varies by herb as well. In other words, there were instances when Sage Woman's product was stronger and others when it was Woodland Essence.

Now that I'm making my own tinctures (per the recipes in Buhner's "Herbal Antibiotics" book), I'm finding that some of my tinctures are made "stronger" than some that Woodland Essence sells.

Sage Woman claims cold percolation process and that it's superior. I've use Montana Farmacy's Gou Teng because they're the only company selling it.

Guess what? I can't tell the difference

If you think about it, Buhner recommends all of these companies. And, by the very nature of herbs, each lot of tincture is different from the next anyway.

I'm very curious about the Stephania tincture I have currently macerating. It's made from a different batch of Stephania root that is darker than the previous batch I used.

Hey - I'm not the same person I was a few months ago....and neither are the herbs. They are healing me and that's all I care about ;)

You are too funny, astroman ;)

I don't know a single Lyme patient with any extra money laying around, unfortunately.

But, yes, the title of this thread is an eye-catcher lol

Local apothecary has been willing to stock what i have asked for so far...like astro i thought it had to do with $ , research or trials for curza 99 or gofundme a mhbot

echo23 - That is the same herb mix that I buy from Green Dragon (LB core - capsules). For $40 it lasts me about 37 days (9 capsules a day). How long does the 1/4 lb for $40 last you?

Kathie,

I think you started Buhner just a little bit before I did (so I watch your posts like a hawk, haha!).....

I know when things are tight, even the way I approached it can be difficult, but here is what I am doing to calm my mind about the whole money thing.

I am very suspicious of Bart with my symptoms, definitely want to do Lyme protocol and with Babesia it was sort of, "well why the heck not?" So I did make the initial investment of the SMALL tinctures ($10-12/each) for just the core protocol herbs for Lyme/Bart/Babesia. That said, I am going so incredibly slow (thanks CD for the input on that). Did 1 drop of JK per day for a week, then 1 drop of Cat's Claw the next week (still taking the JK)...that type of system for every herb in my possession until I've run them all through my body once....then I will up to 2 drops of each herb and so on.

So back to money......First, at this pace, I have a longggg time before I have to start buying truckloads of these herbs...so for now the financial damage is done for a good long time (you mentioned you are going slow as well, so I am guessing you are the same). Second, going slow gives me time to learn how to make tinctures, to shop around for good priced herbs, etc. so I can save money in the future. But third and most importantly, I have read so many of those who did herbs before us say they never got past a few drops of this herb or that, and that is was enough for their bodies. I may be the person who can only tolerate 8 drops of Cat's Claw a day, and that is it.

I think we have time and a little budget room when starting out slow and not knowing what we can tolerate in dosing or herbs.

One other thing, Kathie - you mentioned that you have family testing positive recently. Will they be doing herbs? If so, maybe you can have a deal going between you where they pay for most of the bulk herbs and you make the tinctures or vice versa. Just a thought.

Good luck to you! I do feel like quite the turtle but I tell ya, every time I introduce a new herb the first 2-3 days I really notice the impact on my body. I can function, but don't feel great, so these tinctures should last me a long time!

Nice to be in a similar place, Ursa! I'll be keeping an eye out for you, too! I think I have babesia after reading more about it.

My niece is doing it her own way...saw a LLMD Downstate who accepts insurance. He told her that no 30 year old woman should be on the number of medications she's taking...she finally felt seen and heard. She's taking Doxy for now...he ran some tests and they'll take it from there.

I drew Igenex tests on my sister and sister-in-law Sunday (both of whom have had tick bites and have been diagnosed with autoimmune disease) Maybe they'll be doing herbs with me.

People are coming out of the woodwork asking me about Lyme and testing...so many people in this area with unexplained illness and/or chronic disease.

Thanks for the recommendation for Vitacost, Annette. I've ordered from them in the past. I will definitely check them out again.

Those 3 that I pre-ordered from were with shipping, but excellent reminder to everyone about shipping. And the one I choose was $15 less for the 7 items (almost the cost of a 1 oz herb tincture). It is nice that I have the time to shop around like that now. There was a time where my schedule did not leave me time to cost compare. I just had to have it and no time to be thrifty. Now I have to be thrifty and thank the Lord, I have the time.