Healing with Herbal Protocols only

Hi Khawdash!!
Welcome to our community! I'm so glad you found us.

If you haven't ​yet​, it would be helpful for you to start with reading through the thread at the top of the forum titled,"New to Lyme?...Start here!!", as it is packed full of important information, symptom lists, helpful links and pdf's, how to detox when one has these infections, information on probiotics and much more. And this is another good list of possible detoxing routines: www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html Detoxing for us is an incredibly important part of our healing.

I have a listing for one Naturopath that treats these infections in OK, but what I last heard, they aren't treating with high enough doses either. But, you can still try to find one if you would like - I certainly don't know all the doc's treating these infections!!

For information on finding a​n ILADS ​(International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society)​ trained​ Lyme Literate Medical Doctor(LLMD) in your area, you will need to enable your email option in your profile in order to receive any recommendations, as we don't allow doctor's names and contact info to be posted on the forum for several reasons. You can enable your email option in your profile, under 'edit profile'. Be sure to click the submit button to actually save your preference.


​You can send me an email by clicking on my screen name or the small blue envelope under my screen name. I may have contact information for some LLMD's in your area as well.​ ​Please include your state (or province) and area that you would like to find a LLMD in and I will be happy to share the names I have.​


You can email the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance at [email protected]​ for LLMD referrals.


You can go to The Lyme Disease Association and search for LLMD's 3 times in a month. You have to register first. Here is the link:
www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=277&Itemid=74​​


ILADS has their own referral system as well:
ilads.org/ilads_media/physician-referral/

And www.LymeDoc.org


​ You will want to find a well trained doctor, not one that has self proclaimed themselves as a LLMD or an ID Doc (Infectious Disease Doctor), as ID docs believe Lyme is hard to catch and easy to treat, and don't believe in the reality of chronic Lyme. Go to the ILADS site to read the new (2014) Treatment guidelines to get you started on your healing journey:
www.lymenet.org/BurrGuide200810.pdf

Sorry, I'm going to have to do several shorter posts as the servers don't like my long posts! LOL!

I healed on herbal protocols alone, and there have been quite a few others on this forum as well. Just be sure that you follow it closely and we can help you figure things out. If you choose Buhner's I would encourage you to buy his books. There's a ton of information in them that can really be helpful.

And no worries! Helping others is what this community is about!! You can do a site search and find many posts on Buhner's protocols, as well as Cowden's on here - just be sure to use the term Lyme first in your searches so that the posts mainly come from this one forum as there are 31 other forums on this site.

With the experience that I had personally, and what I've watched others go through, here is what I believe needs to happen for many of us to heal:

a)Detoxing - gene mutations, mold exposure and multiple tick-borne infections can all prevent us from detoxing well, but we must be able to get those toxins out of our bodies. We need to detox by several means daily, as detoxing has a cumulative effect - the more you do, the better your body is at keeping those toxins flowing.

For example, I have not had any of the gene mutation testing done, although I do seem to have the same kind of issues as those that do - so I figured it was best for me to assume that I did and work to get my body to detox much better. It took a lot of diet changes as things with my body changed,
I use a foot soak,
dry skin brushing,
Lymph massages as needed,
making sure my bowels moved at least once a day (sorry if it's TMI!)
pushing myself to drink at least 64 ounces of lemon water each and every day,
liver/gall bladder flushes (all natural) as needed,
Apple cider vinegar,
Quercetin,
oil pulling with coconut oil and a few drops of tea tree oil,
using Yogi brand detox tea,
taking activated charcoal (when necessary),
and keeping the amount of stress in my life at a bare minimum.

You can find some really good detoxing suggestions in the "New to Lyme?" thread that sits at the top of the forum

And this is another good list of possible detoxing routines: www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html

But, there is such a thing as over detoxing, which can bring on a herx as well. Most of our toxins are in our tissues/organs, not in our bloodstream, so we have to do methods that will help 'release them' and move them into our bloodstream so they can be detoxed out. Over detoxing is when we move more toxins into the bloodstream than can easily be detoxed out by our body. So there's a careful balance that we must maintain between killing bacteria (which creates more toxins) and detoxing so that we can still be functional.This is why we suggest adding in more detoxing methods slowly (no more than 1 new routine every 3 - 5 days), and stop adding in more when you seem to be feeling okay or good. www.tiredoflyme.com/4-reasons-why-you-still-feel-bad-despite-detoxing.html

b)Supporting the body functions/systems. We have to have the body working at it's peak performance to heal from something as devastating as these infections. Supporting any gland, organ, body system that is struggling will allow the body to switch it's 'concentration' from just trying to function over to healing.

Continued.....

Ha!! It worked!! LOL! Sorry for all the posts!

I THINK I did the email thing correctly? Can you tell?

Hi Khawdash! I see Traveler has given you a ton of good information. I really don't have anything to add, but just wanted to say "Hi" and welcome you to this great community.

Most everyone with chronic Lyme has co-infections. The top 3 infections are Lyme, Bartonella and Babesia. There are quite a few others that can tag along as well though, as well as dysfunctions in the body that come with it trying to deal with these chronic infections. We all seem to have our own "special" little combo that we have to figure out, though. This is why one treatment protocol or type of treatment doesn't work for everyone.

Did you test IND or positive for any of the bands on your Western Blot?

Some LL Dr,s don't have their patients test for the coinfections - instead they are clinically diagnosed based on symptoms, and response to certain treatments.
Others do like to test for them, though...recognizing that the tests for the coinfections are even more unreliable/accurate then those for Lyme.

What protocol, Cowden or Buhner tends to have the most success treating Lyme and its confections?

Most people on here use Buhner, but some have blended protocols that may include Cowden or Jernigan, etc. We all have to find what works for us. Buhner suggests herbs that work based on specific symptoms,but no schedule, whereas Cowden has specific herbs and a schedule.

You will find that some herbs may not agree with you and that's ok. We move onto the ones that do.

Your emails will go to the email address you used when you signed up. If you look under your profile you will see what email you gave.

I healed with herbs. I did Buhner's protocol and Beyond Balance. I did try antibiotics in the beginning but I did not like how they made my body feel at all.

I bought Healing Lyme, 2nd edition and Chapter 8 is where the protocol is.

I ate super healthy and I detoxed way before anyone told me what detoxing was.

Here is some more helpful reading on herxing and detoxing.

www.tiredoflyme.com/the-herxheimer-reaction.html

www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html

Welcome Kwadash. Just wanted to let you know I'm treating with herbals alone right now, Buhner's protocol. I have had quite a bit symptom relief thus far. If you have any questions please feel free to email me. Traveler and the rest are right about detoxing it really does help a lot:)