Strong herx from oil of oregano - what is it hitting?

I've been taking pulsed (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off) liposomal oil of oregano since the beginning of the year as part of my overall treatment plan without much in the way of herxing.

On my most recent pulse, my shipment of liposomal OO was delayed, so I started using a different brand that I had. It's not liposomal, but it's concentrated (1,500 mg), and it gave me an absolutely horrific herx that is only beginning to subside after being off the OO for a couple of days.

I'm kind of shocked, because I've been on antibiotics, antifungals, cistus tea, and most of Buhner's herbal protocol for months, and nothing else has caused a reaction like this. It's possible the liposomal OO just wasn't a high enough dose.

What exactly would the OO be hitting? Lyme biofilms and/or cysts? Bartonella?

Fatigue, general malaise, and severe brain fog. My primary symptoms have always been neurological, so I realize a "strong" herx for me is nothing compared to what others have faced, but it's very unpleasant. It's been a struggle just to get out of bad the last week or so.

Am I correct in thinking this could be a result of the OO targeting persister forms?

Maybe oregano oil is killing a part of microbiome in the gut as oregano oil is often used in sibo protocols.

Fungi and strep, and probably more GI bacteria as well.

For me oil of oregano is one of the things I had less herx on compared to other treatment. But the dosage have also been 50 mg in a tablet, not 1500 mg.

Scroggins, what was the brand you took? I want to try a higher dose - 50mgx2 gets me nowhere.

Very interesting about OO. I just started taking it and wasn't aware that it'll make you herx. No wonder I've been dragging the last few days. All good to know. I'll try almost anything to get rid of my air hunger. I've been taking OO for a candida flare up.

WalkingbyFaith said...
I know this is a little off topic, but I have found that GI pathogens have caused the worst of my symptoms and the worst herxing for me. Problem is, I am not exactly sure what type of GI pathogens I have, but I suspect mold/fungal, some bacteria, ropeworm, and possibly other parasites/protozoa. There are times when I have felt immediate effects after taking my herbs or supplements, where I feel a wave of nausea, weakness, and wooziness. I have had that happen off and on for days to weeks before having an expulsion of something from my intestines followed by significant relief of symptoms that I initially thought were from Lyme/co.

I have been taking OoO capsules periodically. Haven’t had any major herxes from it , but I know it affects something. I just looked at the bottle. It’s ADP oregano - 50 mg. OMG!! I can only imagine what would happen if I took 1,500 mg. I would probably get very sick and keel over.

I know this post is kind of old , bt I need help and just had the same issue. Mine is only 100 mg of oregano oil and i took 1 drop feeling a herx immediately or allergic not sure. I felt like I couldn't breath and my heart was plummeting through the roof. My throat felt numb only way I can explain it allergic or mcas cytokines or die off that quick?

for those taking this or considering taking it

the dose is important - as many people describe very strong herx reactions

since most products include carrier oil that dilutes the oregano - including capsules / gel caps - it is a bit of a challenge to work out the actual dose of active substance you are taking

the actual carvacrol content is the most useful guide to dosing.

there is no standardisation in the essential oil market as there is with pharma drugs - but most good quality products will list this carvacrol concentration - but note that it can be listed in
mg per capsule,
mg per serving ( which may be 2 or 3 capsules),
mg per drop,
mg per mL,
mg per gram
etc etc -

so read your label with care

i started on 1 drop per day and had significant herx - and that product contained only 18mg of carvacrol per drop - its one of the strongest things i have tried - at least 10x stronger than any herbal tincture i have used - or antibiotic i have tried

target dose is something like 150mg to 300mg a day or more for bartonella - as part of a combination protocol with other herbs or with antibiotics - so clearly most will have to work up to that dose gradually.

OK good sums -

i have often wondered if herx strength is typically linearly related to % dose

i suspect it often is - but not necessarily always

in my own dosing experiments i have often had to start at say 1/20th of target dose and gradually work up from there - in v small increments of maybe 10% increase per step - and steps only each few days or 1 week

at some stages it seems that this linear increase is too much - and herx increases- at other times i feel like i could tolerate more - interesting.

of course it could be that the susceptibility of the organisms to the agent concerned is not linear
i think many drug trials shows such effect - where a kind of threshold is reach beyond which the antimicrobial effects start to grow dramatically

also cumulative % on % changes are in fact an exponential increase in actual dose per kg - so this could also trigger a threshold effect

some also report a sudden herx effect only after some weeks on a given treatment - which again is interesting - for me it usually starts within 3 days if its going to happen