Chinese Medicine support thread

this is an old thread curious to see if OP has any updates? i am starting accupuncture next week for the first itme with a higly reccomended accupuncturist and TCM dr.
My main issues is I CANT BREATHE for the last 6 years ( since getting a tick bite).
Have never figured out why other than probably form the tick infeciton
have done abx herbs babesia herbs magnets naturopaths MDs eveyrhting I could try for long peirods of time, lyme clinics etc. No better. Sometimes a little better breathing but it comes back. Have not tried accupuncture and am travelling to spend a week with someone who has a great reputation not specifically for tick illnesses but for general illnesses- everything else I have tried for 6 years has not helped me to breathe so dont have too much optimism or faith but ths is a new thing and I have to try.
OP did it end up working for you?

great to hear accupunture and TCM has helped you so much!! But I wish you would have said your air hunger is completely gone! But it sounds like at least it is episodes rather than constant? My tightness squeezing suffocating is 100% of the time and just getting worse. I would love it to be gone or occasional. what I have now is terrifying! I am still not sure it is even the tick infection but it is the most likely thing as it started maybe 6 months after the tick bite and has not let up.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I have never done acupuncture. since my situation is so severe I decided to travel out of state to the best reputation person I could find on the internet. I will just do a week with them and then see what they say about going forward, and about what the cause of this is etc. I go in 8 days I will post a new thread on here after my treatment to let ppl know if it works.

here is a good article I read on why Chinese medicine and acupuncture can be good for lyme treatment
I think it is important to find the most experienced practitioner you can, though.

https://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2019/07/26/lyme-treatment-success-with-chinese-medicine?fbclid=IwAR1KS-NWug3xW421NVbVK79-Yb9ncejloDhP2Ti1EqPWiXSrjFHR93u6G6g

Has anyone else here tried acupuncture or Chinese medicine for their lyme and coinfecitons and if so what was your experience?

Babsbunny can I email you?

Milestone update: I am going off black-label Pearls, the ones which aggressively target Lyme and Co-infections. (It would be the equivalent of going off antibiotics and focusing on support, renewal, and maintenance protocols.) My doctor believes the pathogens are gone or totally controlled by my own immune system. Down to 25 pills a day, down from over 40 at my highest 2 years ago. Making big gains.

Biggest remaining symptoms are brain fog and fatigue. Used Liposomal glutathione for a few weeks which helped my fatigue and mood tremendously but then the brain fog got really bad... maybe I wasn't resting enough with my newfound energy? I've put that back on the shelf until this seasonal adjustment levels out. Just started BDNF support for brain fog.

Had a UTI and kidney infection, back in March, which was resolved with Chinese medicine, no abx.

Had a COVID scare in August; tested negative but treated symptoms with Chinese Medicine.

For the first time in 20 years I'm off all antidepressants, off all thyroid medication, off antihistamines, off birth control, off ALL pharmaceuticals!

Chinese Medicine is not just some last-ditch effort to cure Lyme. It's my entire medical system at this point. I no longer believe in the western paradigm, save for physical trauma emergencies (surgery). And even then, I'd demand Chinese herbs and acupuncture over Pharma. I will continue to use this paradigm, including diet and healing with food, forever, for every and any ailment.

This, along with the fact that I'm busy with healing, means I don't visit or post much anymore. I'm in a different place now. I see a future without Lyme.

Bababunny,

That’s wonderful news! You have really come a long way. I am very proud of you for sticking it out with the Chinese medicine. I know how hard it is to stick with a protocol when symptoms are still all over the place or being exacerbated by treatments and you don’t know if sticking it out will even work or not.

Glad you posted this update. Someone was just asking if people recover. Hope you will still pop in every once in a while.

What city or state is your Chinese practitioner in?

hi babsbunny not sure if you are still here? just re read your thread- very helpful. would love to hear your update. I also just emailed you. I am 6 months into workign with heiner fruehauf. I have had a ton of improvement but have had some setbacks recently ( and currently). He says it takes 3 YEARS to heal! I am 6 months in. Currently struggling with tight heart and bloat. its pretty crazy cause a few weeks back I was doign much better. Even last week I was. then bam last entire week tight heart and severe bloat ( two of my main symptoms) are raging again. its hard to find others on this protocol. I truly believe of all the things I tried that this is my best hope by far and I am truly grateful to be workign with dr fruehauf. I just hope I get to a place where I actually feel well!!

Hi - I have also found acupuncture to be very helpful for me. Been doing it for almost two years.
Long story short, I had Babesia and Bartonella. I tried abx and herbs and I would get better, then crash. Those items worked, but not for me. I started to go to an acupuncturist and very slowly got better. I went once a week, now I go once every three weeks. I would notice small changes but for the first 6 months I had detox reactions "healing crisis" especially around my spleen.
As I understand it, acupuncture helps to optimize the body to deal with the bug and not the elimination of the bug.

Babsbunny. That is a beautiful, poetic helpful and thoughtful reply. Thank you very much! I will probably re read it and reply more specifically but for now I wanted to say how helpful this reply is for me. As you know it's difficult to find others on this particular path. And your experience of it ahead of me is very helpful to me. I continue on.

Hi, inhale/exhaleee, welcome! I'm really glad this is of help to you! I didn't mean for this to be my own personal thread, but it seems all-in Chinese Medicine is still a hidden gem.

I am 100% head-over-heals for CCM, embrace the Taoist medical philosophy, love TCM cooking, herbalism, acupressure, the role of emotion in each of the organ systems... incredibly fascinating. CCM is SO COMFORTING when things like COVID come along, and CCM says "we've had treatment for this disease pattern 1000 years ago." CCM for cancer and Lyme and autoimmunity, and infertility, and all kinds of scary things. I think a HUGE part of it is the reassurance when someone says "I know how to treat this" rather than "this is new, we don't know what causes this, we don't have drugs or treatment yet". Honestly, I think FEAR is 95% of the disease.

PATIENCE - YES. I often think that the biggest modality of true healing is TIME. Yolanda Hadid's book really expresses this well - she had all the money in the world to see the greatest Lyme doctors and had all the breakthrough treatments and it still took TIME. For her, as for me, it's not about changing your pathogen load... it's really about changing your life. It takes 63 days to build a new habit in the neural network, and 7 years to regenerate the cells. So... whatever you do, give it 7 years for permanent change, and celebrate ever tiny step along the way. I get impatient and stubborn and have the ups and downs like anyone else. Learning HOW TO GRIEVE is a big part of this journey.

Lyme, or any disease, is a HIGHLY PERSONAL JOURNEY. There IS NO CURE that works for everyone because the cure lies within each individual - their causes, their lifestyle, their purpose, their journey. And this is where media becomes tricky and you must be careful - you can get help and encouragement from the Lyme community, or any community, but when it paints a picture of what the journey SHOULD look like, or how you SHOULD live, or what you SHOULD do when you're healed, you can trap yourself in someone ELSE's journey and never find your own. Someone else's healing is NOT going to cure your Lyme. Only YOUR healing can do that.

I believe in LEARNING TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND TRUST YOURSELF. YOUR BODY WANTS TO HEAL, SO LISTEN TO WHAT IT'S ASKING FOR.

Some people have serious dental infections, jawbone cavitations, bad root canals or implants poisoning their bodies. Those need to be addressed by a biological dentist - only keyword I can tell you to look for is one that will publicly state on their website that root canals and wisdom tooth extraction can be very dangerous and offer safe alternatives/therapies. I explored that route, turns out my mouth is healthy (for others, thought, its a major source of hidden disease)

Some people have brain injuries. Some people have missing organs. Some have chronic tonsillitis. Some have tumors. Some have birth "defects". Some have abusive relationships. Some have abominable relationships with themselves (trauma-induced shame). Some have addictions. Some (most, I'd say) have highly inflammatory dietary habits, or toxic environments. All these would warrant other modalities of treatment, or I would say remediation - CCM can still work as the medical paradigm in which to navigate these, but any given person in any given budget in any given city will need to find what resources work for THEM.

I truly believe that Lyme is NOT just about pathogens. Dr. Horowitz hits this well with the MSIDS model of other overlapping factors, but I think the huge piece he's missing, at least for me, is TRAUMA - emotional trauma getting stuck in the nervous system and causing disease. Gabor Mate has so many amazing talks about this, Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, Caroline Myss, countless mind-body and neuroplasticity psychologists are coming out about this. Caroline Leaf, Jessica Maguire, Jean Cheng, Annie Hopper, Joe Dispenza... keep an eye on "The Wisdom of Trauma" and "HEAL" documentaries - AMAZING speakers and resources. Healing childhood trauma (C-PTSD) that I never even knew was traumatizing (I thought it was just normal life, but it was NOT) was THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN MY HEALING. And chronic illness itself is traumatic, and that NEEDS to be addressed at some point. Learning to FEEL how those emotions and beliefs were stuck in my physical body, learning to gently lead them out, understand, process, and love ALL of me... THIS is healing. Lyme - and most diseases - are diseases of inflammation and degeneration. And they take hold because the body's cells are overreactive, hypersensitive, and ripe for attack - because of the mental state influencing the biology. If this sounds like bunk, I'll just start with basic science: stress = inflammation = weak immune system. Connect the dots. You can look at this from a chemical standpoint if you have access to labs and drugs... I do not, so I prefer to study that which I can control: my mind, and my body... turns out, that actually changes gene expression and can heal disease!

I personally no longer have any faith in prescription drugs, and don't take anything OTC. This works for me because I'm highly sensitive to additives and chemicals, and everything I've taken since being blasted with abx has made me WORSE. But that's now a part of my belief system and mindset. If you don't have that much faith in CCM and you have no bad reactions to ibuprofen or AZO or benedryl or vaccines, or whatever, do what works for you - I don't recommend dying of a basic infection or COVID - it's the belief and fear/trust that matters most. You have to believe in what you're taking, and trust the feedback your body gives you afterward, good or bad, and adjust accordingly. At this point, I just might rather die of infection than live suffering adverse reactions - but that is where MY experience took me. I've been through some ****.

I do take vitamins and minerals as long as I can check the ingredients and source. I still have room to clean this up, but I haven't won the lottery yet, so I'm doing the best I can.

I did Autonomic Response Testing, which revealed parasites and mold (and no Lyme, Babs, or bart! True or not, those words did magic for a while!), but my DOM disagreed with the proposed treatment protocol, so I'm holding off changes for now.

I found a physical therapist who works myofascial/craniosacral/chiropractic, etc but is also highly informed about mind/body, and my physical work is minimal for now. I'm highly reactive, but its been a helpful part of treatment.

Sleep specialist, breathwork, massage, psychotherapy, EMDR, DNRS, exercise, yoga, EMF blocking... there are many treatments that aren't necessarily Chinese Medicine, but do not contradict the philosophy behind it. I'd be willing to try anything that doesn't violate the Wholeness of mind-body-spirit. Which I think really means, for me, that it's not the protocol or treatment that matters to me so much as the PRACTITIONER and how much they are willing to listen and understand my needs. I met docs who know little, but connect with me personally so much that I am healed by their mere presence... and very good knowledgeable docs who I would trust and admire, but they don't have time for me nor remember my name, so I leave.

The biggest factor in healing is YOU. YOU'RE the magic bullet. Once you believe that, you look for the things that will serve your own inner healing machine, and let go of the things that do not. It's a journey of finding these treasures along the way. It. Takes. TIME. Gratitude for the lessons along the way, seeing all the hardships and failures lead to something better, learning to love yourself and BE in the moment help pass the time. And maybe we just find that it's not a "sick" life and a "healed" life, its all just life, and the "sick" part is really important, so pay attention to the scenery. Lyme has shaped and defined the BEST parts of who I am today, I wouldn't trade it for anything... and I'm still cursing and fighting it like he77. Because it's HARD.

Do your own research. Use your own available resources. Do whatever is within your means. Rethink your means. Reconsider "good" and "bad". Explore "both and". It's all about balance in the midst of transformation (and it's ****ing HARD.)

Resources I like: Better Health Guy podcasts, Dr. Christian Gonzalez (insta/ podcast), Dietrich Klinghardt, Gabor Mate, HEAL documentary, The Wisdom of Trauma documentary, Blodgett Dental Care (on insta), Root Cause documentary, book: Healing with Whole Foods, book: "The Body Keeps the Score"

So far I've been doing the mental work by myself with books and Instagram. It's never recommended, but I had to start where I was at - zero trust of anyone to not judge and traumatize me further, least of all medical professionals. No money for the good ones either. It's hard but it works. Boundaries and self-love have changed my life.

hi all I am just bumping up this thread. And seeing if anyone on here has updates, or anyone else doing classical Chinese Medicine for lyme and co-s wants to chime in.
I am still working w- a chinese medicine Dr. 10 months in. I have had some progress for sure, but also my main core issues are still very strong. He says it will literally be 3-5 years to fully heal! my issues are primarily with my heart, bloat, chronic inflammation in my solar plexus area, lyme, parasites- a lot. I still have the tight squeezing in my solar plexus area, and tight squeezing heart and bloat. some areas that have improved are- generally less fatigued, though that comes and goes. The breathing is still tight but not quite as extreme as prior. I used to have skin rashes like sunburn with no sun, that is gone., My clogged ears are much better, just slight. I have not felt the dizzy feelings in a while. I used to have massive amounts of flukes and had not seen any in 6 weeks though a few today. so essentially its a bit up and down. I am having a rough couple of weeks. But over all it is a very slow improvement but I cant imagine doing any other treatment type at this point. So I am keeping on going. I see my dr every three months and he gives me an entire new protocol every three months which consist of an herbal formula he designs plus a bunch of supplements specifically for me. I will update when I have a bigger breakthrough of feeling well. He says it can be like sands building up- like under the surface things are improving but its only when the metaphorical sands get high enough that the whole thing shifts. I have had enough improvement and I feel in my gut that this is the right path for me to keep going. But I look forward to feeling better than I do right now- I actually have felt much better than this since being on this protocol but have had a dip where I feel rough again. Its a slow road but I am glad to at least be on a road.

babsbunny I was sick 8 years constantly before finding my dr; now I am almost one year in the 3-5 years so I will see! There is no guarantee, I just go on hope.
How are you doing now? how long has it been now that you have treated with Chinese medicine for your illnesses, and are you still treating or are you well now?