Opinions: Cure Lyme by boosting Immune System Alone?

Hey friends,

Not looking for a definitive answer here or to stir up trouble, just really curious as to what you all think, what your personal opinions are to expand my own understanding/perspective. I'm open to all respectful feedback.

Do you believe it is possible to cure Lyme by boosting the Immune System alone? Meaning, no antibiotics or antimicrobial herbs, but strengthening the Immune System enough so that it can jump back in and fight off Lyme on its own? This would involve diet, exercise, supplements, & maybe acupuncture, chiropractic, energy work, etc.

**And by "cure", I simply mean "get well enough to function like a normal human being again". I know we all have our own thoughts on whether it is truly cure-able or remains dormant in our system. :)

Thanks!

Maui

Post Edited (mauihawaii) : 5/8/2015 12:16:08 PM (GMT-6)

Not in my case either.

I don't think so either, and then when you are in a stressful situation later in life, you'll get knocked on your butt.

I took Ayervedic medicine for 7-8 yrs since no doctor could find anything wrong with me and I felt almost normal but as soon as I quit taking the herbs, slowly it all started hitting me.

I was also in great shape when I got hit with this, worked out, took great all food supplements, eat healthy, drank lots of water, etc and still got knocked down.

The answer is yes, you can cure Lyme by increasing your immune system. But the problem is that many people have other pathogens and the cumulative effect of those pathogens is often more than the immune system can handle. I'd even go as far as saying Lyme is easy to cure. Please don't take that the wrong way, Lyme is a nightmare to cure for so many people. The IDSA made their guidelines off of evidence that borrelia could be killed in a couple of weeks. It can be, but it often is not. Add in other pathogens, environmental pollutants, and nutritional deficiencies and you have a super bug that that refuses to go away. So I feel Lyme can be "cured" by nutrition and increased immune response. But most people, it just won't happen.

In my opinion, it depends on how old the infection is. If it's caught before symptoms begin - yes, I think just raising the immune system is all that's needed. Buhner believes this as well, which is why he says to use Astragalus to avoid Lyme, and if you get bit, to raise the dose immediately. I'm currently "testing" this out. But, so far so good!!

Once the person has started to show symptoms, things begin to get complicated, as different systems of the body are now involved. Just raising the immune system might still work for some that only have Lyme, but if there are co-infections or any other kind of medical issue (low thyroid, intestinal issues, detoxing issues, adrenal issues and more), then they will likely need more than to just raise their immune system - but should heal fairly "quick" using some type of antimicrobial treatment.

Once the person has multiple bodily systems involved and the infection is chronic, well, the rules change. I don't believe anyone can heal without some sort of antimicrobial treatment. This can come in the form of pharma abx, herbal abx, Rifing, Colloidal silver (I guess, I've not done the research), or several other means of killing bacteria - and most of us do best when two or more different types of treatments.

BUT - I think that anti-infective treatments are only part of what is needed for anyone who has chronic Lyme along with co-infections. 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.


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.


c) Raise the immune function. Many legitimate Lyme researchers now believe that it's the lowered immune function that determines who gets chronic Lyme and who heals right away. We already know that Lyme lowers the immune function and when a person has Bartonella and/or Babesia, the immune function is further compromised, so to heal we must raise our immune function.


d) Lastly, oddly enough, are anti-infective treatments. Many of us have experienced treatment failures, so we can see that the treatments aren't the only thing we need to have - there has to be more to the equation, but anti-infective treatments are very important!! Lyme bacteria are one of the most complicated bacteria! ​Although it takes only hours or days for most bacteria to replicate, Lyme bacteria only replicates in the body every few weeks.​

Please remember, that is only my personal opinion. All I want is to help people find whatever works for them.

I also believe it is possible to heal lyme by building up one's immune system. I do believe I had lyme since I was a child but I never had any symptoms because my immune system was very strong.

In order to build up one's immune system to that extent takes a lot of work as well as examining one's life in every aspect and that includes stress levels, personal relationships (that are negative), diet, exercise, detoxing (which can get very complicated all by itself depending on how far one wants to take it).

I used Dr. J's botanicals to target the microbes (I had lyme and ehrlichiosis) and bind them up as well as the neuro-antitox formula to clear the ammonia out of my body. So I needed extra help and it worked for me.

It's been 9 years since I have healed and I still continue to take detox baths, dry skin brush, do coffee enemas, etc. simply to keep my immune system strong (as well as healthy diet, exercise, etc.). I know I have been bitten by ticks, fleas, and other vectors that carry lyme bacteria but I have not gotten sick.

Just my take on this,
Denise

I was really strong and healthy when I contracted Lyme. My whole family could come down with a cold or flu and I was the only one not to get sick. I never feared being around sick people because I believed my immune system was really healthy. I mountain biked and was quite active.

This was in 88, I had used herbs for various things since I was 16 years old. Other than ob-gyn I had not been to a doctor since I was in my teens.

When I became ill, I used various herbs and supplements but of course I did not know what was wrong or did not know about many of the herbals that are used today.

I was quite ill for 5 months...neuro, cardio, and debilitating fatigue. I needed abx in the fall for 2 separate things, ear infection and something else. I began to feel much better but it only lasted a couple of months. I didn't start to feeling really well until 1990 when I was diagnosed and treated with 3 weeks of iv Rocephin. That got me through a few months, but was not enough treatment so I have spent the rest of the years with Doxycycline every 3-6 months.

Wish I knew then what I know now. I think the antibiotics saved my life. I hated taking medication and was completely the type to treat myself and family with natural substances, herbs and supplements. However nothing worked as well for me as a round of antibiotic.

Now, this last year my health has declined , breast cancer and radiation, the Lyme hit me like a truck and I am using an arsenal, a combo of Chronic Tonic, many supplements and antibiotics. I need to be able to continue to work for a few more years at least but I thought I was going to end up in a wheelchair.
I honor the decisions of the ones that have healed with means other than the antibiotic route. and so wished that it could have healed my body without the medical intervention. For now, I am doing what ever it takes to be a functional person and regain my strength.

I'll relay my story, and you can decide what to make of it. :)

When I got sick, I woke up suddenly one morning very sick. I remained sick for months, mostly bedridden, but couldn't get diagnosed.

I also started having gallbladder problems shortly after I got sick, to the point it was recommended that I have it out.

Right around that time, I decided I wasn't going to have my gallbladder out, and that I was going to do everything I could to save it. I also decided that because doctors didn't seem to be able to help me, I needed to help myself.

So all at the same time I radically changed my diet by doing a gut-healing diet to improve my immune system. I also started a program of supplements to help cleanse and detoxify my liver and gallbladder. And lastly, I started using essential oils, to help my immune system, to help detox my liver and gallbladder and to improve my sleep.

I started to feel better, to the point that I got back to about 80% of normal pretty quickly. I continued to improve to between 80% - 90% of normal.

When I did get diagnosed, my LLND thought that maybe everything I was doing to help my immune system and my detox channels was the reason for the improvement and that I was "treating" myself without really knowing it.

It could be coincidence, but I believe there was at lease SOME impact in how I felt from doing those things. I was feeling so good that I was ready to stop looking for a diagnosis. It really was pretty serendipitous that I decided to do one more test through Igenex.