Need Buhner advice

I'm 4 weeks postop from my knee replacement. I'm relieved to say that my recovery has been fairly uneventful. I'm back to work. I'm ready to start Buhner's Protocol.

I've have noticed some contradictions. On his website he recommends starting with Knotweed, adding Cat's Claw, then Eleuthero.

In his book he recommends Andrographis. On his site he says he doesn't think it's as important as he once did but that it can be helpful for many with chronic Lyme.

In his book he mentions tinctures for cytokine remodulation...Salvia Miltiorrhiza and Scutellaria baicalensis, but I can't find much on the web. Are these essential? This is expensive... I want to get the essentials.

I haven't seen a LLMD yet. I have an appointment with one in March, not sure which coinfections I have.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks!

Oh, and I thought I'd give each herb 3-4 days before adding another...does that seem reasonable or should I wait longer?

Thanks, Annette.

That helps...the website is older information. I have his newest book, so I'll plan to follow those guidelines.


I have all of the above except the red sage and skullcap and was wondering if I could try getting away without those...

I am definitely going to go low and slow. I have had a herx from hell and never want to go through such a thing again!!! (I didn't know what was happening at the time)

One thing I found out about doing herbs is that you can do it your own way. Now some will argue and say that you must do it this and that, but honestly I did not follow the rules and I am doing fine. I made a lot of mistakes and had to try things again. Just keep super good notes in case you can't remember what you added when.

If you leave those 2 herbs out and you aren't getting better, then maybe you need them??? Only time will tell. You can always add them later.

With that being said, I honestly think Buhner put those in a specific order because that is how he likes to address the disease. He wants to slowly heal us in that order by first addressing this, then that and building us up healthier and healthier until finally we are strong enough to kill the suckers. Make sense?

Buhner does say that his protocol is not set in stone.

On taking an herb - what I did was 2 drops 2 times a day, see how I felt, then if I felt okay I would do 3 drops 3 times a day, then 5 drops - times a day. You have to go slowly up the ladder to see how you react to an herb and to see if you get any allergies. It might take you a week before you add the next herb. Treating lyme is not a race. You don't win by getting more herbs into you faster. You will hear on here that this is a marathon and not a sprint. It is hard to be patient, but you don't want to leave one of these nasty bugs behind and you want to make sure you heal all the damaged parts the bugs have gotten into.

Good luck!!

the reason he had second thoughs abt andrographis is the fact some 1% of people develop an ugly rash when taking it and he received complaints so he tried to find an alternative.

so far there is no real better alternative just 2nd class alternatives. so he added it back.

Post Edited (mpost) : 2/16/2016 12:50:00 AM (GMT-7)

I would suggest that you start off with tinctures as they are much easier to start off slow and build up slowly. Once you are up on a higher dose of tinctures, you can easily switch over to the pills. It saves on having to cut pills or divide capsules.

Kathie, 1 capsule for a couple of days to get used to it. Easy does it. These are not silly ole herbs. Some pack a powerful punch, like you sadly found out.

Hang it there. It does get better.

The ultimate recommended dose is 12-16 capsules/day for a 150 lb person.
I weigh 190 lbs.

I took 2, planned to try for 3 if I felt okay, thought that would be a reasonable starting dose.

Clearly, these herbs ARE powerful!

I believe they are going to work for me. I can't wait to feel better.

Patience it is. I've felt awful for the last 24 hours...just starting to feel better now. No more complete body aches, or migraine. Just tired, weak, and shaky now.

I didn't take any today...I couldn't face another reaction like that.
I'm going to take 1/2 capsule tomorrow, if I can find the courage.

Kathie

I'm sorry you had such a rough start!

If it's of any consolation, I went through similar when I started Cowden. I followed the titration schedule but it was waayyy too aggressive. I didn't take anything for 2.5 days...nothing. No meds, no supplements, no food and just enough water to swallow my thyroid meds.

Wait until you get back to baseline before you re-start. You don't need courage to beat Lyme - you need patience and you need to listen to your body.

Re-start when your body tells you it's ready. You can spoil it with detoxing in the meantime. You'll get there.

WooooHooooo!!! I am so happy for you. Here is to a great start. Amazing how little can have an effect, isn't it?

Honestly the education you get regarding lyme ---- well there should be degree certificates passed out by the time we are done!