dacarte3 said...
Supportive treatment is a must. Just trying to directly kill the bacteria is not enough whether it's abx or herbal.
ABSOLUTELY!! Funny how even LLMDs don't really "get this". I think this is THE main reason why this forum has been so helpful for people--we emphasize a (necessary) holistic approach to healing and the members here share so many different ways of achieving that, that we're constantly learning from each other!
dacarte3 said...
However, I believe herbals protocols (emphasis on protocol) have a key advantage and that is not all of them in a protocol are strictly antibacterial. Some of them help detox. Some help boost immune health, and some inhibit bad cytokine cascade and up good cytokine cascades.
Abx does not do those things. That's a fact. It supresses the immune system which is also a fact. It's hard on gut health which us lymies are already battling with, another fact.
So abx seems pretty counter productive when compared to a good and comprehensive herbal protocol.
Yes, one can do abx and then take other supportive supps. But why complicate things and get all one needs through a comprehensive herbal protocol (plus of course vitamin supps and gut health supps).
But I'm going to challenge the remainder of your post.
I--and others who have been around this forum a long time (although some of us MUCH longer than others) have watched the "herbs vs pharmaceuticals" debate evolve and while dialogue is healthy and necessary, we gotta be very careful how we characterize those treatments. People have been eviscerated for utilizing herbal and natural protocols and I'm very protective of them. And I, myself, have been ridiculed for using pharmaceutics and I've watched it happen to others in this forum.
Not only are broad statements that one or the other is "better" "more effective" not necessarily true, those statements aren't proved and cannot be proved until imperial research is done. We all have our anecdotal stories, which serve a purpose but they don't prove a whole lot to make the kind of statements you're trying to make. It's ridiculous that there haven't been more studies on herbs but it's obvious why. I think the only herbal protocol that has had any attention in is Samento, which showed very favorable results.
Ultimately, that kind of comparison doesn't help provide information to our members and certainly isn't supportive--and those are the main purposes of this forum. We all have very different journeys, we come here scared and in the worst health of our entire lives, desperately seeking information and need customized protocols.
My observation over the past 2 yrs being on this forum is that most people have implemented a hybrid approach to healing. Just because you are using pharmaceuticals, this doesn't necessarily mean that the herbal protocols you're also implementing are useless. Many of the herbal compounds people are taking that may be secondary to pharmaceutical antimicrobials aren't just "supplementary", many are also antimicrobial and also have healing and other properties that you cite.
We know that some abx pharmaceuticals inhibit immune function that in turn, affects serology testing but unless you can cite research that explains the nuances of what this means in OUR lyme prophylaxis and broader protocols, it's a stretch to draw a conclusion that our immune systems are being compromised, from a treatment standpoint.
Abx can definitely be hard on the gut--some are worse than others. And the alcohol in herbal tinctures can also cause some of these similar problems. There is a
right way to take both antimicrobials. Most people here already know this and others are advised with comprehensive protocols to prevent damage and maintain gut health and immune protection. So this can't be discounted.
"Abx are counterproductive" is an inflammatory statement and I encourage you not to approach conversations on THIS forum with that attitude. Herbs are not a panacea. Not for lyme--let's be real clear on that. They are awesome and I have a few in my arsenal I can't live without.
But I'm living proof that they're not always effective, what our body needs, what the microbes need, and what works for everyone. I started my protocol with Byron White formulas: AL-Complex, A-Bart and A-Babs.
- Over the course of 7 months I learned that the AL-Complex did nothing for me, nor did a couple of other antimicrobial herbs for lyme. In this time that I was experimenting with herbs, I rapidly lost the ability to walk... Once I started on abx, I was able to walk again within a week or so.
- Over the course of a year, I was able to pinpoint severe GI attacks (that landed me in the ER) to A-Bart. LLMD and I decided it was just too intense for me but clearly needed to treat for bart and once she took me off the herbs and put me on abx for bart, these attacks stopped.
We all have our stories. I respect your strong support of herbs and I don't disagree with the sentiment. Let's be careful about
the "pharma vs herbal" debate.
-p
Post Edited (Pirouette) : 6/23/2016 9:23:13 AM (GMT-6)