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Posted 6/12/2017 2:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi All -

I'm currently on 300mg of Zith and 100mg of Minocycline. I started the Zith first for 10 days and then started low dose of Mino 8 days ago. I'm pretty sure these are low dosages, and I believe my LLMD was hesitant to place me on full dosages due to my fragile mental state at our last visit. My plan is to up the Mino by another 50mg in two days, and then if I'm tolerating it to go up again in 4 more days to the 200mg Dosage. I'm having some decent days followed by so-so days. I'm pretty sure I had one herx about 3 days into treatment. It was a rough 3 hours, but it subsided. My chief complaint (both before and now during treatment) is anxiety, but I also have some fatigue, digestive issues like early satiety, bloating, joint pain, neck stiffness, brain fog and tinnitus that's bothersome as well. I have other symptoms, but these are the main ones. Since starting treatment over two weeks ago my symptoms have lessened, and I've had about 3 days where i was back to 70% me.

Some days I'm having what I'm guessing is reflux. It feels like water pooling at the back of my mouth, but I've not had any upset tummy.

For those of you who combined herbal and abx therapy, did you do so early in your treatment? Would you suggest it?

For those of you that abandoned abx, would you be willing to share why? If you didn't tolerate them, in what way could you not tolerate them?

I have an appointment coming up on the 26th with my LLMD, and I want to be ready to discuss some things with her. Would appreciate any input about your experiences. There's such a wealth of knowledge here - it's amazing!

Thank you!
Denver1
Posted 6/12/2017 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
I did 8 months of just antibiotics before I added any herbs in.

I wish I had done it sooner, but there's always that hope that a simple prescription will be enough to turn your life around.

I would definitely suggest adding in herbs!
Posted 6/12/2017 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
I'm one that dropped abx. Detoxing was not something that was promoted on forums like this, or by LLMD's back in 2007-2008 when I first started that treatment, so I crashed hard. I finally left treatment a year in, a LOT worse off than before I started treatments. I stayed at home and detoxed for most of 2 years, then made the switch to herbs. I was glad I did, and now that's all I use.

For my body, the abx are high powered weapons against the bacteria - but my body can't keep up with the toxins that are released during high periods of die off. With herbs, it's a much more gentle journey for my body and I can keep up with my detoxing needs.

The funny thing is that when I would get bronchitis or other infections previous to Lyme treatment, they were nearly ineffective for me. I would have to use herbs that I knew to help combat the infection before I would have any healing. I was threatened with being put in the hospital by my docs every time if I didn't improve. That's when I went home and started using my herbs and didn't say a thing to the docs. They were amazed at how quickly I turned around each time too, after being so non-responsive to the abx. This is why I turned to herbs when the abx for Lyme didn't work. I figured herbs would help me with this infection as well - and it did.

In what way is a hard one for me to describe - except that it was the herx from H*ll. I had seizures, blacking out, stuttering, slurring of words, lost all memory (both short and long term) and ended up with late stage dementia symptoms, extreme amounts of pain and more. Every part of my body was in chaos, and I could feel my organs shutting down.

For starting herbs, I would suggest that you pick your herbal protocol and work in the herbs in small amounts to begin with, and slowly raise the doses. Many of the herbs will work synergistically, so you want to add them in with small amounts and keep at the lower doses as you add in more herbs.
Posted 6/12/2017 2:59 PM (GMT 0)
Prior to lyme, I had not done many medicines at all. I had knee surgery and got sick on pain meds. I had to eat tons of crackers to keep the pills down.

My first LLMD put me on 2 antibiotics. He had me start one and 2 days later start the other. I was so sick to my stomach but I hung in there for about 20 days and then my stomach said no more. I could not keep the pills down. I was nauseous and throwing up shortly after taking the pills.

So there I was with all kinds of lyme symptoms and horrible symptoms from the antibiotics. Of course the doctor wanted to give me something to combat the side effects of the antibiotics...... I saw a never ending amount of pills going into me if I stayed with him.

I found another LLMD and specifically looked for one that had experience with herbs. I had taken herbs for years for any aches or minor illnesses I had. So I was pretty familiar with them. Except I found that I knew nothing of these lyme herbs.

Anyway, that LLMD gave me Beyond Balance herbs and I immediately began to feel better. So much so, that I decided it would be great if I even did more herbs.

I scoured the internet and all the pros and cons and decided in the herbal protocol that I would add. I went with Stephen Buhner's protocol. His books were not fun to read with lyme brain and even harder to remember. In fact that whole beginning of lyme is a blur to me. My brain was not functioning at all. I could barely say a complete sentence and the head pain was horribly intense.

After I healed I read Dr. Rawls' book and it really was easy to read and he definitely thinks along my lines of healing. Now I am his biggest fan and in our area and lyme groups, it is the book I highly recommend first. It tells you what is happening to your body and why. This makes it easier to understand and treat, in my opinion.

I don't like the fact that anyone makes money on a protocol for lyme, including big pharma. I recommend using the information from Rawls but buying your own herbs.

My hubby has been off treatment for a week now and no symptoms..... but he has that post traumatic stress syndrome where you freeze to examine anything that is happening in your body and hoping it is not a lyme symptom returning.

I am just making sure that good food that is very balanced goes into he and I.

Sorry for this being so long....
Posted 6/12/2017 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
Take my word for it, take biopure 10 in 1 (start really slow because this is extremely powerful stuff) 4 days on and take the weekend off for about two months and I can guarantee you'll feel 90% if not better by the end of it. Detoxing in a variety of ways is absolutely important when using this supplement because it will basically drop a nuclear bomb on all types of pathogens and you'll need to get rid of the toxins as quickly as possible or you'll feel horrible pain and quit taking the supplement because of how bad you feel. I know I almost quit various times because I wasn't detoxing properly so I definitely stress on the detoxing part (taking a good gut binder is necessary).

Post Edited (RedEyedArab) : 6/12/2017 10:33:47 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/12/2017 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
i'd be in a wheelchair or dead if i didn't take prescription antibiotics. i know because i've been off them and have gone downhill pretty badly. i've also tried buhner's herbal protocols and a variety of other herbs for lengthy periods of time.

for me the best approach is combining abx and herbs. if you do this just make sure you understand any interactions as they can lessen/increase potency as well as potential interaction side effects.
Posted 6/12/2017 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
I'm similar to Rikky1. I do combo, abx and herbs. Abx are not without risk (neither are herbs but I think overall greater risk usually is from abx, but you have to do some research to gauge risks), fortunately I've had solid tolerance and also good monitoring and guidance from my current healthcare professional overseeing my case. Herbs have been very helpful for me as well, abx have done a lot of heavy lifting, have had to do a lot of rotations to mix things up, when I plateau is usually when I need to rotate something new in. But herbs have been powerful for me, I've tried a loooooot of stuff. Currently been trying out Sida Plus and Neurocore from Woodlands Essence, good combo herbs imo.

I presume my infections are very deep and entrenched, stubborn, I'm coming from a deep hole, I've been sick a long time and very severely so I think this plays a role in how hard it has been to recover and why I've needed so much treatment. I took a long time to figure out what was going on with my health, I was put on abx monotherapy but didn't have the right dx, it helped but I was still very sick. Ultimately I stumbled across this site, which helped me piece together my health puzzle, and then I started experimenting with herbs. The first one I ever tried was cryptolepis tincture, my god I took 1 or 2 drops and the herx was insane, like someone set the back of my head on fire. Amazing, and for me it proved wowee herbs can really have some effect if they can engender such herxes. I also like the fact that most herbs are quite complex compounds and this may make it harder for pathogens to develop resistance, although I do think, depending on case, that rotations with herbs are also usually beneficial. So this is similar approach as with abx for me.
Posted 6/12/2017 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
we long stopped chemical drugs, not even aspirin. We found a wealth of remedies in herbs, supplements, homeopathy, and energy medicine. The amount of possibilities is huge.

Drugs have too many side effects, and the efficacy for long term treatment is very doubtful.

Nosodes or Rizols like suggested above, seem to be far stronger for us than any drug. Plus, you have less side effects, less toxicity in the end.

I vote herbs too!! I've been practically 10 years abx free, even after very invasive cavitation surgeries (bone surgery in the mouth!)

It's more complicated to shift to natural, because of the huge amount of possibilities, but once you start mastering a few modalities, there is no reason to go back to drugs (at least, not long term).

In my opinion, there are many too many better options.
Posted 6/12/2017 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
I did one month antibiox, second month antibiox and herbs, now I'm taking a break from antibiox and trying herbal approach. I have far more good days than bad, but it's really a wait and see type thing for me.

I stopped antibiotics because last week I noticed a coating on my tongue and was concerned about candida. Also, I've been sick with severe cold twice since starting antibiox. If I can stick to diet and herbs, that's my preference.
Posted 6/13/2017 7:32 AM (GMT 0)
Im with rikky and sebreg but i also have added rife and bvt making gains daily
Posted 6/13/2017 5:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I've got much to think about between now and my next visit with my doc!

Peace, Denver1
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