Two steps back -- looking for opinions

The advice that I heard was this -- when your symptoms stop, still continue to take meds for at least 2 months more.

I did herbs and was overly cautious and continued herbs for 3 months when my symptoms stopped.

Now that your antibiotics are not chasing the lyme spirochetes, they are coming out of hiding. Maybe this is your LLMD's plan of attack. Let them all come out to play and then hit them again with antibiotics.

Just guessing here. I hope you get answers from your doc.

Thank you both for your responses!

Girlie, she said monitor symptoms and follow up in a month.

I'm encouraged by the thought that a break can be useful. I was feeling like I was back at the beginning.

Dahlias said...
Thank you both for your responses!

Girlie, she said monitor symptoms and follow up in a month.

I'm encouraged by the thought that a break can be useful. I was feeling like I was back at the beginning.

I encourage you to find another LLMD.

Thank you for your encouragement, Jo! The support here helps.

Girlie, I actually don't know how long I've been having symptoms. Lost my dad last year, and of course grief causes its own kind of brain fog and fatigue. And I have other issues going on that I blamed symptoms on as well. I had a deer tick bite about 18 months ago (same day my dad was diagnosed with his illness, just to show how overlapping the timeline is), but then probably a few other tick bites since then. Nothing very recent though -- probably most recent was around 8-9 months ago. Had a negative lyme test in 2015 for whatever that's worth.

So abx are still useful after the acute phase, but the effectiveness is reduced?

Post Edited (Dahlias) : 9/16/2017 12:29:56 PM (GMT-6)

Girlie,

Are you symptom free or still treating? Are you taking abx, herbs or both?

For sure seek a new llmd. No question about it. I was on doxy for a month after my initial diagnosis. And I felt great and thought I was "cured". Soon after my prescription ended, my fevers came raging back along with night sweats, shortness of breath, twitching. I got more extensive testing done at that time and tested positive for several co infections. That could possibly be what's happening in your case. But there is no way to know for sure. I'd run and get a new dr asap. And beg your internist for doxy and flagyl in the meantime while you are waiting to get in to see a new dr.

akreative said...
While being on abx for 1 year there was a couple of times where I took a break for 2-3 weeks on the advice of my doc. Every time I did that, whatever symptoms had gone away came back raging. After a year of abx and at about 80% improvement I decided I needed a break, however my concern was the return of symptoms. I decided to start on the buhner protocol while still on abx and then after a month, I stopped the abx and continued with Buhner. I said that I would try the buhner for a few months and then return to the anti-biotics. This was about 4 months ago.. I now have no desire to get back on anti-biotics.. Not only did none of my other symptoms come back, but I have slowly but surely been improving immensely with one major symptom completely disappearing, and a bunch of little ones as well. I genuinely could not believe how effective buhner has been thus far. I would say I'm almost 90% better now. I think anti-biotics have been amazing to get me to the point where I got to, but the buhner protocol seems to be the missing piece of the puzzle I had been missing and I really wish I had done the whole thing so much sooner..

My recommendation is to stay on anti-biotics and introduce the buhner protocol into your routine. Then after about 1 and a half months or so go off anti-biotics and stay with buhner and see how you go. I know everyone is different, but who knows, maybe this will help you as well!

I've been taking JK, Cats Claw, Gou Teng (if you don't have neuro symptoms you may not needs this) Siberian Ginseng, Baical Skullcap and Dan Shen.

Best of luck to you!

Acreative,

THANK YOU so much for sharing your experience!! Reading that was the encouragement I needed. I've been worrying and having doubts all day about whether or not the herbs are going to work for me.

I've been trying to do Buhner's protocol for Lyme and Bart for 3 1/2 months now but can't tell if I'm any better. I'm still not on all the herbs yet and still at low doses, too. I just wish I had some obvious improvement at this point to push me ahead.

WalkingbyFaith said...

I've been trying to do Buhner's protocol for Lyme and Bart for 3 1/2 months now but can't tell if I'm any better. I'm still not on all the herbs yet and still at low doses, too. I just wish I had some obvious improvement at this point to push me ahead.

Here's the one thing I learned about Buhner protocol, from my own personal experience - like you, I started it very slow because I was scared of the herxes, and was only taking JK and Cat's claw. I realized that I wasn't seeing any results. Because I was so sick of abx I decided to take a more proactive approach and introduce and up my doses of all the herbs quicker.

So after I decided this in mid April by the beginning of June I had increased my doses and was taking JK, CC, Siberian Ginseng, Dan Shen, Gou Teng, and Biacal Skull 1qt teaspoon 3 times a day.

Instead of waiting long periods to introduce and up my doses I did it gradually every couple of days. So I had already been taking JK and CC 10 drops a day and I decided to up it to 10 drops twice a day, the next day I upped it to 20 drops twice a day. And then 1 qt. teaspoon the next.. Then if my herxing wasnt too bad, I would introduce the Siberian Ginseng (Highly recommend this herb, gave me SO much energy) I would wait for my herx to die down and then I would introduce another herb.

The key is to push through the herxes. I did feel unwell for about that first month but I had read from another poster that you need to push through that and get over the hump without stopping. Once I did that, I couldn't believe the improvements.. I just began my Bart protocol as well while still being on the lyme one. And did the same thing, where I started the Sida with 10 drops to see how I would react, and yea I had a bit of a herx, but I waited for it to subside a little, once it wasn't as bad I upped my dose the next day to 20 drops. Felt the herx... waited for it to die down a bit, and continued with upping the dose and after 2 weeks I was to 1 qt teaspoons of Sida three a day. Then I introduced Houttunya, and did the same thing.

Monitor your herxes, so if you are herxing bad, stick to the one herb and keep going, as soon as your herx starts to die down and your feeling better, double the dose, and so on.. yes I'm not gonna lie, you will feel unwell for about a month maybe a bit longer, depending on detox and how long it take your body to expel the toxins, but after that month it's so worth it! Best of luck to you, I really hope this helps!

ChickenArise said...

Girlie said...
...
But, I still feel like crap most days - a couple of stubborn symptoms are my worst ones.

I am taking abx...actually taking Mepron plus antibiotics now (5 months)

...

Mepron in known to make you feel like crap. Hopefully youll come out on the other side radiant and full of energy.

There is one person I know of who felt worse on the Mepron treatments, as many do for a long time. They healed when switched Coartem.

I hope you find success and wont need it but maybe one to put on the backburner in your notes for future planning ?

I wonder how much of my crappity crappy feelings are from Mepron side effects...and not toxin overload.


I don't think I can get Coartem, CA.

Hopefully the Artesunate and/or Artemisinin will do the job instead (They're similar to the Artemether in the Coartem)