Woodduck12 said...
Thanks! I got a little cocky because I tolerated a lot of cats claw, olive leaf, and oil of oregano. I was excited and desperate to start the buhner protocol and was feeling great with the knoweed and the houtannia. Two weeks after full dosing sida bam it all cought up with me. If this is Bart it definitely does herx. Do toxins take long to leave meaning can nuero toxins hang out in the brain for months? I have a feeling my brain was dumping alot. I think sometimes detoxing caused my herx to Wax and Wane.
Yes. I do believe bartonella causes herxing. I've been in one for many weeks now.
How long it takes for the toxins to get out depends on how much total toxins you have to begin with, how fast you're killing microbes, and how well your body is able to eliminate the toxins through sweating, urine, and bowel movements. Your total toxins includes not just toxins from the bacteria but also environmental toxins like chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins from mold exposure, etc. Toxins are cumulative. How long you've been sick, how healthy your kidneys and liver are, and your genetics can affect how well your organs can work to remove the toxins. Your liver and kidneys have to process whatever you put in your body - food, drink, medicine including herbs, supplements, OTC meds, and pharma drugs.
Detoxing will definitely help with herxing. Epsom salt baths, especially, seem to help a lot of people. You mentioned sauna. That's great you have access to one. Just be careful not to stay in too long or do it too often. If you were already doing sauna before you started treatment, you should probably be fine with whatever you were doing then. I am told sauna is one of the BEST ways to remove toxins, as they are eliminated through the skin, saving your kidneys and liver from bearing the full brunt. If you use the sauna regularly and then start having skin symptoms like breakouts or skin irritation, then I would take that as a sign you're getting too many toxins out that way and are irritating the skin. (Bartonella also causes a wide range of skin symptoms on its own, just you're aware.)
Binders can be very helpful. Binders like activated charcoal, modified citrus pectin or d-limonene, zeolite, etc. grab the toxins and help usher them out of the GI tract through your bowel movements. When too many toxins get dumped in the GI tract, they can get reabsorbed back into the body and continue causing herxing symptoms.