herbal/natural medicine

[illinwithoutacause]

hello,

after receiving a positive igenex test in august, and stymied by antibiotic allergies, i decided to pursue herbal treatment rather than travel 5 hours from home and undergo desensitization (at least for the time being).

i saw a naturopath who has been working with lyme patients for >20 years and specializes in neurotoxin illness.  he feels that in addition to my + lyme  and rickettsia infections, that he believes i also have babesia in spite of a negative babesia test, in addition to high mercury and other toxins in my system.  i realize lyme testing is notoriously inaccurate, but does the same apply to babesia testing?

i am going to start an herbal formula called ABAB to treat babesia and was told to expect to herx pretty badly.  i wanted to wait 'til the weekend, so i'll let you know what happens.

blessings to you all~
binx

[Shalimar888]

I would love to know more about what your Dr says about HLA.
I had the test and failed...
My LLD says its a genetic marker for people who will get sick from mold,
But he didn't mention it affects the ability to fight off lyme
Thanks

[carrie235]

Hi Binx:

What is the HLA status?  Also, have you started the metals challenge yet?

Carrie

[illinwithoutacause]

hi wonko,

have you had any reactions to the A-Bart?  i am working up to the challenge dose of 25 drops 2x/day with the A-Bab and i'm feeling like garbage.  intense fatigue, eye pain and pain all over my body, along with neuro symptoms.  the doc said these reactions would help boost my immune system as well as be diagnostic.

i am also having my HLA status checked to see if i'm one of the lucky ones who is prone to not being able to fight off lyme, and am also doing a metals challenge urinalysis.  aside from having my hair checked, i think we have now examined every other part of my body.

hope you're doing well.

xoxox
binx

[wonko]

Just wanted to comment that I'm currently on A-bart and will be taking A-bab once I finish the former.  While I am not allergic to abx, my LLMD feels that we need to try some herbal options because I still get strong Herx reactions, despite a lot of overall improvement from treatment.

I think the idea is to get me strong enough so that I can tolerate more abx if/when needed.  I like this approach for now, as I'm feeling a lot better and feel like not taking so many abx is letting my body return to a more normal state.

Interesting about how you felt after starting the herbs...I hope you keep us posted!

[illinwithoutacause]

hi again,

i forgot why the LL"N"D felt like i could still have babesia and not have a positive test, but my husband just reminded me.  he explained that we only test for one strain of the bacteria when there are many (can't remember the exact figure he quoted) different strains that can be tick borne.

just thought that was interesting to note.  

i started my herbs saturday and woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat and pain in the glands under my tongue.  my left arm is buzzing and killing me and my head hurts like a *@#&1!!

as always, thanks for listening.
binx

[carrie235]

Hi Binx:

Let us know how you are doing with the new protocol.  This will be very interesting to follow.

Carrie

[JackieCalifornia]

I agree with your comments, and I am liking your LLMD -- broadminded!

[illinwithoutacause]

hi jackie,

i have read through buhner's protocol and just checked a book out of the public library about his natural healing of lyme.  the doc i saw is an LLMD and does treat with antibiotics, but also has an herbal protocol for folks like me whose immune systems have gone crazy from all of the "gunk" as he aptly put it.  i will indeed keep you posted as to how things unfold at this point.  

hi Ness78,
i have broken out in rashes from 4 different classes of antibiotics.  the rashes show up around my neck, under my arms and under my breasts and take a few days' time to go away.  they've shown up within 24-hours of my taking the first doses of medication and have been confirmed as allergic responses by the prescribing docs.  i haven't had any other symptoms, so if you have a rash with a lot of other yucky feelings, i would be inclined to think it's more likely a herx, but you might want to ask your doc.

take good care, everyone~
binx

[Ness78]

What kind of allergic reactions did you get from the antibiotics?  I sometimes wonder if I am having a herx reaction or an allergic reaction.  For example...tonight I my abdomen is covered in a rash.  ... I have been feeling pretty bad lately, my first real herx..and the worst I have ever felt since becoming symptomatic.  Just curious how you knew it was an allergic reaction?

[JackieCalifornia]

Oops, I accidentally closed out the screen before sending my message.  Well, here's the short version:

I had babesia and Lyme, and the testing for babesia is pretty accurate, as far as I know, because it is not bacterial, but protozoal, so it doesn't do the 'shape shifting' that Lyme bacteria can do from regular form, to cystic form, to cell-wall-deficient form.  Babesia treatment was first, and once it was out of the way, I was feeling better; then on to treating Lyme.

There is a master herbalist named Stephen Buhner who has written several books on treating Lyme with herbs, and while I'm ordinarily not inclined toward herbs etc., he gives very reasoned explanations and I feel more comfortable with that.  I also just discovered a relatively new website he keeps called buhnerhealinglyme [dot] com.  

[I have to say it seems a little odd to me that he describes himself on the website this way:  "Stephen Buhner is an Earth poet and the award-winning author of fifteen books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine including the acclaimed book Healing Lyme: Natural Healing & Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis & Its Co-infections. His work has been profiled in The New York Times, CNN, Good Morning America and other media throughout North America and Europe."   An 'Earth poet'??  Oh well.]

Best wishes to you!  Let us know how you do, okay?