Lyme disease treatment options

[JBJBJB]

I am reading this article which is very interesting. http://cindeegardner.com/boom11.htm

Has any one tried his method?

It said:

“In the alternative, the homeopathic community has had great success in treating both acute and chronic Lyme disease through a variety of homeopathics, herbs, supplements, and other therapies. Noteworthy among these therapies is heat therapy, which is a method of treatment where a patient raises their core body temperature to 101.5-102 twice per day for 15 to 20 minutes. Patients can accomplish this rise using a sauna, hot tub, steam bath, or through hot baths with diaphoretic tea. Also important is the proper use of Homeopathic nosodes, miasmatic remedies, pathological or symptom relief remedies and, after the person is in good health, a constitutional remedy to enhance their immune system. “

 

Kim has a great success using Sauna. I'd better get back using it faithfully, too. :blush:

 

[Joe M]

Hi JB,

If I remember correctly you are a college professor, so you should have no problem doing the research and applying your critical thinking skills to homeopathy.  You will find plenty of articles written by non-homeopaths that shed light on what homeopathy really is and why it works for some people.

Merry Christmas!
Joe

[Maz]

[user=266]JBJBJB[/user] wrote:

I am reading this article which is very interesting. http://cindeegardner.com/boom11.htm

Has any one tried his method?

Hi JB,

I think you're asking for actual “fellow-patient” experiences, so in case it helps I will share my experience of heat therapy for Lyme. In my first year of Lyme treatments, my LLMD wanted me to begin physical therapy with pool therapy to provide range of motion and resistence excerise with as little negative impact to my painful, swollen joints as possible. However, when he discovered that the only pool available in my area to my local PT was the city recreation pool (which keeps the temps fairly cool), he told me to stop going. I asked why and he said that borrelia has difficulty surviving in hot temps and thrives in cooler temps, so he would prefer I found a “hot” pool for this purpose. He also recommended heat packs for swollen joints rather than cold packs for this reason, which is somewhat counter-intuitive to the norm for providing relief of swelling.

I'm afraid I can't help much with naturopathic approaches to treating Lyme disease, as my doc is purely allopathic, but perhaps Trudi will see this thread and will be able to share more of her experience of treating her Lyme/RA in this way.

Enjoy your sauna!

Peace, Maz 

[JBJBJB]

Thanks, Maz, for letting me know your experience.

Joe

Good question. I thought I'd ask the fellow patients and see if they have had any experiences with some of the suggestions in the article. I am especially interested in heat therapy because Kim has a great success in treating her Raynauds with sauna. You can tell I am still researching on it. 😎

:roll-laugh:JB

[Trudi]

perhaps Trudi will see this thread and will be able to share more of her experience of treating her Lyme/RA in this way.

Hi JB–

When I first saw my LLMD in 10/08 I could not tolerate antibiotics.  So he started treating me with herbs, homeopathic extracts and supplements.  If herxing is evidence that bugs are being killed off, then they certainly worked for me.

At my last visit 12/09, Dr. M wrote out a script for 2 abx's–Omnicef and Biaxin (feeling that my body is now strong enough); when I took them last October, I ended in bed in agony.  I'm not anxious to repeat that experience especially with the holidays here, so will wait until after January to start.  That is, if I do start.  I am also reluctant to taking the abx's because of possible yeast infection.  If I decide not to take the abx's, then the next herb will be Tricycline.  A component of this is Artemisinin, which I just started taking.  It is supposed to be anti-malaria so I wonder if it works akin to plaquenil. 

Tricycline contains berberine sulfate, artemisinin, citrus seed extract and black walnut hulls. Berberine is the active constituent of goldenseal, while artemisinin, or qinghaosu, is the active constituent of sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) and is hundreds of times stronger than the whole herb itself. Black walnut, goldenseal and sweet wormwood are herbs that have been used traditionally for microbial balance.* Combining them with citrus seed extract (from grapefruit) gives the formula increased potential to support balanced intestinal microbiology.*
 
http://www.allergyresearchgroup.com/Tricycline-90-Vegetarian-Caps-p-248.html

I have updated my list of everything that I am taking below– 

Take care, 

Trudi

Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?

[anno]

Trudi, This is very interesting to me. Can I ask what your bloodwork shows these days? Do you know which bugs you have? Do you know if this route takes longer than standard drugs? Do you feel like you're getting better?
I hope you don't mind my asking, I'm just curious about herbal alternatives.
Thanks.

[nspiker]

Trudi wrote:

A component of this is Artemisinin, which I just started taking.

My llmd wanted me to start taking Artemisinin too.  How much are you taking and are you pulsing?  I'm supposed to ramp up to 500 mg. three times a day, which is a lot.  I'm hesitant to take so much, without pulsing.  It is supposed to be effective against babesia, malaria and also toxoplasmosis, as they are all protozoan/parasites. 

Anyone else take Artemisinin, and what was your protocol? 

nancy

[Mumof3]

Hi Nancy,

I take artemisinin (200 mg) two times a day for suspected babesia. The one I take is by Allergy Research Group. My doctor highly recommends artemisinin. It seems to be popular on the Lyme Boards.

[JBJBJB]

Trudi,

Thanks very much for the information. It gets me started researching (Joe :>;) on these medications. Artemisinin sounds a better choice if you are allergic to general antibiotics. It seems to prevent a lot of cancer and also not hard on liver.

JB 

[nspiker]

Mumof3,

I take artemisinin (200 mg) two times a day for suspected babesia. The one I take is by Allergy Research Group. My doctor highly recommends artemisinin. It seems to be popular on the Lyme Boards. 

Have you had any reactions to taking Artemisinin?  I just started a new protocol of zithromax and tindamax, so was waiting to add in the Art.  If I'm having a reaction, good or bad, I want to know what's causing it.  I ordered mine from Nutricology, but love Allergy Research products.

[Trudi]

[user=1552]nspiker[/user] wrote:

My llmd wanted me to start taking Artemisinin too.  How much are you taking and are you pulsing? 

Nancy–

I am taking 200 mg in the a.m and 200 mg in the p.m.–although today is the first day I will be taking the full dose.  I started with 1 pill (100 mg) and as of tonight I will be on all 4.  The doctor's office told me to go very slow.  They also encouraged me to buy the smaller bottle to make sure it agreed with me–it is pricey!  So far so good.  I take this 6 days on, 1 day off (that would be Sunday :)).  Mine is also from Allergy Research Group.

Trudi

Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?

[Mumof3]

Hi Nancy,

No I haven't had any reactions to the Artemisinin. I've been taking it for a couple of months now and have recently double my dose (from 1 a day to 2 a day). So far so good……..

[Trudi]

[user=723]anno[/user] wrote:

Can I ask what your bloodwork shows these days?

My most recent was for the ASO (strep) which is now 188 down from a high of 420.  All my inflammation markers (CRP was 134 now 10; ferritin was 266 now normal at 91 [Dr. M wants me at 20]; uric acid down; homocysteine normal; H. Pylori no longer detected) went down.  My fibrin has increased :(. 

Do you know which bugs you have?

I am IGM positive for Lyme through Igenex and IGG IND which I'm now looking at as positive.  I also have mycoplasma pneumoniae. I am negative for the co-infections as per Quest Labs.

Do you know if this route takes longer than standard drugs?

I would assume yes–it is gentler on the body.

Do you feel like you're getting better?

Yes.  I no longer have my nightly fevers, I don't need two naps a day, I can turn in bed without experiencing a lot of pain, I'm starting to develop muscles again, dropped my morning dose of NSAID, can wear my wedding ring, no night sweats, etc.  Can't wait to get rid of the Lyme knees!!

Hi Anno–

Answered you last since I knew it would take a little bit.:)

An added note–I think a large part of recovery and how you feel is how long you have had the disease and what you are taking for pain relief. 

Hope this has helped,

Trudi

Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?

[Trudi]

[user=442]Trudi[/user] wrote:

[user=1552]nspiker[/user] wrote:

My llmd wanted me to start taking Artemisinin too.  How much are you taking and are you pulsing? 

Nancy–

I am taking 200 mg in the a.m and 200 mg in the p.m.–although today is the first day I will be taking the full dose.  I started with 1 pill (100 mg) and as of tonight I will be on all 4. 

Nancy–

I edited my post–I am taking 1/2 of the dose that I originally posted (which was 800 mg per day) and want to make sure you see this.  Sorry about the error–

After reading some more info on this including its use for Lyme, I wouldn't go over the 400 mg per day–have to watch the liver–

Trudi

Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?

[jims]

I have found this thread about lyme very interesting. I am still working on getting my tests done. In the meantime I found this information useful-  http://www.intensemuscle.com//14318-lyme-ticks.html Sort of a primer for allot of you, but the author does reaffirm the treatment options you are mentioning,  and I think does a decent job of describing the enormous undertaking (medical and social) that lyme awareness and proper treatment are. Please forgive me if this article has already been posted! jims:) Sorry about the first link, not sure why that happened. This is the same material, already posted on another site.

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