First steps in going natural

Thanks for your thoughts, I agree. I think it's kind of scary no matter what you do with Lyme. There's a strong emotional componant and the fear of the unknown. At some point it comes up to figuring out what will work for you.

Maybe if I had been a lot sicker and I couldn't work anyway I would have gone a more traditional route with abx. But for me, I know that if I can keep my diet clean, I can function fairly well. Last Fall I broke out eating the GF sugar products and was sick with one thing after another for months. Not colds or the flu, it was horrible aches and pains and migraines and sinus infections.....

If I don't feed it, I can function. I'm happy to understand this better now. I know what I'm fighting!!!

Lol. Okay, Trav, you know I would have to weigh in here. It can be a touchy subject this abx vs. Herbal issue. But the fact of the matter is I believe there are pros and cons to each. Abx are endorsed by ILADS and the guru of Lyme treatment, doctor burrascano. They are indeed narrowly focused in their treatment modality but they have been proven to work in many, many people.

Herbals on the other hand are indeed more broadly focused and may add as buhner states a synergy of unknown compounds that work with the body to heal. But there is less empirical data on how they work. Both abx and herbals have a history of working effectively against Lyme but in different ways for different.people. My own approach is to adopt the best of both worlds and do an abx/herbal approach and it seems to be working splendidly. In fact, I really believe that the Byron White portion of my method, since it had immuno-modulating capabilities, has enabled my immune system to come back into the fight! And that there is the bottom line - to somehow support our bodies so that our own immune systems can eventually take over for the abx and/or the herbs.

Plus, this mind over matter thing...one has to be personally convinced they can be healed no matter what protocol is being used. I truly believe that, the body can heal itself if allowed to and I would almost be willing to bet that you could be cured with sugar cubes if you truly at your core believed in that! So, I think what folks here are saying about being comfortable with their methodology plays into that. If one believes that they can be cured by strictly and herbal approach, then the body will believe it too and support the healing. Same holds true for abx and hybrid approaches. Conversely, I also think that I'd one feels negatively about being treated with abx (or herbs), then that method will not work and may even make them sick!

Okay, that's my soapbox Derby for the day...lol. the mind/ body connection is a very underutilized modality of treatment in western society and could be key to determining why there is such an increase in chronic illness and in the eventual treatmwnt of those illnesses."!!

Post Edited (yazzer) : 3/13/2012 12:49:22 PM (GMT-6)

Ok--I also want to weigh in here. I do not agree with the comment that somebody could heal with sugar cubes if they believed in it. While the mind may be powerful, I doubt I could heal from this infection that I've been living with since most likely a child. I am in bad shape. Could it be worse? Sure..can't it always? But my mind will only take me so far. That makes it sound like we are all indeed whack jobs and it's in our heads. Sorry, that comment just didn't sit well with me.

Now-- on to abx vs herbals. I'm too new to comment but I just started abx last week and I feel like crap. Seems to get worse as the days pass. My LLMD said this would happen and he's right. He also said he'd get more aggressive with abx and I am scared. Worse to me means literally not getting out of bed and working. Each day I'm sleeping later and getting worse and having more symptoms pop up and trust me..I want to heal. I try and tell myself that I WILL get better and today WILL be a good day. Not working for me and I'm a tough cookie. I didn't even want my hubby to rub me last night. I was too miserable. My legs wouldn't sit still (still won't) and my stomach was in knots. Also dirt alone isn't enough for me. I am not eating sugar (except a grapefruit ocassionaly) no processed foods, no starch and no dairy. I'm being real good.

If this continues to get worse I will certainly go all herbal if need be. This is rough!!

My LLMD supposedly does use herbs too. He hasn't recommended any to me yet. I am taking magnesium (which has helped my chest/heart pains) triple omega, just started burbur detox, multivitamin and doxycycline and acidophilus. I am also trying to detox as much as I can. But with working I have such little time.

This rant is silly..sorry!!

Point is I think we need to do whatever works for us as an individual because we are all different!!!

Sleepless - sorry if I have offended you - no offense was intended. I am just going on my own experience with this dreaded disease - I have had it at LEAST 35 years and so I know how it has affected me in the past. Usually, I would get better WITHOUT any treatment whatsoever - herbal, abx or otherwise (because I did not know I had Lyme back then) once I set me mind to the direction of healing. It usually took about a year to recover from that "unknown illness" back then but somehow my body was was able to rally and recover simply because I stopped obsessing on my problem and started to re-engage in life and act as best I could like I wasn't sick. Soon enough, my immune system somehow heeded that message and started working more efficiently again.

I am NOT inferring anyone a whack job here and wonder why you think that? I have felt like crap too, basically isolated myself from society and was told basically I was crazy with anxiety disorders and depression and panic - all inferences to me being "crazy". So, I understand what it means to be thought of as a whack job and having this "all in our heads." Back then, I even began to believe it. But, being the stubborn fool that I am, I changed my reference from being a victim of a crazy disease to one that focused on being better - not just getting better, but being better. If you think that sounds like a whole lot of whooey well then that's your perogative. I am just stating my opinion in hopes that it will help someone get better based upon my REAL LIFE experiences with this menace for the last 35+ years. We all get 'scared' of this thing and rightly so, but there's a way out, you can be sure and I plan to get there as I am sure many others here will too!

Yazz--I didn't mean you were referring to anyone as a whack job. Just makes us sound like one when you say sugar cubes will heal us if we believe in them. I don't believe that for one minute. I am so f------ sick it kills me. I turn to dark thoughts if not for my husband. I honestly have tried being positive. Sure it does help, but I am still hurting even though I'm trying to smile through it. Heck--sometimes I have brief moments of being able to cope with the pain and fatigue and then wham my pain meds loose effect and I am slapped in the face without thinking twice.

Point being--mind set will only take you so far. Gosh I wish it were easy as sugar cubes.

LoveHealth - that whole losing the connection with yourself - that was/is what freaked me out the most! Derealization/depersonalization is what I think it was...it dissipates with treatment but that one thing freaked me out worse than anything. It felt like every minute of every day took like 2 years to pass...very miserable.

Yazz-- stop you're making me tear up and I'm with the kids right now in a music lesson. I'm in a really bad place right now. Whew.... I'm hurting and getting absolutely no relief. This is really tough.

I have to get through this.

Love--I just got the burbur detox drops yesterday and took 10 drops in a glass of lemon water. I didn't feel any relief. But I'll keep trying.

I will try and do a detox bath every other day at least. I'm also trying to drink a lot of lemon water. I'm trying but each day its getting worse. How do I cope? My RLS seemed to ease up when I omitted sugar and starch, but now its back with a vengeance and I'm freaking out.

Yazz--hugs! That's exactly it! It feels like every second feels like years. Its awful!!

I am sorry for being so negative. I'm not myself right now.

WOW! I had a bunch of stuff to do yesterday afternoon so I didn't see this thread growing like it did!!

Yazzer, you'll notice nowhere did I say that abx don't work. Of course abx are an approved choice with ILADS - there are very few studies that have been done on natural approaches - so by endorsing the use of abx only they have a much more solid point in which to stand. Although, you'll notice that they also don't say that herbs can help either.

***I have nothing against ILADS!! As a matter of fact, I do/will support them completely! They are the ones fighting for us to get the extended treatments when needed. I am not completely against the use of abx - I promise!! I was only answering Lovehealth's concerns about the quality of treatment one can get with natural treatments.

Not sure how anyone can forget that I was using only abx for a full year when I first started seeking treatment - LOL! - I say it often enough!! How can I be completely against something I turned to?? My point was and still is that natural treatments can and do stand alone as a very effective treatment...if you get a practitioner that knows their stuff - which is true with LLMD's as well. They need to really know what they are talking about when someone is very, very ill with these infections.

So to sum it up, I have to say that I believe there is a time when each is better and of course it's a very personal decision!!! Using abx alone, in combo with herbs or natural treatments alone have the ability to heal a person. So much depends on how long the said person has gone untreated, what else is going on (or failing) in their body, and the quality of the Practitioner.

Tree--thanks for that input! I'm definitely not opposed to natural at ALL! In fact, to be honest, I would prefer it. But my LLMD wants me to try the abx route and I'm going to give it a fair shot. I'll do it as long as my mind doesn't turn too dark and my stomach can continue putting up with it. Right now, it's rough. And it's only my 2nd week.

Nobody has the right to say this or that ONLY because truthfully, everyone is different. And abx are proven to be effective in many people as are herbal. Look at trav, she's doing great with herbals.

We are all different. I'm thrilled there is more than one option for us! If not, some of us would be totally screwed.

Trav - I agree 100% trav! I would guess that most everyone at least begins with abx, though, due to ILADS approach (and even the much-mailgned IDSA approach). I will also agree that many, many folks stray from the rigid guidelines of ILADS for the very reasons you state - everyone is affected differently by TBIs! I was not meaning to criticize anything you originally said...it was all good! But, I do tink that sometimes, many people do not give the standard abx treatment long enough to even work. That was the original premise of this thread - the abx have only been tried for a very short period of time and so, maybe the issue is not the abx in that case but other things like detox pathways clogged, herxing, etc. I know you tried for a YEAR on abx and that was probably too long so you gave it more time that I might have, even!

My only point was that, if other newbies come here and look at this ne thrread and see that we are even implying that abx do NOT work after only a week or two or three trial, then you should switch to an alternative method. Some people might want to and, that's MAY BE okay, but generally, the standard treatment accordingly to ILADS is abx for a longer period of time and they even say that things might get worse before they get better. That "trial period" will be different for different people. I know that, for me, I would have done myself a disservce if I'd have given up on abx after only a couple of weeks - even though I felt absolutely miserable. But, they eventually worked and cleared a huge load of Lyme from my system in a relatively short period of time - then I added herbals to throw 'em off-guard even more (die, Lyme suckers, die!). The other potential problem is that such a short term 'trial' of abx can potentially help the critters morph into a much more resistant strain that NOTHING could cure.

So, please do not take my post as criticism - I admire your approach and think it excellent. I just wanted to make sure that the other side of the coin was properly addressed as well....thanks for all you do here!

Do any of you treating naturally have issues with your heart while on the herbs? I had problems with my heart racing for months, plus anxiety, while on doxcy. I had to go off of it last month because of my liver and my heart drastically slowed down. I have been thinking about the natural approach an wondered whether I could expect increased heart issues with herbs (herx?) or whether heart racing is from antibiotics.