why does it take lengths of time with treatments to knock down lyme

why does it take weeks, months of treatment each time to knock down my flairs?

It has many factors including your bactetial load and where that bacteria is 'hanging out' (some places are more difficult to reach with treatments than othets), which treatment you are on and how both you and the bacteria respond to it, the 'residual damage' the bacteria has done (which needs repairing even after treatment often), your ability to detox, and also don't forget that Lyme has a life cycle so it will depend on what part of the reproductive phase it is in and which part of that phase the meds you are taking are hitting. It is also why some folks here despise a full moon, lol!

Does that help at all?? I know it isn't really an explanation, but it is so many interrelated factors that come into play.

Makes since. In the 3 flairs I have had n the last 4 years in my opinion are due to under treatment. the physicians do a 4 week protocal and pretty much let me go because symptoms are gone or down.

The bacteria are slower at replicating than other bacterias. This may be why it takes longer - as the bacteria can only be killed when it's in a certain stage of it's life.

Yellow Cat said...

Girlie said...
....This may be why it takes longer - as the bacteria can only be killed when it's in a certain stage of it's life.

This is correct for abx but is it correct for herbs?

I would think so - the life-cycle of the bacteria doesn't change because you use herbal protocols vs antibiotics.

I have read lyme is 3-4 weeks...but Bart and Babs are sooner. (Can't remember - one is 4-5 days)

Yes, it's in Part one, chapter two in the book of William Rawls - Unlocking Lyme. Exact quote:
"Borrelia microbes are very adept at using their corkscrew shape to penetrate cells, where they form vacuoles that fill with new microbes, one of the ways the microbe reproduces. Unlike most bacteria, however, they grow very slowly, creating new generations only every 8-12 hours (unlike other pathogenic bacteria that typically produce a new generation every 20 minutes)."

It takes awhile to heal because we need to do more things than "just" killing the bugs.

The bugs actually exist in our bodies in low concentrations. It's their disruption of our immune system that causes inflammation which, in turn, is what drives our symptoms.

Healing requires a holistic approach and others have already mentioned some of the factors that can affect our healing path.

My LLMD was focused only on killing and got me to 90% on abx. He left me on my own to figure everything else out and eventually released me. I plodded my way through herbal protocols and ultimately sought help from a Buhner-recommended herbalist.

And, I continued to address the "system disruptors" in my life that made healing challenging. I consider myself at 99.9% healed (feeling/functioning great with super-minor flares (tingling, etc) here and there while still taking certain herbs).

Most of us have "system disruptors" as described by Dr. Bill Rawls here:

/rawlsmd.com/featured-posts/chronic-immune-dysfunction-lyme-disease

How I wish Dr. Rawls' book "Unlocking Lyme" was around when I was first bit. I know my healing journey would have been much shorter.

I have no association with Dr. Rawls and am not trying to sell his book or anything. I continue to mention it on here because I consider it a valuable tool for healing.