Mixing protocols?

Penny,

I am the same way about andrographis. When I first started Buhner’s protocols, I just ignored that one as I was too afraid. I’m sure there are others here who have used it. Hopefully they will comment.

I found this on samento and banderol. http://www.townsendletter.com/july2010/sapi0710.html. If you’re going to do banderol, I would suggest taking it with samento at the recommended dosage (whatever that is). I would still take Jap knotweed with it.

Buhner has instructions somewhere - in the book or website - on how to make an eyewash with stephania. You can take it internally, too.

The herbs are not either/or. Many herbs can be taken together or rotated in groups. If you don’t have Buhner’s Healing Lyme 2nd edition, I would get that. Just pay attention to any contraindications and what he pairs different herbs with.

Post note: You probably know this but just in case, Samento is TOA-free cat’s claw, so if you’re taking a different cat’s claw, pick one or the other or alternate between the two and see which seems more effective to you.

Post Edited (WalkingbyFaith) : 4/7/2019 8:12:32 AM (GMT-6)

WalkingbyFaith said...
Penny,

I am the same way about andrographis. When I first started Buhner’s protocols, I just ignored that one as I was too afraid. I’m sure there are others here who have used it. Hopefully they will comment.

I found this on samento and banderol. http://www.townsendletter.com/july2010/sapi0710.html. If you’re going to do banderol, I would suggest taking it with samento at the recommended dosage (whatever that is). I would still take Jap knotweed with it.

Buhner has instructions somewhere - in the book or website - on how to make an eyewash with stephania. You can take it internally, too.

The herbs are not either/or. Many herbs can be taken together or rotated in groups. If you don’t have Buhner’s Healing Lyme 2nd edition, I would get that. Just pay attention to any contraindications and what he pairs different herbs with.

Thanks so much for the advice, I think I will go ahead and order Stephania. Also my healing Lyme book is on the way to me, can’t wait to read it! I’ll consider Samento too, I wonder how much difference Samento makes vs regular cats claw?

Buhner actually has a long rant in the book over TOA-free cat’s claw. He sees it as unnecessary and possibly even counterproductive. I have heard some people say they couldn’t tolerate regular cat’s claw but were fine with samento. You just have to experiment sometimes. Everyone responds differently.

He is also not a fan of practitioners who patent herbal products and sell them for outrageous prices. A bottle of Cowden’s formulas are around thirty-something a bottle vs $12-14 for tinctures from reputable herbal sellers.

Warning:
When you get Buhner’s book, beware that his starting doses are considered too high by many people. I would start around 1/4 of the recommended starting dose on any antimicrobials, including knotweed. Be prepared for herxing, even though you have taken abx. Herbs can surprise you with their potency.

Cat's claw is a great abtimicrobial - antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic. Japanese knotweed kills stuff, too, and adds powerfully restorative resveratrol. Those are great. I have noticed the most improvement in Lyme symptoms from those herbs. Andrographis is powerful as well, and I was scared to try it due to my strong reactions to anything I ingest, but my doctor encouraged me to take it because it's meant to amplify the effects of the other two. It gave me a moderate headache for a few weeks but that's all.

Many herbalists recommend certain protocols because taking the herbs together produces different effects than taking the herbs separately. I think this might be the heart of your question. Herbs can act synergistically, and some herbalists have spent their lifetimes figuring out the best ratios and combinations. Chinese medicine practitioners are good examples of this. A well-trained herbalist also knows that each client is different and may need variations based on infections, allergies, adverse reactions, lifestyle, or even personality. Mixing and matching is totally fine, but usually there are reasons things are recommended together.

I am with Buhner in terms of people patenting herbs, but definitely not in terms of dosing! I never made it above ten drops per day of his core protocol, but my practitioners and I felt that was the level my body could handle, and therefore it was the right dosage for me.

I like the term "killer tincture." Are you talking about killing borrelia specifically?

There is a school of thought that says that you never will kill all of them, so the goal needs to be bringing the body into balance so that the illness doesn't have a foothold to take over and cause symptoms anymore through cytokine cascades, gut imbalance, hormone issues, and other inflammatory processes. This perspective emphasizes the health of the "bio-terrain," and how a strong system will keep opportunistic infections from proliferating. Herbal therapy is great for this, and is the focus of much of the work on Rawlsmd.com as well as his Vital Plan herbal protocol. Maybe worth looking into as a next step, if you are interested.

Good luck, and glad to hear you are doing so much better!

Ok thank you, that helps. I think I will just leave the Andrographis out. I haven’t come across those others you mentioned yet, Dan Shen and Bakail Skullcap, but my book comes in the mail in a couple days so I will be able to better look into it. Thanks!