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Posted 6/24/2021 2:25 PM (GMT -5)
I was just out walking the cat, and noticed a tiny black dot on my forearm. It was no larger than the head of a straight pin, barely noticeable, There must have been some subconscious discomfort that drew my attention to the site. I wasn't sure it was a bug, more like a speck of dirt. But sure enough, after I brushed it off it was on my thumbnail and I saw the tick outline. And the bite site was a little irritated.

I sucked on it like a snake bite, and when I got in I washed it with rubbing alcohol and then smeared a paste of andrographis on it. And I bathed it with prayer and faith.

There's a very small welt there.
Posted 6/24/2021 2:35 PM (GMT -5)
are you taking antibiotics for lyme already - if no i would defo take 28 days of doxy to be on the safe side
Posted 6/24/2021 2:44 PM (GMT -5)
No, I'm not on antibiotics. And would like to stay that way if possible.
Posted 6/24/2021 2:55 PM (GMT -5)
Right there with you.

Today my family went strawberry picking, and we did multiple checks in the field, and wore our usual repellents. I found two ticks crawling on me, one of which was the same color as my skin, and very small, crawling out from underneath a ring on my finger. When we got home, my child removed her socks and found another tick, attached to her ankle. There was no mark when I pulled it off, and it wasn't engorged. Since it could not have been on her body for more than 90 minutes and probably hadn't been attached long, I cleaned the site with alcohol, put some andrographis tincture on it, gave her ledum palustre homeopathic, and started a month of astragalus. We all showered and put clothes right into the wash. I vacuumed the shoes we wore.

My best friend has had three tick bites in the past six weeks and her kids have all had bites as well. Most of them have been dismissed by their doctors or given a single dose of doxy. She has them all on astragalus.

I hate these things. I use the word "hate" really sparingly, and I really hate ticks.

And this really is an especially bad year. My family is careful, and even living in Massachusetts, and gardening all the time, and playing outside and in the woods, we almost never find ticks on ourselves. I think six times in a decade. And we really do look! We just have found repellents and common sense (like stick to the paths in the woods, don't walk in tall grass, etc.) effective enough. But not this year.
Posted 6/24/2021 3:01 PM (GMT -5)
I understand this is a bad year for ticks (New York State here), but the chipmunks are not bad, and that usually is a precursor, so I don't know. It's disconcerting that the thing was almost imperceptibly small. I think I attracted him on our earlier walk, when I was trimming some shrubs, and only noticed him on our next jaunt.

I've already got chronic Lyme, so I don't think the astragalus regimen would be good for me.
Posted 6/24/2021 3:01 PM (GMT -5)
I agree, it's as bad as its ever been in the Northeast this year. The nymphs make me feel hopeless

Paul, I recently made it through a round of Astragalus @ 60 drops 3x daily and I did ok. Towards the end of the 30 days my knee started aching but that was about it.

Post Edited (potsnpans) : 6/24/2021 2:07:31 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/24/2021 3:25 PM (GMT -5)

paul b said...
I understand this is a bad year for ticks (New York State here), but the chipmunks are not bad, and that usually is a precursor, so I don't know. It's disconcerting that the thing was almost imperceptibly small. I think I attracted him on our earlier walk, when I was trimming some shrubs, and only noticed him on our next jaunt.

I've already got chronic Lyme, so I don't think the astragalus regimen would be good for me.

Ticks (and fleas!!) are really bad in Arkansas this year as well - the little buggers are a LOT more aggressive here too.

I would like to respond to your comment about having chronic Lyme and using astragalus though - I had chronic Lyme for 30 years before getting a diagnosis, and longer than that to find a treatment I could tolerate. One of the things that made a big difference for me was using astragalus though. It not only made sure I wasn't getting reinfected, butt it helps the immune function and other things as it's an adaptogenic herb.

The issues with autoimmune issues happening only happens to about 1% of those that use the herb, according to Buhner, who is the one that put out that 'warning', and yet also stated that it's an incredibly safe herb. I would still be on it today, except I've had a medical issue happen and had to get on a ton of pharmaceuticals, and I didn't have he time or the energy to make sure nothing was contraindicated/had interactions. And, I got reinfected yet again with Lyme while being off of the astragalus!! GRRR!

I would encourage you to again look into possibly using it. I would encourage everyone that has had these infections to look into using it - it won't be for everyone, but there's no reason to not use what we can to avoid having these infections again and again.
Posted 6/24/2021 3:37 PM (GMT -5)
Thank you, Traveler. That is greatly valuable information. I formulated that policy from my notes on Buhner, and it's very possible I originally had overlooked some of his nuance. I will definitely give it a try and see where it leads. The verse that came to me as I prayed over this was "you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, for the saving of much life", from the story of Joseph in Genesis. And I prayed God would use this to kick up my immune system to get rid of all that has been plaguing me for years now. Maybe this is His way of doing that. Thanks again.
Posted 6/24/2021 3:44 PM (GMT -5)
Yeah Buhner says "you'll know" if you're one of those who can't take it and that side effects go away once the herb is discontinued.

I'm not entirely sure that the Astragalus aggravated my knee, but the achiness did go away a day or two after stopping. I suspect I wouldn't have had any trouble at all taking one dose daily as opposed to three
Posted 6/24/2021 4:18 PM (GMT -5)
When starting any herb, the motto is to go slow and start low. It makes it easier to stop and for it to clear out of your system, should you not be able to tolerate the herb.

When I started astragalus, I started with 100 mgs a day (yep, I'm a bit paranoid!), and slowly built my dose up over weeks. I ended up tolerating 3,000 mgs daily for quite a few herbs until my latest medical mystery showed up.
Posted 6/25/2021 12:19 PM (GMT -5)
yep - i have also steered away from astragalus - especially when my illness was more intense as i just had no room for anything that might make it worse.

always been intrigued by it though - for the immune adptogenic effect .

buhner has written about his caution with it several times

the summary as i remember it is
in early lyme - maybe up to 6 months - it is likely to change the immune system in ways that will help
in late / chronic lyme it is likely that it will ramp up the innate immune system - which can already be over egged in chronic lyme and in so doing can make symptoms worse (he does not say it always will).

however he goes on to say that everyone is different - and that feel free to try it - if it makes things worse you kinda know where you are - if it doesn't - its fine to continue.

he says that he would not suggest it in chronic lyme as a "primary herb" - but as an addition to a broader protocol it might be fine

i don't recall him linking it to auto-immunity ( my memory is not what it used to be ) - just increased overall symptoms

i have also heard others talk about using it when they are some way recovered - as if the timing there is more suitable. i plan on adding it as a trial soon - low doses alongside everything else

just my brain dump on astragalus
Posted 6/25/2021 12:51 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks. I appreciate the perspective.

My little friend's calling card is about 1.25" now, 24hr later. I kept an andrographis compress on it much of last night. I came across this page from Johns Hopkins, mentioning a single dose of Doxy as a prophylactic, something I hadn't heard of before. And then this nh.gov page, undated, which gives more details about it. So I've taken a single 200mg dose of Doxy as cheap insurance. This is the fourth tick I've dealt with this year, and as I'm not far from Lyme Ground Zero, just about everything is armed.
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