Dear Stephen,
I’m in a bit of pickle… I was diagnosed in April after 12 years of suffering from CFS. I immediately started on your protocol as I did not wish to go down the antibiotic route. When my nutritionist returned from a lyme conference in Dublin she was keen that I start the Lee Cowden protocol, which I have. BUT. Just read Connie Strasheim’s first book which implies that mixing up protocols can reduce overall effect of treatment and of individual protocols. Should I not do both at the same time or is there a way of combining the two to great effect??? I like what both have to offer but realise that although both natural, they work on different principals. For instance is Lee Cowden’s a pulse approach? I worry that taking your herbs ongoing will encourage the spirochete to hide thus rendering Lee Cowden’s protocol useless. Thought about doing one week on your protocol, one week on the Cowden’s, a week off and then your protocol plus rizols during week leading up to Full Moon. And maybe taking weekends off altogether to rest my liver and entice the spirochetes out from hiding. How long does it take for the spirochetes to come out after stopping an antimicrobial attack.. a day, 2 days, 2 weeks? Also, what are your views on the Biophoton machine?
I’m in a bit of pickle… I was diagnosed in April after 12 years of suffering from CFS. I immediately started on your protocol as I did not wish to go down the antibiotic route. When my nutritionist returned from a lyme conference in Dublin she was keen that I start the Lee Cowden protocol, which I have. BUT. Just read Connie Strasheim’s first book which implies that mixing up protocols can reduce overall effect of treatment and of individual protocols. Should I not do both at the same time or is there a way of combining the two to great effect??? I like what both have to offer but realise that although both natural, they work on different principals. For instance is Lee Cowden’s a pulse approach? I worry that taking your herbs ongoing will encourage the spirochete to hide thus rendering Lee Cowden’s protocol useless. Thought about doing one week on your protocol, one week on the Cowden’s, a week off and then your protocol plus rizols during week leading up to Full Moon. And maybe taking weekends off altogether to rest my liver and entice the spirochetes out from hiding. How long does it take for the spirochetes to come out after stopping an antimicrobial attack.. a day, 2 days, 2 weeks? Also, what are your views on the Biophoton machine?
Stephen’s response:
Here is what is true: nearly every lyme person, again: nearly EVERY lyme person, comes up with their own treatment blend over time to fit their exact situation. There is nothing wrong in blending protocols. Most people do it one way or another. As I say over and over again, there is NO one way to health with lyme, use what works and discard the rest. I have heard from over a thousand people that have gotten well on some form of the protocol I suggested, they have NOT noticed the spirochete hiding and I am not sure that any herbal protocol of any sort causes that. In general, if you are going to just use a few things out of my protocol, use the knotweed and the cat’s claw and combine that with whatever other protocol you wish. No thoughts on the machine.
Here is what is true: nearly every lyme person, again: nearly EVERY lyme person, comes up with their own treatment blend over time to fit their exact situation. There is nothing wrong in blending protocols. Most people do it one way or another. As I say over and over again, there is NO one way to health with lyme, use what works and discard the rest. I have heard from over a thousand people that have gotten well on some form of the protocol I suggested, they have NOT noticed the spirochete hiding and I am not sure that any herbal protocol of any sort causes that. In general, if you are going to just use a few things out of my protocol, use the knotweed and the cat’s claw and combine that with whatever other protocol you wish. No thoughts on the machine.
Stephen
Hi Stephen:
I recently received test values from Germany that show a “borderline”response to Lyme but very *very* high titers against EBV, CMV, and Coxsackie. Coxsackie was actually the worst one. So I am trying to puzzle out how to treat my illness. The German doctor who did the test suggests that I treat the virii and leave the Lyme alone for just now. However I have read so many terrifying things about leaving Lyme untreated that I am not sure it’s safe to follow this opinion.
Lyme first or Virii first?
Is it safe to do both at once?
Specifically, is it safe and useful to take both anti-Lyme and antiviral herbs together on the same schedule? Could I take knotweed, catsclaw, ginseng PLUS Takuna and Oxymatrine and Lauricidin ?
My instinct is to just nuke it all. German doctor says to manage virii first, and then I imagine get another test and titer for Lyme once the viral issue is solved; and then treat that.
What do you think? Both bacteria and viral together or one at a time?
Thank you!
I am dealing with chronic fatigue with high Abs to EBV and probable tick borne infections. I can’t seem to tolerate even tiny bits of vitamins and Cowden herbs. Are there any herbs in your protocol that I might be able to start with that won’t cause a flare? I thought that the Burbur and pinella from Cowden’s protocol where supposed to help with Herx flares, but even with one drop, I developed agitation and a flare in my symptoms. What might you recommend? Thank you!
Theresa
Personally, it sounds like you have detoxification issues. I would recommend starting off with detox organ support, like dandelion root and milk thistle to help kidneys, liver and gallbladder. This can hopefully start flushing toxins out and strengthen these organs. You could start slowly with 200-500 mg once to twice daily. Red root can also help flush toxins out of the lymph system. We’ve had success with this in my family with three that have lyme and company, and I’ve taken herbal classes too. I had one very sensitive family member like this. We also did extra detox by giving sarsaparilla with any antimicrobials or antibiotics, and then a few hours later, did either 2 capsules of Modified Citrus Pectin or activated charcoal to soak up toxins.He really turned a corner doing this, from having scary neuro symptoms to functioning quite well and improving greatly.
Has the doctor run panels on your immune system at all? If it is highly depleted that can make a huge burden on your body to fight off anything at all. Have him run immunoglobulin and natural killer cell levels to get an idea if there is immune deficiency at play. Some of us here have low NK Killer cells so we do immune boosting like vitamin E, C and D, selenium and zinc most days to build up our cell counts. Some days I drink Reishi tea because it also helps with this. Just my two cents on what has helped us. You can also try gentler herbs like knotweed and andrographis and then later work your way into the stronger stuff. I find the buhner protocol worked best on my family member with detox issues. It was gentler and he responded better. Later on we were able to do Cowden very, very slowly, mostly Houttynia and Banderol.
My Dr just started me on the Cowden Protocol, in your opinion is there anything missing from that protocol I should also be doing? Thank you!