People are often amazed by how many herbs I use for Lyme treatment. Our medical community has done a fine job of discrediting the use of herbs to treat many illnesses effectively. I think people imagine me wandering down the aisles of Whole Foods or Natural Grocers, picking up things that will help me with little clue other than “I heard it might help.” I do buy herbs or supplements like this, especially for sleep, but not for Lyme. The fact is, any LLMD (Lyme Literate MD) worth their salt will attack Lyme using many different methods, including herbs. Some herbs are better for one thing, and others are better for another. I buy the herbs I need through my LLMD. Usually, they are proven protocols cited by leading authorities in the field of Lyme, like Dr. Richard Horowitz, or Steven Buhner.
So when something flares up, we (this is not the royal we, Lyme patients have to be adept at describing what is happening) have to evaluate what strategy to use and why. It might be bartonella, or an opportunistic secondary infection, or a return of babesia. There are several possibilities and one medicine does not fit all.
Anyone who thinks herbs aren’t “real medicines” needs to wake up. Aspirin, digoxin, quinine, and morphine are just a few drugs derived from herbs. It’s no wonder drug companies have an active interest in suppressing herbal medicine. I can see some people rolling their eyes, envisioning the very thought that herbs or supplements have any place in medical care. Fine. I don’t care. Trying to convince someone that this is not true is useless, as is trying to convince people who think all pharmaceuticals are bad, or “not natural.” To me, both positions show a profound unwillingness to place results over beliefs.
This is not new. It’s as old as the art of healing. With a complex disease like Lyme, the push and pull between science, traditional healing, and other factors like diet, exercise, and religion, leaves most Lyme sufferers with far too many options. The cost of treating Lyme means many patients don’t get proper treatment. Insurance usually doesn’t cover more than 30-60 days of doxycycline.
This is compounded by the belief that illness and/or ill health is an option, that your lifestyle or lack of discipline is to blame for your illness. Not everyone believes this, but in wealthy countries like America, there are groups who frame illness and ill health as a failure to a) pray enough, or b) not exercise enough, or c) not take enough supplements, or d) not have the right healthcare and/or not visit the doctor to get tested. There are probably a lot more subsets, but it is a strong system of “blaming the ill.”
But I digress. I am at a stage where I rely mostly on herbs. If I have a severe relapse, I’ll take whatever is recommended to get back to health. I’m not a snob. Nor am I a fool. Lyme support groups online are filled with miracle cures and also with long, long sagas of literally dozens of tests, doctors, and medical treatments. I don’t have to go to the doctor every time I feel out of sorts, or have a new symptom. I won’t jump on the Rife machine bandwagon, or coffee enemas, or whatever someone has said worked for them. However, when dozens of other Lyme sufferers say there is something new that might work, I’ll ask my LLMD when I have an appointment. Dapsone is one such pharmaceutical that has made a huge different to some patients. Stevia is another one when it was found to be a biofilm buster.
It really is a lot of work staying current with treatments and protocols. I have biases. Maybe coffee enemas have helped some people. I’m just not a fan of any enemas, so I’m not going to try that one. You won’t ever find me praying to get better, but I don’t mind if people say they are praying for me. I actively avoid going to the doctor for the little things, and that a might come back and bite me in the butt someday. I’m willing to take some risks as a tradeoff, as are almost all ill people, because a life spent striving for perfect health might not be living at all.
It could be said I take a relaxed approach to my illness, if that makes sense. Obviously this isn’t always possible. One of the luxuries of Lyme (Haha, like there really are any) is that when it is controlled, it’s not likely to kill you, at least not for a long, long time. So I take my herbs, as I did this past week, when I had a flare up. The herbs caused a herx (Jarisch-Herxmeimer reaction, or as I like to say, “when the cure makes you feel like shit”) as I knew they would. They also made me feel better, as I hoped they would. When that happens, I wake up feeling better. The clouds part and the sun shines and all is right with the world once again.
I haven’t been hospitalized, nor have I used IV antibiotics. I feel well a good deal of the time. I have accepted that perhaps Lyme will be with me always. I use herbs and pharmaceuticals. Perhaps one day Western medicine will become more flexible about how to heal their patients. Until then, I’d say my choices have been right for me and I stand by them.
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