We do not yet know a 100% reliable solution to chronic “lyme disease”. However, we can very effectively “release steam” so that we are asymptomatic. The most important thing is to keep control of immunity, infections, inflammation and add detox.
I consider the following to be extremely effective methods of “steam release” (sorted by importance):
- sleep, proper breathing and drinking regime
- herbs, nutritious, anti-inflammatory, sugar-free, healthy diet
- sauna and detoxification
- walking, easy stretching
- socialization, self-actualization, laughter
- meditation, information detox
For each of these methods, I could write for many hours about their scientifically proven benefits and the right way to apply them (biohacking). I could also name a number of other factors affecting health, such as electrosmog, mold, dental health, etc.…. However, this informations are not the purpose of this blog, as you can find them anywhere else. For example, in the excellent book – Unlocking Lyme by Dr. Rawls.
Disease spiral
As always, our well-known spiral is that the condition is never static, but always either worsens or improves. By the way, the Borrelia bacterium is also in the shape of a spiral (spirocheta). So what if, with its shape and the name of the strain, it also wants to indicate the method of treatment? 🙂
So the spiral: if you improve your immunity -> then you suppress the infection -> then you reduce the inflammation -> then you suppress the symptoms -> then you improve your immunity even more… And so on and on. This well-known vicious circle works in a different order as well. If you follow this in a sufficiently disciplined way for a few weeks, a breaking point will come and you will start moving towards treatment.
“If you want to reach the finish line, you don’t have to be fast, but persistent!”
Anonymous
Opportunity cost
So how to modulate immunity, suppress infection, minimize inflammation and detoxify properly?
There are hundreds of solutions, but the “try everything” attitude doesn’t work. Remember, we have limited resources. I don’t mean not only financial, but also physical (the body can only handle a certain dose of drugs), mentally (we have a limited amount of discipline) and emotional (you can’t pay all your attention to treatment alone). So don’t try everything you know “that helped someone”. You would be as harmed as I was by this attitude. The real thing here is that less is more.
The risk / benefit ratio should be considered for each treatment method. Thus, these parameters, which one often forgets: energy expenditure (how much energy you have to spend to obtain a “cure” – eg earnings at work), organizational availability (eg distance to the therapist), efficiency, risk of side effects, stress and feeling (mentality of the disease?).
So it is necessary to be consistent in considering all aspects, including the “price” to be “paid” for each opportunity. It’s called “opportunity cost” – when I gain something, I lose something else. When I do one thing, I can’t do something else at the moment. So the “try everything” attitude is wrong.
Herbs
We already know that we do not yet know a 100% effective method of treating chronic “lyme disease”. However, we have quite good statistics that what helps more and less. Thus, we can estimate the probability of success of individual treatment methods and also their possible side effects.
Apart from synthetic antibiotics, which are the official form of treatment for “lyme disease”, we also have “alternative” treatments. Here I would like to draw attention to the most extensive survey so far (thousands of patients) that have been carried out in this area.
This results in the following 5 most effective alternative treatments:
- herbal protocols
- sauna and detoxification
- medical marijuana
- acupuncture
- homeopathy
Interestingly, the results of this research correspond quite accurately to my personal experience.
Thus, herbs (phytotherapy), are most effective. This is good news, as they have a very wide range of effects and, in addition to antibacterial effects, almost always have antiviral, antifungal, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and many other positive effects. At the same time, they can be taken safely for a long time with a minimum of side effects.
Herbal treatment is my favorite topic and I have it well studied and tried. I started with classics like Buhner’s protocol by Stephen Harrod Buhner (“Healing Lyme”), including his other books on co-infections and herbal antivirals. Later, I also began to study herbal protocols from other experts such as Dr. Cowden, Dr. Rawls, Dr. Nicolaus, Dr. White and many others.
At first I was a little confused about variability of options such as different kinds of herbs, their primary use, combination, patterns of use, dosage, contraindications, mixing, storage, sellers… Later, however I did understand the philosophy of use and mechanisms of action of individual herbs. I started to enjoy it. I can already recognize many herbs by their appearance and taste. I even made some tinctures myself for a while.
It is good to know the healing mechanisms of specific herbs ingested, because their effect can be further enhanced by a scientifically proven placebo effect (approx. + 50% extra effectiveness). One well-sensed pill can be more than two hastily “thrown in.”… Herbs have helped me a lot in my journey to healing. At present, I take them only in very small doses in order to maintain balance.
For your better orientation, I have prepared a small free e-book, where you will find a summary of the most important information about herbal treatment. It is quite a valuable and practical document, as it answers the questions, the answers to which I had to search individually in literally dozens of different sources (books, publications, lectures, consultations …).
In addition to many other strategic information, you will learn the following in this e-book:
- why to use phytotherapy to treat chronic “lyme disease”?
- what herbal protocol to choose?
- can I use multiple herbal protocols at once?
- can I take all herbs at once in one dose?
- dosing? How often? How long?
- rotate, pulse, or take long-term?
- can I take herbs along with synthetic antibiotics?
- is it good to treat all infections and their symptoms at once?
- tinctures, powders, or dried extracts?
- how to use herbs?
- where to buy herbs? How to estimate quality?
- are essential oils also suitable?
- monitoring the treatment process?
However, to be objective, I must point out that the use of herbs also carries certain risks , such as the risk of toxicity in the form of heavy metals, pesticides or mold. Also, their potency is variable and depends on many factors such as the place of cultivation, time of harvest, chemical composition of the soil, method of treatment and storage… Therefore, great care must be taken to choose the right suppliers. This really took me a lot of time to select a few reputable suppliers with a good reputation.
I would also like to draw attention to the fact that herbs are more broad-spectrum, but at the same time less potent compared to synthetic antibiotics. Therefore, they are suitable for a long-term gentle treatment strategy. This is often (depending on the case) more suitable than an aggressive ATB strategy for chronic Lyme: “let’s tear everything down and try to rebuild”. Here it is true that “if you want to reach the goal, you don’t have to be fast, but persistent”.
Many chronic “lyme” patients have impaired digestion. With “by mouth” treatment, it is a good idea to get your digestive tract in order first, so that most medications (including ATB) or supplements do not end up “in the toilet” without acting. One of the most effective methods of repairing digestion is intermittent fasting. It is a habit to eat a maximum of 3 times a day (without crunching trifles between meals) within eight hours. We don’t eat anything for the remaining 16 hours (including sleep). If it’s too much for you, you can adjust the ratio a bit – for example 10/14. For me, this proved to be one of the few methods that really really helped me to fix a nicely “broken” digestion.
I recommend watching this video about the extremely positive effects of fasting by Dr. Jamnadas