Alternative Treatments?

[LymeEnigma]

There probably exist as many alternative treatments for Lyme as there do for cancer, with probably the same varying ranges of results. I've noticed that there are a lot of herbal remedies, but also a lot of usage of cancer treatment fads from decades earlier, such as Rife, HBO, and the like. Has anyone had any real benefit from any of these seemingly outlandish therapies?

Has anyone maintained a remission using only herbal remedies? Was initial short- or long-term antibiotic use necessary, in order to get to that remission?

Has anyone achieved remission using only herbal or alternative remedies?

[deejavu]

Hi everyone!

I am one of those who do believe in alternative treatments for chronic lyme as I have been in remission for nearly 2 years now. I needed to go back in time when I did take Doxy which was year 2000 into 2001 but I didn't feel any better. I started an alternative protocol in year 2005 and that's when I started to get better and I stayed better.

I am aware that there are factors that could cause me to relapse so I take special care to keep my immune system strong (I drink greens, eat healthy, detox on a daily basis, and exercise).

After reading and talking to many others, I believe that long-term antibiotics can be damaging as they compromise one's immune system.

I can not talk enough about detoxing because logically, where do the die-offs and toxins go if not eliminated from one's body? A sick body does not automatically eliminate these poisons but just gets recycled back causing more havoc and problems.

Thanks for opening this topic, it's one of my favorites! ;D

[jeezld]

I recently met a mother from a LD support group whose teenage son tested positive on the western blot for Lyme disease and was put on long-term IV antibiotics by a very well known LLMD, for many months. As the mother put it, with this treatment her son "went from being 100% sick to being 90% sick" even after all was said and done. Not much gain from such intensive long-term treatment. The mother decided that she could no longer subject her son to a treatment with such potential draw backs when he was making so little in gains, so she pulled the plug.

She took her son to a new MD doctor that treats Lyme disease, but takes an Integrative approach that includes testing for allergies, digestive issues, adrenal and thyroid problems, hormone imbalances, what he basically calls the "Metabolic Matrix." He did a complete analysis of her son for vitamin deficiencies, hormone imbalances, etc, etc, plus allergies and what he found was that the double whammy of having late stage Lyme disease along with the IV antibiotics had left him with lab results that looked like a cancer patient that had undergone intense chemotherapy.

The doctor's suggestion was to rebuild her son's body and immune system, see where he stands and then deal with the Lyme disease issue.

Her son has made dramatic improvements following this doctor's game plan. He is on a Celiac disease diet, herbal supplements and IV vitamin therapy along with cholesterol reducing medication.

Her son did start to relapse within a few weeks when he went off this Integrative treatment plan, but quickly regained his improvements once he went back on.

This plan, or way of looking at the patients body, makes a lot of sense to me, but still makes me wonder if some people really do have a permanent autoimmune dysfunction (hormone- endocrine related) tripped by the initial Bb infection, or a "post Lyme disease syndrome" and will never be totally cured and must always remain on some form of treatment to manage these symptoms. Left alone the body will go back to a state of imbalance or disease...

[deejavu]

That is very interesting indeed and I'm glad that your friend's son is doing better. I don't believe in the word "cured" because I think not enough research has been done about long term effects from lyme spirochetes. I prefer the words "symptom-free" which I have been for nearly 2 years. In my case, I first became infected in 1995, was finally diagnosed in year 2000 and then I tried different protocols until I found the one that worked for me as I talked about above.

I have not been on any kind of treatment protocol in the past 2 years except taking a supplement that I buy from the Vitamin Shoppe to keep my immune system strong and detoxing. I also am very careful about what I eat because most foods are toxic. I buy lots of organic vegetables and I make large pots of veggy soups and stay away from sugar and gluten as well as other foods. It does get boring eating this way, I must admit! Once in a blue moon I will eat a steak or hamburger.

Getting oxygen into the body is also very important whether it's through exercise, detox baths (hydrogen peroxide adds oxygen into one's body through the pores), dry skin brushing, etc.

May I ask what your friend's son is taking as far as herbal supplements? Vitamin C is fantastic for everyone, lyme or no lyme. I drink a product called Green Vibrance every day which contains so many fantastic ingredients. Of all the "greens" I have tried, I think this is the best of all (at least for me).

My doctor's view on chronic lyme is first to kill off the lyme bacteria's in every form they present using herbal remedies that he developed himself (which I did take and it worked), detoxing at the same time, then building up the immune system to the point where it becomes so strong that one's body is able to fight off any disease by it's own. So far, I have been doing great!

There are many great books out there on detoxing and how we live in a toxic world which in turn causes many diseases, not just lyme. I find these books fascinating!

[LymeEnigma]

I look at stories like your friend's son, jeezld, and I really fear for the futures of those of us who have experienced no relief other than from long-term antibiotics. I am so grateful to have days, and sometimes even weeks, when I feel almost like the "old" me, but I also fear the damage I may have caused to my body so far in the process.

Deejavu, I think it's great that you're doing so well. I think that one very important aspect to your continued remission is your careful attention to diet and exercise. I've done a lot of reading on nutrition and health lately, and as much of a no-brainer as it is that we all should eat healthy, I'm not sure if most people really understand just how important a well balanced, healthy diet is. I would think your current regimen is likely a good model for any Lymie looking for optimum health.

[deejavu]

Hi LymeEnigma,

Yes, it's a good feeling to be symptom-free after suffering for so many years. As far as diet, I actually started to research nutrition when my baby brother was diagnosed with cancer. I suggested to him to cut out soda's and red sauces because they are extremely acidic. I don't know how true it is that diseases prefer an acidic body compared to an alkaline one. There is so much information out there regarding this.

Eating healthy these days takes more effort compared to the old days as selections of foods have changed. And when a person is too sick to cook something healthy, what do they do? Not everyone has a health food store around the corner, not everyone is able to drive to a "specialty store", etc.

Deejavu

[LymeEnigma]

That's a good point. I think that's why so many people fall into such long, horrific states of chronic fatigue; it's a vicious cycle that begins with being too tired to prepare a healthy meal and perpetuates itself with the subsequent simple-but-unhealthy eating habits. Considering how ill active Lyme infection can make a person, it's too bad that there are not more resources available, such as "Meals on Wheels," for those debilitated by Lyme without family or friends willing or able to help out when needed. Hopefully sometime soon the medical community will take this disease a little more seriously and step up to the plate, where some of these finer details are concerned.

[jeezld]

Hi Deejavu,

This is the list of supplements the Integrative Medicine MD has him on:

Vitamin D3 1000iu 4/day
Transfer Factor Basic 4/day
Adrenal Complex 3/day
End Fatique B Complex 1/day
Magnesium Malate Forte 4/day
CoQ10 200 mg maple flavor 1/day
Chlorella 10/day
Mediclear - 2 scoops/day
Cholestyramine powder 2 scoops/day

[LymeEnigma]

Jeezld, do you know what each supplement is for? Some of them are self-explanatory, but I'm wondering what some of them are. How is your son currently doing?

[hippiechic]

I wish everyone luck. I believe 100% in doing what you can naturally because I have lost so much faith in the medical community. Myself being misdiagnosed and given "answers" that were just medical jargon thrown around to skirt around real answers too many times, I don't think many of them really have the answers. Congratulations for addressing so many important issues Enigma!

[LymeEnigma]

I am currently taking cat's claw and pau d'arco in hopes of keeping any possible lasting infection in remission. I'm testing a theory that some of my lasting symptoms are autoimmune; I'm hoping to keep my disease where it's at, with no further progression or return of long-lost symptoms. My theory includes the idea that many people on long-term antibiotics put themselves in long-term remissions, but the possibility of actual eradication (as the spirochetes go cystic and dormant indefinitely during treatment) is limited. Continued symptoms during treatment, I believe, are autoimmune in nature, and therefore persist despite antibiotic treatment. I'm hoping that certain antibiotic herbs might be potent enough to pick up where the antibiotics left off, keeping the infection at bay and keeping my symptoms where they're at (sole autoimmune sequelae without the return of active infection). I hope it's enough, but only time will tell.