Can You Get Rid Of Lyme Disease Without Antibiotics

Antimicrobial Herbs That Kill Growing Phase Spirochetes & Cysts

Intracellular and Extracellular

Based on my observations, these herbal combination options have as good of a chance as the prescription options. They appear to kill intracellular and extracellular Lyme too based on the clinical benefit I see in my medical practice.

• Cats Claw and Otoba Bark Tinctures 30 drops of each 2 times a day. Start at 5 drops 2 times a day and add 1 drop per dose per day until you reach 30 drops 2 times a day. If you get a Herxheimer reaction, stop increasing the dose until it has passed.
• Cats Claw and Japanese Knotweed 30 drops of Cats Claw 2 times a day and ½ tsp of Japanese Knotweed 3 times a day. Work up to these doses over 30 days. Start Cats Claw at 5 drops 2 times a day and add 1 drop per dose per day until you reach 30 drops 2 times a day. Start the Japanese Knotweed at ¼ tsp 3 times a day and in two weeks increase to ½ tsp 3 times a day.

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Lyme And Candida Overgrowth

Yeast overgrowth is a common concern for Lyme patients who undergo antibiotic therapy. Whether or not the Lyme or other bacterial pathogens are killed, the immune system is depleted, the body s beneficial bacteria is eradicated, and the body is almost guaranteed to be overrun with fungal pathogens. If one is cured of Lyme disease they will then have to rebuild their immune system . Most people dont know how to do this. If they did, they most likely would not have been susceptible to Lyme in the first place. But for those who do the Lyme treatment without successful elimination of Lyme now have to deal with a body that soon inundated with fungi.

What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease can affect different body systems, such as the nervous system, joints, skin, and heart. The symptoms of Lyme disease are often described as happening in three stages. Not everyone with Lyme has all of these, though:

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Iv Antibiotic Regimen: Cephalosporin Plus Azole Plus Liposomal Cinnamon Clove And Oregano

• ceftriaxone 2 gm IV 2 times a day for 4 days on and 3 days off
• tinidazole 500 mg taken orally 1 pill 2-3 times a day for 4 days on and 3 days off in 7-day cycles
• liposomal cinnamon, clove, and oregano capsules 1 pill 2 times a day

Key Points:

• Various antibiotics can be used as IV. I use this one most commonly because it is the easiest to administer and one of the lowest cost IV regimens. The ceftriaxone is given in a syringe and injected over 10 minutes. This is also a pulse dose regimen . Ceftriaxone could be given daily instead as 2 gm IV 1 time a day.
• I have found various pulse dose regimens of tinidazole to work. These include 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off or in the regimen seen here.

Antimicrobials That Kill Growing Phase Cysts

Intracellular and Extracellular

Note: I work with the following agents as anti-cyst agents based on the mechanism by which these antibiotics work and some scientific experiments. For the Rifamycins, there are no laboratory experiments showing these agents work against cysts. Clinically, I see great benefit in using the Rifamycins as my anti-cyst agents so I list them here.

Rifamycins

• Rifampin 300 mg 2 pills 1 time a day or 1 pill 2 times a day
• Rifabutin 150 mg 2 pills 1 time a day

Azoles

• Tinidazole 500 mg 1 pill 2 or three times a day usually pulsed for four days on then three days off of each 7 days
• Metronidazole 500 mg 1 pill 2 or three times a day usually pulsed for four days on then three days off of each 7 days.

Herbal

• Grapefruit seed extract 250 mg 1 pill 2 times a day. Note this is an herbal antibiotic that I find as effective as the prescription options in this list.

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How Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented

In areas where ticks are found, people should know about the risk of Lyme disease and should take precautions to protect themselves. Be aware of the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease so it can be detected and treated promptly. PHAC states that removing ticks within 24 to 36 hours after the tick bite usually prevents infection.

PHAC has also prepared a Lyme disease tool kit which provides material to raise awareness and educate.

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Look How Far Ive Come

My initial Lyme test was, in the words of my doctor, lit up like a Christmas tree. Pretty much everything on it was positive: 2 different strains of Lyme, babesia, bartonella, and mycoplasma. I was a mess.

This summer I had a repeat test. Everything came back negative. While this doesnt mean Im definitively negative for Lyme, it certainly indicates weve been able to reduce the load enough that its not showing up on the tests. Ill likely need to continue some level of treatment for quite some time.

There are many Lyme specialist who dont believe its ever possible to be completely cured of Lyme. Its a sneaky bacteria and good at hiding. Many believe, the best you can get is to effectively put yourself in remission and strengthen your immune system. This keeps the Lyme bacterial load low enough that the symptoms are kept at bay.

Another fantastic result of treatment has been a huge decrease in inflammation. My c4a levels were 20,749 when I was first diagnosed. Thats a lot. . At the beginning of this year, after about a year of treatment, they were down at 17,594. This September, I was delighted to see my levels down to 4,090. Im inching closer to being back in the normal levels.

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How To Avoid Tick Bites

To reduce the chance of being bitten:

• cover your skin while walking outdoors and tuck your trousers into your socks
• use insect repellent on your clothes and skin products containing DEET are best
• stay on clear paths whenever possible
• wear light-coloured clothing so ticks are easier to see and brush off

Why Antibiotics May Not Work For Lyme Disease

These days, early treatment is typically successful, according to the latest science, but most patients go undiagnosed for years. At least 20% of those who are said to be successfully treated for Lyme will experience the same symptoms after treatment, which as mentioned, can easily be attributed to a depleted immune system leading to Candida overgrowth or other fungal pathogens, opening the door for many other infections as well.

Antibiotic resistance occurs at a high rate with spirochete bacteria. Borrelia , will respond slowly to antibiotics. They will develop resistance. The bacteria that survive antibiotics can become completely antibiotic resistant. This is why doctors are starting to use multiple antibiotics at once seems, and this does lead to better chance of defeating Lyme, and depleting the immune system. If the medication fails, the bacteria that have survived will not only become resistant, but it will also become much more entrenched in the host.

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Chelation Therapy For Lyme Disease

Some people believe Lyme disease symptoms are linked to heavy metal toxicity from materials like lead or mercury. Chelation therapy is a method of removing heavy metals from the bloodstream.

Its done using a type of medication called a chelator or chelating agent. This medication binds to metals in the bloodstream, collecting them into a compound that can be processed by your kidneys and released in urine.

Chelation therapy is an effective treatment for a buildup of heavy metals. But theres no evidence that heavy metals contribute to Lyme disease, and chelation therapy wont treat the underlying infection.

Little Hope Of Improvement

Theres currently no plan for getting rid of the ticks for good, and it wouldnt be an easy task either. The little parasites are quite robust and can survive a cycle in the washing machine as well as time in the freezer. If you have a tick bite, make sure your encephalitis vaccination is up-to-date.

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Early Signs And Symptoms :

• Erythema migrans rash A characteristic ring-shaped rash often termed Bulls eye
• Occurs in approximately 70% 80% of infected persons.
• Begins at the site of a tick bite after a delay of 3 to 30 days .
• Expands gradually over several days, reaching up to 12 inches or more.
• May feel warm to the touch but is rarely itchy or painful.
• May appear on any area of the body.

• Shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet

My Long Road To A Lyme Diagnosis

I could write a freakin’ book about my pre-diagnosis Lyme experience. Not to sound dramatic, but it was basically a nightmare playing out in slow motion. For your own sanity, I’ll give you the condensed version.

Personally, I don’t remember a tick bite, and like many Lyme sufferers, I never got the bull’s-eye rash or flu-like symptoms so often touted as “classic” signs of Lyme disease. Instead, my whole ordeal began with a sharp, stinging sensation in my left ankle after a day of walking in New York City, where I’d just begun my first “big girl” job. It hurt, but I didn’t think much of it, and about a week later I was told I had tendinitis that would resolve relatively quickly. But then my other ankle started to hurt, and after a few months, the pain extended to the bottoms of my feet, my knees, and even my arms. Sometimes it would feel like electric currents were running through my toes when I stood up. After a while, I began to question my tendinitis diagnosis, but after about five “second opinions” and countless tests , doctors had no real explanation for what was going on. In the words of one of my least favorite doctors, “There’s nothing else I can do for you.”

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What Vitamins Help Lyme Disease

Some people claim that immune-boosting supplements can treat Lyme disease naturally These include:

• vitamin B-1.
• Garlic.

How long can you have Lyme disease and not know it?

Symptoms. Late Lyme disease usually develops 6 to 36 months after a person first receives the causative infectious tick bite. Symptoms of late Lyme disease differ from earlier stages. In North America, joint pain and swelling are very common.

How You Get Lyme Disease

If a tick bites an animal carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the tick can become infected. The tick can then transfer the bacteria to a human by biting them.

Ticks can be found in any areas with deep or overgrown plants where they have access to animals to feed on.

They’re common in woodland and moorland areas, but can also be found in gardens or parks.

Ticks don’t jump or fly. They climb on to your clothes or skin if you brush against something they’re on. They then bite into the skin and start to feed on your blood.

Generally, you’re more likely to become infected if the tick is attached to your skin for more than 24 hours. Ticks are very small and their bites are not painful, so you may not realise you have one attached to your skin.

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Herbal And Rx Antimicrobials That Treat Persisters

This is a newer area in Lyme treatment. To help justify these various antimicrobial options, I describe the experimental basis behind my recommendations. These options are ones I am using with various degrees of success in my Seattle practice. They all have either laboratory experiments supporting their use or published human experiments.

Laboratory-Based Experiment Options

Here is a list of prescription and herbal medicine options shown in lab experiments to kill persisters that I am incorporating into my treatments of Lyme and/or Bartonella.

• Disulfiram – work slowly up to 4 to 5 mg/kg body weight 1 time a day.
• Methylene Blue 50 mg 2 times a day.
• Liposomal Oregano, Cinnamon, and Clove Oils 1 capsule 2 times a day.
• Cryptolepis 5 ml 3 times a day.
• Japanese Knotweed½ tsp 3 times a day – start at ¼ tsp 1 time a day and then increase after two weeks to ½ tsp 3 times a day.
• Cats Claw 30 drops 2 times a day.

Human-Based Experiment Options

Here is a list of prescription medications shown in human experiments to help with persister Lyme.

• Disulfiram – work slowly up to 4 to 5 mg/kg body weight 1 time a day.
• Dapsone – work up to 100 mg or 200 mg 1 time a day.

What Is The Treatment For Lyme Disease

The first-line standard of care treatment for adults with Lyme disease is doxycycline, a tetracycline antibiotic. Other antibiotics that have activity against borrelia include the penicillin-like antibiotic, amoxicillin, and the second generation cephalosporin, Ceftin. The mainstay of treatment is with oral antibiotics, but intravenous antibiotics are sometimes indicated for more difficult to treat cases of neurologic-Lyme disease, such as meningitis, and cases of late Lyme arthritis.

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History Of Lyme Disease

In the 1960s and 1970s, something was very wrong in Connecticut. In a population of 12,000 living in three contiguous towns: Old Lyme, Lyme, and East Haddam, 39 children were diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and 12 adults were diagnosed with arthritis of unknown cause.

In 1975, frustrated by the lack of answers from their medical community, two mothers became patient advocates, gathering information from residents that they passed on to the Connecticut State Department of Health and the Yale School of Medicine.

Researchers were able to identify the disease and recognize its symptoms, but it wasnt until the early 80s that the actual cause was discovered. Willy Burgdorfer, a scientist who was studying Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, discovered the tick connection along with the bacterium, a spirochete, that caused Lyme. The bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, was named after him.

For Depression And Anxiety

Both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy have proven benefits for improving mood. Psychotherapy has many different types such as supportive, dynamic, cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavior therapy, transference focused psychotherapy each of which offers benefit. Pharmacotherapy also has many different types. For depression the first-line options usually are SSRIs, SNRIs, Tricyclics or other agents with more unique modes of action.

A few noteworthy tips on anti-depressant agents:

• Most anti-depressant agents also help in reducing anxiety. However the opposite isn’t necessarily true. Specific anti-anxiety agents such as clonazepam or diazepam may not necessarily help fight depression.
• Most anti-depressants take three to eight weeks before an effect is seen. Therefore, it is unwise to stop an anti-depressant after only three or four weeks, as staying on it another two to three weeks may lead to a good response.
• Dosage makes a difference. Some anti-depressants work fine at low doses some medications however are effective only at higher doses. Some medications are more effective as the dose is increased. Other antidepressants may have a therapeutic range one has to achieve at least a certain dosage .

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Heavy Metals And Chelation

Some sites discussed heavy metal toxicity, particularly due to mercury, as copathogenic with Lyme disease . Specifically, Lyme disease was said to predispose to symptomatic mercury toxicity consequently, mercury chelation was a recommended adjunct to other treatments for Lyme disease. The interventions marketed for mercury toxicity included chemical chelators such as dimercaptosuccinic acid, 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid, alpha lipoic acid, and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid . Some herbal therapies such as garlic, cilantro, or chlorella were also said to be beneficial for heavy metal intoxication. In addition to chelation, some sources recommended the removal of all mercury-containing amalgam dental fillings and root canals as part of Lyme disease therapy . Some have suggested receiving future dental care only from biological dentists .

Bismuth and silver, in contrast to mercury, were heralded for their therapeutic rather than toxic properties. Silver is said to support the immune system as it attempts to kill off these bacterium . Silver kills lyme through oxidation first, then alkylation. Usually sold in colloidal form, silver particles are administered both orally and parenterally . Bismuth compounds were promoted for killing cyst forms of B. burgdorferi and are sometimes combined with EDTA to sequester additional substances .