Dear Stephen,
I take andrographis, resveratrol, cat’s claw, eleuthero, and smilax. I get the powdered herbs from 1st Chinese Herbs, and encapsulate them in the 00 size capsules. I am female and weigh 108. I’m not really sure how many capsules to take for the protocol. I also take artemisinin 3 days/every 2 weeks, sometimes 900 mg/day, sometimes 1200 mg/day. Have been doing this since February. For the past month I’ve been having burning stomach pains and am wondering if it could be the artemisinin. Nexium alleviates the symptom but it comes back when I stop taking it. I am usually pretty good at staying on the regimen but once every month or two I take a break for a couple of days. I have had a few bad relapses due to this, and am concerned that the herbs only work while they are being taken. Or perhaps I need to be more vigilant about taking them for a longer period of time? I’ve also been having vaginal dryness and am wondering if it could be caused by the andrographis. I have already been tested for the typical causes. Thank you!



Stephen’s response:
Take the same number of capsules as in the book, though due to your weight you could stop at 3 capsules 4x daily quite easily.

Artemisinin should not really be taken for extended periods. If one or two courses of it do not work, then it will not work. I am becoming more fond of cryptolepsis for babesia as I have been hearing from a number of people that artemisinin is only partially effective for the condition. Cryptolepsis is available from Woodland Essence in NY. The dose for the tincture is 1 tsp 3x daily for 10 days. Repeat once if necessary.

Regarding staying on the protocol, my opinion is that the herbs need to be taken continually for a year along the dosage lines I mention in the book, though it appears that a number of people do fine without going up to the final high dose range, which in any event should only last for two months.

Several people have mentioned that some slight symptoms seem to recur after a year when they discontinue the protocol and have found that remaining on a minimum dose keeps all symptoms at bay, basically 1 cat’s claw and 1 resveratrol 3x daily. This seems a small price to pay to stay well and these herbs are exceptionally good for overall health anyway. However, stopping the protocol every so often is really not a good idea as the spirochetes get a break and the body does not.

I am not aware of any connection between vaginal dryness and andrographis.

Stephen

This protocol was incredible. After only a few weeks most of my symptoms were gone. After six months all my symptoms were gone… it has given me my life back.

– Amazon review by Joseph

Please note:

Stephen Buhner is no longer living and this Q + A column on Planet Thrive is closed to new questions. It will be kept on our website so readers can access vital information in the archives, communicate with each other in the comments section, and find herbs, books + lyme adjuncts in our directory. If you want to read more of Stephen’s writings, please see his website at: stephenharrodbuhner.com.



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