Dear Stephen,
My question is about Chinese herbs: forsythia, isatis, gardenia, coptis, phellodendron, houttunya, lonicerae. Would you recommend any or all of these herbs, for someone who has followed your protocol for about 12 months and still has light symptoms coming back after stopping the herbs? I’m on month 8-9 of your protocol and I’m practically symptom free except for a cold feeling (for a few hours/day), but if I stop the herbs, arthritis comes back rather fast (and probably all other symptoms will come again, as my disease started with arthritic pain).



Stephen’s response:
The herbs in the Core Protocol will relieve arthritic symptoms, so it just may be arthritis though I can understand your concern if the lyme began that way. In general, if you are feeling so much better on the protocol, I would recommend two approaches to take at this point, given your query.

One: See if you can reduce the protocol down to one tablet 3x daily each of cat’s claw and knotweed without return of arthritis symptoms. And then just keep doing them as a regular part of your regimen if that works.

Two: Begin the regular intake of immune tonics such as astragalus, Siberian ginseng (a 1:5 tincture; not the Herb Pharm), Isatis, ashwaghanda perhaps.

The herbs you mention are fine and no reason not to take them, however I am not up on them in detail at this point and would, if trying to decide on a course of action, look into your particular situation in a lot more detail, including your age, before deciding.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and you may just have arthritis.

Stephen

Author

  • Stephen Harrod Buhner

    Stephen Harrod Buhner was an Earth poet and an award-winning author of twenty-four books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine including the acclaimed book Healing Lyme: Natural Healing & Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis & Its Co-infections.

    Stephen came from a long line of healers including Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States under Eisenhower and Kennedy, and Elizabeth Lusterheide, a midwife and herbalist who worked in rural Indiana in the early nineteenth century. The greatest influence on his work, however, was his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.

    Stephen’s work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman’s Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectured yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.

    He was a tireless advocate for the reincorporation of the exploratory artist, independent scholar, amateur naturalist, and citizen scientist in American society – especially as a counterweight to the influence of corporate science and technology.

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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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