Dear Stephen,
I decided to begin your core lyme protocol by waiting 3 days after beginning one herb before starting the next one, so that if I had any kind of reaction, I would know what herb I was reacting to. Within less than an hour of taking the first dose of andrographis, I felt more nervous than I have ever felt in my life. I wasn’t sure the andrographis was causing it, and took another dose several hours later. The same thing happened. I waited over a week and tried again—the same thing happened. My M.D. says the lyme is in my nervous system. Your book says andrographis can act both as an antispirochetal and a calming agent. Do you have any thoughts on what might be going on? It seems to make me the polar opposite of calm. And is my approach of beginning the herbs several days apart a good one? Thanks.



Stephen’s response:
Your decision to take the herbs one at a time to see how you respond is brilliant, a very good way to check your system.

Andrographis is the one herb in the protocol that can cause side effects that can be uncomfortable. I would suggest starting with Japanese knotweed, then cat’s claw, then eleutherococcus, and only then adding in the andrographis.

The knotweed will act to reduce the inflammation in the nervous system and that should help your nervous system deal with the andrographis. Still, it may be that you are one of the few for whom the herb does not work well, your approach will let you know this as you go on. The other herbs in the protocol will act to reduce the lyme symptoms considerably or even totally, even without the andrographis.

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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