Is a shorter course of artemisinin enough?

by | Jul 9, 2008 | anxiety, artemisinin, babesia, Co-Infections, Columns, cryptolepis, Healing Lyme, Herb Reactions, Herbs | 0 comments

Dear Stephen,
I had a positive test for babesia last year as well as a positive lyme test (bitten in June 2006). I had 3 months of atovaquone and azithromycin for the babesia last year, but felt it was coming back after Christmas this year. I ordered your book and thought I would give artemisinin a try instead of going back on the other medications. I immediately noticed a strong effect – I was sleeping less and less achy as a general rule. However I also had what I think was a massive herx – lots of increased babesia symptoms (night sweats, flu like aches, feeling hot and cold). These symptoms came and went quickly. I was feeling positive about the artemisinin but I also have had some very nasty psychological symptoms. Occasionally I would feel very anxious and sometimes low as well. I managed to cope with this as I did feel that the medication was helping overall. I introduced red root only after about 2 weeks. However in the last week my anxiety and low mood got unbearable and I started to get other neuro effects such as distorted visual perception. So much so that I had to stop today as I felt like I was going crazy! I’ve done overall 24 days on 300mg and 2 days on 200mg and 2 days on 100mg. Do you think this will be enough to kill the babesia or should I think about trying the other herb you recommend (cryptolepis)? I’m not keen to try the artemisinin again as you can imagine! Thank you so much for your very helpful book – so useful for people like me! Best wishes.


Stephen’s response:
I think that artemisinin is often a pretty strong thing to take and I have heard a lot of reports of side effects and so I think that it sounds like enough for you. You did take it quite awhile and I think it may be enough. If your symptoms do return I would then try the cryptolepis but it seems clear that artemisinin is a strong supplement for you. You might also consider taking a tea of the whole herb, it should be a lot less intense.
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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