Correct dosages for decoctions

by | Jul 5, 2010 | Columns, dosage info, Healing Lyme, The Basics, tinctures/decoctions | 0 comments

Dear Stephen,
I have been on your core protocol from the book for several weeks now with seemingly good results so far in terms of disappearance of aches and being able get great sleep for the first time in years. Thank you. I take the herbs as a decoction of all three herbs which I make the night before. My question is about appropriate dosage for a decoction. I’m assuming from your dosage recommendation for polygonum whole herb decoction that the amounts are significantly greater than for oral capsules. What I’ve done is to take 10 grams of andrographis powder (1stChinese Plum Flower Brand), 15 grams of polygonum (1stChinese whole herb powder), 15 grams cat’s claw (Raintree powder) and about liter and a half of water. I boil the cat’s claw for about 10 minutes, and separately simmer at low boil, the andrographis and Japanese knotweed at lower temperature for 10 minutes. I then mix it all together and simmer at low boil for another 10-15 minutes. I pour off the liquid and leave the sludge at the bottom of the pot. I find that the drink although bitter is quite tolerable for me to drink the next day cold. Are these dosages in line? I’ve considered backing off a little on the andrographis only because it seems to be very diuretic and leaves me feeling a little bit dehydrated at night but it’s hard to argue with the results. If it’s relevant, I’ve had a subclinical case of lyme probably going back 30 years, only recently diagnosed.


Stephen’s response:
That sounds like a good mix to me, very well thought out.
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.

    View all posts

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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