Dear Stephen,
Back in 2002, I started having trouble with word finding, memory, mood swings, repeated sinus and UTI infections, and one day – even Bell’s palsy. I was sent to an infectious disease doctor who checked me for lyme and hepatits C. No lyme showed up, but he said I had antibodies to hep C but no virus. I was completely surprised by this and was tested on and off for the next 5 years. Never showed any virus. I went to a LLMD and they found mycoplasma and borderline ehrlichia. Those were treated. My LLMD was convinced that the hep C was a false positive. I was on antibiotics for 7 years for lyme. I have mold issues, now chemical sensitivities, and am hypothyroid. I cannot recover from exercise, have 30 food intolerances, my cortisol production is basically non-existent. My lyme shows up positive but only through Igenex. Borderline positive EBV and HHV-6. I am currently getting tested for the XMRV viruses at Whitmore Peterson. I am on Dr Shoemaker’s protocol and a lot of vitamins. I have heard about your hep C formula without the hep C herbs and possibly no astragalus. Not sure if that fits me or not. Can you recommend herbs for me that will help me with my conditions? Thanks so much.
Back in 2002, I started having trouble with word finding, memory, mood swings, repeated sinus and UTI infections, and one day – even Bell’s palsy. I was sent to an infectious disease doctor who checked me for lyme and hepatits C. No lyme showed up, but he said I had antibodies to hep C but no virus. I was completely surprised by this and was tested on and off for the next 5 years. Never showed any virus. I went to a LLMD and they found mycoplasma and borderline ehrlichia. Those were treated. My LLMD was convinced that the hep C was a false positive. I was on antibiotics for 7 years for lyme. I have mold issues, now chemical sensitivities, and am hypothyroid. I cannot recover from exercise, have 30 food intolerances, my cortisol production is basically non-existent. My lyme shows up positive but only through Igenex. Borderline positive EBV and HHV-6. I am currently getting tested for the XMRV viruses at Whitmore Peterson. I am on Dr Shoemaker’s protocol and a lot of vitamins. I have heard about your hep C formula without the hep C herbs and possibly no astragalus. Not sure if that fits me or not. Can you recommend herbs for me that will help me with my conditions? Thanks so much.
Stephen’s response:
These kinds of conditions are very difficult to treat and often take a long time. But they can be treated; you can get better. It just takes a lot of focus and persistence. There is probably a limit as to how much I can do for you in this kind of forum. Often this kind of condition needs regular work with a good holistic practitioner who can alter the regimen regularly until just the right mix is found. Much of your chemical sensitivity is probably due to the long antibiotic use. It will take a while to correct. However, here is how I would begin:
These kinds of conditions are very difficult to treat and often take a long time. But they can be treated; you can get better. It just takes a lot of focus and persistence. There is probably a limit as to how much I can do for you in this kind of forum. Often this kind of condition needs regular work with a good holistic practitioner who can alter the regimen regularly until just the right mix is found. Much of your chemical sensitivity is probably due to the long antibiotic use. It will take a while to correct. However, here is how I would begin:
1) Get my book on fasting and go on the cleansing diet for three months minimum. This will help your system begin to detox and regenerate itself.
2) Regularly juice the following and drink each morning: 1 medium beet, 2 carrots, 4 stalks of celery. This will help your adrenals and your energy levels.
3) Buy one pound each (POWDERED) milk thistle seed, ashwaganda, astragalus, Siberian ginseng (eleutherococcus), spirulina, chlorella, licorice root. Take FOUR ounces of each herb EXCEPT licorice – TAKE TWO OUNCES LICORICE – and mix all together well. KEEP THE REST IN PLASTIC BAGS INSIDE A CLOSED PLASTIC BIN FOR USE LATER. Take ¼ each of the mixed herbs, blended in juice every evening before bed. The amount of herbs you have bought will last you at least a year. Take the herbs until all are gone (you will have some licorice left, you don’t need to take this).
4) Buy the muscle toner blend from Woodland Essence and take 30 drops 3x a day for 3 months.
2) Regularly juice the following and drink each morning: 1 medium beet, 2 carrots, 4 stalks of celery. This will help your adrenals and your energy levels.
3) Buy one pound each (POWDERED) milk thistle seed, ashwaganda, astragalus, Siberian ginseng (eleutherococcus), spirulina, chlorella, licorice root. Take FOUR ounces of each herb EXCEPT licorice – TAKE TWO OUNCES LICORICE – and mix all together well. KEEP THE REST IN PLASTIC BAGS INSIDE A CLOSED PLASTIC BIN FOR USE LATER. Take ¼ each of the mixed herbs, blended in juice every evening before bed. The amount of herbs you have bought will last you at least a year. Take the herbs until all are gone (you will have some licorice left, you don’t need to take this).
4) Buy the muscle toner blend from Woodland Essence and take 30 drops 3x a day for 3 months.
After 3 months, please email me direct and let me know how things are.
Stephen
Dear Stephen and patient with the false positive Hep C,
I suspect that you may be infected with a different virus from the Flaviviridae family, instead of Hep C, and that this is the cause of your false positive. Other viruses in this family are West Nile Virus (which CAN cause long term problems, according to research in medical journals), St. Louis Encephalitis virus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, and many others.
I was told that I had a false positive to Hep C back in 1991 when the Red Cross first started screening blood donations for it. I was told that my blood donation tested repeatedly positive for the Hep C antibody, but was then negative on their supplemental test. They said this meant that I was actually negative and the first test was a false positive so I had nothing to worry about, but because the 2nd test was not yet FDA cleared they still had to deny me as a donor. I have been terribly sick for years, so on a few occasions I asked to be tested again in a desperate attempt to find answers and it has always been negative ever since. Finally, in 2013, I was tested for Lyme and co-infections and tested positive for those things, so I now have an answer for 30 years of illness. However, during this time, I was also researching possible causes for my false positive Hep C so many years ago and I assumed it must be a cross reaction to a related virus, so after some research, I asked to be tested for West Nile Virus and St. Louis Encephalitis virus and guess what? I was positive on both. So, it seems fairly clear that those viruses are probably the cause of my false positive Hep C and I wonder if it may be the same for you.
I think it is helpful to know, because it is easier to attempt to treat when you know what you are dealing with and most importantly viruses like West Nile can linger and cause problems down the road for immune-compromised patients like us with Lyme & co-infections.
I was just about to start licorice myself for a variety of reasons (to fight viruses, help with low blood pressure, etc.), so I was happy to see your recommendation for licorice Stephen. It’s nice to know that you endorse it as well. I had look for it in your book “Healing Lyme” and did not see it there, so was not sure about your thoughts on it.
Thank you Stephen for all of your work! Your book is sitting right in front of me on my desk! :) And to the patient above, I wish you health and healing. I completely understand the battle!
Angela