Dear Stephen,
My son was diagnosed at the age one and a half with a rare autoimmune disease:
CIDP. After a year and a half of IVIG treatment and his neurologist constantly ignoring many other painful symptoms including Bell’s palsy, we finally have a positive bartonella test and are awaiting his lyme and babesia results which his new LLMD has ordered. We have him on herbs and antibiotics and many of his symptoms have improved but we are very eager to stop the IVIG treatments and cannot get any advice from any doctor if this is a good idea or not. Is there any way to know if now that he is on herbal and antibiotic treatment whether his polyneuropathy will get better without IVIG? He is still in a considerable amount of pain especially in his feet and does have weakness but it is hard to know if it is herxing or nerve damage. The IVIG did improve his strength but never took away the symptoms. Initial tests did show polyneuropathy but his symptoms were always just slightly different from his CIDP diagnoses which is what has driven us since he was diagnosed almost two years ago with CIDP to keep searching for answers. Now that we are getting the answers we are searching for recovery for our brave little fighter. Do you recommend a rife machine as well?
Stephen’s response:
Treating children in the U.S. with non-technological medicine is sometimes difficult due to the nature of the law around medical treatment for children. The state essentially believes, and the courts agree, that ALL children in the U.S. are wards of the state. The parents only have custody of them as long as they behave well. Behaving well means, in some instances, using ONLY the medical interventions believed by medical techinicians to be legitimate. This does not include herbs. Once you enter the medical realm with a child, getting out is often difficult. Some physicians are very supportive of alternatives, many are not. You need to approach altering his medical treatment carefully in order to prevent conflict with the medical technologists you are working with. If you think there is a possibility of conflict the best approach is to find another physician and tell your current neurologist you are switching physicians. You do have that right. So, find a physician that is supportive and then begin a shift into a different protocol approach.
As to your main query: I would suggest the use of
Sida acuta tincture, the dose needs to be adjusted for his weight and age. Normal beginning adult dose, assuming a weight around 160 pounds or so, would be ¼ tsp of the tincture, 3x daily. If his weight is 40 pounds I would then use 1/16 tsp 3x daily. The herb is very safe. I would highly recommend that you start a collagen support protocol to help maintain the nerve sheaths, as well as help them regenerate. Knotweed root and cat’s claw are essential to use as well. Given the nature of your problem I would highly suggest you work with my partner, Julie McIntyre, or someone as knowledgeable. Her email while she is on retreat in the Gila wilderness is
[email protected]. We have had good success with polyneuropathy using herbs and supplements. They should help a lot is used intelligently.
As to the rife machine, I am not up on that enough to comment. Hope this helps.
Stephen
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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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Dear Steve I am going to start the buhner protocol for bartonella as soon as I’m tested next week.I woke up a year ago with paralyzed feet and went to the hospital and they said I had Guillain Barre Disorder which is an autoimmune disease. I suspect I have bartonella now and my feet are still paralyzed.What can I take to get my feet moving again? I’ve heard knotweed ,and B vitamins and 1000 different other supplements.Can you help me please? I don’t know what to take? Also what are the above all first supplements to buy for bartonella?
Hi Bill,
The basic Bartonella protocol is listed right on our homepage. The full protocol is found in Stephen’s book on the subject. Best, Julie
Thanks Julie should I buy the core protocol or the tonic protocol and add to it or should I just do the bartonella protocol?