Dear Stephen,
I have read Healing Lyme and hoping that your experience and wisdom in these difficult treatments can help guide me. After much effort I have recurrent C difficile in remission. I would like to begin taking herbs but am afraid they may be broadly antibacterial and will affect the good gut flora that I have just re-established in my GI system. Can you tell me what herbs you would recommend for a C diff/lyme patient (with co-infections babesia, bartonella, ehrlichia) that won’t cause a recurrence of C difficile? Also, after failures on flagyl and vancomycin I resorted to treatment of the C diff with colonoscopic fecal implant – implanting donor fecal bacteria. This was generally successful but it takes 6 months to regrow the bacteria ad other flora wiped out by months of antibiotics. This young bacteria is now keeping the C diff in check. Would the cryptolepsis and berberine kill off the gut flora I have implanted? Thank you.
I have read Healing Lyme and hoping that your experience and wisdom in these difficult treatments can help guide me. After much effort I have recurrent C difficile in remission. I would like to begin taking herbs but am afraid they may be broadly antibacterial and will affect the good gut flora that I have just re-established in my GI system. Can you tell me what herbs you would recommend for a C diff/lyme patient (with co-infections babesia, bartonella, ehrlichia) that won’t cause a recurrence of C difficile? Also, after failures on flagyl and vancomycin I resorted to treatment of the C diff with colonoscopic fecal implant – implanting donor fecal bacteria. This was generally successful but it takes 6 months to regrow the bacteria ad other flora wiped out by months of antibiotics. This young bacteria is now keeping the C diff in check. Would the cryptolepsis and berberine kill off the gut flora I have implanted? Thank you.
Stephen’s response:
Very few herbs have a negative effect on gut flora the way antibacterials do. You can take any of the lyme herbs; they won’t disturb the gut flora. Some of them do upset the GI tract but that has little if anything to do with upsetting gut flora. If you wish to treat the clostridium herbally, here is what to do: Formula one: cryptolepis/berberine plant tincture, equal parts, 1 tsp to 1 tbl, 3-6x daily for 14 to 30 days depending on severity. (A berberine plant is any plant that contains berberine: goldenseal, Oregon grape, barberry, coptis, and so on. Any will do.) Formula two: isatis/lomatium/licorice tincture, equal parts, 1 tsp 6x daily. Formula 3: blackberry root/marshmallow root, strong infusion, to 6 cups daily. If your GI tract is still sensitive, slippery elm/marshmallow infusion will help a lot as will fresh plantain leaf/cabbage juice (one time daily on the latter). I would recommend you add Sida acuta tincture for the bartonella/babesia infection (you can get it from woodlandessence.com or julie@gaianstudies.org). I do know about the fecal transplants. They are becoming quite common now. The herbs won’t hurt the new fecal bacteria. The only thing to avoid would be grapefruit seed extract.
Very few herbs have a negative effect on gut flora the way antibacterials do. You can take any of the lyme herbs; they won’t disturb the gut flora. Some of them do upset the GI tract but that has little if anything to do with upsetting gut flora. If you wish to treat the clostridium herbally, here is what to do: Formula one: cryptolepis/berberine plant tincture, equal parts, 1 tsp to 1 tbl, 3-6x daily for 14 to 30 days depending on severity. (A berberine plant is any plant that contains berberine: goldenseal, Oregon grape, barberry, coptis, and so on. Any will do.) Formula two: isatis/lomatium/licorice tincture, equal parts, 1 tsp 6x daily. Formula 3: blackberry root/marshmallow root, strong infusion, to 6 cups daily. If your GI tract is still sensitive, slippery elm/marshmallow infusion will help a lot as will fresh plantain leaf/cabbage juice (one time daily on the latter). I would recommend you add Sida acuta tincture for the bartonella/babesia infection (you can get it from woodlandessence.com or julie@gaianstudies.org). I do know about the fecal transplants. They are becoming quite common now. The herbs won’t hurt the new fecal bacteria. The only thing to avoid would be grapefruit seed extract.
Stephen
Dear Stephen Thank you for all of your help, that you do for Lyme Disease. I purchaed your book about 5 years ago. And I loved it.
I have a question about Lyme and my eyesight. About 8 years ago my Lyme doctor put me on Plaquenil for my Lyme, but shortly into that treatment, I developed blurred vision. I noticed about an hour after I took the pill my eyes would get blurry. It never returned to normal. Can this problem ever be reversed with herbs? It has made me really scared now to take any medications from my doctor.
Hi Stephen,
Could you tell me why you DO NOT recommend grapefruit seed extract for C difficile?
Thanks,
I would also like to know why grapefruit seed extract is not recommended? My son has been battling C-diff and his doctor has him taking grapefruit seed extract.
Hi Brenda,
This is what Stephen had to say about GSE products a few years ago: https://buhnerhealinglyme.com/herbs/grapefruit-seed-extract-gse-toxic-or-not/. You can find other past responses using the search feature or the drop down navigation menu on our website. Best, Julie
Hi Ruth,
Stephen had this to say about GSE a few years back: https://buhnerhealinglyme.com/herbs/grapefruit-seed-extract-gse-toxic-or-not/. You can find other past responses using the search feature or the drop down navigation menu on our website. Best, Julie
Hi. I see you have 3 Formulas. Dumb question, are all of the formulas taken on the same day or are these different choices of formulas?
Thank you!!
Kindly,
Margaret
What formulas are you referring to Margaret?
The 3 formulas he recommends for Clostridia. I have the same question Thanks
Also does Culturelle work for Clostridia?
I have the same question about the formulas. Are you you to take all 3 or just one?
I know it’s a little late but maybe trying the bates method for your eyesight and just supporting your eyes nutritionally could potentially restore them …. honestly I would be taking charcoal, d.e., shilajit, zeolites and clay in rotation … I just feel it could soak up/flush out any toxins from pharma that may have caused eyesight changes and also can help take care of any pathogens still in you!
I stopped infections from ecoli and who knows what else in myself with herbs, those supplements (and more) and diet/lifestyle change …
Herbs are great but the entire foundation of your diet/life has to be supportive of your survival and not pathogens or else herbs may not be as effective….
Especially get your chi flowing daily …. if our blood is stagnant and low oxygen, just like stagnant water, I feel it’s going to be conducive to parasites and pathogens…. slow moving water/blood= More biofilm which protects the pathogens from your immune system or herbs or antibiotics… although it can be broken down!!!!!
I love killing things with herbs it’s so fun!
I am grateful for your knowledge and willingness to help others. Ihave a similar concern regarding C diff. My 17yo had achieved remission from lyme, bart, babesia and other co infections, when he unfortunately developed severe and recurrent Cdiff from a course of clindamycen prescribed for an infected wound. Since that time he has severe POTS, which has been devastating. Also has the bart rash and other signs of re-activation of Bart and/or Lyme (he was also positive for Bart with Igenex testing). My theory is the infections are the root cause of the POTS, and he needs to start over from square one (I hope not?) due to cdiff wiping his gut out. Obviously I’m fearful of abx treatment. He also has frequent stomach pains, which I’m concerned maybe gut flora imbalance and signs that he is teetering on the fringe of getting Cdiff again. Thus I’m very interested in recommendations for herbal treatments that will protect his gut flora from succumbing to cdiff again, and put Bartonella in remission and hopefully “cure” the autonomic dysfunction (POTS).
On my second round of vancomycin and still having diarrhea what to you recommend