Dear Stephen,
First I just want to thank you for all you do! I have been using your core protocol for about a month. I am at nearly the maximum dose levels, and am also taking andrographis, stephania, red root, vinpocetine, chlorella, turmeric and sarsaparilla. I am also drinking about 32 ounces of fresh squeezed juice daily (carrot, apple, celery, cucumber, parsley, kale/spinach/dandelion, ginger, lemon). My question has to do with treating low testosterone concurrently with the lyme. My testosterone recently tested VERY low, and I started taking herbs last week from Woodland Essence (muscle tone formula and pine pollen alone) – herbs you suggested in your Raising Testosterone book. Is it acceptable to take the testosterone herbs with the lyme herbs? Also, I was experimenting with niacin just before I started the Core Protocol. The direction here (as I read) is to use actual niacin (not the no flush variety), building to about 3000mg/day in divided doses. The couple of times I did this, I had very major herxes, and was beginning to believe it was effective. What are your feelings about niacin and would it be contraindicated if I am doing the core protocol and the testosterone raising herbs? Some of these are powerful, and I don’t want to overdo anything. Thanks again.
Stephen’s response:
Yes, you can take the testosterone herbs as well. If your testosterone is very low, I would recommend you take pine pollen as a single extract rather than in a mix. Niacin is not contraindicated but I usually suggest a lowish dose in the beginning to minimize side effects. (Thanks for your kind comments.)
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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1 Comment

  1. Heather Solimine

    Hi Stephen, Long time fan and budding herbalist here. Is Pine pollen the same as Italian pine bark? I have a FUT2 genetic variant which manufacturers oligosaccarides and polysaccharides and Italian pine bark has been recommended. I already take Woodland Essence Pine pollen in a low dose for women.

    Thank you kindly for all that you do for the chronic disease community.

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