Dear Stephen,
In fighting my lyme with herbs I’m still having a hard time controlling candida. I have often wondered if my remaining lyme symptoms might be due to systemic candida rather than just lyme as the lyme symptoms (energy-related, and sometimes mental alertness) seem to wax and wane based on my diet and intake of probiotics or other anti-yeast meds. I take a LOT of probiotics, both as pills of various brands, and as fermented foods- yogurt, sauerkraut, and rejuvelac, and it’s been 4 months since I’ve stopped antibiotics. I’ve tried oral nystatin and oral diflucan at various times, and it still comes back. My experience with the candida now is similar to what I experienced while on antibiotics, although not ‘quite’ as bad now that I’m just on the core protocol. I eat a very low-sugar diet, which doesn’t seem to help, and am just starting to try to cut out grains. sugary vegetables and potentially moldy foods for a few weeks as an experiment per the Yeast Connection book. One question that’s come up on the Lyme forums is whether any of the core protocol herbs might be killing ‘friendly’ bacteria along with other bacteria. It really feels like everything I’m doing should have controlled this candidiasis by now and I’m trying to figure out what other factors could be contributing. I know one of the core protocol herbs is antifungal but other herbal antifungals don’t seem to help in my case.


Stephen’s response:
This is such a tough problem for some, especially after long term antibiotics. I am not aware of any herb that can cause this problem except for grapefruit seed extract (which is not exactly an herb). I would suggest you read my book on fasting, The Fasting Path (see bookstore), as fasting has shown some of the best results with tough to treat candida. The Yeast Connection does have, as well, many good suggestions such as the one you mention. I have also had success with a tincture combination: desert willow and chapparo amargosa – equal parts of the tinctures blended together. 1/2 tsp 3x daily for 30 days or so.
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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