Dear Stephen,
I cannot tolerate the herxheimer reaction at this stage of lyme because it results in neuron death and more muscle wasting. But the spirochetes need to be killed at higher doses of antibiotics than I am able to use now. In your book, you suggest stephania because of its corticosteroid action. My doctor is nervous about prescribing steroids, and I am too. Will this herbal remedy really be strong enough, to add to antibiotics, and avert the herx danger? It does permanent damage at this point. The other point is that I am currently on a beta blocker, which you say is contraindicated with this herb. The blocker allows me to sleep more soundly without heart palpitations, so I am afraid to stop it. Any thoughts?
Stephen’s response:
You should not use stephania because you are on beta blockers. I would highly recommend knotweed root, dosages as per the book, and the muscle strength formula available from
woodlandessence.com which is composed of pine pollen, aralia, and American ginseng. The knotweed should potentiate the antibiotics so that a lower dose will work better. Smilax does work for some people to help with the herxing. If it does not, then try standardized milk thistle 1,200 mg every morning and evening (2,400 mg total).
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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