I believe I am suffering from chronic neurological lyme and wanted to start on cat’s claw and knotweed. I am on 20mg low dose hydrocortisone steroid for my overactive immune system and have read that cat’s claw interacts with this drug. Is this true? Really want to try your herbs out ASAP. Kind regards.
I have not heard of that before; I don’t see it in any of my books on contraindications for that herb.
Author
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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.
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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.
Actually, Cat’s Claw could possibly increase the blood levels of hydrocortisone in the body because hydrocortisone is metabolized by the CYP450 3A4 isoenzyme. The mechanism is decreased clearance of hydrocortisone due to inhibition of CYP450 3A4 activity by Cat’s Claw.
This conversation is dated. Is there another place to obtain more current information about herbal interactions and herb to drug interactions.
Mr. Buhner has retired. I think they have posted where you can hire another herbalist to help you. There are also Facebook groups.