Rather than making it a priority to kill the lyme spirochetes in any form, Stephen’s approach to managing lyme disease is as follows:

1. Support collagen structures so that damage to the body systems ceases;

2. Enhance immune function so that the body can deal with the organism itself;

3. Shut down the inflammatory pathways the spirochetes initiate, especially in the CNS;

4. Treat symptoms;

5. And only then, try and kill the spirochete.

Here is a brief look at the stripped down core approaches to treating Lyme and some of its co-infections. Stephen highly suggests buying his relevant books so that you can see the full expanded protocols. This is just a starting place; the full protocols are much more sophisticated, especially the listings for the many accompanying symptoms that often need to be addressed.

1. Japanese knotweed root (Polygonum cuspidatum)
• Powder: 1 tsp – 1 TBS of the root powder 3x daily. Start at the lower dose and work up, OR . . .
• Tincture: ¼ – 1 tsp 3-6x daily, OR . . .
• Tablets (Green Dragon Botanicals): These are normally labeled as resveratrol on the bottle. They are in fact knotweed root standardized for resveratrol content. (Note: Don’t use grape resveratrol; it won’t work very well.) Some comments on tablet dosages below:

2. Cat’s claw bark (Uncaria tomentosa)
• Powder: 1 tsp 3x daily, OR . . .
• Tincture: ¼ – ½ tsp 3x daily, OR . . .
• Tablets/capsules (Green Dragon Botanicals): 1–4 500 mg tablets/capsules 3x day.

3. Andrographis (Andrographis paniculata)
• Capsules: Begin with a small dose and work up. I would recom­mend 600 mg (1 capsule) 3x daily to begin with, for one week. Then, if there are no side effects, increase the dose to 2 capsules 3x daily. Please check the side effects on this herb: Unpleas­ant allergic reactions can occur.

4. If you have neuroborrelliosis, add: Gou-Teng (Uncaria rhynchophylla)
• Tincture: ½ – 1 tsp 3–6x daily, depending on severity of brain infection.

5. Collagen support protocols (see book) are often essential, as well.

150 lb adult: 1-4 tablets 3-4x daily
100 lb adult: 10 tablets total daily split into three doses
60 lb child: 5 tablets daily split into three doses, tincture is probably better here
30 lb child: 3 tablets daily split into three doses, but would prefer tincture for child this small

Japanese Knotweed tincture
150 lb adult: 1 teaspoon 3x daily
100 lb adult: 2/3 teaspoon 3x daily
60 lb child: 1/3 teaspoon 3x daily
30 lb child: 1/5 teaspoon 3x daily

Cat’s Claw capsule (Raintree brand)
150 lb adult: 1-4 tablets 3-4x daily
100 lb adult: 10 tablets total daily split into three doses
60 lb child: 5 tablets daily split into three doses, tincture is probably better here
30 lb child: 3 tablets daily split into three doses, but would prefer tincture for child this small

Cat’s Claw tincture
150 lb adult: 1 teaspoon 3x daily
100 lb adult: 2/3 teaspoon 3x daily
60 lb child: 1/3 teaspoon 3x daily
30 lb child: 1/5 teaspoon 3x daily

Astragalus capsule for new tick bites – not to be used in chronic lyme
150 lb adult: 1,000 mg daily
100 lb adult: 1,000 mg daily
60 lb child: 1,000 mg daily
30 lb child: 1,000 mg daily

Astragalus tincture for new tick bites – not to be used in chronic lyme
150 lb adult: 1 teaspoon 3x daily
100 lb adult: 1 teaspoon 3x daily
60 lb child: 1/2 teaspoon 3x daily
30 lb child: 1/3 teaspoon 3x daily

Note: Additional herbs can be added based on your symptoms. Read this article for more on the latest updates to the Healing Lyme protocol.

To purchase herbs, see: herb source listing

CAUTION: About one percent of people (one out of a hundred) using andrographis report allergic reactions. Primarily the reaction shows as a rather severe skin rash; essentially hives. This will resolve if you stop taking the herb, though it might take a week or so. Anti-inflammatories such as cortisone creams are not necessary; it will clear up on its own. Please pay attention to any skin reactions you might have to the herb and discontinue it if you have a reaction. If you are one of the very few that does experience a reaction, you can continue the rest of the herbs in the core protocol, simply deleting andrographis.

NOTE: Two people have reported rises in liver enzyme levels on the protocol. The cause is unknown. Andrographis, knotweed, and smilax are all herbs used historically for liver problems, all are specific for healing liver disease. That increases in liver enzymes has occurred is odd since the herbs are specific for lowering those levels; they are good liver protector herbs and have been traditionally used for liver disease for millennia. This reaction is very unusual and the only reason I can find for it is personal reactivity to one of the herbs. The best thing to do if you do experience increases in liver enzymes is to stop the protocol and then reintroduce the herbs one at a time to see which one is the problem.

NOTE: A few people have experienced loss of taste on the protocol. The herb responsible for this has not been identified but I think it is probably the knotweed as that plant does cause, sometimes, alterations in taste. It can take up to 3 months to correct itself after the herb has been discontinued.

While this is approximate, in general 75% of those who use the protocol as a core treatment regimen (along with other herbs and supplements as symptoms dictate) feel that they are cured. Another 15% experience the reduction of most, if not all, symptoms. Five percent experience some relief. Five percent experience no help.

How quickly people begin to improve depends a great deal on how sick you are, how long you have been sick, your immune health, and what kind of co-infections you have. Some people experience significant improvement within two weeks, others find it takes several months. In general, Stephen tells people that they should start to notice improvements in 14 to 60 days.

Note: You cannot take all the herbs if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Please check the individual herbs in the Healing Lyme book to see if they are contraindicated for conception, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.

A Herxheimer reaction (herx) typically refers to a reaction to the release of endotoxins when bacteria are killed during antibiotic treatment faster than the body can remove the toxins. It can result in fever, muscle pain, and overall increased symptoms. For some with lyme, this “die-off” reaction can produce symptoms more severe than the lyme itself, sometimes even life-threatening, and so care must be taken during any lyme treatment program.

The best way to manage a herx is to reduce the dosage of the herbs or other protocol you are taking until your symptoms reach a manageable level. 
Ramp up slowly, as your symptoms allow.

The primary herb for prevention is astragalus. Stephen recommends a minimum of 1,000 mg daily if you live in a lyme endemic area. This will keep the immune markers high that need to be high to prevent infection or, if you are infected, to keep the disease symptoms as minimal as possible.

For new tick bites, Stephen typically recommends taking astragalus – 3,000 mg daily for 30 days, 1,000 mg daily thereafter, indefinitely. Also: using a paste made of andrographis tincture mixed with green clay, the paste applied on the tick bite area can often prevent an active infection.

Stephen generally recommends the use of a Sida acuta, Alchornea cordifolia, and Cryptolepis sanguinolenta blend for the treatment of babesia these days: ¼-1/2 tsp 3x daily. You could as well do ¼ tsp of each of these three tinctures 3x daily. These three tinctures can be purchased from woodlandessence.com. You can also use just one of those herbs; his first choice is Sida acuta, second is Cryptolepis sanguinolenta. Stephen no longer recommends artemisinin or artemisia for babesia infections. It can work, but whatever you are treating, Sida acuta will work better, especially for babesia or bartonella.

Please see Stephen’s book Natural Treatments for Lyme Coinfections: Anaplasma, Babesia, and Ehrlichia for the most up-to-date expanded babesia protocol.

This is the basic protocol – please refer to Stephen’s book Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Complementary and Holistic Treatments for Bartonella and Mycoplasma for the most up-to-date expanded bartonella protocol.:

Sida acuta tincture (from Woodland Essence or julie@gaianstudies.org) ¼ tsp 3x day for 30 days

Hawthorn tincture, same

Japanese knotweed, (tincture, same dose (from same sources as Sida acuta, above), or capsules from Green Dragon Botanicals 2 capsules 3x daily)

EGCG 400mg +- daily

Houttuynia (Yu Xing Cao – 1st Chinese Herbs, powder – use “LYME” code at checkout for 10% off) 1 tbl daily

L-arginine 5000 mg daily in divided doses

Milk Thistle seed, standardized, 1200 mg daily
All for 30 days.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have active herpes, chicken pox, or shingles DO NOT USE L-arginine.

Please see Stephen’s book Natural Treatments for Lyme Coinfections: Anaplasma, Babesia, and Ehrlichia for the most up-to-date expanded ehrlichia protocol.

Please refer to Stephen’s book Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Complementary and Holistic Treatments for Bartonella and Mycoplasma for the most up-to-date mycoplasma pneumonaie protocol.

Stephen suggests reading his book The Fasting Path, as fasting has shown some of the best results with tough to treat candida. He has 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. You can get these from Bear Creek Herbs (505-388-5035) in Silver City, NM.

The assistance of a qualified health care provider familiar with all dosage outlines, contraindications, and herb/drug interactions outlined in Healing Lyme, and familiar with your personal health history and current symptoms is strongly suggested. Nothing in this column is intended to replace the expertise and care of a qualified health care