posted
Hubby has been using some of the herbs in the Healing Lyme book. Currently at 6 capsules of Resveratrol (Japanese knotweed source) daily and 4 capsules of Cat's claw daily. Have to add things in 1 at a time and increase by 1 capsule daily every couple of weeks to minimize herx reactions.
Tried Andrographis for the 1st time this week. Had temporarily run out of Resveratrol and don't know if that had anything to do with bad reaction or not. Took 1 andrographis 2 days in a row. Not brave enough to try that again for awhile!!!
Hubby woke up dizzy morning after 1st pill and has not felt right since. Way too many 4 and 5 mg Ativan days -- big increase in tremors/myoclonus and "seizure-like" activity.
I somehow overlooked the fact that andrographis possibly had antimalarial properties as well as antispirochetal properties. Am pretty sure that hubby still has babesia so maybe the andrographis is working on that?
Is anyone else taking this herb? What has been your experience?
Had pretty much decided to go for IV antibiotics next, but now am wondering if need to tackle babesia again 1st.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
back in 1998-99 i took a product called andrographis panniculata, but for only two weeks
is this what your referring to? if so, while it may have done something i don't know, and couldn't tell if it did at the time.
if i had a babesial infection i probably had/have a low titer of them, so if we're talking the same herb for babs., and i had babs, the reaction to the die off from andrographis could probably be mistaken for reaction to lyme or other TBDsor their Sx
Posts: 2708 | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
The herb is andrographis paniculata -- our bottle says Planetary Formulas Full Spectrum Andrographis 400 mg tablets standardized to 10% andrographolides and was ordered from http://www.vitacost.com
I can't even imagine hubby taking 3 tablets per day and working up to 3 or 4 tablets 3 or 4 times per day (9 - 16 total daily). It would either kill him or cure him in my opinion!!!
The herbs listed in the "Healing Lyme" book are very potent in my opinion for Lyme and are very well researched and documented.
Hubby also takes 9 capsules daily of sarsaparilla. Both the Resveratrol and the sarsaparilla definitely cross the blood brain barrier in my opinion and have really helped hubby. Not really sure about the Cat's claw and am a little scared to try andrographis again right now. Probably will retry in a couple of weeks if I can get him stabilized again.
He is not currently on any antibiotics, although I do plan to continue herbs whenever he resumes antibiotics.
Getting bloodwork and a repeat brain MRI done this week to try to help figure out which direction to go in.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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so its the same herb. when i took it, it was only 1-2 tablet, and compared to what you said,too low a dose even for a cocaroach, and i remember that it was only for at most a week, not 2 weeks as i said.
Months, maybe almost a year ago, I posted an abstract on androg. P. showing that it , and xango, or the plant it comes from share the same, and/or similar kinds of treatment agents. i can't fetch it now. no time. The post was on a thread discussing xango.
current problem is more likely due to cats claw because it boost certain lymhocyte numbers which in turn are implicated in immune aggression. pubmed and the patent should say what lymphocytes are activated both in number and funciton(what the lymphocytes are pumping out or causing to be pumped out by other immune sys cells; e.g.: (pro-)inflammatory, and/or non-inflamm. cytokines,interferons,etc.
sarsasparilla : Is this sarsaparilla root (or extract)? lewis an clark of l&c fame,gave their men sarsaparilla when they started to "...exhibit signs of syphilus..."(historian Ambrose in the film on Lewis and Clark). so,this suggest that if should help with lyme keets. However, i'm abivalent about it. i considered this myself,and still do , but develped reservations about its use due to the saponin(s) content. I think these may have steroidal properties of some kind,and which scared me away from Sar.root extract just for this reason.
On the other hand, the concern my be unfounded,since if l&c and co. took it, and Ambrose stated the syphilitic Sx went away when they took Sarsap. then they never would've made it to the west coast, let alone return if the sarsap. worsened anybody's syphilitic condition. On average, they consumed and/or burned 20,000 calories per day! this means great physicality and stamina.
you got me re-considering that jar of sarsap. root on the store shelffor the last few years, but passed up getting.
Posts: 2708 | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
Reaction was definitely to andrographis by itself -- hubby has been on other herbs for 1 -2 months and did not change any doses recently except for the one he ran out of.
Have no idea if andrographis was working on Lyme or babesia -- reaction was somewhat similar to reaction to rifampin which is supposed to work on bartonella -- so you can see my dilemma.
Hubby pretty much has a bad reaction to everything he takes or bad side effects and even the doctors can't tell me which infection is causing his most aggravating neurological symptoms. Sooooooooooooooo frustrating.
Anyway, in an attempt to get hubby some relief decided to go back on babesia meds -- 2 quinine and 2 clindamycin was too much so skipped a day and put him on 1 quinine and 1 clindamycin -- may be helping slightly with sweats and just generally feeling bad. Too early to tell if it is helping with tremors/myoclonus/seizure-like episodes like it did in the past.
It had been 4 months since stopping babs treatment and Bilirubin has been elevated and LDH creeping back up (2 more points would have made it high instead of normal).
10 days should give us some clue if babs treatment is helping -- at least it was that way last time. Sweats and eye pain seem to be babs symptoms for hubby as well as at least 1/2 of his neuro symptoms.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Yes extremely frustrating... gotta take this a minute t a time, never mind a day at a time.
Consider that side effects of some meds can develop weeks month(s) after stopping them. this is one timeline to keep in mind with everything else. so,coincident in time with recurrence of symptoms, the androgrph.P is taken, and the Sx and/or side effects of prior meds. are attributed to the androgr.P or any new med. taken at the time of emergence of Sx. or, a vigorous rebound of the immune. sys. after med(s) finished, perhaps augmented by the andro.p.
if hyper response by imm. sys. maybe consider a test with Vit D2 or D3,minimal dose, to diminish immun. response. vit. D3 alone without calcium or minimal calcium content plus magnesium to equal, or surpass the calcium dose-content of the vitD3+Calcium supp.
For infor. on the Vit. D3, see http://www.yahoo.com/groups/cfsprotocol i hope this link is correct. when there, go to mess. index, and type in msg. No. 1 to access list of links on vitD3 and immune syst., and vit.D3 on multiple sclerosis sites mentioning vitD3 dampening immune syst. aggression.
Excess calcium and/or a severe magnesium deficit may be promoting the seizures.
Bleweiss, in his essay,"When to Suspect Lyme," spoke of pseudoseizures due to neuritis, and not true seizures. My left leg "went off," involuntarily,rhytmically contracting and relaxing, almost like frog's leg, frog held in hand, and jaw and tongue involuntarily moved left to right. The leg thing i attributed to pseudoneuritis. I don't know about the jaw and tongue movement which occurred first, then followed by the leg "going-off."
Posts: 2708 | Registered: Feb 2005
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janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7122
posted
What's the best place to buy these herbs?
I'm ready to try them.
Thanks!
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
What is it? Andrographis is an herbal medicine used to treat symptoms of the common cold and upper respiratory tract infection. It is also used to stimulate the immune system.
Other names for Andrographis include: Andrographolide, Chuan xin lian, Hempedu bumi, Indian echinacea, Kalmegh, Kan jang, King of bitters, and Rice bitters.
Ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist if you need more information about this medicine or if any information in this leaflet concerns you.
Before Using: Tell your doctor if you...
are taking medicine or are allergic to any medicine (prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) or dietary supplement) are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medicine are breastfeeding have other health problems,
such as high blood pressure or heart or blood vessel disease Dosage: Talk with your caregiver about how much Andrographis you should take. The amount depends on the strength of the medicine and the reason you are taking Andrographis. If you are using this medicine without instructions from your caregiver,
follow the directions on the medicine bottle. Do not take more medicine or take it more often than the directions tell you to.
To store this medicine: Keep all medicine locked up and away from children. Store medicine away from heat and direct light.
Do not store your medicine in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down and not work the way it should work. Throw away medicine that is out of date or that you do not need. Never share your medicine with others.
Drug and Food Interactions: Do not take Andrographis without talking to your doctor first if you are taking:
Before taking Andrographis, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding Side Effects: Stop taking your medicine right away and talk to your doctor if you have any of the following side effects. Your medicine may be causing these symptoms which may mean you are allergic to it.
Breathing problems or tightness in your throat or chest Chest pain Skin hives, rash, or itchy or swollen skin
Other Possible Side Effects: You may have the following side effects, but this medicine may also cause other side effects. Tell your doctor if you have side effects that you think are caused by this medicine.
Stomach discomfort Loss of appetite
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