I keep reading everywhere in books and internet about people who swear Teasel Root healed them. Obviously, if that were true everyone here would be taking it and talking about it.
Does anyone have any feedback from experience with Teasel Root for co infections? And Best brand to find on line?
Thanks!
Beagle
Posted by Beagle (Member # 29698) on :
P.S............I have Buhners book but of course now that I need it can't find it or remember where I put it...I'm sure the answer is there. (sorry)
Posted by lymie_in_md (Member # 14197) on :
Google "Lady Barbara" and teasel, she takes great care in her herbalism products.
Teasel won't cure everyone, but I believe it helps. And it helps more then just lymies IMO.
I make my own now, it costs me about 20 dollars to make 24ozs. Along with other herbals....
Posted by momlyme (Member # 27775) on :
Teasel made my son herx like crazy... so I am holding off on it. It was too much for him to take along with treating bartonella, HPU and parasites. We will definitely come back to it.
My son and my dog have VERY similar symptoms...
My dog is doing very well on a mixture of teasel root, cats claw and one 30x ledum per day.
Posted by chiquita incognita (Member # 30381) on :
Teasel contains an alkaloid called berberine, present also in goldenseal. This is what turns these herbs yellow and is also what gives them their anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties. Not all yellow herbs have this alkaloid, but in the case of teasel that is the case.
Teasel needs to be harvested at certain times of year to have the highest alkaloid content. *IF* I remember correctly, this is best done in the fall. So in other words (Regardless of what time of year, I may be wrong about the fall fyi though I seem to think this is right): Get the herb from a high quality source.
What company are you getting your herb from?
I am not well read about my lyme herbs and can't answer more specifically about it in lyme and co. Does it have anti-bacterial properties? Yes.
It also aids digestion and the liver.
Best, CI
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Drugs and herbs may interact, talk with your doctor.
Posted by Beagle (Member # 29698) on :
Chiquita, actually that was part of my question, where to get the best quality on line?
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
I get mine from www.woodlandessence.com I trust the source and get as many products from them as needed.
Posted by chiquita incognita (Member # 30381) on :
Hi BEagle I don't know of any company that sells it singly by itself.
But it could be that these companies do and I just don't know about it. You could also contact the companies to inquire. These are all companies with very high quality herbs, checked for heavy metal content et al:
GAIA herbs Paradise Herbs (mostly Ayurvedic, but you never know) New Chapter ORganics HerbPharm Weleda Hauschka
Even if they don't sell it singly they may be able to guide you.
Oh and now it occurs to me...Star West Botanicals near Sacramento, CA sells single herbs in bulk of good quality, checked for heavy metals et al too.
Best, CI
Posted by Beagle (Member # 29698) on :
Thanks for all of your help.
Posted by chiquita incognita (Member # 30381) on :
Here is a pubmed study which doesn't go into detail, but does mention "lime disease" (misspelled! Oh well). It lists the active herbal constituents of teasel (dispacus), and doing a search about this could yield results.
Easier yet would be to read Buhner, but you probably have already done that.
Also to correct an earlier statement I made, the herb benefits the liver, kidneys, bones and tendons more so than the digestive tract. Sorry about that. I made an assumption because the berberine can in fact be soothing to the digestive lining fyi, if taken in moderate amounts. It's also anti-microbial and anti-bacterial, as said.
There also is mention of its benefits in candida here www.healthy.net enter teasel into the search box, see dipsacus (teasel)
Best wishes, CI
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Drugs and herbs may interact, talk with your doctor.
Posted by DKat (Member # 30941) on :
On my last appointment my LLMD told me to try teasel. He said he was having very good reports from some of his patients that were using it.
He told me where to get it locally or to try http://www.hisgoodherbs.com/ I did order it online. Each time I took it I would seem to herx (all symptoms & pain exaggerated). As doctor advised, I'd back off and kept trying. By 2nd week I was able to take 1 drop 3xday and now 2 drops 3xday.
(I'm no expert~got tic bite in '97 & was finally diagnosed 09/2010. Just trying to learn & heal)
Posted by raw vegan runner (Member # 30432) on :
I know HerbPharm does NOT have it...I typically use their herbs and they don'tdo Teasel. I order mine from Lady Barbara Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Chiquita -- didn't know that teasel contained berberine.
The history of teasel as used for lyme goes back to the herbalist Matthew Woods. He first wrote about it in one of his herb books -- sorry but I forget the name of the book. Anyway the doses he used were really homeopathic doses -- only 3 drops 3 times a day I think.
The brand name that was originally marketed when the herb became popular for lyme treatment is still on the market I think -- google Spironil.
According to the herbalist at dancingviolets -- teasel only works for about 2% of lyme patients -- primarily those who live in Wisconsin or Minnesota I think -- the geographic area where Matthew Woods practices.
The research I have been doing on babesia does show that berberine may be effective against babesia -- but that would be in very high doses. Hubby is actually taking a concentrated berberine sulphate product in his current protocol and didn't seem to herx when I added in that supplement. But he has taken massive amounts of oregon grape root tincture (which also has bereberine) in the past as his primary defense against candida.
He did try teasel once -- tried the lower doses and didn't do anything. So the 2nd bottle I gave him 1 dropper 2 times per day -- still didn't do anything.
Here is another herbal protocol that uses large doses of teasel. From the description of the protocol I got the idea that the herb may work better for those with arthritic lyme.
And finally the newest natural lyme treatment book is based around the use of teasel. The anthropologist who wrote the book contracted lyme in Gernmany I think where he lived and makes no mention of coinfections. I am halfway thru the book and get the impression that he only had lyme -- plus he started treatment with herbs almost immediately after finding the bullseye rash.
The book is called "Healing Lyme Disease Naturally". I had a 40% off coupon and ordered it from Borders.
I 2nd the recommendcation for Woodland Essence -- they are just about the only place that sells cryptolepis and the herbalist with that company treats lyme patients.
Bea Seibert
Posted by chiquita incognita (Member # 30381) on :
Hi Bea Such great information! WEll as usual, you are *so* researched! Impressive, impressive...
There is also a product I use for berberines called Candi-Bactin BR by Metagenics. This is sourced partially from coptis chinensis, a Chinese berberine-containing herb that is very nerve-calming and has many sedative actions.
I think that's really good for lyme patients. Plus it also has Chinese Scullcap which is really good for nerve calming too.
I'm thinking of the lyme symptoms with nerve agitation, electrical sensations, stabbing pains et al.
Coptis is supposed to not be for long-term use because it is so strongly "Cooling" but I think in the lyme context, with nerve inflammations, it would probably be indicated for long-term and would not be excessively "cooling" for most of us. So long as we tolerate it, that is.
Interesting that so few people respond to teasel. If that is true, why is it recommended? Do you have sources for this? I'd like to see it.
As for teasel benefiting the joints, yes. I am assuming because this particular herb is working with both the liver and the kidneys (facilitating the excretion of uric acid, I am making an assumption there, and that's sometimes not a smart thing to do! But I do know that nettles does facilitate uric acid excretion while supporting the kidneys, hence this assumption) then that would explain why---yes----the herb benefits the joints and lower back et al.
There's a pubmed study about mice with eroded sciatic discs and resulting muscle atrophy, who benefited from teasel and gained back some muscle strength. It works on the tendons and joints et al, and apparently also has an affinity for the lower body (knees, sciatica, etc)
I think everybody responds to different things so what benefits one person may not be right for the next. Sounds like the berberines were not the right product for your hubby. But of course, they do work very well for other people.
Thanks for this fun and interesting conversation! You are so knowledgeable Bea, it's quite impressive! What a partner and never-ending support your husband has in you, he is a lucky man!
Best wishes, CI
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Drugs and herbs may interact, talk with your doctor.
[ 03-26-2011, 01:13 AM: Message edited by: chiquita incognita ]
Posted by chiquita incognita (Member # 30381) on :
PS I would be very interested to hear about the results in your hubby's case from the "massive amounts" of oregon grape root.
Yes it is another berberine herb and it is a great liver "refrigerant". Very, very cooling to an agitated or "hot" liver, in Traditional Chinese Medicine terms.
Again that is why it is supposed to be for short-term and not long-term, and that is why I am all the more interested in how it worked for your hubby in large doses over the long haul.
I think the "rule" (of thumb) about longterm and short-term use with certain herbs, really has to do with the context in which it is used. In a healthy, balanced person with no medical issues per se, to use it short-term makes sense. DOn't over-sedate that liver. In others whose livers are chronically over-worked, as it would be in lyme, or where there is liver "fire", it makes sense to use it for the long-term.
Do you mind sharing with us (if this is not invading any privacy, that is fully respected, please).... Dosage? Length of time? Digestive benefits? Nerve benefits?
In Traditional CHinese Medicine the liver and nervous system are inter-connected. So if the liver is stressed, then the nervous system will respond. So will the eyes, and the tendons. (Note as above that teasel works on the liver and the tendons. Interesting eh? Further, there are of course tendon connections in the joints needless to say, so that explains why teasel would help the joints too if it is working on the liver/tendon connection).
So I am wondering if the seizures you described on a different thread benefited with long-term oregon grape root use?
I would expect you would need nerve-tonic herbs and not just liver ones fyi. So I would not expect oregon grape or any other liver herb to do the whole job. But could see where they could be an assist, in a supportive role.
And of course where seizures are concerned, medications are of course necessary.
That said, an ND/researcher whose lecture I attended, said that the medium chain triglycerides (fats) in coconut oil are used for epileptic seizures.
Interesting.
I indeed have found the topical coconut oil to calm down nerve agitation et al related to the lyme. Thank god I don't suffer with that anymore, but occasionally if I revert back to electrical sensations then I truly have found the coconut oil to be very helpful in settling a great deal of the symptoms down. IE not the whole thing, but about 75% yes. Sometimes I had to apply it three times daily, but it really worked and it really did help a lot!
Best wishes, CI
The above information has not been evaluated by the FDA and does not diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Drugs and herbs may interact, talk with your doctor. No cure is being claimed above, only support. This information does not replace the need for medications and does not substitute for a doctor's advice. If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor.
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