3/30 UPDATE -- Spoke to Woodland Essence today. Cryptolepis will not be available until the end of April -- not the first of April as originally reported.
Did order a small amount of the herb from Bear Creek Herbs during the last month, but it took over 2 weeks to get my order and they are also experiencing a shortage.
Haven't found anything yet that seems to work as well as the cryptolepis for hubby. -------------------------------------------------
Tried to reorder Cryptolepis from Woodland Essence yesterday. They are waiting for an order from Africa -- they have very little on hand and more will not be available until early April.
Hubby had just gotten up to 15 droppers 3 times daily -- going to back off to 5 droppers 3 times daily to stretch it out.
Had been thinking about switching his herbs and I guess this is the time.
Going to substitute SeaGate brand olive leaf for the Cryptolepis.
Also reordered HH from Zhang -- think he felt better on that.
Red blood count, hemoglobin and hematocrit have all been improving during the last month but are still low. Not sure if it was the lactoferrin, the lysine, the Cryptolepis, the HH, the Spiro Kete or something else that helped. Bilirubin has been normal also. So it looks like something has stopped the hemolysis of red blood cells for now.
Bea Seibert
[ 03-30-2009, 03:05 PM: Message edited by: seibertneurolyme ]
Posted by oxygenbabe (Member # 5831) on :
That's good news Bea. Isn't there another source of crytopleptis? I have a bottle here, haven't tried it. Look at my post on TF. Maybe your hubby should try it.
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Bea,
Thanks for posting on this. I am glad to hear that your husband is improving.
I have tried Cryptolepsis too, and would like to ask you a question on this: what does yours look like??
The bottle of Cryptolepsis that I purchased looks, tastes and smells just like Goldenseal to me! So much so, that I have been wondering if the company made a mistake in labeling the tincture. I have never purchased Cryptolepsis before, so I have no way of knowing!
I have used goldenseal tincture over the years before and after I was diagnosed for lyme, occasionally as needed, so I am very familiar with it.
I did not think that Cryptolepsis has berberine in it like goldenseal, and so I am skeptical of this purchase. Any feedback from you is most appreciated! Thanks.
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Just called Bear Creek Herbs -- they do have cryptolepis in stock but their price is a little higher at $9 per ounce. Phone number has changed -- 575-388-5035. I had an old area code. Woodland Essence was selling their 8 ounce bottles for $74 but gave us an extra 10% discount for ordering multiple bottles.
Cryptolepis tincture is yellow. I think I remember reading somewhere that the Chinese have a formula called the 3 yellows which includes goldenseal and a couple of other herbs. I think there is an old herbal theory called something like the signature of herbs. If I remember correctly yellow herbs are useful for infections.
Hubby says the cryptolepis kind of draws up his stomach -- I think it might have a high tannic acid content. He puts the tincture in half a cup of hot water to let the alcohol evaporate.
Actually Woodland Essence had another herbal combination they suggested to replace the cryptolepis -- we didn't think this would work as well for hubby though. It was a combo of the 2 herbs artemesia annua (sweet annie) and oregon grape root. Hubby has taken lots of oregon grape root in the past -- it has berberine in it and can be used as a substitute for goldenseal.
Bea Seibert
Edited to correct phone number.
[ 03-05-2009, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: seibertneurolyme ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Bea,
I tried 3 times and I can't get that number to go through.
Might that be: 575- 388-5035 ?
If so, it's eternally busy.
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Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Keebler,
Sorry -- you have the right number -- will edit my post. It is a health food store so it is difficult to get through most of the time -- one of the reasons we switched. Also Bear Creek Herbs generally only mails shipments once per week -- on Thursdays.
Bea Seibert
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Vermont Lymie,
You are correct -- Cryptolepis does not have berberine. Here is a link listing some of the alkaloids.
Hubby always says all his herbs taste bitter and they taste like bark or roots -- I know that is not much help. Think he has only ever taken goldenseal in capsules and not as a tincture.
Bea Seibert
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
HOLY COW, I've been trying to figure out what that flavor is. It totally tastes like goldenseal. It's more than just the bitterness. It's also the same color as goldenseal and oregon grape root. I know that there are other things in goldenseal that are not just berberine, perhaps the same constituent is the really bad-tasting one in both.
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
By the way, I think it's made an enormous difference in my treatment, I was very much plateaued and had very annoying cognitive issues that would not go away 4+ months into treatment, and it improved drastically upon adding cryptolepsis.
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
Bea, Did Woodland Essence mail you a copy of the cryptolepsis page from Herbal Antibiotics? I have it but don't have it with me on the trip I'm on right now. IT listed a few possible alternatives to cryptolepsis at the end of the page.
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :