I just recently started taking charcoal and was shocked at how well it worked for me. Then after the first week of taking it, I had to follow my LLD's protocol and begin taking CSM. The next day all of my Lyme symptoms came back, so my LLD told me to stop the CSM. Even though I stopped taking the CSM and have been off of it for weeks now, the charcoal no longer works. Can anyone out there explain what happened? I am stumped and really sad because of all the millions of things I've tried, the charcoal was the best. C.P.
Posted by Bitten in Bergen (Member # 34067) on :
Sorry I can't answer the question, but my doctor moved me from charcoal to CSM.
I started at a low dose (1/2 packet) just in case I had any issues with it.
Others say to take fish oil at the same time to prevent problems.
Posted by TX Lyme Mom (Member # 3162) on :
A third sequestrant is bentonite clay.
There is also a protocol which combines all three sequestrants into one "mold mix shake" (or whatever you want to call it). It's 2 charcoal capsules, one packet of CSM, and I'm not sure how much bentonite, taken altogether, but separate from meals or supplements by at least two hours. One patient says she takes it mid-afternoon two hours after lunch and two hours before dinner and then again in the wee hours of the night when her bladder wakes her up -- for a total dosage of twice daily.
This combo can be constipating, so take lots of magnesium. Mg citrate is usually the best form of Mg for this purpose. Also, be sure to drink lots of water with it for the same reason -- ie, to prevent constipation.
Do not continue sequestrants for longer than a six week course without a break for several weeks in between so that you do not become deficient in fatty acids or in the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K).
I don't have personal experience with this triple sequestrant combo, but I read about it in the MTHFR Yahoo forum a week or so ago. The patient who posted about it is a patient of a naturopath who studied under *** S, MD, who is the guru on biotoxins. It sounded like a winner to me, so I made a note of it -- except that I can't find my notes anymore because it got buried in a pile of other similar forum notes. And so it goes....
BTW, if you take fish oil too, then be careful to separate it from any of the sequestrants because they will simply absorb the fish oil and cause it to be unavailable for absorption out of the GI tract into your body.