This is topic Uses for "artemisinin" in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.


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Posted by zeitgeist (Member # 17280) on :
 
I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease by Igenix Labs in 2008. I was told by the lab that I was already in the late stage of Lyme, at least "over a year since I was originally infected." I was also tested for "co-infections" by Igenix and found to have none of them.

Later, I was tested by "Fry Labs" and the result said "indicative of Bartonella infection."

I did not really have any treatment beyond six weeks of doxy, during the beginning several years, mainly because I had a new doctor who believed I had a false positive Igenex result.

This doctor who didn't believe I had Lyme Disease did give me IV vitamins which were basically the "Meyers Protocol."

Within the last couple of years, my G.P. became Lyme-literate and also discovered he had Lyme Disease himself!! I think he is treating all his patients with Lyme protocols because he thinks everyone has Lyme Disease.

My doctor seemed the picture of health, so I was surprised to learn that he, too had Lyme Disease.

He has had me on various herbal protocols for Lyme Disease during the last few years. So far, it does not seem like the herbal protocols have done anything positive or negative.

He knows I am afraid of antibiotics. They made me very sick and I have been suffering from candida badly for all these years.

Yesturday, I was at the G.P. appointment and told him that my insomnia is becoming a problem again.

I had insomnia shortly after I was originally diagnosed by Igenix. I only slept one hour a night for an entire month!! The G.P. put me on
"zyprexa," stating that it had an off-label use for insomnia.

I have been on the zyprexa ever since 2008. It has worked to allow me to sleep 8 hours every night.

Lately, I had my blood-sugar checked and the doctor said I was "pre-diabetic." My weight had increased from 140 to 200 pounds and I am 5 feet 4 inches.

I am sure it was the zyprexa side-effect which made me gain so much weight.

So, I wanted to get off the zyprexa and I have started to wean off of it during the last several months.

Now, although still on two-and-a-half milligrams of zyprexa, I am having trouble falling asleep, just like six years ago.

My doctor says I am killing the Lyme with my herbs, and if I am having insomnia, it is probably a "co-infection" because "babesia" is known to cause insomnia.

I have never had a positive blood test for Babesia, just "Bartonella."

He asked me if I had small raised red dots on my skin, "hemangiomas" and indeed I do have these--hundreds of them, it seems.

He said these red dots are a symptom of Babesia. The two different Lyme-Literate specialists I saw in 2008 never said anything like this--even though I showed them the worst of my red dots.

The G.P. now wants me on some herbs which never worked for the Lyme Disease for me. He said they should work for Babesia because I have "killed off so much of the Lyme."

I was reading today a book by Stephen Buhner called "Healing Lyme," and he talks about an herb for Babesia called "artemisinin."

Supposedly, according to Buhner, artemisinin is also good at fighting "fungus" (candida) and also it is good for fighting cancer, as it causes apoptosis in tumors.

I have a tumor--it is a fibroid tumor in my uterus. It is big, but doesn't really cause any symptoms, but it makes my stomach distended. I also suffer from candida.

Has anyone out there had success treating tumors or candida or Babesia or anything else with the herb "artemisinin?"

Does the herb cause side-effects? Where is a good place to buy the herb and how much of it do people take?

Thanks so much for helping me out. I look forward to your responses.

Sincerely, Zeitgeist
 
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
 
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Artemisinin - never, ever use alone.

It is very valuable, however, never to be used alone as it can cause babesia to develop a dangerous resistance. It MUST be paired with another Rx or top quality herbal supplement that is very specifically anti-babesia.

Having a "bad reaction" to antibiotics could be a herxheimer reaction and you may not have had the required liver & kidney support on hand to manage that.

As for candida as a result of that six weeks of doxycycline (all that was done for lyme, and that's rarely enough) . . . well, not sure if you had probiotics enough all through that or not but that usually helps offset candida.

Olive leaf extract can also be excellent for off-setting candida when on antibiotics. Seagate brand is the only one I recommend. It far exceeds all others.

Back to the previous bits & pieces of treatment.

Please do not shy away from antibiotics. There are ways to not only to potentiate their effectiveness in the required combinations / rotations but also to help offset both herx and candida.

A rife machine is also an option.

Buhner's book is a start but do notice that he would never suggest artemisinin alone. Be sure to get his follow up book to that regarding treating coinfections.

As for tests for coinfections, they often cannot diagnose. A good, experienced lyme / TBD MD or ND is usually far better with a clinical diagnosis based upon your history / symptoms / presentations.

Nearly everyone with lyme also has various coinfections.

Sounds like the doctor who has taken initiative to become Lyme Literate is good to have on your team.

As for the doctor who said you had a false positive lyme test -- not good to have on your team. He's wrong. There are no false positive lyme tests. But there are false negatives. When a test "sees" lyme, it's there or the test would not "see" it.

A positive - or even positive bands on a Western Blot really do show you something. How most tests miss it:

http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/lymeseroneg.html

27 Reasons for False Negative (Seronegative) Test Results in Lyme Disease
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[ 11-14-2014, 02:11 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
 
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
 
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You will find good detail on Artemisinin in the Zhang protocol in the set below. See what I've done in setting up research links for Allicin / Garlic. You can do the same thing with Artemisinin at the same links such as PubMed.

Zhang's book and website are essential to include in your study materials. Hepapro is the best brand, in IMO and in my experience. I tried other brands of both Allicin and Artemisinin and none came as close to the quality of Hepapro.

http://flash.lymenet.org/scripts/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/1/119197?#000000

Topic: Garlic / Allicin
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Posted by droid1226 (Member # 34930) on :
 
Sorry to hear but there is good news for you because there is a lot of crossover action with both illnesses and the protocols.

Artemisinin is a powerful pill. If you can handle it, I'd take it to tolerance. It definitely works but is normally coupled with an antibiotic like biaxin I think.

Idk. But it definitely has action on Babesia and lyme. There is also a protocol for it on cancer. Diet will be huge for you. What you put in your mouth, in my opinion, will be the number one factor. Exercising anaerobically with weights is a must as well.

Candida diet to get rid or lessen the belly distention is key. But also to assist any treatment, you must follow a diet that reduces symptoms for you. Normally it'll be a low GI, low carb, sugar, etc..type thing. Also, Idk if you can handle anti fungal like diflucan...has action on babesia and a real powerful antifungal. I take a max dose and it's a bit taxing on the liver.

Maybe take an empty capsule, and (assuming it's powder pill) and try 1/4 of a dose and see how you feel. It can pack a punch.

Most importantly, check all interactions with the drugs.

Wish I knew more to help you.
 
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
 
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http://flash.lymenet.org/scripts/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/1/115457?#000000

Olive Leaf Extract (OLE) Links (so valuable to help prevent / off-set candida)


http://flash.lymenet.org/scripts/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=030792;p=0

LIVER & KIDNEY SUPPORT & and several HERXHEIMER support links, too.
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Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :
 
Has the doc been to any of the ILADS conferences? If not, you might suggest it.
 
Posted by rowingmom (Member # 41213) on :
 
Buhner doesn't recommend this herb much anymore. The HealingLyme book is very dated. His new herbal protocols can be found on his website under "Coinfection Protocols" and for the mycoplasma and bartonella infections in the book:

Healing Lyme Disease Coinfections: Complementary and Holistic Treatments for Bartonella and Mycoplasma

Other books address the generally known resistant bacterial and viral infections:

Herbal Antivirals: Natural Remedies for Emerging & Resistant Viral Infections

Herbal Antibiotics, 2nd Edition: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-resistant Bacteria

and cover the herbs used in his present babesia protocol.

The entire protocol will be published in:

Natural Treatments for Lyme Coinfections: Anaplasma, Babesia, and Ehrlichia

due out next spring and available for preorder now on Amazon, but in the meantime you can consult his associate Julie McIntyre:

http://www.gaianstudies.org/herbal_consult.html

or others recommended by Buhner on his facbook:

https://www.facebook.com/stephen.buhner

1) I no longer see clients for herbal consultations. I recommend the following people:

Julie McIntyre in Silver City, New Mexico ([email protected]);

2) Tommy Priester in Lincoln, MA ([email protected]);

Gordon Medical Associates in Santa Rosa, CA ((707) 575-5180);

and Tim Scott in Brattleboro, VT (Toll free: 877.591.1874 In VT: 802.246.1090)


2) In the EU/UK try: Peter Conway
The WellSpring Clinic
1 Clanricarde Gardens
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN1 1PE
 
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
 
If you take art .. yes, take it with zith or biaxin.

I don't think it will help candida since you would also be taking antibiotics.

Be sure to follow the diet and take the best probiotics you can find.

Custom Probiotics has a good one at a low price. It's called CP-1.
 
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
 
Sorry you are going thru this.

Art can never be taken by itself. Resistance develops.

I have babesia and bartonella as coinfections also.

A herb that helps me is one called cryptolepsis.

It is also effective against strep which is something else I struggle with.

I buy an alcohol based tincture, but there are glycerin based tinctures out there.

Droid is right regarding nystatin. it was also used in a study that showed it inhibited an enzyme borrelia/lyme uses.
So nystatin would help control the yeast, inhibit babesia slightly and also lyme.

But lymetoo is also right. If you struggle with yeast, a "candida diet" is absolutely necessary. This means avoiding sinmple carbohydrates, sugars, juices, dairy and grains of any kind. It sounds like hell but honestly it helps both candida issues and lyme.

My advice is to follow your GPS advice. Having a gp turn into a lyme friendly gp, a gp who has experienced the devastation of lyme, is quite honestly a blessing most of us don't have.

Not sure if you are religious, but I would call that a gift from god.

Also, weight gain and insomnia are also symptoms of untreated bartonella.

It is one of the toughest ones to get rid of.

So is babesia for that matter.

To beat it, you have to treat it.

Ignoring just makes it worse down the road.
 
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
 
My son took Artemisinin (1 capsule 2x per day) along with Mepron to treat Babesiosis.

He had no side effects that I can recall.

The brand was Nutricology - don't remember where I got it from. Try Amazon, Vitacost or iHerb.
 
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
 
I got rid of babesiosis by taking Bactrim DS and pulsing artemisinin. I took the art 3 days in a row every week when I noticed that the babesia was flaring (making me very sick).

My doc had me take it 2 times per day on an empty stomach.

I did this for about 11 months. This was nearly 10 years ago now and I am still rid of lyme, babesiosis and bartonella.

So, it worked for me!

Before I added the art, the babs flares were horrible and lasted 48 hours each week. But, as soon as I added the art, the flares went down to virtually nothing.

It was absolute proof that the art was working.
 
Posted by Samlyme (Member # 43732) on :
 
Shouldn't you have that tumor removed? My coworkers mother had a tumor in her uterus and she let it grow to the point where it invaded her pancreas so she ended up having to have that removed as well.

She got in a car accident and that's how the tumor was discovered and addressed. I don't know why she ignored it because it also Had made her stomach distended as well so she knew it was there. And she's a nurse...

I imagine a large tumor must add to the discomfort caused by candida.

She is recovering from the surgery as it only happened two weeks ago but she's on the mend and will be doing much better for having taken care of it.
 


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