Hi Bex,
Yes, I've heard of the salt/vit. C for Lyme. I don't know anyone that's been cured with it. That doesn't mean it hasn't happened -- just that I don't know anyone. And that doesn't mean much, because I'm newly diagnosed and just begun treatment and am just starting to talk with other Lymies.
I know for late stage/chronic Lyme, it is very difficult to treat and it takes a long time of treatment usually to get well. For anyone that doesn't recall a tick bit and a rash and go straight to the doctor for proper treatment, the Lyme ends up being late stage and chronic. That's well over half of the people with Lyme and undiagnosed Lyme. I never recalled a tic bite nor a rash.
The herxheimer reactions in the treatment of Lyme are unlike any other herxheimer or die-off reaction of ever had. And I also have bad systemic candida, heavy metal toxicity, etc., so I'm no stranger to die-off. While they say the herxing can be a good sign in that it reveals that the Lyme spirochetes are being killed, the herxing is VERY difficult. And it's nothing to fool around with either. Lyme can be dangerous -- and so can the co-infections that go along with Lyme. Grunting or pushing through the die-off is not recommended. Rather, Lyme patients are told to cut back dosages and build up very slowly.
An example would be, I'm supposed to work up to 30 drops (I think it's either 20 or 30 -- don't have the bottle right here) of the tincture 2 x a day. I started out with only 1 drop 2 x a day and went into tachycardia, palpitations, numb fingers & toes, extreme bone pain, nausea, stomach pain, etc. So I took a few days off and will start back with only 1 drop once a day.
I'm taking the Samento tincture by Nutramedix. It's part of the Cowden protocol to treat Lyme and co-infections.
Here is a very good link to a brochure from ILADS on Lyme disease. It explains very well the difficulty in testing Lyme and why it really must be a clinical diagnosis.
http://www.ilads.org/PRBrochure.pdfAlso, more recommended reading..... this is a bit technical, but keep reading through it even if it doesn't all sink in. I was floored to see myself within the paragraphs describing the symptoms.
It's an essay titled, "When To Suspect Lyme Disease."
http://cassia.org/essay.htmAnd here is another interesting article by Dr. Klinghardt. He's no stranger to heavy metal toxicity either. His article on the treatment of Lyme "A look beyond antibiotics" is really interesting. My doc will be incorporating stuff from this approach as well. But, my Lyme doc (who is holistic and integrative) says that he's never seen a patient of his recover from chronic Lyme without using antibiotics at least at some point during treatment. Still he leaves the decision up to the patient. But he says aggressive treatment is warranted from all avenues. My doc is a member of ILADS, the international group of doctors who's brochure I linked above.
http://www.neuraltherapy.com/LymeALookBeyond6.pdfAnd here is a link to pictures of the tic and it's life stages. I had no idea what tics looked like that weren't adult and mature. And this is only one type of tic! There are many different types that carry Lyme and co-infections. At this site, go to "About Lyme Disease" and click on "Prevention" and then click on "ticks". The photos are there.
http://www.timeforlyme.org/Finally, I'll just add, that last year my holistic gynecologist put me on a really good quality cat's claw for another ailment. He was trying it to see if it would help my IBS. Within hours of my first dose, I started herxing and after a few days had to stop taking it. It was then that I realized that I might have Lyme and co-infections. So, at the end of the day, taking that Cat's Claw was really helpful to me in putting a hugely significant piece of my health puzzle into place. Also, that "IBS" was really Lyme infection.
Blessings.
Sharon
