Buhner Healing Lyme

What is the success rate of the Healing Lyme protocol?
While this is approximate, in general 75% of those who use the protocol as a core treatment regimen (along with other herbs and supplements as symptoms dictate) feel that they are cured. Another 15% experience the reduction of most, if not all, symptoms. Five percent experience some relief. Five percent experience no help.

How soon can one expect to see improvements on the protocol?
How quickly people begin to improve depends a great deal on how sick you are, how long you have been sick, your immune health, and what kind of co-infections you have. Some people experience significant improvement within two weeks, others find it takes several months. In general, Stephen tells people that they should notice improvements in 14 to 60 days.

How do you know if the protocol is working?
You begin to feel better.

Can you take all the herbs if you are pregnant or breastfeeding?
No; please check the individual herbs in the Healing Lyme book to see if they are contraindicated for conception, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.
 See also: pregnancy | breastfeeding.

What herbs does Stephen recommend for the prevention of lyme disease?
The primary herb for prevention is astragalus. Stephen recommends a minimum of 1,000 mg daily if you live in a lyme endemic area. This will keep the immune markers high that need to be high to prevent infection or, if you are infected, to keep the disease symptoms as minimal as possible.

What treatment does Stephen recommend for a new tick bite?
For new tick bites, Stephen typically recommends taking astragalus – 3,000 mg daily for 30 days, 1,000 mg daily thereafter, indefinitely. See also: recent tick bites.

What herbs are recommended for babesia?
Stephen generally recommends the use of Sida acuta or Alchornea cordifolia or Cryptolepis sanguinolenta for the treatment of babesia these days. You can get them from woodlandessence.com. His first choice is Sida actua, second is Cryptolepis sanguinolenta. Stephen no longer recommends artemisinin or artemisia for babesia infections. It can work, but whatever you are treating, Sida acuta will work better, especially for babesia or bartonella. See also: babesia.

What herbs are recommended for bartonella?
Knotweed, red root tincture, boneset tea, Sida acuta, and L-arginine. See also: bartonella.

What herbs are recommended for mycoplasma?
Serrapeptase: 1 capsule daily on empty stomach – this will help break the mycoplasma cell walls open and make them more vulnerable to the herbs;
Raintree Nutrition Myco formula – this is a great combination formula for mycoplasma and reports I have heard show it is pretty effective for most people;
Cryptolepis as a systemic antibiotic. 1 tsp 3x daily (woodlandessence.com);
Gluten-free diet: Mycoplasma actually likes gluten so you should avoid it, and white sugar as well and also nuts and seeds and any oils that come from them;
Bee pollen to help replace the amino acids that the mycoplasma are consuming – 1 TBS daily in the a.m.;
To help adrenals and energy Stephen recommends the muscle tone formula from Woodland Essence which is composed of pine pollen, aralia, and American ginseng tinctures – 1 dropperful 3x daily;
If your energy is really low the use of eleutherococcus tincture (HerbPharm brand only) is essential. 1 tsp a.m. and noonish;
A general multi-vitamin supplement plus extra C, D, E, CoQ-10, beta-carotene, quercetin, folic acid, bioflavoids and biotin are necessary and helpful when recovering from a mycoplasmal infection. See also: bacterial co-infections.

What herbs are recommended for candida?
Stephen suggests reading his book on fasting, The Fasting Path (see bookstore), as fasting has shown some of the best results with tough to treat candida. He has also had success with a tincture combination: desert willow and chapparo amargosa – equal parts of the tinctures blended together. 1/2 tsp 3x daily for 30 days or so. You can get these from Bear Creek Herbs (505-388-5035) in Silver City, NM. See also: fungal co-infections.

What is a herx?
A Herxheimer reaction (herx) typically refers to a reaction to the release of endotoxins when bacteria are killed during antibiotic treatment faster than the body can remove the toxins. It can result in fever, muscle pain, and overall increased symptoms. For some with lyme, this “die-off” reaction can produce symptoms more severe than the lyme itself, sometimes even life-threatening, and so care must be taken during any lyme treatment program. See also: herxheimer reaction.

If I don’t have a herx does it mean the protocol is not working?
No; not everyone will herx from the Healing Lyme herbal protocol.

How can I stop a herx?
The best way to manage a herx is to reduce the dosage of the herbs you are taking until your symptoms reach a manageable level. 
Ramp up slowly, as your symptoms allow.


How many people have recovered from chronic lyme on the Healing Lyme protocol?
There is no way to tell the numbers of people that have used part or all of the protocol as there are many physicians and other healing professionals using it in one form or another, nor do all the people who use it contact Stephen. He has heard from a thousand or more people using the protocol in the past 6 years. The majority of them regained their health.