I use several herbs to treat my lyme. (I have had it several years now) I use echinacea in 21 day cycles each month. I also up my intake of B vitamins and antioxidants. For the past several years, I have also used Collodial Silver. Email me if ya want more details.

I hope no one is getting the idea that Lyme disease can be safely treated by an herbal regimen alone.

It's crucial to start antibiotic therapy as soon as possible. If delayed, irreversible joint damage or neurologic problems can be the result.

Your physician should be consulted about your taking supplemental herbal drugs or other medicines.

I agree that she should speak to her doctor immediately. When I was diagnosed 6 yrs ago, there were no reliable tests. Because my doctor did not find lyme for 6 months after I exhibited the symptoms, traditional therapy of antibiotics have done little good. After years of trial and error with herbs and supplements, I have found what works for me. To this days I still exhibit sypmtoms. I have good days and bad days.

My mom got lyme disease 3 years ago and I almost lost her to it. I fianlly went behind her back and called her Dr to tell him that I took the damn tick off of her and did he check her for it. He was never told about the tick because mom didn't think that that ws what was causeing her to be so sick. The pain she went through and still goes through is unbelieveable. No you have to be treated with antibiotics and more antibiotics you need to get the lyme test done at least yearly, I am no Dr just a concerned daughter. Please do the prescription antibiotics. use the herbs for relaxing the pain and illness some but use the hard stuff like your dr wants you to.

Didn't have Lyme disease cause it doesn't exist over here (we don't have ticks for a start). Was infected with Brucellosis (similar to Lymes symptoms-caught from cattle) and it d*mn near finished me. In fact it probably knocked me at my most productive time and relapses still occur. Antibiotics are the only help for these type of diseases-but they must be treated as soon as possible otherwise they can become chronic. Herbs won't help!

Thanks, everyone. I had two tick bites that I was a bit concerned about because they developed into kind of sores (not sure exactly how to explain) and I never had a tick bite do this before. I didn't pay any attention to them at first since we aren't supposed to have the ticks here that cause Lyme disease, but I have heard of a few cases. After they developed into these little sores, I became concerned thus my question. Anyway, it turns out that I didn't develop any symptoms. I definitely will pay more attention to any future bites and seek immediate medical attention if necessary.

I am glad I inquired as I thought perhaps there might be some herbal remedies rather than use of antibiotics. But I guess sometimes antibiotics are the only way, unfortunately. Even though I've resigned myself to antibiotic treatment if ever necessary, I find it unusual there is no natural remedy for this. Most antibiotics are synthetic forms of extractions from natural plants are they not? Forgive my ignorance as I'm certainly no expert. But I do use a number of herbs and vitamins for various minor ills and much prefer doing the "natural" thing whenever possible.

I'm one of those folks who dread doctors and medicines, but when I passed out waiting for my morning train, I knew I had something serious. I'd had joint stiffness, and a fever which was very high that morning (it was also during a heat wave).

A trip to the doctor's confirmed my worst suspicion--I had Lyme. Happily, it was caught early, and treated with a 2-week regimen of antibiotics. One month later, and I'm fine.

Having experienced it, I would defintitely urge anyone to get it treated right away. The joint stiffness, fever, and extreme weakness were not fun.

Gail, I had Lyme disease abt. 12 yrs ago. the day after the tick bite i got a circular rash around the bite area. Went to the doctor same day. He said Lyme Disease and gave me two weeks supply of potent anti-biotics. Later I felt like i had a mild case of the flu. but no problems since. I don't know if everyone gets a rash around the bite area. But the doctor said it was sign enough for him. The test came back neg. I have never trusted lab tests completely since.If you have anything strange with a tick bite go straight to a doctor.

Laboratory testing to detect antibodies to the Lyme disease agent may be negative if performed too soon after the tick bite. If appropriate testing is negative, it is very likely that the patient did not have Lyme disease.

The "characteristic" rash associated with Lyme disease does not appear in all cases and can be confused with skin reactions due to other causes.

The link below has some interesting information about diagnosing and appropriately treating the disease.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lyme disease

I know a lady who suffered from lime disease terribly for many years until she heard of the natural cure in a herb. She is now cured. I do not remember the name of the herb, but if you email me, I will put you in contact with her.

I contacted Lyme in 1999 and after 6 weeks of antibotics they said I was cured, but since then I have had one aliment after another none of which ever appreaded before, so to keep my sanity and body well, I build up my immune system with Olive Leaf and other herbs, the only way I'll go now, they can keep the modern rip offs that do come from plants.......there is hope.

Lyme Disease is a serious illness that is often difficult to diagnose and treat. Many people present with different symptoms at different stages, and not all have the telltale bullseye rash. Lyme Disease is caused by a bacteria, and as such, needs to be irradicated by an antibiotic. Prior to the development of antibiotics, people died from many illnesses, so there is unfortunately not always a natural cure. Herbs can be useful to relieve some symptoms, but not cure. In addition, the use of them should truly be discussed with your Dr. The problem is that the FDA does not regulate the inspection or approval of herbal substances, and there is no guarantee how they are packaged, distributed, etc. There are also serious side effects that can result from herbals, just like any medicine. Herbs can also interact with other medicines to make them weaker or stronger. Accidental herbal overdoses and drug interactions can and do occur! I would encourage anyone who even suspects lyme disease, to seek medical treatment immediately as it can result in permanent neurological or cardiac damage and long term illness. The sooner it is diagnosed and treated, the better. Finally, many physicians are not familar with diagnosing and treating lyme, so be sure to educate yourself and become your own best advocate.
~RN and Lyme patient

I have heard an herbalist discussing using hydrotherapy to eradicate lyme in two or three treatments. He described a variation of the cold sheet treatment. According to him the lyme bacteria shatters after it has been heated to 104 degrees. . .he was from Uchee Pines, you may be able to get some info there.

I was diagosed with Lyme's Disease three days ago. I started out with what I thought was the flu and a spider bite. About a week later the bite looked like the pictures I had seen for Lyne Disease carrying tick bites. Here's my question. I did not find the tick so where is it now? Is it and it's babies lurking about in my house waiting to bite me again? This was I question that I forgot to ask the doctor. Any thoughts from anyone?

" I did not find the tick so where is it now? "

They feed and drop off. If it's in the house, don't worry. The eggs need high humidity to hatch, and the usual house humidity is too low.

I developed a perfect bull's-eye rash and found the tiny tick still in my skin. About the same time, I had flu-like symptoms for about a day, just like stage-one Lyme disease. I'm sure I got the bite at my mother's house, so I know within two days when it occured. Nine days after I was bitten, I got a blood test to check for Lyme; the results were negative. According to my doctor, there had been plenty of time for the disease to show up if I had it, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know how long it takes before blood tests will detect Lyme?

ChantilyLace -
Some people do not develop detectable levels of antibodies for several weeks. Some never get them at all.

If you were in an area known to have Lyme Disease ... take the pills.

No, I don't know that the area has Lyme; I just saw the bulls-eye mark and got worried.

By the way, my uncle had Lyme, and his bulls-eye mark was big--the size of a dinner plate. Mine was only about the size of a nickle. Am I worried about the wrong thing?

The size of a nickel? That's common with many bug bites - you have a pale area at the center, then a reddish circle where the body is fighting it.

The classic Lyme's bullseye rash is at least as big as the palm of your hand ...

we have ticks around here en masse. they are supposed to be infected. we have a vaccination against meningitis. i'd never get that vaccination because a friend of my mother's got half of her face paralysed after a vaccination. it was smallpox probably. i am immune to the vaccination against smallpox (not against smallpox !!). my grandma died after a vaccination against flu. i was vaccinated the whole thing against rabies because i would not name the dog (was a friend's dog, dogs get shot if they bite people). ten years later i thought i could fresh up the vaccination, the doctor freaked out why i had been vaccinated before.
i took malaria prophylaxis. they changed it and i was sick all day. i read the leaflet of the othher preparation and decided not to go blind and put it off. a friend of mine spent a whole holiday inside cause the malaria prophylaxis caused bladders.
had this weird cirle on my ass, went to the doctor, read this leaflet about borreliosis (lyme desease) and said that is it. fed on antibiotics until i put on the same jeans i wore the week before. and there it was: the collar you put on dogs and cats to wear off ticks. i carried a piece of that in my back pocket and it was really agressive to the skin.
i suppose the big ticks are the bad ones (about a small pea when they are soaked). i got bitten by about 30 little ones this year, i just scratched them off.
what i mean is: go to the doctor if you have problems and thinkabout it if you might have some.
i do not believe you get sick after i tick byte within a dyay or two. i've had too many. there is a lot of money involved in this type of thing.

martina

Thanks, LazyGardens--wish I'd asked that BEFORE I spent $56 on a blood test!

i am just wondering if it is possible that you could get the lyme desease without having the fever as a side effect and what are some of the other side effects of it other than achy joints ?

I found the website of the lady who cured herself completely from years of lime disease. Here is the link to her write-up of the disease and the cure:
http://www.ladybarbara.net/Lyme_Disease.htm

Hello from a newbie!
Hi out there. I wanted to introduce myself to everyone. IÂve been searching the web for info about lyme disease and found this board. IÂve never thought about joining a board before, but after reading through some posts, IÂm happy I did. I just want to say thanks to everyone for the support you offer here.

Lyme disease is very serious. In it's peak stage it causes fever, headache paralysis and death if untreated. What most here are talking about is the after effects of lyme disease. Some people move on just fine, like my son, others are plauged with a variety of symptoms. Achy joints, tired etc.

I am new to this website. I just found out i have lymes disease. I don't know how long I have had it and I have had achy pains for the past year and just ignored it. Now it makes me think. I never had a rash and if I did I figured it was just one of the many allergies I suffer from. Now I am achy and this sucks. I am hoping after the 21 day supply of medicine takes this away forever but I also feel that I am not that lucky of sorts.

Thanks for letting me vent

A friend of mine was diagnosed with Lyme Disease almost 2 years ago. I am not sure if she was diagnosed too late or what actually happened. but I do know that she is now a completely different person, she walks around like a zombie she is negative about everything, she is nasty to everyone and her family says she is very difficult to live with. She has been to specialists and they find nothing. They are so frustrated that the Drs. can't help.
Has anyone heard of this happening after Lyme? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have chronic Lyme Disease because my physician didn't treat it seriously. I had the "bulls-eye" rash and because I saw her 4 days later - when her office opened she only gave me a weeks meds, and said the blood test was "negative". It probably was because my body hadn't had time to build anitbodies. Plus only 45% of the blood tests are positive, and that is usually months or years later, after someone is chronically ill. I still test positive as "exposure to a tick" - nothing else - although I had the rash - large as a saucer. The next year I had STARI (Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness). It looked sort of like a bad scald. AND then I had a tiny tick, that I pulled off. Luckily I had an appointment with my "tick disease" specialist for 3 days later. I tested positive for Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever from that one. I already had antibiotics, which I started as soon as I found the tiny tick, and before I saw the doctor. Lyme Disease will flare off and on once it is chronic, and you have to have antibiotics on hand for those flares.

Neurological changes can happen as it affects your nervous system, can cause Bell's palsy, arthritis - and you can die from it. The tiny ticks cause most illnesses, from what I've learned, the one that has a small white spot is called the Lone Star Tick, there is a "black legged" tick, and then the common dog tick, which usually causes Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever - or did in the past. They may be infected now with other illnesses as well. Ticks range from minute (seed ticks) to the Deer tick (still small - but larger) to the dog tick that is large as a pea after feeding. Insects are also carrying more and more illnesses we need to be careful of. If you are bitten by a tick - see a doctor for preventative antibiotics - please.

From the Infectious Diseases Society of America (which establishes guidelines for diagnosis and treatment) on Lyme disease:

"In rare cases, people who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease and properly treated have lingering symptoms, typically generalized pain, joint pain and fatigue. These symptoms have been interpreted by some to suggest the presence of chronic Borrelia burgdorferi infection.

However, an extensive review of scientifically rigorous studies and papers available to date, has determined that there is no convincing biologic evidence to support a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease after completion of the recommended treatment.

There is no doubt that patients with persistent symptoms are suffering, but many report non-specific symptoms that also are associated with a number of other medical conditions. To be certain they receive the proper medical care, people who continue to have symptoms that persist after appropriate antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease should talk to their physicians about whether the original diagnosis of Lyme disease was accurate or if they may have a different or new illness. (bolding added)

...Long-term therapy for so-called chronic Lyme disease can involve weeks, months and even years of intravenous antibiotics. Although some people may feel better, it doesn�t prove that the antibiotic cured or suppressed infection. Sometimes, the belief that a treatment is helping can be enough to make people feel better. This is called the placebo effect and it is a well-documented medical phenomenon. Antibiotics also have anti-inflammatory effects that may help alleviate certain symptoms. Or, in some cases, patients may have another infectious disease that is responsive to antibiotics.

In more than 20 years there has not been one scientifically valid study published in the peer-reviewed medical literature that proves that the benefit of long-term antibiotic treatment outweighs the risk.

...Long-term antibiotic therapy for so-called chronic Lyme disease is not only unproven, it may in fact be dangerous. For instance, it may lead to complications related to delivery of the medicine, such as infections of the blood stream as a result of long-term intravenous administration of antibiotics. Also, use of certain antibiotics can lead to a potentially severe and sometimes deadly infection of the bowel caused by a type of bacteria called Clostridium difficile. Further, long-term antibiotic therapy may foster the development of drug-resistant superbugs that are difficult to treat."

Here is a link that might be useful: IDSA