Wilmington Restaurants

Holistic Healing in General and Lyme Disease

the miracle tree
brad good
july 2009

For a few years I have been trying unsuccessfully to grow a tree from a sapling, in the grassy area between the sidewalk and the street, on the side of my yard where the afternoon sun is, so that at the hottest part of the day, the shade would cover my patio. This already happens to some extent from a large maple tree that is across the street in my neighbor’s yard. However, it has some kind of disease, and is slowly losing major limbs and it does not seem like it will be around for a long time. Also, I wanted another tree closer to my yard because it looks good and cools down the area. For lunch many days while I was out of work with Lyme disease, I would eat on my back patio. So I sat there for a couple of months looking at the area between the sidewalk and the street and theorizing where exactly I would put the tree, to create shade a little earlier in the day than I get it now, and also theorizing what kind of tree I would want there. I finally decided the exact location of the tree that I was going to plant someday, but I still had the problem of the sapling not making it through the winter, especially with the snow plows covering it. And I didn’t want to spend a thousand dollars on a larger, more mature tree. So I just sat there looking at the spot and dreaming of what I would do. At the same time, I was reading books and watching movies about how we can create our future with what we think, and I was really starting to believe this. Other things in my life, several, very amazing things, started to work out according to my new ways of thinking. One day, after one of my normal visits to the Tick Borne Disease Center of South Eastern PA, I came home and walked into my house. My wife Mary said “Did you see it?” “See what?” “Go outside and look.” I went outside and saw nothing. Mary said “go look again”. I looked again and then suddenly I saw it. A 15 foot tall beautifully green tree planted in the exact spot, down to the very inch, where I imagined it would be. Mary said that the city of Media had come and planted it that morning. It’s perfect. I believe that it is a hybrid tree especially designed to fill the area beside a city street perfectly, a much better choice than I could have made. And it looks like a beech, which is a wonderful tree. The city also installed a watering device called a Treegator, and they come by and fill it with 20 gallons of water, so I don’t even have to water it or pay for the water. This is just one example of countless wonderful things that have happened to me since I’ve been actively changing the way that I think. I especially love trees , have read books about them, study them, love to be in the woods, love to be around them and to have them in and near my house. There is no greater thing that I could have imagined that I could have created and have it show up than this tree.

Note: I am not a doctor nor do I pretend to be one. I have, however had Lyme Disease since 2003 and kicked it once, and now have it again due to a relapse from a poisonous spider bite. Therefore, I’ve tried a lot of things and I’m writing this blog to tell you what has worked for me. I believe that I have found all that anyone needs to heal from Lyme. Please understand that everyone’s body is different, and also, that you have to ease into taking any kind of supplement…I have found that I cannot take as much as it tells you on the bottle….most of the time I’ve found that I have to ease into it slowly or I have bad results. I’ve had to experiment with many things, some have worked and some have not. We are battling a new disease and everything that we are doing is experimental, even what your MD is doing.

“At this point in time, antibiotics are the clearest choice for killing spirochetes, with some caveats. Many people think of herbal approaches to treating Lyme borreliois as “experimental.” The term is meaningless in relation to Lyme disease. With Lyme infection everything is experimental.” — Stephen Harrod Buhner, Healing Lyme: Natural Healing and Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis and Its Coinfections

My experience has been that antibiotics have helped me but only do so much for me. And that the core protocol from “Healing Lyme”, and an extremely healthy lifestyle put Lyme in remission for me to where I could live a somewhat normal life.

Health is body, mind, soul, spirit. It’s all intertwined. Mountain biking 1-2 times a week, 1 ½ – 3 hours each time. This has probably had the most impact on my health – body, mind, soul and spirit. Not just the exercise but also getting out in the woods/nature. Mountain biking is best since it uses the entire body and moving the entire body and lymph system is important with Lyme. When I can’t bike I hike and rock climb. Also, yoga is wonderful. I learned the basic yoga moves and I do my own routine of stretching/yoga every morning and several times a day as a break from whatever I am doing, wherever I am. It helps a lot. My favorite place to do it is in the hot sauna at the gym and work up a great sweat while stretching the muscles for long holds and massaging any knots. Also, hot baths and then yoga work well too. Oh yea, and salt baths with a whole large container of sea salt from Trader Joes that is less than 2 dollars I think. I dump the whole thing in and soak for an hour. Himalayan salt is much better but costs much more. I believe that it is worth it. I’ve also taken up surfing. A wonderful whole body excercise and you get your body in the salt water which is very cleansing, and the enviroment is great too, being in the waves is so great. I also help build trails. This is also a great whole body excercise. Moving the whole body and using all of the muscles is critical to healing from Lyme.

Here are the great books that helped me so much. They were the most important things that put me on a healthy track. Positive mental attitude. What you think and say creates your world. Knowing what supplements to take and what foods to eat and what foods to avoid and to get exercise is one thing but actually doing it is another. It wasn’t until I did the mental work that I was able to fully change my habits and adopt new healthier habits. Before that, it was sometimes on, sometimes off. And I want you to understand, I have done a whole lot of work in this area. I’ve read the books, some more than once. I have “You Can Heal Your Life” on CD and have listened to it probably 50 times in the car mostly. For a while in the beginning it was every day playing in the car, every time I was driving. And it worked. My perception of things changed and my thoughts changed for the better, and many, many great things happened in my life. And bad habits changed for good. Healing from Lyme is not the only thing this has done for me. A couple of years ago I was very unhappy, stuck in a really bad marriage where just didn’t get along and fought all of the time. I had the attitude that I would never find anyone similar that liked the things I liked, etc. I really believed that I would not find anyone that would be right for me and I didn’t want to be alone. Then I got the book “You Can Heal Your Life”. I went on a business trip by plane and read it once on the way and loved it so much that I read it again on the way back. I started saying the affirmations (positive statements) to myself. Hundreds and thousands of times. It started to work. My thoughts were more positive on a regular basis. Then I started making up my own affirmations about my future wife and how she was perfect for me. And we started divorce proceedings, which I never was ready for before in my old mindset. My wife moved her last stuff out of the house on a Sunday, and that night my good friend invited me over for dinner and said that his friend Mary would be there. We had the greatest time and stayed up until 4:30 talking. I met Mary’s 5 year old son Jerry and for the first time in my life (and I was 39), I said to myself, maybe I would want to have kids. About a month or two later Mary and I found out that she was unexpectedly pregnant with Lila. She is so wonderful and just the perfect baby. Mary and I are perfect together and all of the things I thought I needed are better than I had imagined. Mary, Jerry and Lila have brought so much joy, happiness and love into my life. I just can’t describe how grateful I am for my new family that amazingly just happened in what seems to be overnight. All in response to thinking differently. Many other things have happened in my life that have been amazing and have just worked out perfectly. And things continue to happen for the better. And, most of all, my mind and perception has changed and keeps changing for the better. My whole world is different. And it keeps changing as I keep doing more of the affirmations and listening to the information. It’s not magic, it’s just as simple as this: Most of us have learned to think negatively and have done so hundreds of thousands of times in our lives and if you think positive thoughts hundreds of thousands of times it reverses this process and attracts good into your life. The good part is that positive thoughts are more powerful than negative thoughts so you can change things quicker than it took to get into the negative state. But it does take work, lots of repetition. It’s just like working out. You are retraining your mind. Your mind is a tool just as your body is a tool. You can choose to think whatever you want. You can change your thoughts. I am convinced at this point that you can change anything in your life that you want to change. Also, I am just so much more positive, peaceful, settled, secure and happier, regardless of the situation. And the more I work at it, the more that this changes for the better. Happiness truly comes from within. Almost dying from Lyme and the terrible struggle it was for months and months was a really bad thing. But it was also a really great thing because through it I decided that I was not going to be a victim of it and I found the tools that I needed to change my life completely and put me on a positive path of personal improvement that will never change. Because of that, I now view the experience as the best thing that ever happened to me. I am so grateful for it.

You Can Heal Your Life  by Louise L. Hay

I cannot say enough about this book and Louise L. Hay in general. Get it. You may think you don’t need it at first but once you try it you find that it works and is true for all of us.

I would also recommend getting this book on audio CD and listening to it over and over.

There is also a companion movie which I highly recommend. And listen to all of the features on the movie including the affirmations and also the interviews…everything….over and over.

This book and movie by Louise Hay and the next one by Wayne Dyer have literally completely changed my life and my whole perception and outlook. In other words, major life changes have happened to me that were miracles that previously I thought could not happen.

I also have her power thought cards which are very cool and I have a 365 day power thought calendar thing at work. Everything I’ve gotten from her is awesome. Lately I have installed her apps onto my iphone – affirmation cards mostly that I can page through and read anytime anywhere. Constant repetition is key. I’m also going to order more of her books on CD and listen to them in the car on a regular basis.

http://www.hayhouse.com/

Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life

by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer **I would recommend this one on CD to listen to in the car because you can repeat each section several times before moving on. I recommend the book on CD over the seminar on CD. I also recommend the book as there is nothing like sitting down with a book and the portability.

There is also a Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life meditation CD which has 81 tracks and this is great…I listen to it all of the time. I felt funny chanting Tao (said Dow) in between the thoughts he reads and didn’t do it at first. Then one day I figured what the heck, it sounds relaxing. Now I do it regularly and I get into this peaceful place that I can’t describe, and things happen….thoughts come to me, breakthroughs happen, or I just walk away at peace with everything and very relaxed.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

When I read this a few years ago it was my favorite book ever. It’s very good. He now has another one which is very popular called A New Earth – Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. I have this book but have not read it yet.

Also, great movies are “The Secret” and “What the Bleep Do We know?” Both are generally about the fact that what we think and say creates our reality and that science is now proving it.

Antibiotics:

The first time I had Lyme in 2003 I had 21 days of Doxycyline. From what I remember it made me feel better to a certain point, then later I had a whole lot of trouble with joints, muscles, energy and depression for a couple of years until I started the herbal supplements. For this past relapse, I’ve will have had 60 days of IV antibiotic (Zythromax 500mg) 6 days a week while on all of the supplements below including the herbs. I believe that the antibiotic kills or beats down the spirochetes, or let’s just say the parasites. But I believe that antibiotic lowers your immune system, and frequently causes stomach problems, which it does for me, which lowers your over all body energy and function. But the killing part or knocking down of the parasites is great. I believe the next step has to be to continue with the herbal supplements, as well as all that is written here. The appropriate length of antibiotic appears to me to be about 60-90 days depending on the individual and the strength of the infection.

Healing Lyme by Stephen Harrod Buhner:

If you have Lyme I would recommend that you read this entire book to understand it better. It gets pretty deep but don’t worry if you don’t understand it all, just read it anyway. I take the core protocol from this book. I buy the exact recommended brands:

Andrographis Paniculata

Japanese Knotweed (Resveratrol)

Cat’s Claw

Plus I take Sarsaparilla

You need to read to understand which ones you should take based upon your condition.

When I first started taking these I would take them, as directed, starting with one capsule each. I would feel fine for several days and then have a horrible reaction (Herxheimer). I found that I had to skip days in the beginning in order to continue. So you may have to take them every other day to start or whatever works for you. I had to really ease into them. I’d still have a bad reaction, and feel worse before feeling better, and then I would feel better, and bump up the dose, feel worse in a few days or a week, then feel better in a few days or a week, and try to bump it up again. Do not be discouraged and do not take too many too soon. It may take months to get to the full dose. It is worth it. This round of herbs put my Lyme completely in remission the first time around and I know it will do it again for me. I plan on staying on a low dose of these for the rest of my life…which I think the author recommends. Eat apples for fiber since these supplements tend to constipate. I eat 2-3 apples a day most days….really. They work really well. I also drink lots of water, but not too much. Too much can dilute everything in your body and that’s not good. Not enough can make you too tired and irritable because of all the die off and toxic stuff that needs to be flushed out. I drink enough that I’m going to the bathroom often but not too often. I try to get it to where my pee is light yellow not clear and not dark. With water and many other things, like foods, I’ve learned to listen to my body and you can too. I can hear my body ask for fish, or green veggies, or red meat, or beans. I have specific cravings and if they are healthy I eat that thing.

If you are going to take the core protocol, I would suggest getting one or more of those pill containers at the drug store that has a compartment for each day of the week. I don’t use it by the day of the week but it is so nice to fill it up once a week or less rather than trying to carry around all of the supplements. Recently at CVS, I found one that has 28 compartments which is really nice. It takes me about 30 minutes every time I fill it but it saves so much time later. At the same time, I make about 8 extra piles of pills on the counter and put them into small snack size zip lock bags that I can take with me. I store some in the car and some in my bag so that I have them where ever I go.

Recently I’ve been ordering from herbspro.com. Below are links from my recent order. I order a couple of months supply at a time:

Andrographis Standardized Extract  60 Vegicaps

Cat’s Claw Capsules 500 MG  100 Caps

Sarsaparilla  100 Caps

Resveratrol 40mg  120 caps

I am currently experimenting with colloidal silver. I heard great things from a patient at the Tick Borne Disease Center where I go for treatment. He said that he had read that people are being healed from Lyme with the use of it. I researched it and it does appear that people are getting very good results. Apparently if you take too much you can turn blue but it appears to me that these are extreme cases where someone either put it directly on their face, or made homemade concoctions with too much silver. See http://ezinearticles.com/?Colloidal-Silver-Side-Effects-Will-You-Turn-Blue?&id=878270. I have decided to start using it at a low dose. My bottle is 10ppm and I take what it says on the bottle which is 1 tea spoon 3 times a day. I have been doing this for 2 days now and I have woken up before my alarm both mornings. This is very rare for me in the past 3 months. I’ve also felt better than usual at times in the past 2 days and then sometimes tired, irritable and worse, like a Herxheimer reaction is taking place. Which is usually a sign to me that something is working. It’s the same type of feeling I’ve had from the herbs and also the IV antibiotics. Waves that come of feeling tired and irritable and worse, followed by improvement. Update: After taking colloidal silver for a good amount of time, I had great results from it. Be sure not to take too much or for too long. If you have to, cycle on and off of it, which is true for many supplements where their purpose is to eradicate something.

I recommend limiting or removing alcohol from your diet. It is a great sugar for parasites of all kinds to feed on. It also is another thing for the liver to cleanse from your body at a time when you need your liver for other things.

I recommend removing all refined sugar from your diet and limiting natural sugars as low as you can stand. They feed the bad bacteria/parasites/spirochetes. I also do much better with only small amounts of chocolate once and a while….maybe once a week, a small cube of dark chocolate.

I had huge health gains from removing alcohol and refined sugars. I don’t think it’s possible to continue to drink and feel good with Lyme.

Good probiotics (I take it at the end of the day if I am taking antibiotics). You have to ease into this as it can cause huge Herxheimer reactions. I recommend Natren Healthy Trinity. Keep it in the fridge.

Other supplements I take or have taken are below (none of the statements below are medical recommendations or “FDA approved”, just my thoughts based upon reading and experience):

Calcium/Magnesium/zinc (muscles/joints)

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) (long term enhances mood, and overall cure all, most Americans are deficient in good oils, or simply, lubrication, anti-inflammatory)

Glucosamine/Chondroiton/MSM (joints)
Vitamin C (antioxidant)
Multivitamin
St John’s wort extract (long term enhances mood)
Among other things.

I’ve been eating wild fish, free range meats when I can, organic veggies, root veggies like sweet potatoes and parsnips and such, yogurts and kefir (yogurt drink). I eat greens of all kinds, especially spinach and dark bitter greens like dandelion. I eat lots of garlic and onions which are cure alls (immune boosters) and anti parasitic. Avocados are good and guacamole – great oil and fat. Things with raw nuts and seeds are also good for oils and omegas. I drink a lot of home made smoothies with apples, banana, berries (good antioxidants) and yogurt . I always choose organic foods when available. I joined a local organic farm this year and it has been an overall great experience. The food is great and so is that connection that I now have with my food. Going to get the food is relaxing and wonderful…picking some items myself from the earth and eating them later….knowing my farmers. I enjoy my job now since I took a new position which is more creative and involved in the work I love, which has made my time at home much better. There is a whole lot less stress. Watch your stress level. It really impacts your immune system and health. I use extra salt called Himalayan Salt. Salt is very important and most of us do not get enough good salt, especially before and after sweating. You can sweat out about a gram of salt in an hour. See www.herbsoflight.com – follow the links for the Taking Responsibility video and the ABC Prime Time Video. Follow the all links for Himalayan salt, Lyme Disease and all other links on the left side of the site. All very good material and very important. See Ginger (fresh in my food, powder, real ginger ale, whenever I can eat it). This is a powerful anti-inflammatory. Turmeric – another anti-inflammatory. Ginger and turmeric together outperform any prescription anti-inflammatory and the benefits are long term. I did a liver cleanse many times and this helped me greatly, and I’m convinced saved my gallbladder. Mostly because I drank too much for years but even so, most people would feel much better from this because 85% of people have gallbladder/liver stones and have no pain. The flush usually makes you feel much healthier and more energy.

I don’t take over the counter or prescription drugs. Except when I had lyme disease when I took an antibiotic and herbs proscribed in “Healing Lyme”.

http://www.mercola.com/, http://www.earthclinic.com/, and http://www.curezone.com/ are great resources. Just take everything with a grain of salt since they are only 80% right and ultimately want to sell you something and you don’t have to buy a whole lot to be healthy.

I’ve tried the gin soaked raisins – use golden raisins with sulfur dioxide (I think the sulfur does something) and only Bombay Sapphire gin (it’s an herbal tincture of anti-inflammatory herbs). I cannot yet say good or bad about this but if you Google it there are many people saying great things. It’s very interesting to me since I love herbs.

I make herbal teas out of roots and bitter things which seem to really help me. My favorite is roasted dandelion root – simmered for an hour and a half or more and then strained. I also like licorice root, parsley root, hops (I grow them in the back yard now), and many other herbs. I get my herbs from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/bulkherb.html. If you go to a specific herb and then click on the “folklore” it tells you what the herb is supposed to do. I read this as (what the herb really does but they are not allowed to say because it is not proven by studies)…just my interpretation. In my experience herbs are great healers and I’ve never had a real problem except if I took too much in the beginning. Once I eased into them and my body got used to it, I could take large amounts with no problem.

I also drink a lot of citrus. Organic orange juice is good but watch out for too much because of the natural sugar content. I also like to make homemade lemonade with a little salt and just a little honey.

I check for ticks twice every day, morning and night completely naked, checking with the light on in the mirror, front and back, all over, and especially in the warm spots. I also am looking for marks or bulls eyes in case I didn’t see the ticks. On days that I am in the woods, I check when I get back, and also the next morning. It’s just another grooming task like flossing or combing your hair. You have to pick off the parasites!

Recently I have been experimenting with massage oil, my own unique blend of oils that sink in and go deep into the muscles and joints and heal. I mix about 15 different types of oils. It seems to work well for me. It’s very expensive, but you don’t need much. It started when I discovered castor oil and googled that. Then I added the other 14 oils based upon knowledge I gained along the way researching herbs and oils. If it works out I would like to sell it but I haven’t had time yet to take it to the next level.

The books and supplements and good food all are expensive, and the co pays at the doctor too. I know. But I have found it all to be worth it. There is no price too high for my health. I drive a smaller car and live in a smaller house and I go out to eat far less often. I also turned off my TV service more than 2 years ago and I don’t miss it at all, it’s probably one of the best things I have ever done. That was costing me $80 a month! I now have Netflix for $13.99 and that is all I need. It gives me time to read and watch the other things that help me. And I’m not tuned into the BS news all the time with all the negativity and killing and craziness.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them or post something new about the subject.

I wish you the best in your own journey. Lyme Disease has been the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me. Hopefully too, you can get to the point where you see it that way. It can truly change your life for the better. Don’t forget about the exercise outdoors and the books above. I have really found that health begins with my thoughts and spiritual well being. Don’t make the mistake to think that it is just chemical and you need the right cure chemically.

Update 4/4/11

I have had great results with products from www.herbsoflight.com. I take their deer tick defense, Heath assist, st johns wort, and Resistant microbes. Their products are excellent. Superior. Check out their website for more info. I’ve also had great results with magnesium chloride – see my blog post on that.

Peace.

FDA Disclosure Statements

* I am not a health professional.

* If it is a medical opinion you seek, by all means, call a doctor (maybe two or three!)

* This information is intended to challenge, or even provoke you to explore beyond the conventional food and health system.

* Please Note: Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits conferred by any foods or supplements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.