TEASEL TALES

[LadyB]

Let me start with lena first and then we'll get to teasel pics.
Lena, my understanding of Teasel is that it slowly and subtley works deeper and deeper, as evidenced by my experiencing my 'best of' symptoms of my 8 distinctly different cases in exact reverse order. But of course my story of NOT having been un/mis-diagnosed for decades, but rather BEING diagnosed every time and taking too little doxy every time and being BITTEN again and again and again gives me a different PATTERN from many others.

If Teasel has reached down to the depths and ushered out deeply hidden beasts to where you're herxing badly, I'd say back off of SOMETHING until you catch up with yourself. Herxing isn't good for you. While everyone cheers that it means 'something's happening' it also signals that your system is overwhelmed with 'expirochete poisoning' and it would be wise to back down, and support your detox organs (over and over you've seen I'm not a huge fan of PUSHING the detox)

Now for Teasel pics. The photo on the left shows the distinct hooks on the ends of the spines, so that's what I would call sativum, but much like the text of the page, I also thought the 'Fuller's Teasel' was the one used to tease the nap of the woolen cloth. So I'm more likely to make sativum and fullonum synonymous and call the ones in the center and right-hand photos sylvestris, the wild ones.

We can confuse this whole thing ENDLESSLY:
http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Dipsacus

I searched EVERYwhere for a photo of the ONE Teasel I know to be DIFFERENT, which is Dipsacus japonica. Can't find one ANYwhere. How bizarre. I my gigantic book "Hortus Third" it has sylvestris, fullonum AND sativum all synonymous and NO listing for any Dipsacus japonica.

Ah, but you'll all have to EXCUSE me for awhile, I just this second got a delivery of both Wold Storl's "Healing Lyme Disease Naturally" that Matthew wrote the forward to, AND Matthew' Wood's "Earthwise Herbal"......got me some reading to do. If Wolf Storl can sort out the Teasel stuffs, I'll let you all know.
LadyB

[Jane B.]

I found some photos of Dipsacus japonica (japonicus) (common name: Japanese or Chinese Teasel) here:

http://had0.big.ous.ac.jp/plantsdic/ang ... nabena.htm

http://www.e2121.com/herb_db/viewherb.p ... 8&setlang=

- Jane

[LadyB]

Jane, thanks SO much for those!
All over, it's just a DIFFERENT plant. I posted a lengthy response on Friday JUST before my laptop screen died and lost it all. I'm on a borrowed computer without any of my files or photos, so until I get back up to speed, my responses will be spotty.

[lenasquest]

Hi Lady B,
I understand about computer difficulties: our server has been on-and-off wonky for the week and it's been hard to keep up and catch up. Thanks for getting around to me.
I backed off a tad, and then resumed 9 drops a day. I think I had a moon flare and subsequent herx that was out of character for my pattern.
Now I'm full of ambition, energy ,and better mental clarity. I got back to sight-reading some music on my keyboard and for the first time in years, my ability to memorize the work returned. Transcribing lengthy frequency numbers was also easy. (I'd doubt myself and have to check, but the numbers aren't wrong!)
Yesterday I switched much of the contents of two rooms, using my head as much as my muscles, and it was exhilarating. Today, it's rainy, so a couple joints ache, but not muscles! I do believe teasel is part of this new level of function.
I enjoyed the Cloisters piece on teasel. When I lived in CT, I would find the hard weaver's teasel. The head was heavy, almost like a pine-cone and I actually used some to brush the surface of a weaving I'd done. When we moved to upstate NY, I was delighted to see teasels growing along the roads, only to discover that they were a much flimsier kind, not at all suitable for napping wool. This summer I'm going to hunt them for their roots, taking care to only harvest where there are lots of them, to leave lots behind.

Be well,
Léna

[cjnelson]

Hi LadyB...

It has been about 2 weeks on the Teasel...I was herxing hard for the first few day then tapered off with no real signs of body temp increases. I went to get some grapefruit seed extract and St Johns and came across a product called ChlorOxygen which helps build red blood cells and increases the hemoglobin’s capacity to grab and hold oxygen - an issue in my labs for many years now, so I added that and BAM!!! Progress started up so quickly it has been amazing!!!

My temp has raised 1 degree and stabalized at 97.5 by this past Sunday. Herxing started back up and symptoms are kicking up all inside me too.

I am experiencing what I feel are "bumps" in my system...like it bumps up a level. It is the weirdest experience that I have had to date on any protocol. It starts with chills and exageratted symptoms, feeling feverish, then my temp bumps again, then settles a bit lower...yesterday it was bumping to 98.2, but settling back at 97.8.

Each bump brings a good herx like feeling then settles those symptoms out...

I have tried many protocols in the past almost 2 years of treatment after 8 1/2 years of being undiagnosed inspite the EM rash and I can say so far, even in 2 weeks, I am having better progress than anything else and I am simply amazed...

I only pray that it continues on this path...

Thank you for your dedication and I am grateful that I have found you for you brought the Teasel into my world!!! If it had NOT been for YOUR writings, I would not have given this a try.

Christy "Cj" Nelson

[LadyB]

CJ, thanks for posting your experiences. Every story REALLY helps. (and they're ALL SO DIFFERENT, which is seriously fascinating.) Being willing to GO with the patterns is an amazing skill. Keep us posted!
LadyB

[SweetMelissa]

Hi everyone! This is my story.

I believe I acquired Lyme disease about 2 years ago, so that would be early summer of '08. I also became pregnant around the same time. So, I now have a 1 year old girl, and 4 year old boy.

I realized I had Lyme one day, I think it was about late February of this year, when I had an aha! moment while reading a long list of lyme symptoms and realized I had just about every one. I had spent months researching autoimmune conditions and trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me because no matter what I did, my health on all levels was going down the tube. It had gotten to the point where I was hunched over- my spine didn't want to straighten, and my wrists and hands were becoming unusable and I held my arms all day long, had to be all bundled up or I would develop a fever, and in the most depressed state ever. I had become unable to socialize, unable to go out, I was all wrapped up in emotional issues, and mental illness. My brain wasn't working, I could no longer communicate well, I hurt all over, I had brutal headaches, and I felt helpless. I was getting sick back to back one illness after the other for a year. And my heart had started going haywire, with swelling sensation in my head. For nine months or so, I'd developed vision problems in the middle of the night when I got up as well, with dizziness.

I did the research and realized I couldn't afford testing, I had no insurance at the time either, and the basic tests didn't seem accurate anyhow. So I relied on LadyB's self-testing methods, and the answers were that me and my son had lyme, and we both tested positive for Teasel as well. I contacted LadyB, and she sent me some as soon as it was ready. At this point in time I was solely being guided by the fact that I was getting definite 'yes's on the teasel, but I was testing it without the product in my hand, so I wasn't totally convinced I was right. But when I received the package my belly started pulling towards it strongly before I could even get the bottle out of there!

While I was waiting for the Teasel to come, for a week, I was taking wormwood at 1 drop, and motherwort to curb the heart problems and brain swelling.

So, I received the teasel on March 6th. Reading in my journal I state that the first thing I experienced after taking one drop - was that it seemed to go "straight to my head". Then I felt a warmth all over my body, an altered state, and a little jittery. Sweaty feet, my neck kept popping and I had the urge to keep rolling it, loosening it. I had popping, vibrating sounds internally, and sweaty palms. About an hour later I was on the phone recounting childhood experiences of being an artist while not being able to be one. Suddenly I had this realization that this related to the "had a purpose but lost it", and "restores what is broken". The next morning I recalled a vague dream of speaking with deer.

Teasel interupted my sleep that night.

It generally affected me this way until I got used to it. I was never able to get it above 1 drop a day, and when I did, I would lose a lot of sleep, and the next day I would test "no". So there was only a couple times I got it up to 3 drops. There was also a few times I took a break for 1-3 days at a time - I still continued to get sick with viruses every couple weeks during which time my body needed a break from the Teasel. So me and my son took one drop, once a day for almost 2 1/2 months with breaks whenever we got sick, so, every couple weeks there would be that break.

6 days after beginning teasel, with a two day break in between, I noticed improvement. I was able to make my brother a card for his birthday, and did some other things I hadn't been able to do for so long.

March 14th, 8 days after starting Teasel, I was on my feet all day, cooking meals, doing housework. I noted that ideas and insights were coming quick to me, and I was retaining information better. I began studying lots of things at once and came to realizations about my self and my needs and passions. I also note that I'd been taking 1 drop of wormwood every couple days that week, as par self-testing.

By March 27th, I'm doing all sorts of things. Making herbal remedies, socializing in various ways, getting out. I feel better, all the major symptoms seem to be gone.

April 9th. It's helping the brain problems I get when I lose sleep. The depressive funk is behind me, and I want to do so many things at once.

And around May 16th or so, I stopped taking the teasel and I have not tested positive for it since. My son stopped testing for it as well. We seem to be in recovery.

I have kidney problems, or what seem to be kidney problems, and some neurological issues that began long before the lyme. Unfortunately the Teasel could not restore whatever is going on there and I will have to find another plant to help me.

I had become gluten intolerant during the lyme infection, and after a month and a half of teasel (I can't remember exacts), I was no longer intolerant!

I've been fully immersed in herbal studies, and childrearing, trying to do better every day, but I'm not quite where I'd like to be. My hands are still a little funky sometimes, but nowhere near what they were before Teasel. My temperature is better. My brain is a mess, but it works fine learning herbalism. LOL. Communication is much better and my sense of things. I'm more able to be around people. The vision problems and dizziness in the middle of the night are gone completely. Head swelling gone, heart problems gone except for recently, and the headaches are better. My mood and psychological state is much better, and my energy levels are good.

And that's where I'm at now.

Thanks for reading, and thanks Lady B for your help!

-Melissa

[Thane]

Great and encouraging stories everyone!! Thanks for sharing!