My body hates teasel

[lou63629]

I've had Lyme for about 9 years. I began taking teasel on May 29th, 3x 3 a day.About June 15th, I developed a bladdar problem -- not exactly an infection, but a sort of nerve thing. When I would urinate, my nerves would go haywire, all the way to my upper arms! It was like being electrocuted! There had been some good results -- no more sore knees, elbows, and back of neck. My basic temperature had risen (could no longer stand to be in the hot tub!).

Then the Herxing got so bad -- especially extreme fatigue and the bladdar condition -- that I decided to stop the teasel and see what would happen. I quit June 26, bladdar problem disappeared. Went back on teasel June 29, bladdar problem IMMEDIATELY started up again.

Finally, June 30 I backed down to 1 drop Teasel 3 times a day, and still felt horrible. Brain fog really bad.

I did the self test, and my body jumped back from teasel unmistakably. My question is, what do I do now? Is teasel just not for me? Should i give it a couple of weeks and try again? Meanwhile, what about killing off spirochetes?
Is colloidal silver a good substitute?

Thanks for your help.

LOU
louashby2@yahoo.com

[momoftwohugs]

Hi Lou,

I am sure someone more knowledgeable than I will also respond, however I have some thoughts on this as I also had the same response self-testing with Teasel (and some other supp's). My system was in a TERRIBLE way, very herxy and I was miserable. The first instinct I had was to stop everything and give my body a chance to detox and rest, then every day or so I will re-test and see if my body "can use this right now". There are some supp's my body does not need every day (some days NONE) and I feel it is when we are so overloaded with toxins...well, producing more only makes it worse.

These are only my thoughts on it, and i look forward to seeing what others' think as well. Hope you are feeling better soon!

[Cheryl]

Hi, Lou:

Good response, Alana. Lou, did I read your email correctly? You jumped right in at 3 drops 3 times/day?!!! Small wonder you herxed, friend! Start with one drop the first day; two drops the second; 3 drops the third (1 in morning, 1 at noon, 1 in evening); 5 drops the fifth (2 in morning, 1 at noon, 1 in evening) etc till you work up to the 3 drops/3x day. Because I tend to have seizures, I even drag it out more than that. I will take one drop for several days, two drops for several days etc. Teasel is powerful stuff!

When I get in a big herx, I stop all killing and bump up the detox. Alana was right on that. You need to let your body clear out before you dump more toxins. Chlorella is great for long term use, charcoal for an "E.R." type of herx is a good option. There are all kinds of detox options: coffee enema, french green clay, magnesium baths, alkazelter gold etc.

I have never been able to get the self testing to work. I have asked several practioners and it seems that if your body is too out of balance, it might not be able to "read" correctly. I know many place a lot of stock in the self testing, I personally approach it with caution as I am not sure if our bodies are balanced enough to use it.

Hope this helps you out. If you had a positive result with the teasel (less joint pain etc) I would say it is a good option for you - I think you just started it off too quickly created a herx crisis. If it were me, I would let it clear than start up more slowly. When teasel works for you it is amazing stuff!

Cheryl

[Andrea]

Sounds like the amount and/or how quickly you increased drops was too much for your body. I had a very strong positive response to teasel before I started. However, when I worked up to 6 drops per day, after being on teasel for almost 3 months (!!) my body revolted. At that point, I got a very negative response from self-testing it. I tried to ask how long a break I needed to take and couldn't get a clear read. So, I stopped for a week + until I felt better and the body returned to a strong positive for it. I started back with 1 drop/day about 2 weeks ago and am now at 1 drop 3x/day. I had a good herx at 5 drops/day, so that will probably be my limit, whenever I reach that point again. All that to say, listen to your body. And, after you start back up, ask how many drops per day your body can use. Mine had said 5 or 6.

I take Cat's Claw with the teasel. Test if that's a good option for you since it boosts the CD-57 NK cell count that Lyme reduces.

Good luck and take it easy.
Andrea

[Malinda]

I whole-heartedly agree with what others are saying. My son started on teasel approx. 6 months ago and is only taking one drop a day. Our ND muscle-tests for quantities and he has been up to as high as 1 drop 3 times a day. But when herxing, he does not test for any at all. I would recommend stopping the teasel until you stop herxing and then go very slowly.....possibly one drop every other day, then increasing very slowly.
Blessings, Malinda

[SweetMelissa]

I took only 1 drop a day, and a few times I made it up to 3 drops, but for the most part just stayed at 1. And I took breaks in between when I needed to. And it still worked. I used self-testing to decide these things. You can use self-testing even on the dosage. The body will pull back when it's had enough. Or at least mine does.

[mwillburn]

Hi everyone, new here - with regards to the teasel herx reaction. Has anyone had dizziness and somewhat blurred vision? I have worked up to the 3 x 3 dose, and am not experiencing any major joint pain or anything I have seen as classic "herxing", but am sure experiencing this vertigo. I have Hashimoto's as a result of the Lyme, and I am wondering if this has anything to do with a lyme die off in my thyroid. I was on Salt C for a week, and then came off because I didn't feel comfortable with it and wasn't sure if the dizziness was caused by that. Have been off now for 3 days, but symptoms have not abated. Holistic MD thinks it is herxing, just want to get others' comments on that diagnosis. I can just about stand it as long as I don't let myself start thinking I'm causing irreparable brain damage or something!!! Isn't it fun to be a Lab Rat? Thanks.

[Cheryl]

Hi,

Not sure about all your symptoms; but I have struggled with vertigo on and off for years. I am wondering if your current dizziness is from the salt - do you have high blood pressure? I usually get vertigo when I am going through one of my low lyme cycles. I have been getting it less and less as I improve.

Glad to hear you are trying the teasel. Let me know what you think.

Take care,
Cheryl

[lou63629]

Hi All:

Thank you for your responses, I really appreciate them. I quit the Teasel for a week, then went back on ONE drop x 3 a day. Even that gave me some degree of herxing, but I think I can stand it. The newest wrinkle is the problem with balance. No dizziness. My head is not affected, but the backs of my legs just get rubbery and I stagger.

I guess I'm feeling a bit hopeless at this point. It doesn't seem like One drop is enough to do any good against these damned spirichetes, but I can't stand to take more. Then I think maybe I should be taking Colloidal silver instead. A naturopath gave my boyfriend MesoSilver for his Lyme, and it apparently worked -- but it's terribly expensive. Since I already bought the Teasel, I would rather use that up, if it's really doing any good.

Are there others out there who have cured themselves of Lyme infestation with a low dose of Teasel? I would love to hear your testimonial if so.

Thanks everyone.

LOU

[LadyB]

How I WISH I would get notifications of new postings....sigh.

Teasel is not going to be everyone's ally. Jumping right in at 3 drops 3x a day is a BAD idea until YOU know how YOUR body handles it. Even if you work your way UP to the 3 drops 3x a day, by all means STOP or back way down if you get to feeling hideous! Nine years ago when I allied with Teasel and was able to beat Lyme, the phrase I used was "My body didn't WANT any more than 2 drops twice a day" in hindsight, I THINK what I was really saying was that 2 drops twice a day kept me BELOW my herx level.

The bladder thing is REALLY surprising considering how many folks have gotten back to me that kidney/bladder situations improved immensely. But let's get back to what Teasel does BEST. It COAXES the beasts out of hiding. Is that ONLY spirochetes? I doubt it. People ask me ENDLESSLY if it 'works' for co-infections and I explain equally endlessly that it is a PLANT, not a drug specifically engineered to target only ONE organism. So the herxes and flare-ups are usually a sign of beasts being routed out and they're none too happy about it. IF your own immune system is up to the challenge, it will clobber them now that it can SEE them. IF your immune system is totally trashed, then you may need some anti-microbial (abx, grapefruit seed) Some folks do well with Cat's Claw, others do horribly and others still feel NOTHING. Same for colloidal silver, mms, rifing, whatever.

And the ~detox~ thing needs to go GENTLY. An already stressed-out system, a liver overloaded with spirochete & co debris needs to be ALLOWED to detox, not PUSHED. LOTS of water, sleep and simple food. We also have a thread here about licorice root tincture really taking the edge off the herx symptoms (but not if you have ANY problems retaining water or high BP)

In recent years, we've seen the spirochetes 'attacking' particular organs (gallbladder's getting a lot of attention lately) Wherever the spirochetes set up housekeeping is where you're going to feel the shake-up. If it's a knee, we can pretty much deal with that. If it's your central nervous system, the symptoms get scary. If it's your heart, you need someone capable keeping an eye on things. If what the spirochetes are trashing are the nerves in your legs, Boneset tincture can help heal the nerve SHEATHS.

It's great that so many of you are self-testing. If your body says NO MORE with the Teasel, listen to that. Put it aside for awhile. Whatever you do, do NOT keep taking something your body no longer wants just because you have it.

As time goes on, MY story becomes less and less like anyone else's because I wasn't ON 18 different protocols and therapies and detoxes. Keep in mind that these huge, complex protocols/therapies CHANGE your body and you really can't just keep adding more stuff.

For the original poster, interstitial cystitis is TOTALLY different from a true Bladder Infection and is treated entirely differently. Susun Weed does a whole section on it in her brilliant "New Menopausal Years" book.

I hope this helped some, I'll try to check back a bit more often.
LadyB