Guest guest Posted February 1, 2008 Report Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi Beth as many on here are VERY knowledgeable about herbs (for which I have been VERY grateful) and due to the probable overlap in Zhang and Buhner (? some Zhang's Chinese herbals have counterparts or analogs to what Buhner suggests) I dont see why we cant discuss it here ( plus I keep getting errors on your email address) my son was on Zhang, with no other abx for about 6-7 months,( he had to stop?abx as he was almost toxic and by then had gone thru almost every abx.combo known to medicine to no avail) ?He is Lyme gestational and therefore assumed to have both cystic and spiro forms. He is also Bart pos and myco pos. He was never Babs pos but has had suspicious sx on and off so the supposition is the possibility. taking all this into account, Dr Zhang adjusted his protocol accordingly. well, for the first?3 months he herxed in about 5 weeks patterns, when NOTHING had moved his misery in either direction previously for nearly 2 yrs. then magically month 3 he started to feel a bit better, still Herxing...BUT then for whatever reason by month 4.5 and into month 5 he slipped back...not a Herx or any pattern to it.total reversal of all improvement \ ?and then by month 6 was too miserable to continue. constant sx, no Herx, no releif..Zhang changed dosages and herbs, then had our local accup. change stuff around too, finally after another month we gave up.by then The reeking from the garlic bothered even him...it seeped from every pore and as it wasnt working...and we agreed that the non odor products have the active elements removed.and as a teen discouraged already we couldnt bear to argue with my son. " why am I swallowing tons of stuff, reeking so bad I cant leave the house or take the smell in my own room and yet I STILL feel so awful? " what would YOU tell him? BUT Evan also has an immune snafu--he is chronic low IGG /subsets and we cant be sure if from birth and/or due to the Lyme etc...we DO know that a few months trial on IV IGG helped him immensely when combined with abx BUT both insurance and his specialists wont allow it again...as its " off label " ...he hasnt the periph neuropathy or other diagnosed conditions its approved for and as a blood product its high risk and EXPENSIVE ( meaning insurance nightmare). we have seen 5 immuno's 3 rheumies 6 neuro's and various others and all say no...even the dysautonomia specialists couldnt get them to renew it and that is really a " neuropathy " too. I just feel intuitively that he needs this missing element he is low enough to be wreaking havoc but " not low enough " for any of them to qualify medical necessity vs risk other immune boosters ( mushrooms, immune factor , goji, mangosteen,herbs etc) we tried just dont target IGG and even if they were?boosting his immune system in general--his IGG stays pretty low, just barely above that magic threshold of necessity so maybe with IGG he wouldve been able to use the Zhang to heal more completely. (btw ?same thing with Buhner...a small improvement at first then NOTHING so after a few months of worsening he is back on abx now) anyway Zhang was expensive but at first was well worth it. Zhang will talk on phone with you but prefers to see/examine you. VERY kind and knowledgeable guy if you can get to NYC even once. Also I agree with him that for a real chance you really should also do the accupuncture ( and he even will tell your own accupuncturist the points and treatments depending upon your sx!!). He spent time on phone with our local Drs and accup. without charging for the time. In between visits we psoke on phone about sx for him to adjust herbs and dosing...again charged only for herbs... Ive met many at his office and online who are really HEALED by him but again as with all things Lymie...for every cure there are 10 of us who dont get any?positive changes?from the same treatment!! IF youve failed on all alse and have reaxhed point where abx no longer improving you...Id give Zhang a try. and/or Buhner too..and Id even maybe ask about combining the 2 or elements of both BUT be careful to ask both for recommendations as you dont want to either counteract with opposing herbs or overdose on synergistic herbs I dont know if Id recommend any of the alternatives INSTEAD of abx or as first line but?thats my bias and fear knowing?how under treated infections end up---like ME! but WITH abx and or after abx have taken you just so far...then Id try them all, one at a time or combos but with CARE and keep us posted---I would be VERY intersted in knowing how you did and on what!! be well Finette ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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