 Back in August I sent out a post saying, “Please Stand By.” I mentioned that I was returning from vacation and I had been ready to hit the ground running but that life had other plans for me. We are now to February and I think, hope, I have moved (most of) life’s other plans to the wayside and I can resume as previously planned. What happened? An awful lot, and I suspect that plays a part in what ultimately put the roadblock in my way. However, I will share with you the shortened version of what happened after my summer vacation. We were all checked in for our flight the next morning and late that afternoon things changed. Eventually, we learned our flight had been cancelled and the airline gave us various flight choices for return flights many days later. That wasn’t an option, though, because there were plans set in stone for some of our group and we had to get back. Many hours later (and many dollars, too!) all 5 of us were booked on a flight home the following morning. Phew! What a to-do! But it was done. Fast forward a few hours and literally the minute I stepped on the plane, I had a bad headache. It was really bad. I slept. I looked in my bag for my Aconite/Bryonia combination (see here and here and here and here for more on this fabulous Banerji protocol) but then I remembered I gave it away on the trip. I knew I had remedies in my carry on but I really couldn’t think about what I had, where I had them or what to do with them if I were even able to muster the energy to get them out of the overhead bin. I kept sleeping instead. Back on terra firma, waiting for our final flight home I was unbelievably grumpy. Grumpy actually doesn’t begin to touch my mood — I was foul and angry and I hated the world. My headache was still raging. I felt feverish on and off. I was miserable. Now home, I confirmed my low-grade fever and then I slept. The next morning my headache was a little better, the fever was barely there, but still there it was. The next day things got worse. Now my headache was really terrible. Fever remained low. I slept and I slept and then I slept some more. Now on day 3, I could barely walk my hip hurt so badly. My neck was killing me. My head was so awful I even took ibuprofen — something I have not done in almost 10 years. That lessened the pain for a few hours and I was able to sleep without pain. The headache returned the next day and I again had to take the painkiller so I could sleep without pain. It was a truly debilitating pain. The other thing this ibuprofen did for me was allow my brain to function enough to contact some homeopath friends for some help. Help they did and two days later, I was feeling better, but the low fever stuck around. One week to the day from stepping on that plane, my fever broke. Hallelujah! That night, as I was getting ready for bed, I found an awful looking thing on the outside of my left knee. It was a big, ugly, dare I say garish looking thing and I can’t for a moment think that I could have missed seeing this if it was there before. I booked an on-line appointment for the next morning to confirm my suspicion of and immediately began homeopathic remedies for Lyme disease. It all made sense now as to why I felt so horrible and why none of the homeopathy I was trying was working. This was not a little bug I picked up… well, it was, actually a really little bug, but you know what I mean. My otherwise well chosen remedies were not doing anything to touch those little spirochetes that were busy burrowing themselves deep into my system. The nurse I spoke with during my on-line consultation advised that it looked like Lyme but that she recommended I turn up at the ER for “eyes on” to make sure I wasn’t suffering from cellulitis or some other nasty thing. So, the next day, I did just that and 7-1/2 hours later I was discharged (after never actually getting to speak with a medical doctor but there were plenty of physician’s assistants who stopped by to see my colorful leg. You see, Lyme technically exists in the desert in which I live, but conditions are apparently too dry for them. The most senior of these PAs told me he had seen Lyme in New Mexico only 2 other times in his many years of working here and, like me, both those cases had recently traveled, but I digress…) with a prescription of what turned out to be a nasty antibiotic which I learned a week into the 2-week protocol that it doesn’t have a great track record for “curing” Lyme. However, if you get a tick bite and you immediately take a single dose of Doxycycline, that provides a statistically significant level of protection. Not surprisingly, though, side effects were more common in the Doxycycline group than in the placebo group (Zepf 2002). (Click here to read a literature review.) How did I handle my Lyme disease? Right off the bat, I was remarkably calm (after a little Holy Shamoly moment when I found the rash). I started looking everything up online and confirmed in my mind what was going on. I was both excited (I had a plan in mind) and terrified (it’s Lyme!) to have this answer to what had been ailing me. I made my tele-health appointment and then immediately began taking homeopathic remedies and I slept a good, fever-free sleep. What remedies did I take? I turned to the Banerjis (Parekh 2022) for my first round of homeopathic remedies because the Banerjis are always a very good place to start, especially when you have a diagnosis. The Banerji protocol for Lyme begins with homeopathic Ledum and uses other remedies to address pain as well as specific remedies and nosodes to address the infection itself. Why are these remedies recommended for Lyme disease? Ledum is the remedy for puncture wounds and a tick bite is indeed a puncture wound! Some say Ledum can be used prophylactically and if taken at the first noticing of a tick bite, it may be able to nip a potential infection in the bud. I put this in the can’t hurt, might help category. If you frequent tick-y areas, keep a tube of Ledum with you, just in case. Plus, Ledum is really good for insect bites in general and can be helpful if you are Poked by a Branch, (and, I addressed Lyme and Ledum in Summer Fun #3: Flying Things (mainly.)) The Lyme nosode is exactly what it says — a homeopathic remedy made from the Lyme microbe. (See Sodes and Codes.) These are not the only remedies which are indicated for Lyme disease. Dr. Robin Murphy lists Arsenicum album, Mercurius sol, Tarentula and Thuja in his Lyme disease rubric. Beyond that, there are many, many homeopathic remedies which may be useful in a chronic Lyme case. Work with a professional homeopath and see what relief can be found. After taking those first doses of homeopathic remedies, the next morning I felt better than I had for a week. Granted, it was my first fever-free night’s sleep, but something felt different. And, that afternoon, for better or for worse, after spending hours in the ER, I began the Doxycycline because that is what every medical source I read said to do. A couple of weeks into this rotten scenario, I was still having pretty bad hip pain. I went to my Doctor of Oriental Medicine who addressed my right hip through my left hand (acupuncture is mind blowing). While those needles were doing their thing, I did some breathing exercises I read about in a book prior to having a surgery many years ago. I breathed in deeply, envisioning white, healing light going into my hip and as I exhaled, I pictured whatever color came to mind (usually grey or black) while at the same time conjuring up an image of the spirochetes being unscrewed from my hip. (This, too, goes into my “can’t hurt, might help” bucket of tricks.) I find the breathing in white and exhaling whatever ickiness comes to mind to be very helpful for all sorts of things that come along. What else did I do? I read a few books on Lyme (some helpful, others just slightly informative). I scoured the internet. I watched professional webinars on how to treat Lyme naturally. I purchased a whole bunch of naturopathic remedies after watching these webinars… but, I never needed them. Homeopathy fixed me all up. I didn’t stop with the Banerji Lyme protocol remedies. I needed to pivot a few times to tackle my symptoms. I also encountered some pretty big yuckiness as a result of the conventional meds. I worked with my homeopath to help clean that up, too. It was quite the learning experience on many levels. I feel pretty confident that Lyme disease is in my rearview mirror and I can’t begin to tell you what a relief that is. I had my Lyme diagnosis the middle of August and due to one thing or another (not just Lyme, remember I had a lot going on at the time) it really wasn’t until the beginning of December that I was feeling completely back to myself. It was quite a trek. The other thing I did was to purchase a tick remover and I have put it in my little travel bag to make sure I always have it with me whenever I visit tick-land.
This post is a shortened version of the first of my “Digging Deeper” paid articles. “Digging Deeper” is exactly that — posts that dive deeper into whatever subject is taking my fancy at the moment. To become a paid subscriber and to read the full article, click here. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits Sutton, D. and Spry, C., 2019. One Dose of Doxycycline for the Prevention of Lyme Disease: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines [online]. PubMed. Zepf, B., 2002. Single-Dose Doxycycline to Prevent Lyme Disease. American Family Physician [online], 65 (4), 714–717. This post is a shortened version of the first of my “Digging Deeper” paid articles.
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Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
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