I've read many books on Lyme Disease and on healing Lyme Disease.
Some include antibiotic use. This one does not. The author
himself had Lyme disease and chose not to use antibiotics
due to a long-term super-infection he had gotten in the
past (from strong meds/antibiotics) that took years to heal. Anyway, it
is a refreshing book to read with lots of ideas of natural/herbal
remedies for helping to strengthen the immune system and heal from
Lyme Disease. He includes some information/ideas/protocols from a
few other docs treating Lyme Disease naturally, including Buhner.
The 3 main books I'm using (along with my Lyme doc) to help guide me
on my healing journey (I'm 9 months into the Lyme diagnosis) are:
1. this one; 2. Buhner's "Healing Lyme" and 3. Kenneth Singleton's
"The Lyme Disease Solution"
This book provides interesting cultural and historical information on healing, traditional medicine, herbal medicine, etc. For someone looking for a comprehensive approach to treating Lyme, however, this isn't it. It focuses on basically one herb, teasel. Storl writes in the 1st chapter, "In short: Teasel root tincture or tea, taken for a few weeks, in addition to hot baths every day, or every other day (sauna, thermal baths, sunbathing), is a very good cure for Lyme disease." It may have been a very good cure for *his* type of Lyme disease, but not everyone manifests in the same way with the same severity. If I had hopped in the sauna and/or hot bath every other day at the height of my symptoms, I think my brain would have exploded. I had to avoid any source of heat for over a year because it aggravated my already highly-inflamed brain and nervous system. It triggered strong vibration and throbbing in my head and spine and caused all of my symptoms to flare up. For me, at that level of severity, heat was not an option. It's been just recently, after 2 years of antibiotic treatment, that I'm able to enjoy hot baths and saunas the way I used to. Now, at this point in my treatment, I do believe the baths and saunas are good for me and good for flushing out toxins.
I also don't agree with his stance on antibiotics. I was never a fan of antibiotics before I got Lyme disease. I wouldn't even use antibacterial hand soap. I was committed to using all-natural and/or herbal treatments for illness. However, I believe that antibiotics were crucial in lessening my bacterial load and in coaxing my suppressed immune system to re-emerge. Now that my symptoms are much more manageable, and my immune system on board, I'm going to switch over to an herbal protocol and have complete confidence that it will work for me. But I do believe that in certain severe and/or long-standing cases of Lyme, antibiotics are necessary, at least at first. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. This is what antibiotics were made for, severe infections of the brain and nervous system, not for cows and colds.
Storl has an absolutely absurd section called "Fashionable Diseases" in the chapter called "Fear of Nature." In it, he talks about how Lyme is "in vogue" and asks the question, "Is it possible that Lyme disease is a fad?" He discusses "fashionable diseases" in history such as demon possession, bad fluids (flu, intestinal problems), neurasthenia (general weakness of female nerves), etc. Well, if Lyme is fashionable, it's fashionable in the same way that TB and malaria are fashionable as far as I'm concerned! I found this section to be almost insulting. He ends it with, "Maybe, to a certain degree, Lyme disease can be seen as a 'fashionable' disease, as an expression of the Zeitgeist. If that is the case, it will share the fate of all fashions, that is, it will eventually be forgotten." Seriously???
Criticisms aside, I found his info re: the historical treatment of syphilis to be fascinating. There's great in-depth info on teasel, as would be expected. Storl also touches on a number of other herbs that help with recovery from Lyme, mentions a few other protocols (Klinghardt, etc.), and discusses lifestyle factors, diet, etc. So, overall, I did find this book interesting and worth reading. I appreciated his anthropologist's perspective, even though he sometimes got carried away (Zeitgeist). Think of this as just one book in your Lyme library. Take from it what you will and leave the rest, as with all Lyme books and books in general.
Buy Healing Lyme Disease Naturally: History, Analysis, and Treatments Now
In the spring I bought a couple books: "Healing Lyme" by Stephen Buhner, and "Healing Lyme Disease Naturally" by Wolf Storl. Both are excellently written, and Storl, being an anthropologist, reads more as a philosophical study of disease and all the implications on society long ago and through the present. I believe most, if not all, inquisitive types would be very interested in his book. It really enhanced my understanding of Lyme, Syphilis, and the history and impacts of the diseases and medicine while simultaneously being a practical and philosophical piece. I plan to draw on it heavily for some parts of my classes.
Buhner's book is to the concise, well written, and highly recommended... just beware the outline of the core protocol on page 76, it says take 3-4 cat's claw, 3 times a day, and should say 1-4, 3 times a day. I made the mistake of reading the book and taking a couple weeks before beginning treatment. I looked at the chart, took 3 cat's claw on my first dose and began feeling a sense of euphoria a while after...
I have seen progress... I feel more energetic and my mind is a little sharper... I have been on max dose, plus teasel (15+ drops a day), for 2 weeks and 6 weeks, respectively. I think chronic lymies may have to do some long term treatment, but also hope these natural cures prove to be effective for the long haul.
Read Best Reviews of Healing Lyme Disease Naturally: History, Analysis, and Treatments Here
I have to agree with Lymedoc. This is not the book to buy if you are searching for Lyme treatments. In that sense, the book can be summarized in one sentence: "Teasel can be used to treat Lyme." However, unlike the author, I believe there are other useful, probably more useful, Lyme treatments than teasel. Will teasel make you herx? It did me so that is an indication it is effective against Lyme. Would I forego other treatments for teasel? Not on my life. As with Lymedoc, the author almost lost me on the second page of the introduction with his antibiotic bashing. In fact, at that point, I thought he was going to present an IDSA perspective on chronic Lyme and was I pissed I had purchased the book. However, I did stick it out to the end, but not for the Lyme treatment guidelines. Instead, I found the whole medical anthropology discussion to be generally interesting. In particular, the author delved into the history of syphilis which caused me to think about the role disease played in history in a way I had never considered before. Were some of the world leaders mad with syphilis? Does that explain some of their actions? Could that be happening with Lyme now? Then, near the end of the book, in footnote 60 on 231, the author states "co-infections are very rare". Really? This combined with his earlier remarks on antibiotics leads me to wonder about the accuracy of any of the materials in the book. That doesn't take away from my general curiosity about disease in history, but it does give me pause about the author's specific assertions. If that interests you, buy it for that reason, but don't purchase it if you're seeking help in treating Lyme.
Want Healing Lyme Disease Naturally: History, Analysis, and Treatments Discount?
I almost didn't buy it because of Lymedoc's review, but I was able to see the reference through Amazon's preview and found the article in the New England Journal. Storl did not overstate the conclusions the authors stated in both the abstract and also in the body of their study. I actually had to reread the New England Journal article several times to make sure that I hadn't missed something. So I bought the book and I'm glad I did! Maybe "Lymedoc" has an agenda to defend that has nothing to do with objectivity and providing tools for personal health and well-being. Enough about a misguided reviewer, though it is disturbing that such irresponsible comments could deflect people from a beneficial treatment path or protocol.
Thoughtful and meticulous, Dr. Storl wrote very clearly and where one might have been tempted to "push" a point, he would just state it in a very objective manner. While his conclusions challenge current medical and scientific orthodoxy, this book was certainly not preachy. I enjoyed the narrative aspects of the book along with the medical, medicinal and pharmacological descriptions. If one is unfamiliar with these plant based practices, I would suggest reading Stephen Harrod Buhner's work -I started with Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers: The Secrets of Ancient Fermentation and his discussion of fermentation got me to begin to see plants in a very different light. Then go on and read any or all of his body of work.
Building on this, I would urge someone considering Storl's work to get a copy of Timothy Lee Scott's work Invasive Plant Medicine: The Ecological Benefits and Healing Abilities of Invasives who has studied under Buhner to get more perspective on Dr. Storl's work. You can find Tim Scott by googling him and he does reply to e-mail inquiries. I have been fortunate to not have contracted this infection, but have known a number of individuals whose experiences range from the "bulls-eye ring" and a mild course with antibiotics through to no "ring" and a miserable protracted course, yet still cautious about trying a "plant based" approach. Sometimes it seems that professionals lose sight of who the "customer" is and what needs need to be met. It certainly isn't to rationalize treatment protocols that haven't met the needs. So as a book, read it as it is informative, well written and certainly stimulated different avenues of thoughts. Beyond that....
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I have several other medical books, but as far as diagnosing symptoms, this is the best. You can find an entire chart for arm pain or something like that, then you can check out possible diseases. With other books, you need to know what you have first. I also like how the book is set up. You read about the symptoms and which ones require medical attention, then you read about possible causes, and cure options -both traditional and alternative. I also use this book to check my medications, since there is an extensive list in the back. And I love the pictures of the body in the back -which aided me in realizing I probably had a swollen gland and not a cancerous lump. I wish they would do an updated version of this book. Colleagues at work are forever asking me to "bring in your book," to diagnosed their families. It's must-have home reference. (I need to add that I have the hardback version, and I am assuming the paperback is the same.)
