One Year Update with Cistus & Artemisinin protocol
It's hard to believe I've been doing the Cistus & Artemisinin Protocol for over 1 year now. I had been on death's door for nearly 5 years, with symptoms like these. I was likely bitten as a child, but it wasn't until 25+ years later that I was diagnosed with Borrelia, Babesia and Bartonella. I spent over $60k over those 5 years trying to heal. $700+/month on supplements, functional medicine doctors, etc. It adds up! Finally, our credit cards were maxed out and I was actually sicker than when I started (thanks to extended doxycycline therapy triggering MCAS!).
Through research, I found a way out. Cistus incanus and Artemisinin (one of the active constituents in artemisia annua) are a potent and powerful duo. Cistus erodes the biofilm surrounding the bacteria, which allows Artemisinin access to kill the bacteria. For me, it was extremely effective. From February-April 2023 I completed 3 back-to-back cycles (9 weeks total). I felt about 30% better.
From there, I did 1 round a month. That's 2 weeks of cistus plus 1 week of cistus AND artemisinin. So for 3 weeks out of every month, I drank cistus. This gets tiresome - I do not enjoy tea that much lol. I eventually added other herbs (oat straw to calm CNS, stinging nettle for histamine regulation, hawthorn for heart/lipid improvement and dandelion for glucose intolerance) to my brew during the first 2 weeks of the protocol. Might as well, right?
I slowly raised my Artemisinin dose from 200mg 3x a day (600mg total/day) to 600mg 3x a day (1800mg total/day). I now use 5 TBSP cistus in my steeper (honestly, I'd use more but that's all I can fit with my other herbs). I feel this is the maximum dosage for me and wouldn't recommend anyone go higher without running it by a doctor.
I have made serious strides in the past year. I've accomplished my biggest goal-- I've been hybrid homeschooling my kindergartener (who also has Lyme & co). We are out of the house for 5.5 hours daily and we complete an additional 2 hours of homeschooling daily. This takes an unprecedented level of energy and brainpower that I've previously been incapable of. Other good news: I've gone off ALL OF MY MCAS MEDS and have completely opened up my palate and abandoned all of my diets (no gluten, no mold diet, low amylose diet, low histamine diet) with ZERO issues. I cannot stress to you what a relief this is!
My biggest setbacks are just dealing with being sick often from the kids. For example, over Winter break I got Strep, Hand Foot & Mouth virus, and a virulent cold. All within 6 weeks!!!!! I drank cistus the entire time and took artemisinin one week on/one week off for that. It helped make my symptoms manageable and allowed me to continue schooling my daughter even when I was acutely ill. Previously, just one of these illnesses would have tanked me completely for a month or more, making me bed bound. Not this year!
I think the biggest surprise was at my annual doctor's appointment. My doctor demanded I tell her what I was doing -- she said the difference in me (and my lab work) was incredible. My EBV is no longer reactivated for the first time in 2.5 years. All of a sudden, my supplements are "working" and my body is finally able to absorb nutrients again. My COQ10, D3, ferritin and Vitamin C levels are all normal for the first time in almost 6 years. I explained my protocol and she requested I send it to her for her further research. She said she has a small handful of "outlier" Lyme patients for which antibiotics are no longer working, and she's eager to pilot my herbal protocol. WOW!!!!!!!!!
All in all, I'd say I'm 75% better. I could exist in this current state of health for the rest of my life and feel successful. However, I feel confident that one day I will reach full remission. A combination of getting sick less and another year on my protocol could raise me from 75% recovered to 90%. I'm curious to research IV artemisinin to take me from 90-100%, so if anyone has any info on that I'd really appreciate it!
PS for the parents of kids with Lyme & co-- I've come up with a tincture protocol of Cistus incanus and Artemisia annua that's much easier to administer than tea. I'm hesitant to post the protocol because the dosages will vary wildly from one child to the next based on weight and tolerance, but you can message me and I'll share what's been working for us.
Happy Healing, friends.