Just to settle life down some, we decided to sell our house and build a new one. By this time, I was forgetting complete conversations and, at points, not being able to maintain consciousness during them. Surprisingly, I not only maintained my job, but had advanced my career, even being awarded a Leadership Award for my contributions to the company in the previous year.
That summer I visited my osteopath for treatment of severe sciatic pain. It was my fourth visit in a couple months or so and it ended with the dreaded question: Had I ever been tested for Lyme Disease. He was so convinced that he sent me out with a test kit. Sure enough, a month later, the week that we moved into our new house, I tested positive. We sent my bloodwork for further tests and received another definitive yes. Glad to have answers, and with a pretty positive attitude, we started treatment.
I have been a firm believer in the power and advantages of using natural products for most of my life, so much so that Janet and I started this business in 2015 (yeah, with 2 infants and a 9-year-old). I started my first organic garden in my early 20’s and continue gardening that way through this very day. Naturally, my treatment would be based on my beliefs.
What we came to find out shortly into treatment is that my body was highly sensitive to many treatments. We tried quite a few different remedies and herbal protocols at different strengths but in each case, I began a spiral of worsening symptoms very early on. The symptoms became so intense that I was unable to hold it together any longer at work. I was a Director at a credit agency and I would be in meetings and not be able to follow anything that was going on. My employees, my employer, it didn’t matter. Words escaped me, I was exhausted, in pain and now I was putting people that depended on me potentially in the path of an oncoming train without even realizing it. I needed to do something drastic and I needed to do it now. My doctor recommended that I try antibiotics and even though I was reluctant, I was desperate. In the same week I went out on medical leave.
The first antibiotic that I took made me feel like I wasn’t even in my body, but I pushed on hoping that a hard push through some sickness would bring me out the other side on the road to recovery. Well, I was wrong. Nearly three months later I was sicker than I had ever been. What now? I stopped all treatments except for a base treatment of medicinal mushrooms and Japanese knotweed to gently try and nudge my system along and heal from the wrath of pharmaceutical antibiotics. By this point hope had run out and I was near the point of giving up - but fortunately it’s just not in my nature.
Our love of nature had taught us quite a bit about medicinal mushrooms and foraging for materials that we made medicine out of for ourselves. I shifted my perception and focused on what I knew – supporting my immune system using wild mushrooms and plants. I started building my own treatment plan with the help and guidance of my doctor. It started with a base tincture of 3 mushrooms; Chaga, Turkey Tail and Hemlock Reishi. Added to that was Japanese knotweed, an herb well known in the herbal community as a must have against Lyme, and in the rest of the world as an invasive species that needs to be eradicated. I monitored my dosages and continued to explore options that I had access to. Physically, I continued to push as much as I could, though walks in the woods were about all I could muster as pushing too hard led to a horrible next day and quite possibly next week. These walks are where the Birch Polypore came into my life. A little research pointed out that this could be a good addition and significant contributor in my treatment, so into a tincture it went. We were then blessed with a find of the Comb Tooth. This mushroom is in the same family as Lion’s Mane, well known for its cognitive and neurological benefits. At this point it started to feel much like nature was speaking to me, trying to help. I knew I was headed in the right direction, even if my body was telling me otherwise.
Although the following months were absent of improvement, they were also notably absent of deterioration. Minor flare ups here and there from pushing too hard or the occasional attempt at additional treatments was pretty much the extent. I was stuck in a baseline of headaches, joint and muscle pain that made walking difficult and a cognitive deficit that led me astray and lacking focus. Was I getting used to being sick? Would my health ever get better? These are questions that would sneak in and I constantly fought away. I will get better.
That next summer, my father was building a new house. I was still unable to work so I spent a few days a week helping as much as I could. This was the first time that I felt I was able to push myself, both physically and mentally. Exercise, to the extent that I could do it, was not sending me into a herx reaction – I was amazed. Pushing a little more as summer went on, I kept up on my tincture blend – up to 40ml per day depending on how I was feeling. Maybe I was on to something.
Late that fall we had entered the market and craft show season for our business. Janet had done all of this in the previous years, and most of everything else during my battle. This year was different. We ended up double booked on a Sunday and she couldn’t be in both places at once. That day was my first day meeting and greeting people that were looking to work with the powers of nature to heal themselves. I knew this story well and felt a chapter of my life close behind me as I stepped into a new one. Almost as if I was off course and nature gave me not only the sickness that would redirect my life, but the means to heal it and the knowledge to help others. After all, change is uncomfortable.
As I continued to improve, I worked more events. At one event I was having a discussion with a customer about our mutual battle with Lyme. As I described to her the process that I went though, what I used and how I used it, she had one question: Do you offer it for sale? I was the only person to use it so I had not considered it as a product. After some more successful testing on myself and others, we have decided to offer this as a blended product.
What is in this tincture blend and what we added it for:
Chaga – Probably the most well-known medicinal mushroom for its immune support, anticancer, anti-inflammation and antiviral activities.
Turkey Tail – Immune support, one of the world’s most thoroughly studied mushrooms for anticancer and anti-tumor capabilities.
Hemlock Reishi – Immune support, improved liver function and detoxification, anti-tumor and anticancer.
Birch Polypore - Immune support, anti-inflammatory, has been found to fight the bacterium Escherichia coli and other harmful bacteria, antiviral, anti-tumor, anti-parasitic, antiseptic and soothes nerves and fights fatigue.
Lion’s Mane - Found to be a stimulator of nerve growth synthesis and has been investigated as treatment for Alzheimer’s and the potential for nerve regeneration and increased brain function. High anti-oxidant values.
Japanese Knotweed – Immune support, antibacterial, enhances blood flow, anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective, crosses the blood brain barrier to benefit the central nervous system.
We hope it puts you on the path of healing that you’ve been looking for. It did for me.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Consult your physician before beginning any herbal treatment.*
]]>Japanese knotweed began making its mark in the scientific community in 1963 when Michio Takaoka first isolated the compound Resveratrol from the roots. Fast forward to 1992 when the presence of Resveratrol was concluded to be responsible for the cardioprotective effect of wine (Baur and Sinclair, 2006). Now we are getting somewhere! Resveratrol appears in many plants at varying amounts; however, red wine grapes and Japanese knotweed are believed to have the highest concentrations. The role of Resveratrol in a plant is believed to be one of protection against microbial infection, UV radiation, and is thought of as a broad plant defense system. While known primarily for its Resveratrol content, Japanese knotweed has been found to have many other chemical compounds, such as emodin, polydatin, quercetin and catechin, that prove to be very promising in the treatment of many health issues that we see today.
My personal experience with Japanese knotweed started when I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. I had heard of its use in the area before, but had no real reason to explore it. Well, now I did. If you are into alternative medicine at all and think of Lyme disease, Stephen Buhner comes up in every search. His claims on the herb are very detailed: "A broadly systemic plant, Japanese knotweed enhances and modulates immune function, is active against a number of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria including leptospira and Treponema denticola spirochetes, is anti-inflammatory for both bacterial and arthritic inflammations, protects the body against endotoxin damage, helps reduce Herxheimer reactions, and is a cardio-protector.
Polygonum cuspidatum's constituents cross the blood-brain barrier where they exert actions on the central nervous system: anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, as protectants against oxidative and microbial damage, and as calming agents. The herb specifically protects the brain from inflammatory damage, microbial endotoxins, and bacterial infections.
Knotweed enhances blood flow, especially to the eye, heart, skin, and joints. This makes it especially useful in Lyme as it facilitates blood flow to the areas that are difficult to reach to kill the spirochetes. It is a drug and herb synergist, facilitating the movement of other herbs and drugs into these hard-to-reach places when taken with them."
As of this post, I have more than a dozen research papers, articles and excerpts spread around the table in front of me, touting the incredible potential of this herb. What I believe is most important to share with you is this: I have been using Japanese knotweed since I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease because I believe in it, and I continue using it because I am better. I have tried numerous herbs in various forms that have come and gone, but I have never left this one out of my daily regimen.
Now, after spending so much time digging through research on polygonum cuspidatum, I consider it part of my “every day” routine for much more than Lyme. In addition to Buhner’s claims, there are reported positive effects on intestinal flora, spleen protection, antitumor, anticancer and antiviral activities.
I will even go so far as to say this: maybe the spread of Japanese knotweed throughout the U.S. is nature’s way of throwing us a bone in what would become a serious health issue – Lyme disease.
As with any herbal preparation, consider what you are taking already for any contraindications, and consult your doctor.
References:
Buhner,S.H. (2005) Healing Lyme. Silver City, NM: Raven Press.
Wu X, Li Q, Feng Y, Ji Q. Antitumor Research of the Active Ingredients from Traditional Chinese Medical Plant Polygonum Cuspidatum. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018;2018:2313021. Published 2018 Nov 21. doi:10.1155/2018/2313021
Espinoza JL, Trung LQ, Inaoka PT, et al. The Repeated Administration of Resveratrol Has Measurable Effects on Circulating T-Cell Subsets in Humans. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:6781872. doi:10.1155/2017/6781872
Chenyang Guo et al 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 301 012062
Zhang H, Li C, Kwok ST, Zhang QW, Chan SW. A Review of the Pharmacological Effects of the Dried Root of Polygonum cuspidatum (Hu Zhang) and Its Constituents. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:208349. doi: 10.1155/2013/208349. Epub 2013 Sep 30
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