Background
I recently heard from someone with chronic fatigue syndrome, who, after figuring out that she probably had an autoimmune condition that was affecting her autonomic nervous system, turned not to drugs but to herbs and supplements….and benefittedgreatly.
Spices are play a large role in diet and medicine in many parts of the world. This is a Bangalore spice market.
This was particularly interesting to me because after years of doing mostly mind/body work I ‘d recently added herbs and supplements to the mix. I had tried them before, of course. For the first ten years or so I had ME/CFS they made no difference (nothing made any difference then) but about 10 years in they started to work, and they worked really well. Unfortunately periods of increased energy would leave me in fluey state and I stopped taking them. Now I was trying them again and finding, once again, how powerful herbs, in particular, could be.
Her Story
‘Tandrsc’ (online name) had tried herbs and supplements before without success, but taking a focused approach using scientifically validated herbs worked. Here’s her story…
She’s had a’ mild’ case of chronic fatigue syndrome (high levels of fatigue but able to work) for about 30 years. Around 2010 she entered a period of decline, had to stop working and was becoming bedridden. A diagnosis of ME/CFS in 2011 in the UK did nothing to stop the decline or provide treatment options.
At about a 2-3/10 in health, she began researching alternative methods on the Phoenix Rising Forums and then trying supplements whose efficacy had been validated in the scientific literature. First, acetyl-carnitine and D-ribose gave her the energy to get dressed in the morning.
The Herbs
Discovering herpesvirus activation was a possibility she added lemon balm, tumeric and ginger. Lemon balm helped greatly with brain-fog and tumeric fixed a nagging sore throat.
Some Health Rising blogs (:)) put her focus on three major topics; immune system regulation, central nervous system and cardiovascular (circulation) enhancers.
The low NK cell finding added Mistletoe and Ashwagandha. Learning from a blog on Dr. DeMeirlier that anti-epilepsy drugs can help with sleep she added skullcap. Caraway came from a blog on dysbiosis. Refining as she went along, she removed acetyl-l-carnitine and D-ribose.
To Tandrsc’s astonishment, skullcap (scutellaria lateriflora) solved a life-long hypersomnia problem
Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) turned out to be something of a miracle supplement for her. She’s had hypersomnia – the need for a lot of sleep – her entire life. Ten hours of sleep made her somewhat functional when she was better, but she was up to 12-15 hours a night as she declined. Her ability, after a few days of taking skullcap ( what a wonderful name :)) to sleep a normal 8-9 hours left her, she said, in a state of shock. Even months later she said she could hardly believe this lifelong issue has been resolved with an herb…
As she started feeling better she began to work on the low anaerobic threshold, starting with 5 minutes of relaxation/exercise and then moving up to 12 minutes, then 15, 17, 20, etc. She’s now up to an hour with no crash days. Pacing was important and she makes a point of doing five minutes of relaxation exercises every hour to get those intrusive, energy-draining thoughts out of her head.
Her dizziness and the feeling like blood is pooling in her legs is gone. She estimates she’s now at a 8/10 in health and is looking for work again.
Tandrsc didn’t take anything really unusual; she simply identified major factors in ME/CFS and then gathered together a herbal protocol to address them. Happily for her it worked. We know one size doesn’t fit all in ME/CFS but her protocol looks like it provides a nice foundation for an herbal approach to ME/CFS; something that I, at least, have never tried.
Tweaks will certainly be necessary for people who try this approach. Cocoa powder, for instance, definitely increases my energy but I also get gut cramps after awhile. It’s possible, of course, that something in the protocol will take care of that.
This looks like a pretty inexpensive way to go as well.
Nutrient and Herb Poll
Before we check out her protocol, Tandrsc has the largest poll on nutrients and herbs I’ve ever seen on her website. Take it and check out what others are saying here.
First up are tips. Then the elements in her protocol and lastly, how she put them together…
Tips
- Never spend a lot of money
- If you don’t notice a difference in 2-3 weeks (1 month tops) then you probably never will.
- Add one supplement at a time with a week’s gap so that you can check for adverse reactions.
- If you get a slight reaction with a supplement (e.g. a bit spotty or mild headache) but still want to try it, try taking a smaller amount.
- Be informed and know exactly why you are taking a supplement (e.g. to help circulation, immune system, etc). Only try things you can find research evidence to support (I use Pubmed for this and even rodent studies will do).
- The cheapest and easiest way to take powders (e.g. ground ginger) is to mix a small amount into a teaspoon of honey or jam. I use mini measuring spoons that I found on Amazon (1/32, 1/16 and 1/8 teaspoon).
- The cheapest and easiest way to take herbs is to make a strong tea (1 or 2 level teaspoons in a mug of boiling water, leave to cool, strain and put in the fridge) and then take 25-30 ml in half a glass of warm water 3 to 5 times a day. I make up a multi-herb tea this way.
- Little and often tends to work better, e.g. smaller amounts 3 times a day rather than a larger amount once a day.
- When you take a supplement can make a difference, e.g. before a meal may be more effective than after a meal.
- You might want to get some good herbal reference books as well. The information in these is usually based on traditional use rather than research, but they’re a good starting point as they usually have an index by illness or symptom. This will suggest herbs you can then look up on Pubmed rather than stabbing in the dark.
Tandrsc’s Herbal Treatment Protocol
–Antiviral/Antibiotic/Immune Support–
An Egyptian spice market
- Ashwagandha root powder
- Cocoa powder
- Ginger (ground)
- Lemon balm tea
- Mistletoe tea
- Turmeric (ground)
–Circulation–
- Cayenne pepper
- Garlic powder
- Ginkgo tea
- Horse chestnut tincture (added to body oil and rubbed into legs)
–Mitochondria support–
- Grapeseed oil (for co-enzyme Q10)
–Anxiety/Nervous system–
- Chamomile tea
- Red bush tea
- Skullcap tea
- St John’s wort tea
- Valerian tea
- Vervain tea
–Gut flora support–
- Caraway seed (ground)
~~~~~~
Putting It Together
The following are mixed together and taken as a tea. Each batch lasts about two days. She takes 25ml of the batch in half a glass of warm water 5 times a day (before meals, mid afternoon and before bed).
Herbal Teas
The measurements below are for 1 batch and makes 250ml of tea (enough for two days) . Bring the mixture to a boil, let it steep until it’s cool and then strain it. You have to experiment with the amount of water to add.
1 tsp Chamomile
2 tsp Ginkgo
1 tsp Lemon balm
1 tsp Mistletoe
2 tsp Nettle
1 tsp Rooibos
2 tsp Skullcap
1 tsp St John’s wort
1 tsp Valerian
1 tsp Vervain
Ground Herbs
The following are mixed together and I take 1/8 tsp 6 times a day (before meals, mid afternoon, after dinner and before bed). I mix each dose with 1 tsp of honey, 1.5 tsp of cocoa powder and 1 tsp of grapeseed oil.
3 parts Ashwagandha root powder
3 parts Caraway seed (ground)
1 part Cayenne pepper
3 parts Garlic powder
3 parts Ginger (ground)
3 parts Turmeric (ground)
All teaspoon measures are level teaspoons.
Starter Herbs
She recommends cocoa powder and/or lemon balm tea. You’ll probably have to experiment with dose.
Nutrient and Herb Poll
Check out the largest poll on nutrients and herbs I’ve ever seen Tandrsc’s website. Take it and check out what others are saying here.
Awww, love this article. Natural alternatives are right up my alley. Everyone that knows me, knows I try to go this route as a first line treatment and then if I can’t find a solution that way – RX drugs are my last resort.
I have found that some of the things she takes are also something that I use and find very beneficial too (turmeric, ginger, lemon balm). Some of the things she is on paradox (opposite response than what is normal or expected) with me.
(Note for those already on an SSRI or SNRI. St. Johns Wort is similar to an SSRI. Be careful that you don’t get a serotonin storm (too much, serotonin). It may be that you can cut your meds down with use of this. It also will make one sun sensitive and you could get sunburned. So, be careful with that. Some also notice intestinal discomfort with it.)
Ashwagandha is supposed to be an adaptogen (which means it should either up or down regulate depending on what’s need) and is supposed to help the nervous system. I find that, despite this – I still can’t take it. So, what one may can take, another may not can. The ribose and l-carnitine may be also too stimulating to an overactive sympathetic system.
It’s wonderful that she found the correct combo to help her. Now, if we could all sort it out and hit on the perfect solution.
Cocoa may give some headaches. It has tyramine and some feel it could contribute to migraines. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56182
Most research is showing very good health benefits to chocolate.
Valerian is similar to valium. If one is sensitive to valium – be careful with this one. Not everyone will react the same – even if there may be a sensitivity to a synthetic drug – but, just be aware it works similar. This also helps with sleep.
A lot of these herbs vasodilate. So, if you have issues with this be aware that this can happen. Also, a lot of these herbs thin the blood and have to be stopped before surgery.
If you have an allergy to ragweed, be careful with chamomile. They are in the same family. But, you may not react in a negative way. I have issues with some things in this family and not others.
Okay, I’ll stop analyzing the herbs now. I could go on about them. Guess you can see that’s one of my passions. I love learning about alternative treatments, how they work and what they do.
Thanks for this info. Very helpful.
Issie
Thanks Issie. Glad to know you’re on board with herbs… I’m definitely going to be exploring herbs more…in the blog…As I noted I’m surprised how powerful – for good and bad, at times 🙂 – they can be. I’m way behind in herbs.
Tandsrc said one reason she went the herb route was because they were such complex substances. Sometimes the – focus in on the active ingredient and synthesize it and produce a drug approach – works, and sometimes I think you really want that complexity and all those different factors working together…
It’s certainly cheaper usually -:)
Issie, you are correct in what you posted. It’s important to note these cautions, as some of us do have trouble with any stimulating herb. Even ginger is a stimulant. In regards to valerian, I took half a dose of valerian and had some bad hallucinations, so that herb is not an option for me. I even tried it several more times, with the same result. I’m not on any medicines, either. People should thoroughly read up on any herb they intend to try, even if it means Googling the “cautions” or warnings for it. Herbs weren’t meant to be taken every day, they were meant to be rotated or taken for a set amount of days, then you get off them for a few days to give the body and internal organs a break.
Yes, never underestimate the power of herbs…Always start low…I like the idea of taking breaks; intuitively that makes sense to me. Thanks for the idea.
So, very true. It is important to take a break with herbs. It is not something that you get on and continue to indefinitely take. Some people take weekend breaks and some will take for a few months and then a few weeks off. There are different ways of taking breaks and you really need to inform yourself about how to take herbs. They are very, very potent. Many medicines are made from herbs and you MUST look at them as medicine. Just because we can buy them without a RX doesn’t mean that they have no consequences. You need to know what you are doing with them. Most health food stores in the USA, the people that work in there, are not to suggest something to someone — because if you don’t know a persons entire medical history – One thing can be good for one thing, yet be totally awful for another. You must know what each thing can do before deciding to add it to your mix and make sure you won’t create other problems.
I don’t want to scare you off of alternative things. As that is definitely my preferred way to go and I think may be what will help more than synthetic concentrated medicines. But, just educate yourself about what you are doing. It’s actually a fun thing to learn about.
But, the thing that may help the most is taking a good long hard look at your diet. We really are what we eat and that will probably be the best way to get what you need. Food can be our medicine.
Issie
Issie- I agree some of these I know ahead I could not take . The Ashwagandha- in a creme made me have Heart palpitations for a week. Even a small amount.
The same with St. John’s Wort. I can take Valium-but not Valerium. May have been
kind or brand I took. My problem with this is I would want to make sure the herb is pure and not contaminated. An Herbalist would be the best. However, I like you
Will go with natural all the time.
The main thing with anything for me -is to go slow as she suggested.
There is never any in between for me. I either sink or swim with what I take-even with meds.
Very good Post.
Carole
I love this blog, so hopeful and so straightforward. Thanks for posting! Many of the herbs I have used and found helpful, but not in this particular combination.
For those on thyroid medication (which I am) I did read to use Lemon Balm and St John’s Wort with caution. I was surprised by that, as I’d used Lemon Balm alot while on liothyronnine, with no apparent interaction. But then, who knows what does what really.,
Valerian and skullcap are old friends to me, and have helped with sleep enormously. I have also found cocoa, ginger and cucurmin useful, altho I think its worth being cautious of herx with cucurmin.
Issie is quite right to point out that there are contra-indications with some of these things.
Please don’t take herbs blindly. In my poll there are ‘More information’ links under each herb/supplement. If there’s a link for Maryland or MedlinePlus, those links will list any known contra-indications.
There’s a link to Pubmed under each herb/supplement to save you typing some search terms.
They might list contra indications but do not list drug interactions.
It’s up to you to cross check the drugs you take with the herbs.
Christina- Good Idea.
Carole
I am a promoter of Alternative medicine. Life saving for me. Be careful with herbs, especially if you take standard medicines, they usually react to each other.
With my form of ME/CFS, herbs always cause a cleanse and the requisite Herx reaction. My form of CFS is gut dysbiosis, primarily. I have the insomnia problem now but in the early days it was sleeping too much.
I have serious delayed food reactions (wheat and citric acid) due to leaky gut.
Omega 3 FO and magnesium keeps my heart rhythm stable. A very serious issue for many!
Rich Perillo, I had leaky gut syndrome years ago and went to a nutritionist who had been a pharmacist. He told me to get New Zealand colostrum capsules, or a brand that uses only pasture-fed cows and has 35% immunoglobulins (like Jarrow’s Prime Life colostrum). I began taking that and my gut began to heal within a few months.I stayed on it, however, because I’m so pleased with the other effects it produces for the immune system. When I had leaky gut I really had trouble digesting many foods that I used to be able to eat without a problem.
Thanks Rachel, Colostrum is definitely on my list…
I’m using Symbiotics Immune Formula Colostrum (which is a New Zealand colostrum) for autoimmune problems. It is a natural form of IVIG. (Posted on another blog about this.) It also helped me get over a very bad case of antibiotic induced colitis that nearly killed me —-literally. (Had to do two rounds of chemo because of it. And the colostrum along with probiotics repopulated my intestines and brought me back to health and life again.)
Issie
That is so cool 🙂
It is interesting that this list is very close to a protocol that works for Crohn’s Disease in a person that had CFS prior.
http://cfsremission.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/herbs-and-spices-for-crohns-disease-e-coli-overgrowth/
The protocol described there was for addressing e-coli overgrowth which is more likely to occur with long term CFS patients then low e-coli reported in studies. The dysfunctional microbiota continues to evolve…. with invasive e-coli growing to fill the void of healthy e-coli.
for gut cramps with cocoa try adding peppermint extract and/or ginger. i had to train my body to accept chocolate when it was reported to help cfids. i couldn’t stand to miss out on such a yummy treatment. l-carnitine is not good if you have thyroid disease. i have just let go of it after many years. d-ribose is not so good for hypoglycemia and ashwaganda feels very uneven to me as far as feeling sleepy and energized or both at the same time. valerian will give some people nightmares and insomnia while putting others to sleep. lemon balm is nice and relaxing. the supplements that have helped me the most are green superfoods and maca.
Thanks Donna, I’ll try the peppermint extract and ginger…(Is it ginger powder or root or does it matter?) I do well with green superfoods as well and there’s something about maca I really like..
Thanks 🙂
I buy the organic spice and put in my own capsules or you can make a tea out of it. Lots of recipes on the internet for it. Also, I buy my turmeric the same way.
Issie
Herbs can take up to 3 months to work for longstanding conditions and are not for those who are impatient to get well (whereas synthetic drugs have a pretty much instant effect).
Herbalists usually change the mixture or herbs as your symptoms change and you can end up taking a completely different array (of herbs) towards the end of your treatment. Secondly, overdosing or taking a herb more than the recommended dose can have the opposite effect and that’s why it’s important to take exactly what a herbalist dispenses and/or prescribes. What works for one patient may not work for another (who has exactly the same symptoms).
Sometimes the changes to your symptoms can be very subtle and you don’t realise how much you’ve benefited until you stop taking the herb and suddenly find some old symptoms arising.
Taking a herb just for one week would be wasting your time & money.
An herbalist would definitely be best. I think tandrsc was talking about side effects with adding them one at a time for a week but I’m someone who pulls the trigger on treatments too quickly so thanks for the reminder.
Very interesting, but I’m glad Issie posted the possible reactions too, so if one is very sensitive to drugs and other substances, they should proceed very slowly. For instance, Issie wrote:
“l-carnitine may be also too stimulating to an overactive sympathetic system” No kidding. This gave me more energy for a short time but then caused my myoclonus to worsen considerably.
I do take milk thistle because my liver enzymes were slightly elevated for awhile and they have been normal ever since.
I’m sensitive to all the anti-epilepsy drugs, prescribed for myoclonus, so I wonder if skullcap would be safer – will consider it.
Thanks – again, very interesting article and comments.
Astragalus I found this to be wonderful for sore throat symptoms of ME/CFS. I also think it reduced some of the weaknesses in my immune system.
I find it difficult to simmer things for a certain period of time. I tend to boil the pot dry. So I use the decoction mentod of extracting the basic element from some herbs.
Some years ago I soaked the woody pieces of astragalus root in rum or vodka for a month and then gargled with it every morning and night, swallowing it at the end of the gargle. I did this for months, and the sore throats reduced and then went away, and stayed away. The sore throats only come back when I am overdrawn on my energy account. I then gargle again and rest and the sore throats go away very quickly. No side effects.
I have only moderate ME/CFS and am sometimes symptom free if I pace very carefully.
Having just done a herbal detox protocol put together by my doctor I just want to add a word of caution with regard to herb – drugs interaction.
While I completely trusted my doctor in making sure that the herbs he prescribed would do well with me I did run into some major problems.
I have a blood clotting problem and use Heparin injectable to treat this. I did not cross check the herbs with the Heparin(or Wafarin that some take). I should have done that and it also slipped my doctors mind. I took herbs who had as side effect a de-clotting function.
One day I stood nekkid 😉 in front of the bathroom mirror and saw to my horror a very large blue mark about 15 inches long on my lower abdomen. It wasn’t painful and I knew I did not bump into something so there was only one expiation I had a bleeding. Luckily the damage was limited, I had no blood in my stool which would point to a large internal bleeding and neither was it located close to my belly button which also points to a large internal bleeding, but it could have been worse. The first thing I did after discovering it was looking online for a database that would let me cross check my herbs with the drugs I took and had to delete quite a few from my protocol.
Just wanted to put this out here that if you take drugs, cross check them with herbs before you start. Everyone knows about the St. John’s wort, but there are many more that have one function that is beneficial but can also work on something else. Turmeric for instance gave me a horrible gallbladder attack, so I know I have to avoid that, even in food.
Here is one of the links I have for checking herb – drug interaction.
http://www.compassionateacupuncture.com/herb%20drug_interactions.htm
And here is another;
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/herbdrug2.htm
Hope this helps.
Keep in mind also, that one person may have a certain response to something and another person a different one. We can’t base what we use on someone else’s response —as we are all so different.
I’m glad that it was stressed more about the blood thinning properties of some herbs. I mentioned it above – but, didn’t stress it. And that is something to keep in mind before surgery. You have to be off certain herbs before surgery because of this factor. If it’s an emergency, and they know you are on certain things they can give you Vit K which helps with clotting and thickening of the blood. But, you have to make sure that your docs are aware of what you are taking because there may be an emergency and it would require a different approach.
I get some raised eyebrows from my docs sometimes, especially the ones that know little to nothing about alternative things. But, I just assure them that I know what I’m doing and they see my labs are so good and leave me alone about it. Thankfully, the doc that I work the most with is aware of and in favor of alternative treatments.
Issie
Life Extension Foundation (LEF.org) publishes a good deal of research on herbs that may not be indexed on PubMed. They also have articles on herbs as treatment in their magazine and on-line. They have some herbs available as supplements. Some are cheap and some are expensive but they are pretty serious about trying to deliver an effective product. I also find Iherbs.com very helpful for extensive versions of various herbs.
This is such an interesting article- thank you for posting, Cort!
Katie
Thanks Katie…I agree – it was really interesting to me 🙂
10 natural treatment for herpes virus by herbal tea post comment blog
Interesting information. I have to take precaution since I am on thyroid meds. Fatigue is constant. I cant stand chocolate or cocoa so that isn’t an option. I wish there was a magic herb pill but as we all know – there is no such thing
when i take any herbs, it seems to tighten my neck and i feel super tired but eventualy more energy. but i have a sore throat the next day. why would that be? is that allergic reaction? i really want to take herbs, but not sure how to get over this
Herbalist perspective: different herbs work for different people, even if they have the same illness. It’s a western mindset to ‘take this pill for this ailment’ /one size fits all approach (because we’re used to pharmaceuticals and reductionist thinking). Herbalists are trained to help guide people to herbs that match their pattern of symptoms and individual body make-up. American Herbalist Guild is a good resource to find a practitioner.
Also, some tonic herbs require 1-3 months to start to take full effect in the body (particularly adaptogens), so giving up after 2-3 weeks is poor advice. These herbs build up and strengthen the body over time, just like other positive life style changes may take time to see positive effects.