Chinese Medicine for Healing Lyme and MCAS
Next up on natural healing modalities that have helped in my healing journey: Herbalism, specifically cooking and drinking herbs rooted in Chinese Medicine.
A few months ago I hit a wall. I had no energy, full blown insomnia, constant brain fog, memory and speech problems, and all of my old gut issues came back full force - all while being on very strong antibiotics for lyme, one being a drug that’s used to treat malaria. One day I went into the worst mast cell flare I’ve had with anaphylaxis, which is incredibly scary and had been happening every few days. I literally tried everything to calm or prevent these flares, but the only relief I found was through courses of steroids, which is probably the worst thing I’ve ever taken. I finally decided to go all in on the natural route, using eastern healing modalities and taking things that actually come from the earth, rather than continuing with the antibiotics.
I started working with an herbalist alongside my Lyme doctor, who uses a combination of herbs rooted in Chinese medicine to allow the body to heal itself, naturally. We first met for a few hours where I explained my entire health history to her, and she put together a custom formula of herbs to target my specific symptoms. The herbs require an extensive process of soaking, cooking, and drinking twice daily, but now it comes as second nature. I started them the day after that last horrible flare, and have yet to experience one since. I detoxed the first few days after drinking them, but with time my body adjusted. I now meet with the doctor every 2-3 weeks, where we evaluate my symptoms and she adjusts my formula to better match my current state. The majority of herbs in my current formula are shown in Chinese medicine to help cool the blood and balance out the Yin deficiency that lies at the root of my problems, along with others that fight Lyme and address my many gut issues. Here is a breakdown of the blend of herbs that I am currently cooking and drinking daily:
Sheng di Huang
Mu Dan Pi
Chi Shao
Xuan Shen
Huang Qin
Jin Yin Hua
Bai Ji Li
Dan Shen
Ji Xue Tent
Qian Cao Gen
Tu Fu Ling
Qing Hao
Lian Qiao
Hu Zhang
Zi Su Ye
Bai Zhu
Gan Cao
If you’re not familiar with Chinese medicine and all of that immediately went over your head, essentially we are all made of a balance of Yin and Yang properties, with one typically more dominant than another. And over time, especially when chronic illness is involved, one can become too dominant, which is when natural healing modalities such as herbalism and acupuncture are used to restore mind-body balance. It’s obviously way more complex than that explanation, but so incredibly fascinating and in my opinion effective.
This experience has taught me that the body truly can heal itself, we just have to give it the right tools to do so. Do I think drinking these nasty herbs will cure me? Absolutely not. But they’ve been incredibly helpful in managing my symptoms and I know that they’ve been a crucial part of me feeling better. I obviously still have bad days, sometimes multiple in a row, but I know that healing isn’t linear and to give myself Grayce (cringe) throughout the process.
Lastly, if you’re interested in working with this doctor, seriously please reach out, I would be so happy to connect you with her. She’s helped people heal from some crazy stuff and is super well known in her field, and also does virtual consults!
