What do you think?
Rate this book
Healing Lyme: Natural Healing of Lyme Borreliosis and the Coinfections Chlamydia and Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, 2nd Edition
Despite Centers for Disease Control estimates that only 20,000 new Lyme disease infections occur each year, the true figure, as Harvard medical school researchers have found, nearly approaches 200,000. Symptoms run from mild lethargy to severe arthritis to incapacitating mental dysfunction. And despite medical pronouncements to the contrary, extensive research has found that tests for the disease are not very reliable and antibiotics are only partially effective; up to 35 percent of those infected will not respond to treatment or will relapse. The spirochetes that cause Lyme are stealth pathogensthey can hide within cells or alter their form so that antibiotics cannot affect them. Lyme disease is, in fact, a potent, emerging epidemic disease for which technological medicine is only partially effective.
Healing Lyme examines the leading, scientific research on Lyme infection, its tests and treatments, and outlines the most potent herbal medicines and supplements that offer helpeither alone or in combination with antibioticsfor preventing and healing the disease. It is the essential guide to Lyme infection and its treatment.
Healing Lyme examines the leading, scientific research on Lyme infection, its tests and treatments, and outlines the most potent herbal medicines and supplements that offer helpeither alone or in combination with antibioticsfor preventing and healing the disease. It is the essential guide to Lyme infection and its treatment.
520 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 2005
171 people are currently reading
834 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Harrod Buhner
34 books392 followersStephen Harrod Buhner is an Earth poet and the award-winning author of ten books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine. He comes from a long line of healers including Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States under Eisenhower and Kennedy, and Elizabeth Lusterheide, a midwife and herbalist who worked in rural Indiana in the early nineteenth century. The greatest influence on his work, however, has been his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.
Stephen has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
from
http://www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html
and
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=5...
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. Stephen lectures yearly throughout the United States on herbal medicine, the sacredness of plants, the intelligence of Nature, and the states of mind necessary for successful habitation of Earth.
Stephen has served as president of the Colorado Association for Healing Practitioners and as a lobbyist on herbal and holistic medicines and education in the Colorado legislature. He lives in New Mexico.
from
http://www.gaianstudies.org/Stephen.html
and
http://www.storey.com/author.php?ID=5...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
April 27, 2021
New review with all the progress I've made, coming in the next week or two!
I am Healing Happy!
I am Healing Happy!
April 29, 2011
I've been digesting a metric fuckton of information over the last 4 months. I can now spell neuroborreliosis and a number of other equally boring words. I am so glad I decided to research so much before committing to a treatment, though. I think anyone with ANY illness should educate themselves on exactly what is going on in their body so they know to ask the right questions and pursue the right treatments instead of just jumping when their doctor says jump.
I'm following part of my doctors advice but not all. She, of course, wanted to put me on long course antibiotics. But after reading this book (and a million peer-reviewed, scholarly articles/studies etc) I don't know why anyone wouldn't try the natural/herbal route before attempting the highly controversial antibiotic treatments. I am only on week 1 of this protocol and I am already feeling a SIGNIFICANT decrease in symptoms. I haven't felt this awake in years. Yes, my left foot is still numb. And my ears may never stop ringing. Plenty of things still coming and going erratically throughout each day. But I've returned to work and can even run now, when just last week I could barely get up the stairs, sometimes forgot where/who I was and was almost blacking out every time I stood up.
I know I have a long road ahead of me but I have a lot of faith in recovering through Buhner's protocol combined with drastic nutrition changes, regular exercise and regular massage. This is a very comprehensive, thoroughly researched book that I would highly recommend to anyone suffering from Lyme Disease.
I'm following part of my doctors advice but not all. She, of course, wanted to put me on long course antibiotics. But after reading this book (and a million peer-reviewed, scholarly articles/studies etc) I don't know why anyone wouldn't try the natural/herbal route before attempting the highly controversial antibiotic treatments. I am only on week 1 of this protocol and I am already feeling a SIGNIFICANT decrease in symptoms. I haven't felt this awake in years. Yes, my left foot is still numb. And my ears may never stop ringing. Plenty of things still coming and going erratically throughout each day. But I've returned to work and can even run now, when just last week I could barely get up the stairs, sometimes forgot where/who I was and was almost blacking out every time I stood up.
I know I have a long road ahead of me but I have a lot of faith in recovering through Buhner's protocol combined with drastic nutrition changes, regular exercise and regular massage. This is a very comprehensive, thoroughly researched book that I would highly recommend to anyone suffering from Lyme Disease.
May 5, 2025
I've been reading this on and off for quite some time, usually with bigger breaks than periods of active reading... and I will probably continue to put aside and revisit it in a similar way.
shelving as read for now, cos I've read as much as I want to probably for a while, and enough to have a sense of the book. and I'm trying to tidy up my 'currently reading' shelf.
of the two books detailing herbal approaches to treating Lyme disease I started reading at around the same time, this was not the one I took to immediately. tho this could be as much about me, and about Lyme disease.
I found Wolf-Dieter Storl's 'Healing Lyme Disease Naturally: History, Analysis, and Treatments' alot more readable, and relateable, and I set about growing some Teasel plants 🌿🙂🌿
I think Wolf-Dieter Storl's approach being situated within a European herbal medicine tradition, and having a narrower/more singular focus, appealed to me more.
I've since read a couple of other books by Stephen Harrod Buhner - notably Herbal Antibiotics, and Herbal Antivirals - and have come to appreciate his approach more. there's a bit of overlap between the three volumes too, wrt approaches to treating infections, especially those increasingly resistant to and/or difficult to resolve using conventional treatment, and supporting the immune system.
🌟 🌟 🌟 +
accessed as a paper book, published by Raven Press in 2005.
shelving as read for now, cos I've read as much as I want to probably for a while, and enough to have a sense of the book. and I'm trying to tidy up my 'currently reading' shelf.
of the two books detailing herbal approaches to treating Lyme disease I started reading at around the same time, this was not the one I took to immediately. tho this could be as much about me, and about Lyme disease.
I found Wolf-Dieter Storl's 'Healing Lyme Disease Naturally: History, Analysis, and Treatments' alot more readable, and relateable, and I set about growing some Teasel plants 🌿🙂🌿
I think Wolf-Dieter Storl's approach being situated within a European herbal medicine tradition, and having a narrower/more singular focus, appealed to me more.
I've since read a couple of other books by Stephen Harrod Buhner - notably Herbal Antibiotics, and Herbal Antivirals - and have come to appreciate his approach more. there's a bit of overlap between the three volumes too, wrt approaches to treating infections, especially those increasingly resistant to and/or difficult to resolve using conventional treatment, and supporting the immune system.
🌟 🌟 🌟 +
accessed as a paper book, published by Raven Press in 2005.
June 17, 2013
Buy this book if you have Lyme or think you have Lyme and may be suffering, also, from one of Lyme's co-infections: Bartonella and Mycoplasma. At times this book is technical, and I skipped over some of the scientific research, at other times, though, it is so well-written, that it kept me going, to the end. It's packed full of scientific details. What I found most interesting is in the end, the author, Stephen Buhner, says that "so many of the herbs that are useful for these diseases i.e. Lyme, Bartonella, and Mycoplasma, are invasives: Japenese knotweed, kudzu,..... if you had to - you could treat Lyme and all its coinfections, and most resistant bacteria, solely with these invasive plants"
August 4, 2017
I have been following this protocol and am feeling better in 3 months than I have in a couple years! THIS WORKS!
I had gotten into a place where i had lists of things to do when I was making sense...how is this a way to live?
The amazing thing is the amount of knowledge of the Lyme spirochete itself, and the depth of herbal lore used to attack it.
Buhner basically boils things down to needing to eradicate the spirochete, build up our arterial endothelial walls, build up depleted collagen, rebuilding our immune systems, and tackling the various symptoms that might arise during the tenancy of the Lyme....and lists different supplements that tackle each one.
I dutifully started on Reservatrol and added Andrographis the next week and another supplement each week after and have been improving steadily.
If you really want to take your treatment into your own hands, the book is vital reading
I had gotten into a place where i had lists of things to do when I was making sense...how is this a way to live?
The amazing thing is the amount of knowledge of the Lyme spirochete itself, and the depth of herbal lore used to attack it.
Buhner basically boils things down to needing to eradicate the spirochete, build up our arterial endothelial walls, build up depleted collagen, rebuilding our immune systems, and tackling the various symptoms that might arise during the tenancy of the Lyme....and lists different supplements that tackle each one.
I dutifully started on Reservatrol and added Andrographis the next week and another supplement each week after and have been improving steadily.
If you really want to take your treatment into your own hands, the book is vital reading
May 6, 2017
Anyone who has battled Lyme disease should read this book...Period.
It is like anything else in life: trying to get better at a sport, trying to become a better artist, or trying to improve your spiritual life- all of these involve reading the best literature out there to learn from others. Also, there is a no one way (one size shoe fits all) to get better at a sport, get better at being an artist, or to improve your spiritual life. The same applies with medically trying to overcome Lyme disease or other stealth pathogens.
The most important insight from this book, by Stephen Buhner, is that there are steps and strategies to improve one's well being. These steps and strategies (see page 213 for the core protocol) must be contemplated based on historical records, success, and new data. It is absolutely not a matter of being medically liberal, but rather being intellectual and reasoning to a very high degree; because the reality is that the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, is rather intellectual and reasoning within the interior ecosystem of every host.
I have great sympathy for all those who have battled or are currently battling Lyme. This book will support you in understanding the disease more clearly, and how to help your body combat this disease to return to a healthier well-being.
This is a must read for everyone diagnosed with Lyme, or for those wanting to understand Lyme disease that they may be more supportive with family and friends in endemic areas where Lyme is prevalent.
It is like anything else in life: trying to get better at a sport, trying to become a better artist, or trying to improve your spiritual life- all of these involve reading the best literature out there to learn from others. Also, there is a no one way (one size shoe fits all) to get better at a sport, get better at being an artist, or to improve your spiritual life. The same applies with medically trying to overcome Lyme disease or other stealth pathogens.
The most important insight from this book, by Stephen Buhner, is that there are steps and strategies to improve one's well being. These steps and strategies (see page 213 for the core protocol) must be contemplated based on historical records, success, and new data. It is absolutely not a matter of being medically liberal, but rather being intellectual and reasoning to a very high degree; because the reality is that the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, is rather intellectual and reasoning within the interior ecosystem of every host.
I have great sympathy for all those who have battled or are currently battling Lyme. This book will support you in understanding the disease more clearly, and how to help your body combat this disease to return to a healthier well-being.
This is a must read for everyone diagnosed with Lyme, or for those wanting to understand Lyme disease that they may be more supportive with family and friends in endemic areas where Lyme is prevalent.
July 8, 2014
A must have for anyone with Bartonella. We are going to add to antibiotics some of what he recommends for panic and anxiety. Praying it helps.
July 16, 2015
Excellent book, written by a brilliant man. I will be buying this book. Must read if you have Lyme & co infections.
July 19, 2020
Most of all I loved the “human approach” that Harrod Buhner has to understanding and treating lyme and coinfections.
September 15, 2020
The remedies in this book are saving me. For real.
September 13, 2013
This book is very scientific and technical but for somebody who is fighting a never-ending battle with Lyme disease and other tickborne illnesses, this book was a fountain of information. It gave me some very good ideas for enhancing my current protocol of antibiotics and supplements. This book also has one of the best descriptions of Lyme disease that I have come across.
July 26, 2017
The best researched book on Lyme I read to date. I read the updated version of 2015. Buhner explains Lyme more in depth than most other books. He also shows why some old notions about Lyme are scientifically proven not to be true. A must read for general practitioners and Lyme patients alike.
Buhner restricts his advice to herbs. most of which I've found to are available over the counter without subscription. I heard of some people growing the herbs in their own back yard. His Buhner Protocol has enabled me to stop with antibiotics and regain my energy.
Buhner restricts his advice to herbs. most of which I've found to are available over the counter without subscription. I heard of some people growing the herbs in their own back yard. His Buhner Protocol has enabled me to stop with antibiotics and regain my energy.
July 25, 2015
This was a great book a few years ago, but he has changed the core protocol since writing this book. You have to navigate between this book and his website to figure out the new protocol. I believe he has a new book coming out soon, until then, this book is a waste of time.
May 10, 2011
Great book, and I'm glad that he went into the technicalities so I could better understand the complexities of the illness and how to treat it. If only a book like this existed for every illness...
June 23, 2014
Very helpful information, I plan to use this book as a guideline.
August 23, 2014
So far, one of my favorite books about Lyme.
January 30, 2018
Excellent reference for herbalists.
Read
July 21, 2017Had to skip some parts. Disappointed he puts stock in things like homeopathy and muscle testing. Makes me question the book entirely. Still... I'm desperate. Will update rating when I've tried the protocol.
November 5, 2019
Healing Lyme, Natural Healing of Lyme Borreliosis and the Coinfections Chlamydia and Spotted Fever Rickettsioses Second Edition, is far more than a guide to effective herbal remedies for vector-borne illnesses. Author and plant medicine aficionado Stephen Harrod Buhner addresses the intersection of borrelial infection with the rise of conditions such as Autism, Alzheimer’s, PANDAS and Morgellons. Borrelia spirochetes love to attack the brain and the heart. Once you understand how these nasty little organisms work, the links among all these diseases will start to make more sense. Does mast cell activation fit into this picture? Of course it does, and Buhner will give you options for how to treat it.
Healing Lyme introduces us to the various animals and organisms that have been found to carry spirochetes and other pathogenic organisms. You’ll also learn about the various mechanisms of transmission of these infections, which is far more vast than just tick bites. You might not want to hear that borrelia can be transmitted sexually, or that a child can be born with infection due to a mother’s infection, but ignorance is rarely bliss.
Impeccably researched, Healing Lyme is an incredibly validating read for any of us who have suffered profoundly from hard to diagnose illnesses. Not only does Buhner present multiple clinically validated options for healing, he succinctly destroys the cruel, illogical and capricious reasoning that leads many allopathic practitioners to deny the reality of legitimate biologically based illness in those of us are profoundly ill, but whose basic lab tests are unrevealing.
This the by far best guidebook I’ve read on herbal strategies for healing borrleiosis and co-infections. But it’s more than that. It’s a comprehensive manuscript on infectious disease and surviving infectious disease that’s suitable for both professionals and laypersons. Healing Lyme includes a materia medica section that’s an excellent reference piece, as well as recommendations for where to buy quality and/or harder to find herbs.
I know without a shadow of a doubt that the knowledge I acquired from reading this book is going to take me to the next level of healing.
Healing Lyme introduces us to the various animals and organisms that have been found to carry spirochetes and other pathogenic organisms. You’ll also learn about the various mechanisms of transmission of these infections, which is far more vast than just tick bites. You might not want to hear that borrelia can be transmitted sexually, or that a child can be born with infection due to a mother’s infection, but ignorance is rarely bliss.
Impeccably researched, Healing Lyme is an incredibly validating read for any of us who have suffered profoundly from hard to diagnose illnesses. Not only does Buhner present multiple clinically validated options for healing, he succinctly destroys the cruel, illogical and capricious reasoning that leads many allopathic practitioners to deny the reality of legitimate biologically based illness in those of us are profoundly ill, but whose basic lab tests are unrevealing.
This the by far best guidebook I’ve read on herbal strategies for healing borrleiosis and co-infections. But it’s more than that. It’s a comprehensive manuscript on infectious disease and surviving infectious disease that’s suitable for both professionals and laypersons. Healing Lyme includes a materia medica section that’s an excellent reference piece, as well as recommendations for where to buy quality and/or harder to find herbs.
I know without a shadow of a doubt that the knowledge I acquired from reading this book is going to take me to the next level of healing.
March 2, 2018
I found myself fascinated with the depth of technical content regarding Lyme disease and related topics found in this book, which opened me the gate to knowing more about Stephen Buhner.
While this might seem "just another snake oil-booh-booh book advocating for 'cure all' alternative treatments"...
This is truly a must read for anyone dealing with a Lyme disease infection, or even a general practitioner who would like to know more about this very interesting paradigm of stealth chronic infections at the root of a large percentage of chronic health problems in this century.
His grasp of science and synthesis/communication skills are outstanding, this is a very well written book by a smart and logically minded author who has years of experience on the ground.
While this might seem "just another snake oil-booh-booh book advocating for 'cure all' alternative treatments"...
This is truly a must read for anyone dealing with a Lyme disease infection, or even a general practitioner who would like to know more about this very interesting paradigm of stealth chronic infections at the root of a large percentage of chronic health problems in this century.
His grasp of science and synthesis/communication skills are outstanding, this is a very well written book by a smart and logically minded author who has years of experience on the ground.
January 9, 2016
Some patients with Lyme do not heal after treatment. That is because many of them have additional infections that go untreated. This book will educate the reader about these infections and how to manage/heal them. This is a very technical look at the chemical biology associated with these very hard-to-heal bacteria infections. Buchner outlines an approach to healing using supplements and herbs, clearly stating the logic of why he recommends each one.
February 3, 2025
I've read the Second edition (2015) which is THE resource to understand this topic, jam-packed with more info than you can possibly comprehend. For people suffering from some terrible symptoms poorly understood by most medical practitioners, this is the book. It would have benefitted from an editor to improve the overall structure and readability, but thanks to the author for taking the time to document all his research and knowledge. Up to the reader what to make of it all.
July 17, 2014
This book changed my life. After hitting a wall in treatment with antibiotics, and other tinctures, I decided to try Buhner's herbal approach. The book is technical, and more of a reference resource for me. His protocol is actually on his website totally free - because he is awesome - but this book gets way more into details about the plants.
April 9, 2015
I was prepared for some woo-woo flakey herbalism when I opened this book, so was pleasantly suprised to see Buhner go into great scientific detail about the life cycle and chemical goings-on of the lyme borrelia spirochete, and how specific components of various herbs work against it. Will update this review after I follow the protocol with my results.
March 9, 2013
My bible for alternative treatment for the damage caused by longstanding undiagnosed Lyme Disease (chronic). Still recommend assistance of a Lyme knowledgeable provider when doing ANY treatment initially.
January 9, 2014
This book really helped me to understand Lyme disease and the issues. However as much as it helped, it also scared me. The technical language was way over my head, but at least I get some the medical things that are happening in my body.
September 28, 2013
With the help of this book and my herbalist I am sooooo much better! 2 years ago I thought I would need crutches to walk places because my joints were so bad and today this week I took 4 fitness classes this week with just the usual soreness. Amen!
June 11, 2019
A great book to read after the one about altzheimers. They mention similar causes and treatments for these debilitating diseases. Both authors seem to think that effective treatment is possible. Very hopeful!
October 7, 2019
This book has helped me family a lot in dealing with Lyme.
It is highly technical, but does also lay out clearly a plan you can use, with many optional things you can use depending on what your symptoms are.
It is highly technical, but does also lay out clearly a plan you can use, with many optional things you can use depending on what your symptoms are.
March 8, 2021
Fantastic book if you wish to understand how Lyme works and how to deal with it.
I still think that antibiotics is the first thing to try, but if that does not work or facing relapse, then this book will be very valuable.
I still think that antibiotics is the first thing to try, but if that does not work or facing relapse, then this book will be very valuable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews