I am interested in seeds. I had purchased a plant a few years ago at the Womens Herbal Conference in NH from Rosemary Galdstar's daughter.
It did not survive the winter in my garden.
I would like to try again and winter the plant next year in my sun-porch garden.
Thanks~ Jane Foxglove

teasel doesn't work very well. we hear almost no 'success stories' with it on the lyme forums, whereas most people who use herbal treatment have to work with complex combinations.

There are two or three different options for herbal treatment:

Buhner's book Healing Lyme has a really good overview of the science, at least circa 2005, and his herbal protocol works for some people.

There's a Dr Zhang who wrote a book called Lyme Disease and traditional chinese medicine (I think), which you can find via Amazon.com. Some people have success with his protocol.

the clinic I go to is testing out an herbal formula that they're having good results with, which should become available commercially soon. I don't know what's in it.

this is the fastest-growing vector-borne infection in America (as in, diseases you can get from animals). There are 5 times as many more new cases a year than AIDS, it can be fatal, it can lead to MS, ALS, and Parkinsons symptoms, and has been found in many brains of Alzheimers's patients on autopsy, and it leads to tremendous disability in some cases. Animal studies have shown that some forms of Lyme can exhibit 100% success at evading the immune system. It's not one to fuck around with.

As you research information about this disease, you'll stumble upon a tremendous amount of misinformation. Most of that is the result of a political agenda on the part of the early academic researchers who studied Lyme in the early 80's and made some crucial mistakes that they're still defending 25 years later. They have the ear of the CDC. It's absolutely horrible because the majority of the information that doctors have about this disease is coming from the academic researchers perspective.

Here's a couple of good references to navigating all the controversy:
www.lymemd.blogspot.com (go back to the May entries and work your way backwards, it's otherwise incomprehensible)
This guy is very heavy on antibiotics only, but he's pretty honest about what he doesn't know, and in fact the whole blog is very good at speculating about 'what we don't know' about this baffling bacteria.

He's not seeing much success with herbs but then again a lot of people who do the Buhner protocol alone are the ones with no doctors. The Buhner yahoogroup mentioned in antoher post in this thread is pretty good.

Good 20-minute TV segment about the controversy:
www.kettmann.com/Lyme/

good writeup about chronic Lyme and the controversy:
www.myleftnutmeg.com/showDiary.do

there are two other sources for families of those who are ill:
the book Cure Unknown by science writer Pamela Weintraub, whose whole family became disabled iwth Lyme
the documentary film Under Our Skin which is coming out in theaters in March supposedly
www.youtube.com/watch


to find a lyme-literate doctor in your area:
contact ilads.org (international Lyme and Associated Diseases Society)
or post your location in the 'seeking a doctor' forum at flash.lymenet.com/

Megan,
As far as I can tell the best preventions are wearing long pants, tucking them in your socks and checking yourself really well. Also staying out of wet damp grass. I noticed that on our land in the Driftless region of Wisconsin that ticks are more prevelant in the early spring. During the summer months we do not find very many. They seem to like dampness. So good to know their patterns. Rose geranium may work, it is insect repelling and it can't hurt. Also keeping your immune system strong ie be sure you are nourished, getting enough rest etc. Of course there is no guarantee with any of this, this is a sneaky bacteria. Hope that is helpful.
Blessings
Linda