Re: Anyone else allergic to Knotweed?

[Guest guest]

I had that " ever so slightly enebriated " feeling when I started the CP, but it

passed after a day. No problems since (other than the vision thing). I started

with the knotweed, sarsparila and cat's claw, so I can't say which it may have

been.

D.

selmanaka <hardynaka@...> wrote: I

wonder if I'm allergic to this herb (pure herb, done as

tea/decoction).

I took capsules before, and felt 'nothing' in the past. No bad memory

of taking it, no special improvements either. So I stopped taking it.

But recently decided to re-order it in bulk, for the first time.

First experience with decoction was: felt very high, like taking light

alcohol (wine, beer).

Then started having loose stools. Then started having red and aching

tongue. Started to feel everything else I ate was acid.

I stopped taking it yesterday evening, just with an 'intuition', well,

today I woke up without the burning tongue feeling of the last days.

Muscle test indicates a 'no'. I mean, if I hold the bottle with one

hand, I'll lose force with the other (close fist). I learned that

simple test with my ART doctor.

I also feel a bit of a relapse in something (can't tell what exactly),

but fatigue is a bit here again, some small pains in little joints

(maybe arthritis?)... I know that lyme patients are not supposed to

take any thing that causes allergy, that's very bad to the body, so I'm

somehow suspecting the knotweed (?).

I was never ART-positive for Planetary brand Knotweed, since April. So

maybe now, I know the reason why (allergy??).

Just wanting to know if others feel have the same experience with this

herb. My daughter takes it, and it seems fine to her.

Selma

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

I tried knotweed for the first time yesterday. the bulk powder from 1st

chinese herbs.

and i had a freakshow reaction. first i should mention i have pretty

bad MCS - and most

people don't react like me. while some MCS people have trouble mainly

with inhalents

i have most of my trouble with medicine, supplements, IV's and

ingesting chemicals of

any nature (even anti-caking agents in salt).

so i tried 1/4 of a capsule of the knotweed (i always start off really

slow and cautious).

- i put a bit directly on my tongue and the rest in the capsule.

i reacted a bit like Selma at first - spacey. but then proceeded to

have more

neurological problems within minutes. first anxiety / disassociation

feeling, then

spacial relations distortions and sort of hallucinagenic sensations

such as feeling

like my fingers were webbed. i remember having similar feelings once

when smoking bad pot

as a teen. very unsettling - possibly pesticided?

i went back to sleep and it wore off eventually (maybe 3 hours) but

anything that provokes

panic attacks - i stay away from. i'm wondering if there is a chemical

process involved - i know

the bags are nitrogen packed to keep the herb fresh. could be as simple

as a reaction to

the nitrogen. or maybe some impurities or pesticides - OR maybe just

the herb itself.

this sucks because knotweed is probably the most important herb on the

list.

so i'm going to try to develop a tolerance to the standardized

resveratrol. i'm working my

way up to one pill. pathetic, i know - but when you have MCS,

everything goes maddeningly

slow.

Steve

On Sep 20, 2006, at 9:33 AM, selmanaka wrote:

> I wonder if I'm allergic to this herb (pure herb, done as

> tea/decoction).

>

> I took capsules before, and felt 'nothing' in the past. No bad memory

> of taking it, no special improvements either. So I stopped taking it.

> But recently decided to re-order it in bulk, for the first time.

>

> First experience with decoction was: felt very high, like taking light

> alcohol (wine, beer).

>

> Then started having loose stools. Then started having red and aching

> tongue. Started to feel everything else I ate was acid.

>

> I stopped taking it yesterday evening, just with an 'intuition', well,

> today I woke up without the burning tongue feeling of the last days.

>

> Muscle test indicates a 'no'. I mean, if I hold the bottle with one

> hand, I'll lose force with the other (close fist). I learned that

> simple test with my ART doctor.

>

> I also feel a bit of a relapse in something (can't tell what exactly),

> but fatigue is a bit here again, some small pains in little joints

> (maybe arthritis?)... I know that lyme patients are not supposed to

> take any thing that causes allergy, that's very bad to the body, so

> I'm

> somehow suspecting the knotweed (?).

>

> I was never ART-positive for Planetary brand Knotweed, since April. So

> maybe now, I know the reason why (allergy??).

>

> Just wanting to know if others feel have the same experience with this

> herb. My daughter takes it, and it seems fine to her.

>

> Selma

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I also have severe MCS and react to so many things. (I am on SSDI

because of my severe MCS).

The japanese knotweed is very strong, and I have to take minute

amounts of it. It definitely bothers my digestive tract, and I also

get a little light headed with it, and a feeling of a " reaction " -

but my intuitive reading is, that I am experiencing a " herx "

reaction and am not actually allergic or intolerant of the herb. I

never had this with Samento or Cat's Claw like some people do - but

definitely with the J. Knotweed. I have tried different preparations

of it, and it seems to just be the herb itself. I have stuck it out,

because at the right dose, it seems to be working at killing the

infection, just is extremely powerful. At the right dose, I feel

really good, and not disturbed from taking it.

I also take lots of water with it also. The dose I can tolerate

currently is about 1/8th of a tsp. once or twice daily and I started

out with half that dose months back, or less. I've been on it for

about eight months now - and had started it before my chronic lyme

dx, based on an intuitive reading that I needed to be taking this

herb for my health. Interesting, because I started the andrographis

nearly ten years ago, based upon an intuitive hunch - and then added

cat's claw just a couple weeks before my diagnosis. I didn't know

anything about these herbs and their treatment for lyme or that I

HAD lyme, until this spring.

The cat's claw and esp. andrographis, I can take large amounts of,

but the resveratrol or j. knotweed, much much less.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between an allergic

reaction versus a " herx " or healing reaction. Fortunately I can tell

the difference in my own readings, but it took years to develope

this skill for my own use.

Jnanda

[Guest guest]

Steve!! So sorry about your bad reaction, much worse than mine, no

comparison. Could it be a herx, I ask myself??

Just a positive thing, I improved without knotweed (I dont' think I

took more than 4 bottles of 120 pills since last year), and I had

stopped taking it because I felt nothing special with it. Then it was

ART tested 'no' in April, I was already not taking it regularly at

that time. Maybe my body doesn't like Knotweed while it can make

wonders to others!

So don't desperate!

The burning tongue (redness and open skin) finished since I stopped

it. So I'm not coming back to Knotweed. It may be pesticides?? Who

knows? Anyway, that herb from that package, I won't touch it anymore.

I know someone who bought from the same source who never reacted bad

to it, though.

Steve, wish I could help you. Just keep us informed about your

progress... Have you tried some dissensibilization (sp?) technicques?

good luck,

Selma

>

> I tried knotweed for the first time yesterday. the bulk powder from

1st

> chinese herbs.

> and i had a freakshow reaction. first i should mention i have

pretty

> bad MCS - and most

> people don't react like me. while some MCS people have trouble

mainly

> with inhalents

> i have most of my trouble with medicine, supplements, IV's and

> ingesting chemicals of

> any nature (even anti-caking agents in salt).

> so i tried 1/4 of a capsule of the knotweed (i always start off

really

> slow and cautious).

> - i put a bit directly on my tongue and the rest in the capsule.

> i reacted a bit like Selma at first - spacey. but then proceeded to

> have more

> neurological problems within minutes. first anxiety /

disassociation

> feeling, then

> spacial relations distortions and sort of hallucinagenic sensations

> such as feeling

> like my fingers were webbed. i remember having similar feelings

once

> when smoking bad pot

> as a teen. very unsettling - possibly pesticided?

>

> i went back to sleep and it wore off eventually (maybe 3 hours) but

> anything that provokes

> panic attacks - i stay away from. i'm wondering if there is a

chemical

> process involved - i know

> the bags are nitrogen packed to keep the herb fresh. could be as

simple

> as a reaction to

> the nitrogen. or maybe some impurities or pesticides - OR maybe

just

> the herb itself.

> this sucks because knotweed is probably the most important herb on

the

> list.

> so i'm going to try to develop a tolerance to the standardized

> resveratrol. i'm working my

> way up to one pill. pathetic, i know - but when you have MCS,

> everything goes maddeningly

> slow.

>

> Steve

>

>

>

> On Sep 20, 2006, at 9:33 AM, selmanaka wrote:

>

> > I wonder if I'm allergic to this herb (pure herb, done as

> > tea/decoction).

> >

> > I took capsules before, and felt 'nothing' in the past. No bad

memory

> > of taking it, no special improvements either. So I stopped

taking it.

> > But recently decided to re-order it in bulk, for the first time.

> >

> > First experience with decoction was: felt very high, like taking

light

> > alcohol (wine, beer).

> >

> > Then started having loose stools. Then started having red and

aching

> > tongue. Started to feel everything else I ate was acid.

> >

> > I stopped taking it yesterday evening, just with an 'intuition',

well,

> > today I woke up without the burning tongue feeling of the last

days.

> >

> > Muscle test indicates a 'no'. I mean, if I hold the bottle with

one

> > hand, I'll lose force with the other (close fist). I learned that

> > simple test with my ART doctor.

> >

> > I also feel a bit of a relapse in something (can't tell what

exactly),

> > but fatigue is a bit here again, some small pains in little

joints

> > (maybe arthritis?)... I know that lyme patients are not supposed

to

> > take any thing that causes allergy, that's very bad to the body,

so

> > I'm

> > somehow suspecting the knotweed (?).

> >

> > I was never ART-positive for Planetary brand Knotweed, since

April. So

> > maybe now, I know the reason why (allergy??).

> >

> > Just wanting to know if others feel have the same experience

with this

> > herb. My daughter takes it, and it seems fine to her.

> >

> > Selma

> >

> >

> >

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jnanda, thanks for the input! Looks interesting.

I was cooking 30 grams of the herb, the color was like blood, so red

my tea became. It might have been too much.

I'll give it a break for a while and maybe ask to be re-tested with

ART some time in the future.

Selma

>

> I also have severe MCS and react to so many things. (I am on SSDI

> because of my severe MCS).

>

> The japanese knotweed is very strong, and I have to take minute

> amounts of it. It definitely bothers my digestive tract, and I also

> get a little light headed with it, and a feeling of a " reaction " -

> but my intuitive reading is, that I am experiencing a " herx "

> reaction and am not actually allergic or intolerant of the herb. I

> never had this with Samento or Cat's Claw like some people do - but

> definitely with the J. Knotweed. I have tried different

preparations

> of it, and it seems to just be the herb itself. I have stuck it

out,

> because at the right dose, it seems to be working at killing the

> infection, just is extremely powerful. At the right dose, I feel

> really good, and not disturbed from taking it.

>

> I also take lots of water with it also. The dose I can tolerate

> currently is about 1/8th of a tsp. once or twice daily and I

started

> out with half that dose months back, or less. I've been on it for

> about eight months now - and had started it before my chronic lyme

> dx, based on an intuitive reading that I needed to be taking this

> herb for my health. Interesting, because I started the andrographis

> nearly ten years ago, based upon an intuitive hunch - and then

added

> cat's claw just a couple weeks before my diagnosis. I didn't know

> anything about these herbs and their treatment for lyme or that I

> HAD lyme, until this spring.

>

> The cat's claw and esp. andrographis, I can take large amounts of,

> but the resveratrol or j. knotweed, much much less.

>

> Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between an allergic

> reaction versus a " herx " or healing reaction. Fortunately I can

tell

> the difference in my own readings, but it took years to develope

> this skill for my own use.

>

> Jnanda

>

[Guest guest]

Steve -

I buy my jknotweed in powder form. The first place I ordered it from

months ago was sfh naturals. It was a 200:1 preparation. Extremely

concentrated. This last batch is from 1st Chinese herbs. I haven't

tried it in a tincture yet. I try to avoid tinctures, because with

my MCS (we are all different) I can't handle hardly any alcohol. I

do supplement with molybdemum, which is supposed to help with

alcohol sensitivity.

I like bulk powders, because they are inexpensive, and then I can

just intuit an exact dose. I mix all the various herbs together, add

warm water and a little stevia. Sometimes I make a paste, and

sometimes I make it more liquid and drink it. If I didn't have

further allergies - it would be nice to add some type of fat or oil

which is a good delivery mechinism - like ghee, coconut milk or oil,

etc. (they've being doing it this way in Ayurvedic medicine for

thousands of years), and a little honey too.

Hope you can find a dose you can tolerate. I'm wondering if you are

experiencing a herx still?

Jnanda

[Guest guest]

Steve,

you're probably right about that not being a herx. Many other lymees

react to many things too, specially when they have the disease for

years.... I was infected last year, not too long ago. I know nothing

about MCS, sorry.

I wonder if the spirochettes really want us to be so sick... We may

die with the sickness and they too, with us.

But as AIDS, I also think that the important thing for the creatures

is to keep us as sick as possible (the heaviest the creatures load,

the best) so that we can contaminate others and they win in the long

run, as a species, not individuals.

Next ticks that will bite us will get infected, then next

animals/humans infected, we may pass the disease by sex, to babies,

who knows which more mechanisms?? Spirochettes are pre-historic

creatures, humans not. Whatever the mechanisms they use, it's been

perfected with the milenia. The good side is that many humans don't

fall sick with these bacteries, for whichever reason.

You're probably right about Chinese sources being contaminated. I'm

not taking 1stchinese, I bought them here in Europe, but I'm pretty

sure they come from China, mostly.

What an ordeal, this disease...

Selma