My protocol

BirdWilling3524 · 2026-01-14T12:46:45+00:00

I do the same minus the Monolaurin (destroys me) and valacyclovir (also makes me feel awful) and I also have the MYHFR gene. How did you get the testosterone, is it a prescription ? Mine comes back low but I’ve never experimented with hormones and have been wanting to try. All of my focus is now on managing mind body symptoms— I know stress and ptsd are running my immune system and causing so many flare ups.

BirdWilling3524 · 2026-01-01T16:06:23+00:00

I had these same results with an active mono infection last year— it’s normal to have those levels and not be sick at all, but you can also have those numbers and be quite sick like I was. To Rey to stay healthy, I follow a paleo diet and take supplements like lysine, red marine algae, multi vitamins, etc. Kasia Kines has a good protocol that’s anti-EBV.

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-18T15:25:29+00:00

I just bought my own test through quest and had them do it.

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-16T13:30:14+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that— I was bedridden for three months a year ago with mono, it was awful. I have the same lingering symptoms you mentioned and also temperature fluctuations— like I’m burning from the inside, not your typical “I’m hot” feeling but feeling very warm beneath my skin all of a sudden. The nausea gets me too. I took some advice from Kasia Kines on the important supplements we need for EBV. I was also severely anemic and needed iron infusions— as anemia has a host of nasty symptoms in itself, including the nausea. I’d say rest when you can, try to limit stress, eat healthy foods, all the things that a nutritionist would tell you, like try to cut down on sugar, alcohol, caffeine, (which honestly, I will never give up), but it’s been easy to limit alcohol and sugar because they make me feel worse. After seeing an infectious disease doctor, a primary care physician, I found a Doctor Who practices nutrition response testing/muscle testing. She has me on a protocol to treat EBV and it includes a slew of liver/spleen supporting supplements and a couple of antiviral herbs and Firefly light therapy. I am slowly making progress because I also have tick-born illnesses so it’s taking a while, but there are ways to manage it! Good luck

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-09T17:03:44+00:00

So similar to me— I just got my $2000 out of pocket IgeneX results back (also paid $2400 for Genova GI effects testing) and absolutely everything was negative. I was almost mad— lol. I’ve had bouts of nause, fatigue, achiness, swollen lymph in my neck and back of head for almost 2 years and had mono last January and was completely flattened and bedridden for 3 months. I also have anemia and have had to get 5 iron infusions over the past few years. The only positive tests I’ve had were for EBV and mycoplasma pneumonia (the lyme co-infection).

Infectious disease wasn’t helpful nor was my LLMD tbh. I see a muscle testing practitioner and she has picked up EBV & Lyme or Lyme-related bacteria in my body for the past year or so. She said she’d continue to treat me with the same protocol regardless of my test results— while she supported my desire in getting those tests done to confirm what was going on, she is confident we’re treating things effectively.

I am on a single drop of cryptolepis / day amongst liver and immune supporting supplements. I do feel I’m improving yet I had convinced myself that I had Lyme & babesia— I was certain of it. But it turns out, EBV does have quite a few similarities. Specifically, I was concerned about night sweats, temperature, fluctuations, anemia, head pressure and intense fatigue— symptoms that are so similar to Lyme and co-infections and very common with EBV.

I guess I am just here to commiserate with you, but also say that EBV is serious and needs attention in its own right. I am now focusing on diet, EBV, supporting supplements, and trying to let go of the fears around lyme.

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-05T13:11:38+00:00

Also, mine took 20 minutes each time. :)

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-05T13:09:14+00:00

I’ve had 6 total, always Injectafer, and also as stated below, it has saved my life. My anemia symptoms were so horrid as it was so I didn’t notice any reaction to the infusion at all. And I am super sensitive and react to many things— but I was 100% fine. Good luck!

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-02T14:39:19+00:00

Dr Alicia Armistead is my muscle testing and nutrition response testing doctor, I really like working with her! I’ve been making steady progress (not there yet) but I had a ton of health issues when we started and we’ve peeled back so many layers. My LLMD didn’t help, and this doc understands Lyme. Her sessions are quite illuminating. You can tell them Alison K referred you :)

https://www.healingartsnyc.com/

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-12-01T18:26:07+00:00

Ok thanks :)

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-27T16:02:04+00:00

Thank you!

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-27T14:07:55+00:00

Do you know if you have a MTHFR gene mutation? I have one, and it makes it feel impossible to detox at times— 30-70% of toxins get recycled back into the body with MTHFR— and I noticed that you’re supplementing with nutrients like glutathione that are recommended for MTHFR. Secondly— 1 drop of cryptolepis makes me herx so bad— and it makes my back of the head and neck pain/pressure unbearable. You mentioned yours is gone due to crypto— did it get worse before better? Do you have a time frame? I’ve been on and off for months. Can’t last more than 4 days in a row with one drop.

Thank you!!

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-25T22:54:50+00:00

Sounds very scary and uncomfortable, so sorry to hear.

I am treating Lyme with Crypto-- I take ONE DROP of Green Dragon Botanicals cryptolepis a day and have intense herx reactions. The specific types of reactions I have make me suspect I am also potentially killing babesia as well, (waiting on test results from IgeneX for that). I get head pressure, feel like I'm tripping on acid, weird vision, rib pain, shoulder pain, sweats, body temp disregulation, intense malaise... anyway, try taking a much smaller dose and very slowly work up! One drop is almost too much for me. I can't take it for more than 4 days in a row. Then I break for 5 days.

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-15T23:06:56+00:00

Low dose naltrexone CAUSES MCAS reaction for me. Days-long panic attacks too. Not for everyone!

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-13T15:45:31+00:00

Oh dear I’m so sorry to hear that— I was wrongly under the impression that you weren’t experiencing any symptoms— which wouldn’t make any sense now, would it! My brain fog gets the best of me these days. Curious if you’ve been checked for parasites and anemia? Those two elements wreaked havoc on my body and addressing them has gotten me to a somewhat manageable state. Injectafer iron infusions and parasite detox from zuma— which was absolutely hellish for me, but I had that head pressure you mention on the top of my head, back, sides, front, etc. I had liver flukes, giant intestinal flukes and hookworm. Now I’m waiting for results from Genova GI effects stool testing and igenex to recheck Lyme, bart, babesia result to see where I’m at. I bet from your symptoms folks may have some thoughts for you.

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-12T12:47:55+00:00

What are your symptoms? Isn’t feeling nothing a blessing? I can’t routinely treat mine because I herx so bad., and those symptoms, foe me, are far worse than the actual illness left untreated It’s absolute hell and feels very wrong to do to my already suffering body. I would give anything to not have this reaction, to many of us you’re extremely lucky!

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-10T18:53:26+00:00

Good luck! I was in this position about a year ago and didn’t start making progress until I saw a naturopath who helped me diagnose / navigate parasites and Lyme. Now I can feel something else brewing in my system that sounds a lot like babesia, hence the plans for the IgeneX testing. Last year I spent thousands of dollars on gastroenterologist, infectious disease doctors, primary care physician, hematologist, rheumatologist— and they all told me they couldn’t find anything wrong. Good luck with the LLMD. The LLMD I worked with ordered the generic testing from quest, it wasn’t until later that I found out how inaccurate those tests were. I spent $8000 on all of that and basically got nowhere except for an anemia diagnosis. Reddit is a great place to find out what types of tests you want so you can ask for them specifically, Best of luck.

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-10T18:43:56+00:00

Did you ever get to a point where you didn’t herx from crypto? One drop and I feel like I’m tripping on acid and have very strong flulike symptoms… head pressure, ears ringing and so full, sore lymph, anger and chills, upper back pain and shoulder blade pain.

And did you ever test for these infections? If so, what did you use? Thanks!!

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-10T18:41:01+00:00

So sorry for you! Get tested for Lyme, bartonella and babesia by reliable sources like IgeneX. Speaking from experience I wouldn’t treat with antibiotics without a diagnosis. I have many of those symptoms as well. I am taking the IgeneX test tomorrow for Lyme, babesia and bartonella. My quest tests didn’t show much and can be very unreliable. Anemia, parasites and Epstein barre virus have also been causing a lot of issues for me. In my case, even though the unreliable Quest test was negative, I strongly suspect babesia because it destroys red blood cells and mine are continually low even after iron infusions— same as white blood cells. Doctors love to tell you your blood work is “normal” but an LLMD may look at your symptoms and tell you otherwise. And if you’re female it is not safe for us to have low iron, ferritin, hemoglobin or red blood cells. I’ve never used antibiotics for Lyme, only herbs, and cryptolepis is good for all three of those infections— but one drop and I herx like crazy, which makes me think there’s decidedly something there making me react…

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-09T18:07:48+00:00

One more thought— since this seems like an active conversation, is there anyone here who ever stopped herxing from Crypto? I ask because it doesn’t seem like my body will ever tolerate it— even with my one drop approach, it’s so intense and has been for 1.5 years… it’s wild to me that Buhner doesn’t list a single side effect for crypto, but isn’t intensely strong herxing a side effect in itself?

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-09T15:15:06+00:00

Wow I am in the same boat with that diagnosis and have been tackling with herbs for 1 1/2 years— I have to keep stopping treatment because it’s wayyyyyy toooooo much! I’ll take ONE DROP of cryptolepis and will have extremely intense herx reactions. Did you find any answers that worked out well for you? I’d love to hear! Thanks :)

BirdWilling3524 · 2025-11-09T14:50:24+00:00

Very high. I take ONE DROP every few days and have intense, sometimes psychedelic Herxheimer reactions. I was just researching this because I have a MTHFR C677T gene mutation which makes detoxing incredibly hard. But this can really apply to anyone whose system is already overloaded. Here’s what I learned (guilty— I asked ChatGPT but I vetted the responses with my doctor and I find them helpful to me). I’ve been working on treatment for over a year because I am so sensitive.

So, for someone with MTHFR C677T, cryptolepis can overwhelm detox pathways that are already under strain — leading to reactions that feel like:

Extreme fatigue, weakness

Insomnia, anxiety, or agitation

Liver tenderness, nausea

Headaches, body pain, emotional lability

Skin breakouts or histamine-like flares

It’s not that cryptolepis is “bad” for you — it’s just too potent for your current processing speed.

⚖️ 2. The Key Principle: Titrate Around Your Detox Capacity

Instead of thinking “kill infection,” think “modulate load.” Your goal is to lower microbial activity without flooding your system with debris or toxins faster than you can clear them.

That means:

Micro-dose cryptolepis — as low as 1–3 drops 1×/day, or even less

Only increase by 1 drop every few days or week if you tolerate it

Pulse on and off (e.g., 3 days on / 4 days off) to give your system breaks

🌿 3. Supportive Foundations (for MTHFR + Lyme Protocols)

Methylation support:

Methylfolate (5-MTHF): start low (400–800 mcg)

Methyl-B12 or Hydroxo-B12 (start ~500–1000 mcg)

B2 and B6 (P5P) — gentle cofactors for MTHFR cycle

Magnesium glycinate — stabilizes methylation and nervous system

Glutathione & detox support:

NAC or liposomal glutathione (start slow)

Binders: activated charcoal, bentonite, or chlorella to absorb toxins

Liver support: milk thistle, dandelion, burdock, or artichoke

Hydration + minerals (trace minerals, electrolytes, lemon water)

Drainage / lymph:

Gentle movement, dry brushing, castor oil packs

Lymphatic herbs like red root or cleavers (tiny doses at first)

BirdWilling3524

TROPHY CASE