On news:sci.med.diseases.lyme I found an announcement for a Lyme research list.
I'm not a researcher and don't want to join the list, but did go to the home page about it-- lyme-l-requ...@home.ease.lsoft.com and decided to submit the following (long) letter below suggesting someone research colloidal silver once and for all. ================================================================== Thank you for posting about your Lyme research list at the Lyme disease news group. I am delighted that such a list exists! Please bear with my inquiry; detail is included in hope that someone you have contact with may be interested in researching this further. I don't belong on your mailing list. I do not have the background or financial means to design or conduct research regarding Lyme disease. On behalf of the thousands of individuals suffering from advanced Lyme disease, I earnestly would appreciate contact with anyone on your list interested in studying a possible remedy or treatment I've come across. I am not a researcher but an unemployed (by choice) registered nurse. I would like to bring to your attention that there are many people self-medicating with colloidal silver (both commercial preparations and home made preparations) for Lyme disease who have subjectively speaking, gotten favorable results. Some have claimed to be asymptotic following several weeks self-medicating, no longer requiring treatment of any kind. Apparently colloidal silver was used in the past (pre antibiotics) to treat syphilis and other bacterial infections. I am well aware that many doctors and researchers would consider studying colloidal silver a waste of time. However, having been on many different antibiotics for Lyme disease and having tried colloidal silver myself, I think differently. I know of physicians who, although professionally have chosen not to "prescribe" colloidal silver, have provided information or approved of self medication with colloidal silver for Lyme disease. One doctor provides an article about it for those who ask (cited later in my letter). I began using home made colloidal silver October, 1996, after plateauing on 26 months of various helpful antibiotics for advanced Lyme disease. Personally, I have been able to maintain a high level of health since then, subjectively improving from 85% post antibiotics to a current 95-98% well (aside from occasional problems with allergies). It 's been 20 months now, and, although I've had some minor symptoms on occasion, I have not had to use any antibiotics for any type of infection since I began using CS. (I used to have 3 or 4 sinus infections a year requiring antibiotics.) I do notice increase in symptoms when I stop taking colloidal silver for several days or weeks, though. I have concluded that CS at the dose and strength I've been taking keeps the bacteria in check but has not eliminated it altogether. I don't believe I've taken it as consistently or in the dosage that others claiming full recovery have used. I am aware of several people who are or have used colloidal silver for Lyme disease with apparent success; many of us participate on a mailing list of mostly "lay people" and homeopath type health care providers called silver-list@eskimo.com". We strongly desire that someone or some group of professionals with a strong scientific research background would look into the effectiveness of colloidal silver seriously. There are questions about its safety, effectiveness, proper strength and dosage, and how it actually works. The only medical data I've found on the subject is a general critique of all silver medications based on studies linking over-used highly concentrated, large particle silver salts and accidental industrial exposure to argyria. I believe this information has erroneously applied to colloidal silver. Colloidal silver in its various forms (electro colloidal, ground, suspended in protein) needs to be examined individually. None of the studies cited identified any findings specific colloidal silver, which has a much smaller particle size (presumably more easily eliminated from the body than prescription silver salts) and of a much smaller concentration (far closer to the U.S. daily referred dose of silver than what one would get using prescription silver products for any period of time.) The article I refer to is "Silver Products for Medical Indications: Risk-Benefit Assessment", Clinical Toxicology, v.34, #1, pp 119-126, 1996, authored by Man C. Fung& Debra L. Bowen. Also, many doctors are telling patients that apparent success of colloidal silver simply a "placebo effect." I take exception to that; I have kept close observation of myself since I began using colloidal silver and have no reason to doubt it has helped me get better. But without proper scientific study, my own findings are not a valid either. As I stated earlier, I've found that I've improved while taking it, and regressed when discontinuing it. In addition, the improvement I've made exceeded that which I made on potent antibiotics. Recurrent symptoms that have improved or abated include neurological, joint and muscle symptoms. Below my signature is an excerpt from http://cassia.jerseycape.net/new.htm. It includes an interesting observation by a veterinarian regarding prevention and treatment of Lyme disease (Ledum in a 1M potency, which apparently some people have tried out with success). (The writer of the page is a fellow Lyme victim who has a pre-med background.) There is also reference on that page to a Lyme survey (on another web site: http://metroweb.ll.net/Lyme ) under way by a nurse practitioner. She is collecting subjective findings from the patient's perspective of what non-prescription treatments have been found helpful for Lyme disease. Perhaps something interesting will surface through her survey. Many thanks for your time. Sincerely, Nancy Berntsen (mail address, etc.) Excerpt regarding Ledum Lyme Disease and Homeopathy by Stephen Tobin, DVM As a holistic veterinarian, I have treated several hundred cases of Lyme disease in the past five years. After trying various homeopathic preparations with only limited success, I found that Ledum in a 1M potency is about as close as you can get to a specific cure. I have use it in dogs, cats, and horses, and it does not seem to matter whether it is a recent infection, a year old, treated or untreated --- they all respond curatively, I have not had a single case that did not improve. The conventional treatment for Lyme Disease is a course of antibiotics, usually amoxicillin or doxycycline. This works quite well in most cases of recent infection, but hardly at all in long-standing cases. Homeopathic Treatment Effective While I do not treat human beings, some of my clients with animals suffering from Lyme disease have taken Ledum 1M for their own lyme disease infections, after seeing the positive result with their animals. The feedback I have gotten is all positive. -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com -or- silver-digest-requ...@eskimo.com with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the subject: line. To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@id.net>
