Supplement List

Please be aware that no claims are being made as to how any of the following products/supplements may or may not help you and your unique case. I have listed the products/supplements below due to my personal experience and the following list of products/supplements is not an endorsement of any specific product/supplement.

I try to always get Freeda Vitamins, Solgar or NOW Foods vitamin brands as they typically have the fewest excipients in their products (excipients, or fillers, are those substances added to the supplements, e.g. silica and magnesium stearate, in order to add the proper consistency to or form of a supplement or drug). By choosing brands that use fewer excipients, you are getting a purer product and you also lessen the amount of things you may react adversely to – even though excipients are supposed to be inert, some people do react to them; I’m one of them!

Grapefruit Seed Extract (liquid) – Nutribiotic brand. 3 drops in 4 oz. of water 3 x day. You MUST stir the water for 2 minutes before drinking as otherwise the liquid grapefruit seed extract will stick to the glass and you will not be getting much of it.

Nystatin (powder form – need a prescription from your doctor for this) – I take one ’00′ sized filled veggie capsule 3 times a day with food. I keep the Nystatin in the freezer.

Curcumin (NowFoods brand): 1 capsule 2-3 x day

Mega Green Tea Extract (LifeExtension brand): 1 capsule 1 or 2 x day

Rosmarinic Acid (LifeExtension brand): 1 capsule 1-2 x day

Selenium (NOW foods 200mcg VCaps- Vegicaps) 200mcg 1x day Critical: You must take selenium first thing in the morning with some water and then wait at least 15 minutes before you eat or drink anything or else you may not absorb much of it. Selenium is needed for proper thyroid functioning and it is also the precursor to glutathione which is what your body uses to detoxify the “bad guys” – toxins, heavy metals such as mercury. There is much published on the protective nature Selenium has against cancer. You should never take more than 200mcg of Selenium a day in supplement form as that could lead to selenium toxicity. Read Part 2 of my post on Lyme disease and mercury poisoning where I discuss titrating liquid selenium (Allergy Research Group brand) – liquid selenium is the ideal form to take selenium in as it is easier to absorb. As I discuss in my post about mercury poisoning, some people may not tolerate supplementing with selenium initially, or may only tolerate a small amount, but by titrating the selenium (building up the dose slowly) they come to tolerate larger doses and often see improvements in their health for different reasons which I discuss such as how oftentimes, those that do not tolerate the liquid selenium, or can only tolerate small amounts, are those individuals that need it the most.

Zinc gluconate (Freeda 15mg tablets) 45mg 1x day
Zinc can be beneficial in treating or preventing viruses and other infections as it helps to activate T-cells.
Vitamin A (Solgar 5,000 iu tablets) 5,000 iu 1x day (vitamin A is fat-soluble so you need to eat something with fat when you take it)

Vitamin D3 (Solgar 600 iu VCaps) 600iu 2 x day (vitamin D is fat-soluble so you need to eat something with fat when you take it)

Many people with Lyme and other illnesses, even those who are looking to prevent illnesses, are taking between 3,000 and 5,000 iu a day of vitamin D3, others less. “Researchers found that immune systems’ killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.”

B supplements are important in helping protect your liver from toxins and can aid in increasing your energy. You need to take the B vitamins together:

B1 (thiamine) (Freeda 50mg tablets) 25mg 1x day (you can work up to 50mg 3 x day)
B2 (riboflavin) (Freeda 50mg tablets) 25mg 1x day (you can work up to 50mg 3 x day)
Niacin (Freeda 100mg tablets) 50mg 1x day (you can work up to 50mg 3 x day)
B6 (Freeda 50mg tablets) 1 tablet 1 x day (some people don’t break down B6 properly and so they need to take P5P (Klaire Labs 30mg VCaps – the label says 50mg but it is 30mg of P5P in the capsules sot it is the right one to get) 30mg 2x day If you take the B6, you can work up to 50mg 3 x day.

Folic Acid (Freeda 400mcg tablets) 400mcg 2 x day (you can work up to 400mcg 3 x day)

B12 (Solgar 100mcg tablets) 100mg 3x day
NOTE: You must supplement with both B12 AND Folic Acid as they work together. Those with a history of cancer should speak with their doctor before supplementing with Folic acid.

Magnesium gluconate (Freeda 110 mg tablets) 5 tablets 3 x day. You may want to try larger doses until you reach toxicity (diarrhea is the indicator that you are taking more magnesium than you can handle) and then back up the dose slightly.

Calcium gluconate (Freeda 300 mg tablets) 4 tablets 3 x day

Vitamin C (Solgar powder) 1/8 tsp 1 x day

Iron (Ferrous Fumarate) (Freeda brand 29mg tablets) – 1 tablet 2 x day

Some people have found that supplementing with Aloe vera has helped them much as Aloe is believed to have an anti-inflammatory effect, among other things. I did try Aloe vera juice and noticed a very light improvement in the brain fog I have daily and the throbbing migraine-like sensation in my head. As well, I did feel like it initially gave me slightly more energy. Lily of the Desert makes a great preservative-free organic Aloe Vera juice that comes in a glass bottle, and that is what I used. The suggested amount is 2oz. per serving or as needed. Aloe vera is also available as a supplement in Vegicaps – Solgar makes a great Aloe vera supplement. Note that it may take at least 5 days to notice any benefit if you are to see one, as that is how long it can take to curb the inflammatory response. Since Lyme disease is largely a multi-system inflammatory disease, and since I have read some other Lymies talking about how they felt it helped a bit, you may just want to try it.

Sites I usually order supplements from because of their prices and customer service:

Freeda Vitamins
Total Discount Vitamins
iHerb: Jason – a fellow “Lymie” – was kind enough to share that you can get $5 off your first purchase through iHerb if you you use the code AHI823
LuckyVitamin: If you order any Solgar brand vitamins from here, you get free shipping!
Willner Chemists

Supplements you may want to consider as many people find them to be beneficial:
CoQ10 – never take this when on the antibiotic Mepron for Lyme and/or Babesia.
Sam-e
Taurine
B5
Biotin
Garlic
Inositol