How one mother began her recovery from Lyme disease using the traditional technique known as The Milk Cure used by the forerunner of the Mayo Clinic.
This amazing story was sent to me by Melanie, a Mom who, for over 100 days, fasted on nothing but raw milk to heal Lyme Disease.
No other Lyme Disease treatments, conventional or otherwise, had worked for her over the past 4 years.
Her healing journey is based on the use of raw, pastured milk for reversal of serious illness as practiced in the early 1900’s by the Mayo Foundation, a forerunner of the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.
If this story is of interest to you, read more about how to do a Raw Milk Fast yourself.
Here is Melanie’s story in her own words ….
From Normal Mom to Near Invalid
Four years ago I was an active wife and mother: cooking, cleaning, running errands, volunteering at my daughter’s school — the usual “stay at home” mother activities. Without warning, I suddenly became very ill after being exposed to loud noise for several hours.
I developed excruciating pain in both ears and was subsequently diagnosed with “hyperacusis”, painful sensitivity to sound. I could not bear any noise louder than normal conversation without intense pain and became confined to my home. At about the same time, I began suffering from severe insomnia and night sweats, and I began to rapidly lose weight.
I developed muscle and joint pain over my entire body, and my muscles became so weak that I could not turn on the shower or lift a glass of water to my lips. Eating was painful because my stomach hurt, and my muscles twitched so badly it made the bed shake. For months my face was swollen and I developed spontaneous bleeding underneath my toenails causing them to turn black.
Inexplicably, my body seemed to be “falling apart”!
Lyme Disease Diagnosis
After having numerous diagnostic tests I was told my blood was too thin, my blood sugar was too high, I had no detectable good bacteria in my intestines, and my body had an extremely high level of an enzyme with a long name we’d never heard of before.
My immune system was so dysfunctional that I tested allergic to nearly 80 foods.
After seeing many specialists to determine what was wrong, I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease, a chronic debilitating infection caused by a tick bite.
During those months while we awaited a diagnosis, different doctors had prescribed various medications and synthetic vitamin supplements to treat my symptoms. Although we did not understand why at the time, all of them made me terribly ill and I was forced to discontinue taking anything (in hindsight that was a great blessing, as we would later learn those unnatural substances were only adding to the toxic burden on my body.)
We were grateful to have a diagnosis of Lyme Disease but knew that, in my weakened condition, I could not tolerate any medical treatment. With no good options and my physical state rapidly worsening, we did the only thing we knew to do: called the elders of our church to come anoint me with oil and pray for my healing. Knowing that Jesus had said, “The truth will set you free”, I set out to discover his truth for my physical body. What was the underlying cause of my illness? Why was my immune system so weak? How could my health be restored? What did he want me to eat? In my search for the truth, the answers to those questions would change the course of my life.
Determined Quest to Detoxify
One of the first things I learned was that, whatever the diagnosis, there really is only one chronic disease — toxicity and nutritional deficiency. Basically, my body had become overloaded with toxins and was unable to function properly. Just as there was only one disease, there was only one cure. I needed to eliminate (as much as possible) the toxins coming into my body, cleanse my body of stored toxins, and provide it with the nutrients it needed to repair and rebuild.
Since I would not be taking medication or supplements, food would be my “medicine”.
After much research, I cut out many things from my diet in a quest to quell my Lyme Disease symptoms : additives, preservatives, artificial flavorings and colorings — basically all processed food. I also eliminated soy, gluten, yeast and sugar. I ate only what was organic so as not to ingest pesticides.
Over a period of two years I experimented with eating different foods that were supposed to have healing qualities: goji juice, acai powder, coconut oil, raw garlic, cultured vegetables, freshly made vegetable juice, raw apple cider vinegar, manuka honey, non-gluten grains soaked overnight, sea vegetables, grass-fed beef, sea salt.
For months I ate six raw egg yolks a day from a local farm. I consumed gallons of raw coconut kefir and homemade bone broth. I ate dozens of jars of raw nut butter and grass-fed ghee and drank only spring water.
After more research I learned that, even with my new eating plan, I had still been unknowingly pouring harmful chemicals into my body on a daily basis through toxic personal care items. I threw out all my health and beauty supplies and used only a bit of pure castile soap on my skin and hair. I discarded my household cleaning and laundry products and instead used vinegar, baking soda, and a dried fruit called “soapnuts”.
I replaced our teflon pans with non-toxic ceramic, and our plastic containers with glass bowls. I had a water filter installed in the shower and opened windows to air out our home. I bounced on a rebounder for half an hour each day to flush out my lymph system, and twice a day took a walk in the sun until my legs became too weak to continue.
With the elimination of many toxins and a complete change in diet and lifestyle, I did see some improvement. I could finally sleep, my pain lessened somewhat, and a number of my symptoms disappeared. I was able to start taking a plant-based digestive enzyme, hoping it would help my stomach.
Cure Lyme Disease with Raw Milk?
Still, I continued losing weight and was unable to regain my strength. My hair started falling out and I continued to have serious digestive problems. Despite eating large quantities of food, by last summer I had lost more than one-third of my starting weight.
Through my research, I had repeatedly seen how drinking raw milk had helped many people, but since I had such trouble digesting fats I had avoided it.
Then I read about a protocol from the early 1900s describing how doctors had used an exclusive raw milk diet to successfully treat every sort of disease. It was described as “a combination of a detoxifying fast and nutrient-dense feeding” — just what I needed.
I also read that fasting gives the digestive system a break so that all the body’s energy can be devoted to healing. Based on my research, and since it was becoming increasingly difficult to digest solid food, I decided to try the raw milk fast for 90 days or as long as I could tolerate.
I located a farm with raw milk about 20 minutes from our home. It is not certified organic although they claim to use many organic practices. The cows are grass-fed much of the year and eat hay in the winter. Although their diet is supplemented with a small amount of non-gmo corn and the milk is sold in plastic containers, it was the best we could find locally. Having little to lose, I decided to proceed with my plan.
The Milk Cure Begins
I began my fast on November 18, 2011, and from the beginning have been drinking about three quarts of milk per day.
Some of it I make into whole milk kefir. The rest I let sit out on the counter for 12-24 hours to come to room temperature (cold foods are bad for my digestion) and begin a natural souring process that increases the beneficial bacteria. I drink about six ounces every hour, sipping it slowly and mixing well with saliva.
I take part of a digestive enzyme capsule with it – this is probably not necessary, but I was reluctant to stop using the enzymes since they seemed to help me digest fats. I usually drink my last cup of milk around 8 p.m. and then go to bed since I know the body repairs during sleep.
Since beginning the fast, I have experienced many common healing “crisis” reactions: skin eruptions, itching, runny nose, headache, increased muscle and joint pains, sweating, body odor, gas and bloating, constipation, dry mouth. For two days the glands in my neck were so swollen that is was hard to swallow, and for several weeks I coughed up green mucus every morning. Some days I have had a strong chemical taste in my mouth. The past couple of weeks my legs have ached badly on several occasions making it difficult to stand and walk. None of these symptoms has concerned me, for I know that my body is flushing out toxins and ”cleaning house”.
Now for the good news: after four years of my body wasting away, I have gained 25 pounds and am back to a normal weight for my petite frame.
My hair has stopped falling out, my pain is gradually lessening, and I am slowly regaining my strength.
My sickly yellowish complexion has been replaced with a healthy pink glow!
How long will I continue my fast? I do not know. I am thankful every day for the healing power of raw milk and that I am on the road to recovery at last!
Interesting read….thanks for putting this out there! Lyme disease (and other tick borne diseases) are seriously debilitating and life destroying. Not everything here (on this site) is necessarily based in scientific fact, but that doesn’t necessarily take anything away from what is in this article. There is, also, not all that much information out there in the scientific community, regarding accurate Lyme information, or any tick disease information…..so it takes personal journeys put out on the internet to help people find the paths that will best help them deal with all this!!! SO many people are looking for help with Lyme disease symptoms. Here’s another one….for everyone that has been tested for the Borrelia Burgdorferii…..how many have been tested for the Borrelia Hermsii?????? I test negative for the Lyme, but I was positive for the Borrelia Hermsii….which is basically….the OTHER Lyme disease. It has a mortality rate at the onset that Lyme disease does not have…but then, past that point, the symptoms are all the same. People with Lyme symptoms that test negative for Lyme disease, and are then summarily dismissed by their doctors, need to be checked for this one!!!!
As to whether these diseases are “chronic” or not…..the term is used to describe symptoms that have been going on a long time. Acute means symptoms started quickly. Took a different doctor (board certified infectious disease doctor, NOT a “Lyme” doctor) to listen and diagnose my symptoms, after two of my sisters had this disease and insisted I be checked, too. The ticks attributed to this are the soft-bodied ticks…..they don’t embed…..and not many even know about them. These are where there are rats, mice, birds, etc. There is the WA1 disease now….plus all these other co-infections that go along with a single tick bite. Because the organism was so well established in my body, I was happy going the route of daily !V antibiotic infusions…but I know that the best way to reach these organisms that will reside in joints and other hard to reach places. I went through a total of 17 weeks last year to get rid of this bacteria….my numbers are better now, and I hope they stay that way!!! I had two other co-infections, as well. I am terrified of getting bit again!!!!
The ability to use the nutrients in milk will vary from person to person. This is an interesting concept, to use raw milk as a means of healing. It is very essential to provide your body the best opportunity to heal…….with better nutrition. I need to be better with my nutrition, for sure!!!
Chronic……depends on whether you have been successfully (disease totally eliminated) treated for Lyme disease, or not. There are the residual effects of this disease, and the Borrelia Hermsii, that will last the rest of one’s life…depending on how bad the symptoms were before treatment, and how well the body was able to heal after successful treatment. I think that once you are successfully treated (in whatever capacity this is), residual effects become something else.
I am grateful for any information that helps to eliminate these diseases and the effects of them in our bodies!!! I have a long ways to go with my healing. It is a long and uncertain future for anyone with these diseases.
Fascinating. Raw milk is curative in so many ways. Thanks for sharing this info in hopes of helping others who struggle with Lyme.
I am so glad my niece let me know about this. She and two of her girls, and I have Lyme. (Actually, 8 in our family do, but we are the ones that are currently treating and have been the sickest with it.)
I am going to have my husband calculate what I need (since my brain has been so messed up from the Lyme). I hope I can get enough milk and on time.
One of the other things Lyme caused in me was ulcerative colitis, so if I could get my gut a chance to heal with this, then I believe my immune system would be better, too (although, Lyme has turned off the immune system cloaking in my DNA, etc.).
I have just passed the words to my friends with Lyme disease.
Thanks!
I would go full GAPS then add raw milk, especially with the ulcerative colitis. You are in deep and need to heal as quickly as possible beginning with detoxing your system.
I’m in! One question? I raise dairy goats and do have ample yummy milk! But I know there are nutrient differences in the milks? Can this do also for a fast? I feel this sounds dumb, but hey?
My heifer won’t freshen till spring! And all the large and small dairies around me are drug happy, GMO worshippers! Yikes! Well, what do you think? Raw goat??
Cari
Cari, you may be missing the point. Raw milk from a human, cow, or other mammal that has anti-bodies from Lyme Disease will pass the ability to make the Lyme Disease specific anti-bodies. The volume of milk or other foods mean little. I would suggest that you drink about eight ounces of raw milk from cows out in a pasture so they have high Lyme Disease exposure. Since you already have late stage Lyme Disease, I would suggest drinking the eight ounces of raw milk for about a month. Don’t expect the damage already done to be reversed quickly. Only the infection will be cured.
Why didn’t either your mother nurse you or her mother nurse her or has your family been in areas away from Lyme Disease for the last few thousands of years?
Where did you get the idea that Lyme Disease has been around for “thousands of years!?!!” I guess it’s a good thing the early settlers didn’t have to go into the woods….. Lyme Disease is very recent and probably man-made (Fort Detrick?)
Dianne, please search on:
lyme, iceman
and you will find that Oetzi, the iceman had Lyme Disease 5,300 years ago.
Since Lyme Disease causes different symptoms in different people just like its cousin Syphilis, it may have been called other things in the past.
Older Lyme Disease may have also been different strains?
Lyme Disease did not magically pop-up yesterday but current strains may be new and people could have different resistance?
The other big recent change is that after traditional medicine was over-thrown by allopathic medicine, women were encouraged against and often prevented from nursing their children. Without a mother’s raw milk antibodies and sugars, children have less disease resistance, issues with gut bacteria, and other issues.
I LOVE healing stories!!! There are too many stories of troubles and death in the news. I am really close to actually locating some raw milk for my family and especially my son, yay! I’m in Canada…farmers have to make very tight and well thought-out contracts to make it legal and because it is such a hassle for the farmers, animal shares just aren’t that popular. Congratulations to Melanie for finding her cure and good luck on your own fast, Sarah.
Anita: That article you’re talking about is linked in this article.
I am just curious-how did everyone get diagnosed with Lyme disease? Immunoglobulin testing, Western Blot, other? I work in Rheumatology and test often for Lyme but have not yet seen anyone with “chronic” Lyme infection. I have seen some who have lingering fatigue after treatment. And others who completely recover with conventional treatment.
I wonder if the treatment used causes gut issues for some which in turn affects the immune system and causes the lingering effects that lead to a diagnosis of “chronic” Lyme disease?
That’s an interesting theory, Liz. The antibiotics used to treat Lyme might be killing off beneficial organisms involved in producing neurotransmitters – maybe causing some of the odd sort of mental fog or neurological symptoms. And maybe causing other metabolic or hormonal dysregulation. Lyme disease symptoms seem all over the map which makes sufferers appear to be hypochondriac. And it could be that imbalance in gut microbiome can impact any number of biochemical pathways downstream.
Try a CD 57 lab test. If numbers are low, rule out leukemia. If it’s not leukemia, my Dr. tells me it’s Lyme. Since I had no tick or mosquito bite in the winter of the test, it’s chronic lyme. A CD 57 is retested quarterly after treatment.
Liz H, the lyme disease tests have a 50% failure rate so half of the people that get lyme disease are not treated at all. Allopathic medicine absolutely refuses to treat early lyme disease for long enough. Just one or two weeks more antibiotics would do wonders. Chronic lyme disease is never allowed to be found. Since there is little difference between lyme spiral bacteria and its genetic cousin syphilis spiral bacteria, they both act alike and both exhibit a range of symptoms. Yes, the cousin syphilis can also become chronic if not treated properly.
As long as allopathic medicine keeps the AMA, FDA, big pharma, insurance companies, state government, and federal government between a doctor and patient, don’t expect changes.
There is no evidence to support that chronic Lyme disease is even a real entity.
Yes, I suspect you are right about that Heather. To me Lyme Disease is just what docs call something when they have no diagnosis. It really is just toxicity and nutritional deficiency rolled into one combined with the individual’s genetic weaknesses. IN other words, any combination of symptoms would fit!
However, this does not in any way reduce the astonishing nature of Melanie’s story .. she was a VERY SICK lady and raw milk is healing her. Who really cares what the “label” of the illness is?
You guys need to watch the documentary ‘Under our Skin’ on netflix. Chronic Lyme disease is a very real thing and is going misdiagnosed all over this country. Once Lyme has been in your body for a while it no longer shows up in blood work. The Borrelia bacteria multiply and move to different areas if the body, manifesting in varying symptoms, which to doctors often look like other problems: fibro myalgia, chronic fatigue, Lou gherigs, even Alzheimer’s. For whatever reason, our government does not want it recognized as a real disease, and therefore makes it nearly impossible for a patient to get treatment from a medical dr. It is extremely difficult to find a dr who will put their medical license on the line to treat lyme. Thankfully (for my family, and several of my friends) we were able to be treated with homeopathy (which is so much better for our bodies than months or years of antibiotics – the only method found to work by medical drs who have actually researched and treated Lyme).
You can watch ‘Under Our Skin’ for free on Hulu. I highly recommend watching it!!
Heather Maines, what would make anyone think that lyme disease spiral bacteria would not cause chronic disease? If not treated early and for enough weeks which allopathic medicine will never do, lyme disease spiral bacteria will do the same thing that its close cousin syphilis spiral bacteria does and bore out of the circulatory system into the brain, joints, and other hard to reach places. Chronic lyme disease and chronic syphilis are not too different and both exhibit a range of symptoms.