Just five months ago, however, the shingles returned. Several courses of a newer anti-herpes drug, valacyclovir, had suppressed the rash but it had been flaring up again every time he finished a course of drugs.
Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is a painful disease caused by a herpes virus called Varicella zoster, the same virus that causes chickenpox in children. After having chickenpox, the virus lies dormant and can return, as shingles, during periods of immune system stress.
“The pain really wears me down at times,” Peter said, showing me the angry looking rash around his ribs.
I suggested he start straightaway on some standard naturopathic treatments for herpes viruses — vitamin C, zinc and an amino acid called lysine. However, given Peter’s experience with shingles I didn’t think this would be sufficient to get things under control so I also referred him to a naturopath who specialises in treating people with HIV.
The naturopath added some herbs to Peter’s treatment. The most important was St John’s wort.
St John’s wort can reduce the blood levels of some antiretrovirals and other drugs and so should not be taken if people are using these. However, Peter was “between drugs” for shingles at the moment and wasn’t taking any anti-HIV drugs so St John’s wort was OK in his case.
St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is one of the primary herbs for treating injury to nerves — precisely what the shingles was doing to Peter and what was causing the pain. Also in the treatment plan was homoeopathic zinc and herbs such as Echinacea, to increase immune system activity, and Lemon Balm, both in a medicine and as an ointment, which has anti-herpes virus activity1.
Peter noticed some improvement after just one week. The herbal formula was changed a little and Peter continued with it for a month at which time he pronounced himself “90 percent cured.”
Shane* had an entirely different problem — recurring fatigue. He’d been taking anti-HIV drugs for about a year but he’d had the problem on and off for the last two years so didn’t think the drugs had much to do with it. He’d been seeing a naturopath for a few months without much success.
“What’s your naturopath been giving you?” I asked. “Some vitamin and mineral supplements”, said Shane, giving me a list. “And she’s changed my diet as I was eating to much sugar and not enough protein. Also ginseng has been in every herbal formula so far.”
But Shane had experienced little or no improvement. “The best thing I’ve found,” he said, “is staying off the sugar as she suggested. But I’ve got a really sweet tooth and I can’t go for long without a sugar hit.”
These two key symptoms — fatigue that improves by avoiding sugar, along with sugar cravings — set my mental gears whirring. Several possibilities suggested themselves but I needed more information. Two things clinched it for me. First, Shane’s fatigue was not improved by resting and, second, his tongue was puffy, “wet-looking” and had telltale teeth marks around the edges. This was clearly what an acupuncturist or Chinese herbalist would call “dampness.”
This word would make no sense to a western doctor and the condition is not well understood by western naturopaths either. However, as I explained to Shane, traditional Chinese medicine describes its diagnosis and treatment very clearly. “Dampness” results in a particular kind of fatigue — the body and limbs often feel heavy, it may even get worse after rest and it is often accompanied by difficulty thinking or concentrating. With a mental note to ask Shane to get a check for diabetes and to give him some information on the immune-suppressing effects of sugar2, I referred him to a nearby Chinese herbalist who has treated many people with HIV.
Shane responded well to Chinese herbal treatment, although it took three months before he felt he had his energy back.
These stories have a moral (or two) attached. First, just because western medicine doesn’t have an effective treatment for a condition doesn’t mean there are no options — complementary therapies may help. Second, each different healing practice or modality has its own strengths and weaknesses — don’t give up because the first therapist you saw couldn’t help you.
- Names and some details of the cases have been changed for confidentiality reasons.
*Jim Arachne* is the Complementary Therapy Treatment Officer for the Victorian AIDS Council.
