Dear Newbie,

This message is for you.  It was first written in June 2005 by some of us on the list who have been doing the protocol for several months, and who want to be sure that your experience with the Salt/C Protocol is as successful as possible.

Our first message is, START SLOW!  This protocol works. Although we don't understand all the reasons why, the combination of good quality salt and vitamin C, taken apart from meals, acts like an antimicrobial in the body and will bring Lyme and other pathogens and parasites to their knees.  The sicker a person is, however, the stronger the initial herx reaction will be, even to a minimum dosage. Many people have read the protocol on Lymephotos, have started right off with a high dose and have had a really difficult time.  We want to help you avoid that mistake with this initial post.

We would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the works and achievements of our group founder and champion, Marc, who has devoted countless hours of research as well as free consultation to hundreds of very sick persons over the years.  His courage, generosity and pioneer spirit have led to this protocol being available to all of us.

Marc has written a well researched "scale-up" protocol at: http://www.fettnet.com/lymestrategies/welcome.htm

It is a refinement of what the people on Lymephotos did, and is much more well-tolerated by a large number of people.  In this method, we wait at each dosage level for several days (to be safest, a week) to check our body's reaction before going on to the next dosage, and working our way slowly to the upper limit.

As to the ingredients, the kind of salt to use varies, but absolutely no table salt, such as Morton's, is allowed.  All kinds of vitamin C are acceptable.  The minimum dosage of both is one gram a day, taken apart from meals, though some persons, experiencing a large herx at this dosage, have reduced to .5 grams of both a day when starting out.

That said, we want you to know that we cannot possibly put the contents of Marc's book into a nutshell.  We therefore suggest that, whenever you can afford to do so, you join the advanced membership section and read Marc's book.  He manages to deliver the complexities of this protocol in a way that even the most severely challenged Lyme mind can absorb and work with.

Because we only want you to be able to do this protocol in the way that ensures greatest success, we encourage you to spend as much time as you have available to read, read, read: first everything in the "Links" section of this message board, and then the first few months of the archived posts (very inspiring), and then all the amazingly caring, thoughtful posts written by Marc (Lyme Strategies) in the archives since the board's inception.

By the time you've done all that reading, you will see what dedication Marc has offered to this cause, and you will be tempted to sign up for the Advanced Section TWICE just as a way of saying thanks!! :-)

Meanwhile we are all here to support you, report on our successes and challenges, and generally be a part of this big wave of people who are moving "onward and upward"!

(Thanks, Hilary!)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE SALT/C PROTOCOL:

Salt/C is as simple as it sounds, taking the right salt with a good quality vitamin C product.  The basic protocol is as follows.  Begin with 1g per day of salt and 1g per day of vitamin C, and then gradually ramp up (increase your dose) over a period of weeks or even months to around 8-12g per day of each taken throughout the day.  The rule of thumb for maximum target dose is 1g for every 15 lbs (6.75 kilos) of bodyweight.  The rule of thumb for how fast to ramp up is to GO SLOWLY.  Unlike ‘quick fix’ treatments we have all been conditioned to expect in medicine, this is a gentle and gradual, but very powerful treatment.  Regaining your health through Salt/C is no race; everyone improves at their own rate.

The best salts for Salt/C are the "CMC" brand salt tablets featured on LymePhotos.com, also the Hunza or Himalayan salt (www.krystalwebmatrix.com is one source), or RealSalt (www.realsalt.com).  Some people use Celtic sea salt and a few other unprocessed natural salts.  Do not even CONSIDER using Table salt.  Not only will that not work right, but 12g per day could be harmful due to the additives it contains.  There is no agreed-upon best vitamin C product.  Some people do better with natural preparations of vitamin C, others do better when bioflavinoids are included (slower release, such as Ester-C).  But most people are able to use a standard vitamin C product successfully.

The period of time in which you ramp up to full dose is dependent on how well you feel as you take the salt.  When you feel very poorly at a dose, stay at that dose until you feel better again, and then increase the dose again.  Or you may lower your dose until you feel better, then try increasing the dose again later.  Some people can ramp-up to their full dose within 1-2 weeks, adding 1g per day, some add only 1g per week, and some people take many months to get to higher doses.  Most people will feel a little better the first few days, but then gradually feel worse.  This is defined as a ‘die-off’ reaction from killing pathogenic bacteria and other bugs, or a ‘Herxheimer’ effect (‘herx’ for short).  For some people the herx involves exacerbation of symptoms they have had before.  For others it involves completely new symptoms, often neurological in nature.  The herx symptoms also tend to ‘flare-up’ every 3-5 weeks during Salt/C.  Some have remained at full dose after reaching "symptom-free" from Lyme, others have done just a low "maintenance dose" (average 3 grams/day).

(Thanks, Kurt!)