The Homeopathic Revolution

Am I the only one making the "Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley" connection here?

Every year when I get the flu shot ~ I end up with the flu.. So this year I skipped the flu & the Swine Flu Shots & haven't gotten either of them as of yet. BUT I normally get it in February so I have a few weeks to go in testing this theory out for this flu season....
 
I'm not sure how I feel about homeopathic healings, tonite at the bookstore I helped a women find the book how to cure cancer by eating the right foods? She siad she was jsut diagnosesd with stage 2 cancer & this was part of her treatment course. I wanted to ask her if Chemo was also (hopefully) part of the course, but didn't. I am hoping so but it seemed like it wasn't by the way she also ordered a few other natural healing books.  I know it's not for everyone but I guess I believe that both Western & Eastern medicines can work together to keep you healthy & happy.    

And of course, if you eay an apple a day for a hundred years,you will live to be very old

...probably works better if you eat an apple a day for a hundred years,and then you may live to be very old...

Whether you choose homeopatic or the FDA approved approach you still must ask questions and do research.  Medicine is big business but growing your own cure doesn't give you a better measure of control over your disease.  It really depends on knowing your body and strenghtening your immune system.   

I used to get the very culty Rescue Remedy by Dr. Bach at Walgreens, but then they stopped carrying it. A friend of my father's made his own version.
 
Homeopathy has GOT to be better than seeing the people at the doctor's office w/ their gallon ziplock bags filled w/ presrciption drugs.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Healthy skepticism is a good traveling companion for a Road Warrior. It is easy to write anything off that doesn't gel with your viewpoint as luck or voodoo and it is easy to embrace whatever the institutions hail as the latest interpretation of medical truth and practice. Many want your money and your life. The best way to double your money is to fold it up and put it back in your pocket until you make the best choice for you and as cowboys say always drink upstream from the herd. It's safer and tastier. 

I'll stick to empirically based medicine based on statistical sampling and a detailed understanding of the biochemistry of cells.... Witch doctors, curanderos, and 'medicine by anecdote' don't convince me.  (But then again I don't beleive in supernatural creatures, so take my comments as ya'll will....)

A word of warning which applies to areas other than medicine: 'Correlation is NOT the same as causation!'  End warning!

I think with the advancement of medical science, even with the drug corruption, I'd still rather put myself in their hands, than any forms of homeopathic medicine.  Which are essentially a placebo, and if you happen to get better while taking them, it's purely a coincidence. The fact that rich sick people turn to alternative medicine is not surprising. They can afford to try anything. There's an old Groucho Marx joke that would fit here but I can't remember it. The punch line is...there are no Tigers (elephants) in Texas. Ah, so it's working.   

How come we never hear about people who used homeopathy to cure their cancer... and died anyway? I'm sure there were one or two. But we don't hear about them. Is that because there is a vast left-wing conspiracy of homeopaths that are trying to suppress the evidence? Somehow I think not.

Similarly, I am familiar with far too many doctors who DON'T write scrip for every little thing that comes along, who truly care about their patients, who don't live in extraordinary homes or live extravagant lives, who will suggest diet and exercise for weight loss, and walking 3 miles a day for sciatica.

Generalizations are dangerous.

Homeopaths are trying to make a buck, too, I would imagine...

But insurance companies? All bad. Every one of them. HA!

Tommy I was just out at Champs with the family last night.  On Mondays they have half price burger night and these burgers are better than Red Robin's burgers next door.  Gotta love that competition.  They have a table side magician and while at our table she folded a dollar bill up and then unfolded it and it turned in to ten dollars.  She folded the$10 bill and then unfolded it and it turned into a$100 bill.  I asked her to do it again and she wouldn't.  It first leaves me wondering what a $1000 bill looks like.  Then I wondered how she did the trickcause then I be my own financial advisor.  SO when I got done with all my wondering, she was on to another table and all opportunity was lost.  The burgers were as they always are real good.  I am just wondering if eating burgers slows down the thinking process.  And if it does, would they reduces stress, and if it does would the reduce in stress of set the burger itself and if....

Doc, What about Iron Man.  He is really human and its his science that makes him supernatural?  

be well

Bebe, if you're still interested, GNC carries Bach's Rescue Remedy.  I have used homeopathic medicines for various minor illnesses.  Some work (those for sinus problems and for stress), and some don't.  I've never heard of homeopathy for serious illnesses such as cancer, but then, I've never looked.  (FYI, these pills are dissolved under the tongue, like nitroglycerin, which began as a homeopathic drug -- apparently, doctors found out that it works!)  Another bit of trivia -- Queeen Elizabeth II uses homeopathic medicine. 

Listen up; there are entire populations of healthy people that live long and well- -without ever taking a 'pill'...they eat well,visit the village 'chemist',(who provides plants that he can see they need). Our medicine is best suited for trauma,it is the best in the world, but it evolved mostly from war injuries. Now what I have stated here is not absolute ; merely an observation. Therefore, it is as valid as all other anecdotal information.   Eat well to be well

P.S.  Homeopathic drugs are very inexpensive, probably one-tenth the cost of pharmaceutical (sp?) drugs.

Some herbal remedies that I've found effective:  Arnica gel for muscle aches, Calendula for poison ivy and other skin irritations, Aloe Vera gel for skin healing.  Road Yacht, I agree that one should eat well to be well, as long as one is eating healthy, fresh food, with not too much fat, sugar, and salt.

That's right,Cyndy ; the less that is done to your food-cooking,adulterating-the healthier it is.   .   .The processed foods,no matter what their claims,if they have been heated to the temperature that kills their enzymes,they have no vitamins-merely minerals,which are also essential.

In the contigious histories of ancient cultures, you may find herbs and berries that are proven to work-just as well as knowing oisen ivy will itch

Accupunture was the charting of the arrows removed from retreating troops---some seriously injured would not feel the pain,until the small arrow was removed,and so it was written.  Over and over, for many generations,it was rewritten,and so it remains today.    Just because you doubt it does not make it untrue,any more than believing in it makes it true.

Korthal, I received your message.  I had trouble with the reply, so if it didn't get to you, thanks for the help.  I will certainly try your recommendations, and I'll let you know if it works!  Thanks again!

Where do people think researchers start in the quest for the next wonder drug?  Nature.  They simply take what has helpful properties and put it through the R&D ringer to make it the best possible medication for the given problem. 
 
If you have a cold, drink fluids and have chicken soup...it works about as good as anything else (avoid Zicam if you have zinc sensitivity).  But if you have a raging infection don't treat it with grapefruit extract and meditation...GO TO A DOCTOR.
 
It is it serious go to those with the best tools and the most knowledge.  I don't go to the doctor for flu, cold, headaches, the sniffles, or a hangnail...I do go for the serious stuff like traumatic injury, violent illness, surgery etc.  Going to the ER or your doctor for every little problem will probably just allow you to catch whatever communicable disease your fellow patients are in there for.
 
Being a massage therapist I meet a lot of people who firmly believe in "Eastern" medicine or homeopathic care ONLY.  And that is fine, it is their decision.  But many of them that I know that load up on vitamins and herbal supplements and cut entire food groups out of their diet because they aren't 100% "organic" or natural...end up getting sick every other week. 
 
I think moderation is the name of the game...a little of this, a little of that, and a huge dose of common sense.

Cyndy, I use Arnica in the base for one of my massage creams, people really like it.

GNC=Homeopathic in my mind.  I have a couple of karate knees that now need lubing.  Short of a zirc fitting and long fiber greese gun I take adaily dose of  glucosemine(sp) and condhrydon(sp).  It helps me stand up  from getting food in the fridge without the aid of a car jack.  I also have a daily dose of fish oil to keep my factor 5 blood slippery and a bayer mini tab to thin it out.  I do arobic exercise 60 minutes a day.  And hate every boring minute.  A drink couple glasses of wine in the evening which chills me out, reduces stress and makes be fall to sleep with a book on my belly.  The French say its good for your heart, and hte Itallians say it makes you liv elonger.  The way I know its working is the way know is first by the fact that I am typing this, second all the tests from the lab says so.  I actually read them and have my doctor explain it to me. This is to say I take as much responsiblity tune in to all channels that ontribute to my health.  I choose what works for me. All that said...I am still getting older and dealing with those sports injuries and the aches, pains and concerns that come with ageing are creeping in.All that said...I am very concerned that the control and choice I have in my healh care may vanish.  I hear folks take aim on drug companies and in some cases they have a case.  But I do find them contributors to our improved human condition, price aside.  Where I take grave concern is are the non contributors to improved human condition, first big government and then big insurance companies as they lock armsin a plot to take it all away. 

RoadYacht: You are quite right in your assessment of the American medical field. We are the absolute best for people getting their last shot at getting better. But there has to be something that can be done so fewer people get to the point where the choices are immediate, invasive, and dangerous surgery/chemical therapy or death. Isn't it better to treat things when they are small and easy than when they are huge, spreading, and dangerous?

Then again, there are people who, through no fault of their own, are going to get sick. Eating lots of fiber and cutting out donuts isn't going to fix a congenital heart defect.

Anyway, I'm one of those who doesn't go in much for too many pills. Partially because I can't afford any of them. But I have seen other things work. A few years ago, I had extremely bad, sharp stomach pains. When I described them to my uncle (who is a doctor), he said it sounded like an ulcer. Not good. But I remembered that peppermint is supposed to have some properties that help with stomach issues. So, I started drinking a large cup of mint tea every day. After about 3 months, the pain stopped, and I could eat oranges again.

CYNDY- thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to go into town today & we ACTUALLY have a GNC, so I am completely excited. You made my day, thanks again!

It has been reported that people that eat healthy, nutritious food, sleep eight hours a night, and exercise eventually DIE (... not some of them, but ALL of them!).  Post hoc ergo propter hoc, right?

Doc Nolan, yeah, everyone dies . . . hopefully, if you maintain your health, you'll stay active and comfortable longer than if you don't.  Does anyone get eight hours sleep any more?

I've noticed that those who espouse homeopathic remedies exclusively are usually healthy individuals by and large so it works for them and they sing homeopathy's praises loud and often -- until they get seriously ill, and need heavy duty traditional medicine, such as chemotherapy--then they're the first in line to get their treatment, forget holistics and homeopathy.
 
There's no magic in anyone's bottles, genetics plays a big part in your health and longevity, and as is usually the case, an extremist one-or-the-other attitude towards your health care, daily and long term, is probably not wise.
 
This is another one of those not really complex issues that can be solved by calling on that old, experienced problem solver called Common Sense. 
 
You might need to knock on his door several times and loudly.  He's not accustomed to being called into service of late.

I'm all for preventative measures, tests that find the problem and treat it before it gets out of hand.
 
But the cost of these is prohibitive, and usually not covered by health insurance.
 
Example:  a colonoscopy cost $6,000 a year ago.  Out of pocket.  Not covered by health care, because it was a recommended test, not required because there was a suspicion of colon cancer or other issues.
 
Now, who can afford that? 
 
So you wait until you get colon cancer, and sure, health care will cover treatment for that, after you pay the deductible -- and if you live, they'll raise your rates and not cover any future colon problems.
 
It's cheaper to die, and that's what health insurance companies are hoping for, by not covering the costs of tests.
 
It's a bad deal all the way around for the patient, and all the herbs in the world can't do a thing toward diagnosing a health risk before it becomes life threatening.
 
And so we muddle along though, and as PeterLake said, above, we try very hard to "be well."

Cyndy:  I'm sure that's true, and she seems to be a very healthy woman.
 
Keep in mind that her mother lived to be 100 or so, so she has great genetics on her side, which I believe play a huge part in one's health, whether it's good or bad.  Or middling.
 
Rather than the Queen, I'd look to gramma and grampa and mom and dad and so forth for a glimpse into the future of your health.

Park4, I think you misread me -- I said I use homeopathic medicines for minor illnesses.  I see a doctor every six months for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  I don't run to her though for every other little ache or pain I have.  And at 68, I have plenty.  And I don't necessarily have genetics on my side -- my mother's family had heart disease, my father's cancer.  I eat right because I want to stay slim and keep my cholesterol down.  And I feel better when I do.

"all that is gold does not glitter' ....... just had to pop in and say something Be well anyway and everyway you can .. .. .. .. being happy goes a long way towards this end.

I did misunderstand, Cyndy...my apologies!

Laughter.
 
PeterLake is right...it goes a long way to good health.  And for whatever years you've got to look forward to, laughing makes them so much more enjoyable.
 
There's no rule that the right to be downright silly on occasion belongs only to the children.
 
At least I hope not, because it happens a lot, in this house.
 
So it must be normal, being silly.
 
Right?
 
right?
 
 

so gold doesn't glitter?

Not all those who wander are lost.....
 
:)  The only homeopathic stuff I ever used was the teething tablets for my babies.  They seemed to work about as well as a frozen wet washcloth on sore gums, and didn't drip all over the place as the ice melted.
 
May all of you stay healthy and well, and if not, may you recover quickly!

PARK 4:
 
Gold giltters. I just got finished with today's client who after I cleaned her gold and diamonds was very happy with the value and the GLITTER.

So Doc what are you saying...its how you live and not how or why you die? As a history buff, it seems back in the olden days people seemed to accept death a bit better than they do today. It too often came earlier. I think also because of that they had different values. I am not saying they were more civilized, but I might say that you could take em for their word. Courage to get it right was easier to find. Saying that I'll be the first to say that growing old gracefully and dying gracefully is a high honor. The last thing I want is to be some hospitals science experiment

Shanda if only all people thought like you.

Placebos work.

Our brains are able to do far more than we are willing to admit. In scientific studies it has been found that placebos actually induce the body to healing. All because the brain believes it can do so. Attitude about the efficacy of a drug has far more to do with the ultimate result than any chemical, natural or otherwise.

So of course homeopathy works. And acupuncture and a whole lot of other stuff.

Amazingly enough, so does prayer... even when the patient DOES NOT KNOW he is being prayed for.

We are amazing creatures. Far more complicated than we like to think we are...

Korthal: I needed to hear that. Thank you.

All that is gold does not glitter, nor is all that glitters gold.....   'The old that is strong does not wither,: Deep roots are not reached by the frost.' . . . . . .a little wisdom passed on from Middle Earth

Korthal - well said indeed.  There is so much power to be found in expressions of hope and belief; especially when it is directed toward the benefit of others without measure.  jmo and if I'm wrong, please don't feel complelled to tell me so.

Homeopathy=placebo effect. The placebo effect is an authentic entity, but is incongrous with the idea that molecules affect the shape and structure of H20 at infininte dilution.

To discuss it beyond that is indulging magical thinking.

In my experience, half of patients who believe in homeopathy also believe in the storyline of 2012. The other half will vote for Sarah Palin.

Park4:

As a board-certified gastroenterologist and hepatologist, I take real umbrage at your assertion that (a) a colonoscopy costs $6000 dollars out of pocket and that (b) insurance doesn't cover colonoscopy.

These are extremely misrepresentative statements regarding a procedure I have NEVER not seen covered by third party payers and for which the professional fee now is frequently less than $400.

The legitimate medical profession has enough problems that owe to teeming irrationality. To just grossly misrepresent it does NOTHING if not scare prospective colonoscopy candidates from one of the most life-saving procedures that they will ever undergo.

To clarify what Kristina writes above, 3-arm randomized controlled trials in which patient are randomised either to (1) receive nothing, or (2) to receive placebo or (3) to receive an efficacious pharmaceutical agent show that patients in arm (1) have no change in status, patients in arm (3) experience a clinical response, and that, mysteriously, patients in arm (2) do better than patients in arm (1).

I am no fan of Andrew Weill MD, but do concede this one very powerful point he makes based on the literature.

Kristina:

The overwhelming number of studies regarding the benefits of prayer in patients that do not know they are being prayed for have NOT shown benefit. Overwhelmingly, the prayed-for patients have a worse clinical course. Facts are pesky things.

I'll defend this point quite strongly as I have followed this literature closely, and know well someone who has been principal investigator for many of the studies.

Also, What Nachista Said above.

If you have symptoms, SEE A DOCTOR. Don't indulge in magical thinking!

Someone alleges above that a suspected ulcer got better with peppermint. Well, most ulcers either heal or bleed out; mostly they heal. Peppermint relaxes the GI tract in other people, such as those who are having symptoms (even if transient) of irritable bowel syndrome.

My favorite thing is mostly, in fact, to peel patients away from pills that aren't absolutely necessary. There is a terrible accretive effect of medicines, especially among patients who see multiple providers.

I can tell you it's cool because I have done it so many times: I take a patient on 15 medications and peel them away until the patient is on 2-3 meds. Invariably they marvel at how much better they feel.

I do not defend the widespread prescribing of "b###s***" medications that were approved for human use before a predatory FDA developed. I can name 100 medications of the top of my head with no clear evidence of clinical benefit but OK'd for human use decades earlier for lack of evidence of toxicity.

Paul Murphy:

"GNC=homeopathic."

Yes----mutual virtual high-five!!!

 
Not precisely topical but: one week ago today, ailing with an old man's stiff lower back arising out of a two week visit by our five-year old grandson, I visited an acupuncturist.

It was possible, when asked, to bend forward a little. No point in trying backward or sideways.

She had to be sold on my willingness to try her one needle back cure because, unlike most acupuncture, it hurts.

And it did, I suppose, at least more than usual but its effect was immediate and though it has been only seven days, it seems like a cure to me.

The one needle is inserted into the northernmost philtrum or infranasal depression in the upper lip beneath the septum and, Bob's your uncle, complete comfortable freedom of movement is restored, a very lovely thing indeed.


I wanted to mention as well that my wife has successfully put one of her eye surgeries behind her which is even nicer.

P4, PL & Shandonista,

Excellent work rooting for the Packers... if only you hadn't all gone to the bathroom at the same moment...

KSS,

I missed you.

Stoney - We went at thesame time, but not together...... Best health to you and yours

KSS~extremely small,dilute amounts,of certain plant substances,have been blamed for the death of some certain people.Ricin?And other things,such as a small bacterial colony of e-coli,or salmonella,also have some diasterous effects.And it is not always the poison, but sometimes the immune reaction to the poison,that causes the harm. What then,if I may,would happen if an extremely dilute substance was introduced that perturbed the immune system to react,and in so doing,solved the other vexing problem?

Greetings:  I don't know, but would someone please go and get Olivia.  I really want to know what she thinks.  Really...

KSS:  I really think that I think I understand.

So, does this mean that Sarah is going to run in 2012?

I respect your opinion Doctor, but your bedside manner really sucks. There is absolutely no need to diminish anyone because they do not share your opinion or do not agree with your facts; even though you may be a subject matter expert.

The positive effects of a little bit of consideration and empathy may not be scientifically measured and can be put in the same category as placebo effect, but it does encourage me to put out the welcome mat to new ideas instead of slamming the door in their face. Very few things in life are either simply right or wrong. This is why the phrase "it depends" was created.

Maybe the jokes on me ‘cos I'm not smart enough to know that some things are impossible.

I congratulate you for the successes you have achieved with your patients. I just don't think that gives you a license to insult others.

I apologize if I'm being too abrupt and sarcastic, but I find myself in a high state of pisstivity. I'll be calmer tomorrow.

Well, doctor swami, you're just going to have to figure out what to do with that umbrage you take, because there's no such thing as a $400 colonoscopy in my part of the world.
 
Here's some new numbers for you to take umbrage about:  the first time a colonoscopy was suggested by my husband's doctor, the cost was $4800, and because my husband showed no signs of illness, it was simply a screening, and NO swami, insurance wouldn't cover one cent.  We took a pass on it, because $5,000 was too much at the time.
 
THEN, doc, my husband's doctor rewrote the order for the test, in hopes that it might be covered by insurance with a few tweaks in the wording -- and by golly, yes it was covered.  All but $3,800 plus the deductible, and other fees -- but because the true cost of the procedure was a breathtaking $8,800 ! yes, $8,800!  such a bargain it was, that my husband said hell with it, he'll do it, and we wrote the checks.
 
 
So where on god's green acre it is that you practice where you do colonoscopy's for $400, I do not know. 
 
Now, I could take umbrage with your tone and attitude and telling me that I misstate facts -- and that you poor doctors have enough trouble without people like me putting out false information  -- I could take umbrage doctor but I don't like clutter, so I leave my umbrage at your feet.
 
Along with the request that you not take that tone with me, or suggest I am writing anything other than the facts as I know them, again.
 
I've got enough doctors in my immediate family to not be overly impressed with the qualifications for membership in your profession, and so do not expect me to take your word as that of the Almighty's, because you and your fellows are not Gods, or even Godly.   The best of you do the best you can, the worst of you are dangerous, and most of you just punt and hope you get it right.
 
Take more umbrage if you choose, it's yours for the taking, but I'm done reading your self-important pronouncements.
 
I suggest you pass by my comments, as well.
 
 

Who's making self-important pronouncements now?

Be careful; remember the "day that dissapeared".  Don't want that to happen again, do we.....