do you have faith in Homeopathy?

corvallisgrace75 wrote:You do realize that an allopathic practitioner is a traditional MD, right? Be sure to read up on that so that you don't compare a traditional MD to a prostitute. LOL! Hey, if a prostitute works for you, I'm not knocking it. If it makes you feel better, great. We each have the freedom to choose how we spend our money. What benefits one person may or may not benefit another. But I still stick by my guns that we wouldn't be having this discussion if traditional Western medicine wasn't SUCH A PATHETIC JOKE!!! And these are people that went through the "accepted" schooling. Follow the "scientific protocols". My psychiatrist doesn't have a clue in hell as to how the medications she prescribes work. She'll just tell me over and over again that "it's all in my head." I think she's f'd in the head, personally, and I am looking for someone new.

But again, who am I to knock the benefits of a prostitute? In fact, maybe I'll try it.

If what you say about your psychiatrist not knowing how the drugs you take work then I at least hope she knows what they work on! I take issue with a person in that specialty saying something is all in your head. That's just not right. I'd report someone like that.

corvallisgrace75 wrote:You do realize that an allopathic practitioner is a traditional MD, right?

You sound like a confused puppy. Read some of the references from this article in Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopathic_medicine

Then see if you still want to tell me that an allopathic practitioner is a traditional MD, right.

Is it possible she was trying to tell you the drugs were neurologically based and affected things in your brain (vs other organs), though could not really explain scientifically which parts of your brain were affected in what way (her not being a neurologist after all), even if she possibly understood the general mechanism behind each med?

Julie wrote:Is it possible she was trying to tell you the drugs were neurologically based and affected things in your brain (vs other organs), though could not really explain scientifically which parts of your brain were affected in what way (her not being a neurologist after all), even if she possibly understood the general mechanism behind each med?

"neurologically based" - Duh? What the heck does that mean? It's not a medical term.

Julie wrote: though could not really explain scientifically which parts of your brain were affected in what way (her not being a neurologist after all), even if she possibly understood the general mechanism behind each med?

If she is a psychiatrist and prescribes these drugs she should be intimately familiar with what parts of the brain they affect. No need to call a neurologist.

Well, I know what I think I meant.

Hmmm, wiki and other sites seem to have a different interpretation of what "allopathic" means.

http://hpplc.indiana.edu/medicine/med-r ... inds.shtml (first paragraph below)

"There are two kinds of practicing physicians in the United States: allopathic physicians (MD's) and osteopathic physicians (DO's). Both are fully licensed physicians, trained in diagnosing and treating illnesses and disorders, and in providing preventive care."

Nevertheless, I may in fact be confused. I may need to consult a prostitute. Haha! Regarding the psychiatrist telling me that everything is in my head-- I should clarify. When I have complained to her about side effects from a particular med, she will tell me, "99% of people don't have that problem. You're probably just worried about having side effects and that's why you're experiencing them." To me, that is a nice (or not so nice) way of saying, "It's all in my head." Again, I think practitioners, at least those here in the United States, don't know how to diagnose and treat a lot of conditions that are presented to them these days. I loved my primary care provider. But when I came to her with a specific problem and got advice that was equivalent to, "Take two of these and call me in the morning", I knew it was time to move on.

My pulmonary specialist, on the other hand, is great and very sympathetic. I'm glad I went to see him and discovered that I have sleep apnea. It may the most useful diagnosis I have received in a long time. I look forward to a life of restful sleep very soon....

corvallisgrace75 wrote:Hmmm, wiki and other sites seem to have a different interpretation of what "allopathic" means.

http://hpplc.indiana.edu/medicine/med-r ... inds.shtml (first paragraph below)

"There are two kinds of practicing physicians in the United States: allopathic physicians (MD's) and osteopathic physicians (DO's). Both are fully licensed physicians, trained in diagnosing and treating illnesses and disorders, and in providing preventive care."

well, that IS what the wikipedia article says, too... just different words:
"Allopathic medicine is an expression commonly used by homeopaths and proponents of other forms of alternative medicine to refer to mainstream medical use of pharmacologically active agents or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or pathophysiologic processes of diseases or conditions.[1] "

in other words, plain old doctors.

I think maybe hang fire was in such a hurry to make a cutting remark that they didn't take the time to read.... or, someone edited the article in the last couple days. I didn't check the edit history.

And Hang Fire, I read this on the wiki site you cited. So perhaps we're both right. Imagine that!

"Use of the term remains common among homeopaths and has spread to other alternative medicine practices. The meaning implied by the label has never been accepted by conventional medicine and is still considered pejorative by some.[15] More recently, some sources have used the term "allopathic", particularly American sources wishing to distinguish between Doctors of Medicine (MD) and Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) in the United States.[11][12][16]"

I'm American, so there you go. The reality is, you don't have to support anyone who is seeking out treatment from a homeopath or other holistic practitioner. But you should respect their decision to do what they think is right for them. And yes, that includes going to a prostitute if that is your chosen method of treating what ails you. Again, I never would have sought out the services of a homeopath if I hadn't become so frustrated by the lack of answers and cavalier attitudes of the MDs I was seeing. That was my journey and my experience. I've had many friends who are also disappointed with the health care they are receiving from MDs. But they didn't necessarily seek out alternative health care treatments. To each her own. That's life.

Thank you, Pale Rider.

Regarding the psychiatrist telling me that everything is in my head-- I should clarify. When I have complained to her about side effects from a particular med, she will tell me, "99% of people don't have that problem. You're probably just worried about having side effects and that's why you're experiencing them." To me, that is a nice (or not so nice) way of saying, "It's all in my head."

Sadly, your experience doesn't surprise as many psychiatrists (not all) are infamous for blowing off patient complaints about med side effects. Once you get a mental illness label, you cease to be a credible reporter of your health condition and that is why it comes across as saying everything is your head.

By the way, your experience reminds me of several years ago, when I developed foot pain from being on Zoloft. I looked up the side effect on the website of the drug company that made the med and something quite similar was listed.

My psychiatrist blew off the complaint. When I told him what I had found on the website, he was quite embarrassed. Unfortunately, I ended up switched to Celexa that caused extreme agitation. Even though my psychiatrist wanted me to continue with the med which blew my mind, I decided to switch back to the Zoloft even though I feared the foot pain would return and it did. There just didn't seem to be any other good med options which should have been a hint to me that I needed to get off of these meds. Unfortunately, I didn't do that until about 4 years later.

Anyway, that is why I laugh at all the posts vilifying homeopathy as so evil. Yes, I understand the skepticism and the resentment of the false claims that it makes but I sure wish to god, I had been on homeopathic remedies instead of psych meds for 15 years. I still would have wasted alot of money like I did with the psych meds but at least my health wouldn't have been damaged.

49er

corvallisgrace75 wrote:The reality is, you don't have to support anyone who is seeking out treatment from a homeopath or other holistic practitioner. But you should respect their decision to do what they think is right for them. To each her own. That's life.

... or death.

I have a friend who feels like traditional medicine has failed him. So he started going to a homeopathic doctor and this is what has transpired:

- He has quit using CPAP (He has heart disease and I am afraid he will be dead soon.)
- He spent $5,000 on a machine to make Kangen water (fraud)
- He buys a special Himalayan salt and has tried to get me to buy it
- He will only eat "organic" food and pesters everyone that their food will kill them
- He thinks chemikills are in everything and is worrying himself constantly

He is 67 and I doubt he will live to be 70. This is such a shame because he was once a very bright man who was CIO for a technology company.

corvallisgrace75 wrote:To each her own.

I really disagree with this attitude. Yes, ultimately you have to let people make their own decisions. But when they are making very bad choices, to accept these choices with a cavalier attitude is wrong - you may be contributing to the unnecessary demise of your friends.

BTW, In all my years, I have never once heard a traditional MD referred to as "allopathic".

I am so sorry to hear this MS. I hope I didn't give the impression that I am a fan of alternative medicine because to be honest, I have as much contempt for them as I do with alot of western medicine. I am extremely angry that they take advantage of people tapering off of psych meds and essentially espouse the same chemical imbalance BS that has been disproven that I feel psychiatrists still do.

Why did your friend quit using the cpap machine?

Midnight Strangler wrote:

corvallisgrace75 wrote:The reality is, you don't have to support anyone who is seeking out treatment from a homeopath or other holistic practitioner. But you should respect their decision to do what they think is right for them. To each her own. That's life.

... or death.

I have a friend who feels like traditional medicine has failed him. So he started going to a homeopathic doctor and this is what has transpired:

- He has quit using CPAP (He has heart disease and I am afraid he will be dead soon.)
- He spent $5,000 on a machine to make Kangen water (fraud)
- He buys a special Himalayan salt and has tried to get me to buy it
- He will only eat "organic" food and pesters everyone that their food will kill them
- He thinks chemikills are in everything and is worrying himself constantly

He is 67 and I doubt he will live to be 70. This is such a shame because he was once a very bright man who was CIO for a technology company.

corvallisgrace75 wrote:To each her own.

I really disagree with this attitude. Yes, ultimately you have to let people make their own decisions. But when they are making very bad choices, to accept these choices with a cavalier attitude is wrong - you may be contributing to the unnecessary demise of your friends.

BTW, In all my years, I have never once heard a traditional MD referred to as "allopathic".

49er wrote:Why did your friend quit using the cpap machine?

He thinks the regimen of Kangen water, Himalayan salt, organic food and a combination of diet and vitamins has cured his sleep apnea. He is still overweight.

We have a small group of men that get together regularly and I know he loves being with us. But, we frequently get the word that he is not feeling well and cannot join us. We miss him sorely and fear what his next few years will be like.

I don't want to discuss this anymore.

MS, I'm sorry to hear that your friend decided to abandon treatment that was working for him and is now in a state of dire health. That's really scary!! I understand your frustration and trepidation. May I ask if there was something that your friend perhaps felt was not working about his original treatment? In my experience, people turn to things like kangen water (what a joke!) and other alternative health treatments when they don't believe what they're currently doing is working. Chances are, these alternative practitioners are not going to lure someone away unless that person is already frustrated or not satisfied to begin with. That doesn't make it right, but when I've sought out alternative medical treatments, I've never been told to stop seeking out conventional Western medical treatments from an MD. On the contrary, they have said to continue working with my MDs. They saw their treatments as a "complement" or a "supplement" to conventional, Western medicine treatments. Those that don't say this are doing a huge disservice and causing potential harm. I am very sorry if this is what happened to your friend. It's not necessarily the norm and it sounds like he got a raw deal. The sad reality is, we can tell our friends that what they're doing is rubbish and is killing them. But people are still going to do what they're going to do whether we support them or not. The more they feel that others are bashing them for their choices, the more often they do the opposite of what is suggested out of defiance. May your friend get back onto a path of healing and well-being.

49er, I'm glad you can see where I'm coming from. I'm not supporting homeopathy. I said in my original post that it was my dissatisfaction with the conventional medical care that prompted me to try homeopathy. Sleep apnea seems like a more straightforward issue than mental health issues. I could be wrong. What medications are given to you when you go on the CPAP? I didn't think there was any medication prescribed as part of a CPAP treatment, but I could be wrong.

49er, as you confirmed, psychiatrists will throw any number of drugs at you and then scoff when you mention the side effects. Being on meds like Celexa and Zoloft, we often feel better at the expense of feeling a little worse, too. Case in point, your foot. Which is sad and ridiculous. And that's if we feel better. It's a travesty to me that there is so little understanding about the mechanisms of action of these anti-depressant meds and that we must try several of them and suffer before we find one what works. You and I have a similar understanding based on our experiences. It's not that we are proclaiming homeopathy as the answer. But when you've been dragged through the med machine for years, you can't help but wonder if there's something better out there. A better way. And like me, maybe you seek out homeopathy. And you realize that it's crap. But it stems from dissatisfaction with a system that is supposed to be helping you, and instead mocks you. We are not non-compliant patients. We are people who only want to feel better and are finding that it's not that simple. I don't think some of the doctors out there would last a day in their patients' shoes.....

corvallisgrace75 wrote: But people are still going to do what they're going to do whether we support them or not. The more they feel that others are bashing them for their choices, the more often they do the opposite of what is suggested out of defiance.

Nonsense. Myriads of people have changed their ways when friends stepped up to advise them.

You even see it in this forum on a regular basis.