Homeopathic Doctors

[VydorScope]

I always have to laugh at the term "all natural" I can go out in my orchard and pick a few things and cook you up a big pot of cyanide. St. John's Wort under certain circumstances can be very dangerous. Most of us can go out to our flower beds and harvest opium or digitalis.

Need I say more? 

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Hmm almost sounds like you have plans in place... youknow, just in case

[Guest Viola]

Nope ... no plans, I just tend to think about these things when people start giving lectures about "all natural" like it's always the "safe" way to go.

One really has to pay attention as much to these "herbal" treatments as they would with any medical treatment and not just think it's natural and therefore safe. Not always the case

And while we are on the subject of all natural .. pay close attention to the ingredients of herbal teas ... some of them tuck in nice little things like toasted wheat germ and barley.

[tarnalberry]

I know that I used belladonna for migraines, sulphur for diarrhea (which didn't help, since my diarrhea was not caused by the usual culprits), and I've used a few other ones.

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See, I think people have the idea that homeopathy and other alternatives are far fetched. Belladonna is very common in alternative migraine medications because it's a serious toxin that constricts blood vessels. As a migraine is an expansion of the blood vessels in the head, it makes sense that belladonna could help counter it. Homeopathic medicines don't tend to shy away from using things that are labeled "highly toxic", partially, as I understand it, because homeopathic medicines are often *highly* diluted. (That's sorta the point...) But when people forget that "toxic" is dosage dependent, they just see "oh, they're putting poison in a medicine" and not thinking further than that.

What I've seen of some of the more "common" homeopathic medicines (and I admit, it hasn't been that much), there is much of the same theory going on.

Though I have to admit that the homeopathic allergy treatments I've seen that actually introduce the allergens to your system have me scared a bit. They shouldn't, though, as mainstream allergists do exactly the same thing with desensitization shots, only they're more painful! ;-)

[VydorScope]

See, I think people have the idea that homeopathy and other alternatives are far fetched.  Belladonna is very common in alternative migraine medications because it's a serious toxin that constricts blood vessels.  As a migraine is an expansion of the blood vessels in the head, it makes sense that belladonna could help counter it.  Homeopathic medicines don't tend to shy away from using things that are labeled "highly toxic", partially, as I understand it, because homeopathic medicines are often *highly* diluted.  (That's sorta the point...)  But when people forget that "toxic" is dosage dependent, they just see "oh, they're putting poison in a medicine" and not thinking further than that.

What I've seen of some of the more "common" homeopathic medicines (and I admit, it hasn't been that much), there is much of the same theory going on.

Though I have to admit that the homeopathic allergy treatments I've seen that actually introduce the allergens to your system have me scared a bit.  They shouldn't, though, as mainstream allergists do exactly the same thing with desensitization shots, only they're more painful! ;-)

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As with anything there are degrees ... some of the homeopathy stuff is legit, some is snake oil. Unfortunily its he snakeoil you hear more about, and it can be dangerous.

[Ursa Major]

I have to agree with all of you. Richard, you're right, you need to be careful, no matter what. I've thrown prescriptions from medical doctors in the garbage, I've disregarded advice from well-meaning nurses and naturopaths. I ALWAYS do my own research before taking anything.

I remember what the remedy was that helped my stomach. It's not specifically for stomach aches, but it's supposed to counter inflammation in general. My stomach was obviously very inflamed just before I figured out about celiac disease, it ached terribly for two weeks, and if you pushed from the outside where the stomach is (just below the breastbone), it hurt badly.

Anyway, my homeopath told me to go to the local health food store and buy the homeopathic remedy 'sepia'. She said that the strength 200 c would be best, and to take three little pellets once at night, and once the next morning, and to repeat that after a week if the problem would persist.

Or, if they only had the 30 c ones, to take three pellets three times a day for five days. Which is what I did, because that's all I could find. It worked very quickly and was a great help. A couple of weeks later I got glutened and used it again, and I felt relief from the awful stomach ache within minutes.

So, as you can see, she didn't even make any money on this. The advice by e-mail was free, and I bought the remedy from somebody else as well. When I see her, she'll sell me her remedies (and she'd have the stronger ones), but I don't see her very often. We stay in touch by e-mail, because she actually cares and wants to know how I am doing. Obviously, a rare health professional!

[VydorScope]

Ursla.... do you think my name is Richard? Always sounds like you repling to me, yet you adress Richard.

[Ursa Major]

Ursla.... do you think my name is Richard?    Always sounds like you repling to me, yet you adress Richard. 

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Oops, sorry about that, since it clearly says your name is Vincent in your signature. I have no clue how I thought your name is Richard. I guess I've had brainfog for too long, it hasn't cleared up yet!

But my name isn't Ursla, either, but Ursula .

I was in a terrible rush when posting the last few times, that probably had something to do with it. I'll try to be more careful.

Ursula

[shayesmom]

We are trying an alternative therapy called NAET. It's a mix of homeopathy, kinesiology and acupressure/acupuncture to deal with food intolerances/allergies. We have only been to 4 appointments so far and the egg allergy is gone. I really am not holding out much hope on really "curing" celiac's (if that is what my dd really has), but supposedly, this is supposed to help minimize reactions to trace exposures. We have been given some supplements to take which include probiotics, a multi-vitamin and Omegas 3-6-9. We are also going to be dealing with some chelation therapy as dd has tested high in heavy metal exposure....mostly from vaccines.

At any rate, we treated for wheat yesterday and will be testing to see how it went on Monday. I'm not sure what to expect, if anything. However, I am really impressed with the results with the egg allergy. Two days before treatment, I had given eggs to dd with pretty rotten results (diarrhea and 2 hours of hyperactivity). I re-tested with the same food 2 days after I was told she had "cleared" her allergy and she was totally fine. No diarrhea, napped right on schedule and wasn't agitated. Really bizarre. And last night, dd had 2 scrambled eggs without incident. I don't quite know what to make of it. I am cautiously optimistic as far as the allergies go.....with the gluten......I remain a skeptic and will continue to be unless something major changes. I guess I will keep you all posted. If it helps, great. If not, at least others will know the therapy isn't useful.

[Guest Viola]

I had the NAET treatments a few years ago and had a lot of allergies cleared including my allergy to nickle. However ... it does not cure Celiac Disease as that is NOT an allergy and traces of gluten will still damage the intestine. So, you still need to be very diligent about avoiding gluten as best as possible.

Good luck with the allergies though .. we couldn't get rid of my allergy to dust or perfume as it's almost impossible to avoid for the time needed when living in a motel while treatments were being done.

[shayesmom]

I had the NAET treatments a few years ago and had a lot of allergies cleared including my allergy to nickle. However ... it does not cure Celiac Disease as that is NOT an allergy and traces of gluten will still damage the intestine.  So, you still need to be very diligent about avoiding gluten as best as possible.

Good luck with the allergies though .. we couldn't get rid of my allergy to dust or perfume as it's almost impossible to avoid for the time needed when living in a motel while treatments were being done.

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Well, it's helpful to know that the actual allergies can be cleared. We have seen as much with the egg in basically one appointment. Unfortunately, with dd, we don't know if she has an allergy, intolerance or if it's Celiac's. Guess that's the down-side to not having a biopsy done. But in any case, I'm not really very interested in going back to glutens as they are horrible for people. Health-wise, whether this is an allergy which goes away or not, I still intend on remaining gluten-free in the house (as well as dairy-free for the most part). I must say that it's really wonderful to hear from someone else who went through NAET. Did they also test for heavy-metal exposure? My dd came back with some alarming results in regards to mercury, lead, tin and aluminum. Kind of scary and yet also would contribute to a lot of her problems. Just curious.

[Guest Viola]

Yes .. I went through the full series, but because we live so far from the clinic I did it over 3 years. I did 7 -9 allergens at a time, which of course took 10 days to two weeks in Calgary. It was well worth it. But you want to make sure you get a good doctor. Mine had certificates in NAET but also in Nutrition and Acupunture. He also had Celiacs in the family which was a super bonus! He really knew what he was dealing with.