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I am interested if anyone has seen a good homeopathic doc and what the outcome was. I have become more interested in natural treaments as it appears our FDA is easy swayed in some of its' published med testing results.

Well I am trying out one that is supposed to help with ADHD and giving it to my kids too. It supposedly could take a good 3 months at least for it to show anything but I checked heavily into it.. its safe and natural, and lets see what happens. The worst outcome would be that it won't do anything.

I feel I should point out that homeopathic "medicine" is just water. The actual ingredients are diluted until there's nothing left. It doesn't work. Note that it's always sold as a supplement, never as actual medicine, because that would require it to do something.

I answered that I would never try it again, though I've never tried it before. Because I already know it won't work.

Wurd already said the most important things, so let me just link you to more info: http://www.skepdic.com/homeo.html

not something i wanna try

I'm almost certain it would be useless, but also harmless. If you go for it, be mindful of the placebo effect, which might make you (and the practitioner) think it's working when it isn't.
I don't want to spoil your hope, but I don't want to see you setting yourself up for a fall either.

I went to a doctor who turned out to be into homeopathy, and it was not for me. I was skeptical, but I gave the homeopathic treatments she recommended a try just for the heck of it. None of it worked, so I lost about $40, and the cost of the doctor's visit.

She also refused to prescribe normal meds like antibiotics without first running tests to see if all my organs were functioning properly. I explained that my insurance does not cover those tests, they are expensive, I know I'm in good health, and I know antibiotics work for me, but she was not swayed.

Now I'm without a primary care physician because about half of the doctors in my area are like that - into some kind of alternative medicine and very reluctant to go the traditional route.

If your mindful of it, it won't work.
But yeah, homeopathy is awful expensive for a placebo, but that's the only possible downside, apart from choking on a pill.

To the OP, thanks for including "other" in the poll, because my opinion varies, isn't just one way, on this topic.

If one asks, what kinds of medicine to I actually use, that might provide more of an answer, because I generally don't take homeopathic meds. Though I would not be opposed to trying (as I've done in past, in rare instances) them again, have little belief they'd help (but at least unlikely to harm, other than by neglect of serious illness-in that case, I would not rely on them).

The ones I took were teensy little sugar pill granules, with no discernible taste, so were easier to consume than usual "normal" tablets (such as aspirin). My aunt is heavily into homeopathy (and astrology & herbal supplements, and so on)-yet I have high opinion of her, she's smart...and often recommends things that I mostly just roll my eyes at. So I'm neither here nor there-or all over the place-on this subject.

Agree with this-keeping in mind that the placebo effect can be at work in "conventional/Western" medicine, too. Am not saying it's all attributable to belief, only that to some degree, component can be at play-in addition to the evidenced biological/chemical effects.

Well, rationally I know that homoeopathy is not a thing that works. But I have seen some good results with people around me, but I do not think the effect is lasting.

An autistic boy I know was getting homoeopathic treatment, he was responding really good to it. But after half an year he (literally) collapsed and was worse than he was before. I get the impression that the personal attention, normal practitioners do not give, is responsible for a lot of the effect. Also the changed attitude of the parents or the person himself could contribute. Maybe the collapse was something that would happen any way, but it makes me really sceptical.

So I try to keep a open mind about it, but first I want to see solid results before I start believing in it.

If you define Homeopathic medicine in its truest sense, meaning that you add a tiny bit of a substance (anything from urine to Jimson weed) to a gallon or so of water and drink it for supposed health benefits, I'd say you were wasting your time.

As for natural home remedies (which some refer to as 'homeopathic' even though that's a misnomer), yes a lot of them can and do work. I've used them from time to time. St. John's Wort is good for alleviating depression, jojoba and aloe vera are good for the skin, and garlic is good for the heart/circulatory system. One must be careful with home remedies, though. Some of them can cause problems, like a friend of mine who took bee pollen and didn't know she was allergic. The anaphylactic reaction happened fast and she nearly died from it. Other snake-oil type home remedies, like drinking a colloidal suspension with silver oxide, can turn your skin and organs a bright blue or green color -- yet do almost nothing for you health-wise.

All things to remember. As for homeopathic I didn't mean it in its' purest sense I suppose. I would like to meet with a trained physician that deals with natural substances for treatment. The major roadblock is that insurance won't cover it and now I've been told that our plan is being abolished this year. Now I have no clue what are healthcare packages will be available to us as the one we have now isn't that great.
I would like to know which minerals and vitamins I am lacking as well as products to subtract from my diet. After reading I believe my splenda box is going to the garbage, but I'm not clear on how safe sacchrine is thought to be. Ugh in thinking about it I feel a bit more confused then before

I have read that urine testing was a cheap and effective way to test the body for imbalances up to WWll. So why arn't we doing this presently? Is it the pressure of the drug companies to sell sell sell that has made this practice obsulete? Anyone know more about this?

It seems to me that drugs are taken too quickly and prescribed just as fast presently. I can't help thinking that the body would respond better to natural treaments more often then the medical community and pharma. giants lead us to think....And if Aspies have nuerological issues are the reason wouldn't using natural treatments that strengthen path ways and provide cell energy it only stands to reason that it would be somewhat effective at least.

Thing is to go to your doctor and order some urinalysis work and some blood work done, primarily your white and red blood cell count, blood sugar, homocysteine levels, and get your thyroid checked. These tests will often be the first to pick up any problems/deficiencies you might have. For example, I recently discovered that I don't have iron-deficiency anemia (low iron causing low red count), I have pernicious anemia (red blood cells large/deformed due to a lack of vitamin B12), which is causing me a lot of problems. I have to have regular infusions of B-12 now to keep my blood flowing and my stomach to stop producing too much acid and 'eating' itself.



The tests are available, but they're not exactly cheap if you don't have medical insurance. Most of these kind of tests can cost anywhere from $50.00 to $500.00 depending on what you want done. Medical insurance covers most of them, but you have to insist that your doctor run the tests. If he/she feels they're unnecessary, tell them to give you explicit reasons why. The biggest problem I've found with doctors is that they don't pay as much attention to their patients as they used to. You have to guide them and tell them exactly what's going on with you. Don't self-medicate, though. Get the tests you need done before you do anything. Then, get a book on herbal/home remedies and read it thoroughly. A good one is "The Herbal Drugstore" a book on herbs and natural remedies by Linda B. White MD and Stephen Foster, MD. Once you've learned more about these remedies and know what effects they'll have on your body, you can then make a well-informed decision.



I agree. Seems like the drug companies develop pills and put them on the market before all the testing is done, then they wait for a few years. If no one turns up with any drastic side effects (kidney failure, heart failure, death) they leave it out there. A few more years go by and the problems start happening and the drugs are taken back off the market - after the damage has already been done. What ever happened to the FDA? They used to test drugs every possible way before they're put on the market for unsuspecting patients to use. With all these instances of salmonella and e coli out there in our food supply, the FDA's not watching our food supply very well, either.

There are products out there that are said to help the brain. I take ginkgo biloba for my memory problems. It hasn't fixed the problem, but I've noticed some improvement. Again, I highly suggest getting the book I mentioned above. They have several different things to try out and see if they work for you - after ou've seen your doctor first and make sure you can take the herbs & such listed there. Always make sure you're not possibly allergic beforehand. You don't want to find out the hard way.

Good information. Now I have an idea of where to start and what to look for. Definetely interested in the book you reccomended. Thanks!

I see. I agree with the comments about natural remedies such as herbs. It can be quite a healthy experience going out into the fields and picking some of those, or growing them if you like that kind of thing. Nice to share that with a friend.

I once wanted to analyse everything I ate to fnd out if I was not getting something or other. It can be done with the right info to hand, but it'd be tedious. Any reasonably varied diet with a reasonable amount of fruit & veg ought to do the trick. Might help to keep a record of what you're eating, maybe show it to a dietician. Food beats vitamin supplements, usually cheaper too. Dietary deficiencies usually have symptoms.

I've had the "uncomfortable in my own body" thing for most of my life, which I used to think was an ailment I might cure, but it's more likely genetic as it's a known feature of autism. I no longer believe I'm ill. It's been fine some years, usually the ones when I've been happiest and most free - the people around me are always a factor, mainstream people often seem to expect more constraints on me physically. Not that I do anything bizarre, it's just stuff like having to sit in a chair I wouldn't have chosen.

I do believe the emotional state and the bodily state are very closely connected.


I think there can still be a placebo effect even if you're (consciously) skeptical. There's a lot known about heightening the effect by getting the patient to take the medicine in a particular way, specifying details like that. What really shook me was hearing that a placebo had been found to get people's damaged brains making endorphins (or some such important hormone) when the damage had "permanently" knocked out that capacity - I never saw faith move a mountain, but that's pretty close.

Yoga's uncannily powerful as well IMHO.

I wish I had more faith, but how to separate it from gullibility I don't know.

QFT.

At least it's safe.