Alternative Medicine (1 Viewer)

[Insomniak]

Just wondering as the remedies on their own without any knowledge of the patient is next to useless.

I've seen homeopathic remedies work really well for my baby cousin where conventional stuff did nothing. I suppose even at only six months old he must have got the whole placebo affect, right?

They've worked for me too btw.

Agree totally, the remedies must be chosen carefully taking into account physical and mental symptoms, personality type and many other aspects that only a trained homoeopath would even be aware of.

Homoeopathy has worked for me many times... and for 2 of my cats.
The success with the cats kinda rules out the placebo effect, methinks!

 

[Space]

Agree totally, the remedies must be chosen carefully taking into account physical and mental symptoms, personality type and many other aspects that only a trained homoeopath would even be aware of.

Homoeopathy has worked for me many times... and for 2 of my cats.
The success with the cats kinda rules out the placebo effect, methinks!

I think that answers magicbastarder's question nicely too. Thanks.

 

[Wilbert]

If you think acupuncture/chinese medicine would help Shane Murnaghan is great. He's based in Rathmines now. He helped me a lot after a bad car accident - when nothing else had worked.

I am a big old cynic about homeopathy and the like but I have to say that acupuncture did work for me. I had a really bad problem with my wrist/thumb. I could barely move the thumb more than a few inches, couldn't rotate the wrist much without shooting pain down my arm.

After 9 months of going to doctors and specialists about it and nothing working, I was referred to an acupuncturist.

I had one session where he put two needles in the two sorest points on my wrist. I lay there for 30 minutes and left.

The pain was gone. It came back the next day worse than ever but the day after that it was gone for good. After nine months of wincing when even putting a jacket on, it was gone.

'mazing, innit?

 

[Squiggle]

'mazing, innit?

Yes, it is. 5 years of agonizing pain... took 4 months of acupuncture to get near to being normal again... but even from the first session I could notice major improvement. After all the money spent on neurologists, pain specialists, and other specialists, while it was such a relief I was very annoyed with myself for not going with my gut instinct and getting away from 'conventional' medicine much sooner.

 

[Wobbler]

No amount of anecdotal evidence will convince me that it's anything other than gobblidygook. If something stands up to clinical trials I will accept it.

 

[Squiggle]

No amount of anecdotal evidence will convince me that it's anything other than gobblidygook. If something stands up to clinical trials I will accept it.

Clinical trials are paid for by the pharmaceutical firm producing the drug. Do you think we should take chemical compounds that may or may not work, and may or may not cause something else years down the line, just because the company manufacturing them paid a lot of money to have it 'tested'? As far as I know they don't even have to publish the results.

I'm not going to take the word of a bunch of chemistry students whos education and working future depends (not many jobs out there) on the financial input of the company who's drug they tested over the word of someone who has personally undergone a form of treatment.

 

[therealjohnny]

I had acupuncture when I broke my ankle- it had no effect at all.
But I wouldn't dismiss it, I've also had anadins that didn't cure my headache, motilium that didn't settle my stomach etc

With all medicines and treatments there's no absolute guarantee it'll work.

Have you considered a good old fashioned prayer?

 

[magicbastarder]

i'm with wobbler on this.

 

[RSJ]

I'm not going to take the word of a bunch of chemistry students whos education and working future depends (not many jobs out there) on the financial input of the company who's drug they tested over the word of someone who has personally undergone a form of treatment.

I'll take the word of a trained scientist over someone putting a droplet of some random crap into a litre of water and claiming it cures pretty much anything any day.

 

[DIGGIDY]

I picked up an eye infection before i set of to australia a while back, but when i arrived there it got out of hand my eye lids swelled up, so i looked like a bit of a mongo,

i visited the local doc who proscribed me the medicine eye drop that she promised would work, 2 weeks later no joy, so went to another doc, same buzz again, finally went to a specialist who cost a fortune, she didnt seem to know what was up either, freaked and looking like rocky after he went 12 rounds with MR T i was walkin home and found a naturopath (think thats how its spelled) so decided to go in and enquire as im big into alternative health, he knew straight away what it was and made up a drink for me to take, that he made from plants, incredible, this worked straight away and after two days my eye lids where back to normal, after going for a whole month lookin like a spa,

ive been going the altenative route ever since, unless its something that really needs a proscription anti biotic, doctors all say its bullshit, and vise versa, but go with whatever works for ya

 

[magicbastarder]

he ... made up a drink for me to take, that he made from plants, incredible, this worked straight away

that i would believe a lot more readily than homeopathy.

 

[The Schnapper]

I watched a program on TV a while ago and it totally dismissed homeopathy. It seems like a load of bollox really

 

[Pedronimus]

Clinical trials are paid for by the pharmaceutical firm producing the drug. Do you think we should take chemical compounds that may or may not work, and may or may not cause something else years down the line, just because the company manufacturing them paid a lot of money to have it 'tested'? As far as I know they don't even have to publish the results.

I'm not going to take the word of a bunch of chemistry students whos education and working future depends (not many jobs out there) on the financial input of the company who's drug they tested over the word of someone who has personally undergone a form of treatment.

If homeopathic remedies were more than just placebos, don't you think the pharmaceutical industry would adopt them? and save themselves millions and billions in research of drugs, and the development of pharmaceutical plants?

Sceptics like me can often seem condescending of people who believe in this stuff. I don't mean to be. I just think everyone should read up about how homeopathic remedies are made and how they don't make ANY scientific sense. They also have never passed proper double blind clinical trials.

By accepting that these remedies work, you are also discounting a much greater and more interesting phenomenon - your (or your cat's) body's ability to self heal, through positive thought, change in diet, change in attitude, lifestyle, placebo effect etc... rather than putting the cure down to some magic beans.

 

[RSJ]

If these tablets did homeopathic remedies were more than just placebos, don't you think the pharmaceutical industry would adopt them? and save themselves the millions and billions in research of drugs, and the development of pharmaceutical plants?

Because if homeopathic remedies did work, then any randomer could get the recipe for whatever's wrong, pop it in a bottle of evian, and cure themselves. Not all of us can spend a few minutes in the kitchen making an antibiotic.

I still think it's horseshit, just sayin'.

 

[Pedronimus]

I'd just like to point out that there is a vast difference between herbal/plant remedies and homeopathy. There is no doubt that there are healing properties in plants and plant extracts. And any time the healing property of a plant is rumoured, it is investigated adopted into conventional medicine. Homeopathy, is dilution to the point where the 'active' ingredient is diluted to non-existence. It also not evident that if the active ingredient was present it would do anything at all.

 

[Squiggle]

I'll take the word of a trained scientist over someone putting a droplet of some random crap into a litre of water and claiming it cures pretty much anything any day.

Do you search out and read the results of clinical trials before taking any medication?

If homeopathic remedies were more than just placebos, don't you think the pharmaceutical industry would adopt them? and save themselves millions and billions in research of drugs, and the development of pharmaceutical plants?

Sceptics like me can often seem condescending of people who believe in this stuff. I don't mean to be. I just think everyone should read up about how homeopathic remedies are made and how they don't make ANY scientific sense. They also have never passed proper double blind clinical trials.

By accepting that these remedies work, you are also discounting a much greater and more interesting phenomenon - your (or your cat's) body's ability to self heal, through positive thought, change in diet, change in attitude, lifestyle, placebo effect etc... rather than putting the cure down to some magic beans.

I'm not convinced about homeopathy myself, I have never tried it, but I might at some future point. But the point I was answering was Wobbler's assertion that clinical trials are 100% reliable and trustworthy, and people who claim to have been healed by alternative medical means are not.

Don't put your faith in clinical trials and doctors, any more than you would anyone else. A good healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing and it is important to try to figure out how something is supposed to work.

 

[Bladez]

Sceptics like me can often seem condescending of people who believe in this stuff. I don't mean to be. I just think everyone should read up about how homeopathic remedies are made and how they don't make ANY scientific sense. They also have never passed proper double blind clinical trials.

Have you got a link to any such information? Not arguing with you. I'm just interested to read about tests and their results.

By accepting that these remedies work, you are also discounting a much greater and more interesting phenomenon - your (or your cat's) body's ability to self heal, through positive thought, change in diet, change in attitude, lifestyle, placebo effect etc... rather than putting the cure down to some magic beans.

Shouldn't the drugs that the patient tried initially also have had the same placebo effect? Are you saying that someone's cat switched to a more positive mental attitude and that resulted in it's healing?

 

[RSJ]

Do you search out and read the results of clinical trials before taking any medication?

No...? Again, i'd "take the word of a trained scientist", meaning i don't feel the need to search out and read the results. My sister is a pharmacist and for the last year i was going out with someone deeply involved in homeopathy on a daily basis, so i've seen both sides.

 

[RSJ]

Have you got a link to any such information? Not arguing with you. I'm just interested to read about tests and their results.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy#Scientific_critiques_of_homeopathic_treatment

And for anyone who doesn't know what homoeopathy is:

Homeopathic treatment involves giving a patient with symptoms of an illness extremely small or nonexistent dose of the agents that, according to its canon, produce the same symptoms in healthy people when exposed to larger quantities. A homeopathic remedy is prepared by diluting the substance in a series of steps. Most homeopathic remedies are so highly diluted that few molecules of the original substance are likely to remain after dilution so rendering them ineffective as treatments.

 

[broken arm]

If homeopathic remedies were more than just placebos, don't you think the pharmaceutical industry would adopt them? and save themselves millions and billions in research of drugs, and the development of pharmaceutical plants?

i'm a sceptic of homeopathy and have never used it but there isn't as much money in homeopathy as making up ailments and reformulating and rebranding old medicines ......

this book is worth reading - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0786717831/?tag=thumpedcom-20

my mum gave it to me and she has been a pharmacist for over 30 years........ so she's fairly well informed on the industry..