2007-03-05 05:06:34 · 19 answers · asked by Basit 1 in Health ➔ Alternative Medicine
Perhaps you should have asked are they 'as effective' rather than more than.
I was on antidepressants for ten years, and a high dose at that. Doctors were no longer talking about me coming off them, never mind reducing them. I felt that they had me 'stabilised' and that was all that mattered. I knew my life wasn't what it should be and that although I had the feelings of depression under control, i still deserved more.
I tried a Bach Flower remedy last year. Not one I bought OTC, I knew someone who introduced me to a therapist who made Bach Flower remedies. I wasn't sceptical, but on the other hand I was aware that the last time I tried weaning off antidepressants it was horrendous. I knew I could safely take the Bach Flower remedy in conjunction with the antidepressant and so I was able to go at my own pace.
I have now successfully weaned my self off the antidepressants. it took a long time because I did it sensibly and I kept a diary to make sure that the moment I began to feel anxious or in trouble I could take a safe dose of the prescribed antidepressant.
That never happened. And while I still have a degree of anxiety, it is nothing at all like it was two or three years ago.
I have also used healing crystals to help me with migraines and I use herbs in most of my daily life for a whole variety of things.
My daughter has recently been diagnosed with Lupus. Now she is one of the two most precious people in the world to me and while it is still being assessed she is taking convential medicines and I have no problem with that. I want her well, I want her future to be happy and as healthy as is possible. I will take advice where given, but I will not rule out alternative medicines once we get her Lupus under control.
I believe the two can go hand in hand. After all, my ancestors were Native American and carried on their daily lives using what they had from the land, berries, tree bark, herbs. Until the white man came along and decided to westernise them, they had very few serious problems with illness.
If something works, then it should be given credence. Sadly so many people are closed minded that they will never ever accept anything other than a chemical formula for an answer.
2007-03-06 01:35:02 · answer #1 · answered by Eden* 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I have answered this ques with both experience and knowledge in the past 14+ yrs. more times than I can remember. I have practiced Homeopathy for over a decade. If Homeopathy was a placebo effect then how does it work on animals and infants and toddlers? How does it change the diagnostic results of the GP's choosing? Those are the questions that the 'nay sayers" have no response for. Even if it was a placebo effect so what. At least I do not send anyone home w/ a medication that has the side effects listed to include "shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, fainting, anaphylactic shock, stroke, or death"!!! If in fact it was a placebo then why did the US and EU spend over 30 billion dollars on it in 2005? If it had no value then why is it still around and gaining in popularity after 200 yrs? These "nay sayers" are the same ones who had/have a problem w/ chiropractic and acupuncture. They will always fear what they do not know.
Peace and propserity, Rik
2007-03-05 10:40:18 · answer #2 · answered by Rik 2 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Putting myself on the line for a load of thumbs down here but here goes anyway. I'm a registered Homoeopath. The patients I treat usually come to me as nothing else has helped them - and I'm talking some mighty chronic diseases here of many years standing. 95% are hugely helped by homoeopathy - many of these enjoying complete cure.
Regarding the "not standing up to medical trials routine" - this is because the trials do not incorporate the principles of the practice so there is no surprise at all that they "don't work". Homoeopathic practice is based on an individual prescription so to give x number of people the same things is madness. The only way you'd get a result is if they are all clones!
Homoeopathic practice is not an easy one to get your head around - I worked in medicine for 21 years & saw thousands of lives ruined by medical heroics & conventional drugs. People are not harmed by homoeopathy - it is a gentle & curative therapy if applied correctly. People who "rubbish it" are ignorant of the practice and the real facts.
2007-03-05 06:20:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 3⤋
Sorry to disappoint but the very few controlled medical studies using homoeopathic drugs showed them to have no therapeutic effect above that of placebo! (blank pills). Generally homoeopaths are resistant to allowing comparison studies between their preparations and either placebos, or active drugs.
This has not stopped many a homoeopath making a good living out of their practise! GPs also use them, often as placebos, to be fair at least they are harmless, and the same cannot always be said about conventional medication.
2007-03-05 07:08:14 · answer #4 · answered by Dr Frank 7 · 2⤊ 5⤋
As long as treatments are aimed at relieving symptoms, effectiveness can only be temporary at best. The entire medical system has too much to lose to allow real healing knowledge to come out. Homeopathy has actually been a step in the right direction. Everything changes much faster now with the advent of rapid communication. Pay attention to those posts which mysteriously and repeatedly disappear. Remember though that our beliefs have usually already been formed by our past teachings, and unless we can alter those we are stuck to using whatever they dictate. Check out my question on growing fingers and hands and see what kind of reponses it attracted.
2007-03-05 06:37:06 · answer #5 · answered by canron4peace 6 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Although I can't see how it can possibly work, I know that some changes occur and have seen specialist photography of these changes. Even without these photographs, if you believe that something works for you, then it probably will! Call it the placebo effect if you like, but don't dismiss it out of hand. At worst it won't harm you, but also don't just dismiss all conventional medicine as bad.
2007-03-05 22:11:32 · answer #6 · answered by baldersdale 1 · 2⤊ 3⤋
If you really believe that bottles of shaken water are more effective than treatments which have been subject to detailed study then yes homeopathic medicine is more effective. Homeopathy is supposed to work by offering substances which cause similar effects to the illness it's trying to cure in highly dilute form. What most people fail to realise is that high dilution homeopathic medicines do not contain a single atom of the original substance, it's only water. The substance is progessively diluted and shaken many times but in the end all that's left is water. All the supposed effects of homeopathy can be explained by psycologically induced changes or the effects of natural recovery. If homeopathy is as effective as the claims suggest we would not have needed antibiotics and all the other modern treatments.
2007-03-05 07:08:04 · answer #7 · answered by Imok R 2 · 4⤊ 5⤋
for me it has, I really believe in it especially that it has survived such along history ( I think it was first developed in the 1800's.
The thing with homeopathy is finding a good doctor, as the symptoms & the medicine given are along such thin lines & can give such different results that it's important to find a good doctor who can give the right medicine.
2007-03-06 08:53:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
No if the doctor prescribes medication and you would rather take the homoepathic medicine then ask the pharmacy and gp before you take anything herbal as some of it counteracts with prescribed medication.
Also it can be a much slower cure see which is best at your local pharmacy who will be pleased to advise.
2007-03-05 07:13:55 · answer #9 · answered by paulawis589 2 · 2⤊ 4⤋
It depends what is being treated and whom is being treated.
People tend to respond differently to different medicines and what may be a good treatment and even cure for one person the same medicine may not be for another.
2007-03-05 05:18:06 · answer #10 · answered by Jewel 6 · 6⤊ 3⤋