Oly720man From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 6179 posts, RR: 11 Posted (6 years 12 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 1308 times:
Today some doctors have written to all the health trusts to try and stop them from providing alternative remedies on the NHS because they are unproven and the money could be better spent elsewhere.
My only experience of this is my mother having acupuncture to get over sciatica and my wife having various homeopathic remedies during child birth. Both worked, but was it real or a placebo effect?
There have been discussions on the radio that with these alternative treatments you get to see the practitioner for maybe an hour and can have a long chat about the problem and health in general whereas with over stretched GP's you're lucky to be rushed in and out in 10 minutes which is hardly long enough. So there could be a psychological aspect as well as any medicinal benefit that could be obtained from any remedy.
Oly720man From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 6179 posts, RR: 11 Reply 3, posted (6 years 12 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 1298 times:
Quoting KROC (Reply 2): Think I'll stick with the proven methods. If you want a witch doctor, be my guest.
Given the long list of side effects associated with most "normal" medicines and the severe health problems associated with some others, witch doctors may prove to be safer in the long run.
Most of the "proven" methods are there because the pharmaceutical companies make large profits out of them.
KROC From United States of America, joined May 2000, 19737 posts, RR: 76 Reply 4, posted (6 years 12 months 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 1295 times:
Quoting Oly720man (Reply 3): Given the long list of side effects associated with most "normal" medicines and the severe health problems associated with some others, witch doctors may prove to be safer in the long run.
At least I know what the side effects are before I start taking anything.
"Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking again"
Aloges From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 8351 posts, RR: 47 Reply 5, posted (6 years 12 months 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 1292 times:
Quoting Oly720man (Reply 3): Given the long list of side effects associated with most "normal" medicines and the severe health problems associated with some others,
Just like everything your body itself does has its side effects. You can think of it as one of the most complicated chemical plants ever created, so advanced it even has a consciousness.
Quoting Oly720man (Reply 3): witch doctors may prove to be safer in the long run.
NO! You must not generalise in this case! Modern drugs are tested, re-tested and then tested again numerous times before they are released, and that is after a lot of people with a lot of knowledge spend a lot of time trying to find the best molecule(s) for treatment - dismissing them as "unsafe" is nonsense.
There are people who believe "alternative medicine" can heal highly serious diseases such as cancer. That is a deadly belief and the "medics" who propagate these lies are charlatans of the worst kind, period.
On the other hand, I agree alternative medicine can improve the lives of people. Acupuncture for exeample is widely accepted nowadays, and I would assume rightfully so. Homeopathy involves long chats with the homeopath, who is that "someone who actually cares" that so many patients seek, but I'd never even dream about recommending it for therapy of anything serious.
Walk together, talk together all ye peoples of the earth. Then, and only then, shall ye have peace.
GVWOW From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 168 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (6 years 12 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 1279 times:
It's pretty hard to get screwed up from a bad herbalist (though you can get a staph infection from bad acupuncture). I've found that alternative medicine can improve your well-being and ward off colds, but I've known people who have eventually had to revert to western drugs/surgery for more sever problems.
I've also known people who have been made worse by modern medicine that alternitive could have done the same thing...As well as people who's doctors messed them up concerning things that actually required their services.
Aa757first From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 3336 posts, RR: 9 Reply 7, posted (6 years 12 months 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 1263 times:
Quoting Oly720man (Thread starter): Today some doctors have written to all the health trusts to try and stop them from providing alternative remedies on the NHS because they are unproven and the money could be better spent elsewhere.
Good. The NHS has enough problems in the allopathic department. They should hire more real doctors instead of voodoo doctors.
Quoting Oly720man (Thread starter): There have been discussions on the radio that with these alternative treatments you get to see the practitioner for maybe an hour and can have a long chat about the problem and health in general whereas with over stretched GP's you're lucky to be rushed in and out in 10 minutes which is hardly long enough. So there could be a psychological aspect as well as any medicinal benefit that could be obtained from any remedy.
If you need a psychological treatment, see a psychiatrist, psychologist or a mental health nurse practioner. They will all spend an hour with you and they understand what they're doing.
Quoting Oly720man (Reply 3):
Most of the "proven" methods are there because the pharmaceutical companies make large profits out of them.
No. They are "proven" because they are, in fact, proven through extensive clinical research and trials.
Quoting GVWOW (Reply 6): It's pretty hard to get screwed up from a bad herbalist (though you can get a staph infection from bad acupuncture).
Its actually easy. When someone believes that their herbalist can actually treat medical problems, it is dangerous.
Chiropractors, Neuropathic Doctors and the rest of the quacks don't know how to do anything. I've heard of senior students at the "best" neuropathy school in the U.S. that couldn't perform a proper assessment in a uncomplicated pneumonia patient (himself). Real med students and student nurses were laughing as he tried to listen to lung sounds. These are the same people that say a proper treatment for an acute asthma attack is bathing in hydrogen peroxide.
Accupunture seems to have some medical value. Chiropractors can make your back feel better, even though a Physical Therapist can do it better. Neuropathic "Doctors", I'm not sure what they can do.
Think of this. If you show up at an Emergency Room. Who is going to be taking care of you? Let's just say they are going to have "MD", "DO", "CRNP" or "PA-C" after their names, not "DC" or "ND".
Also, research indicates that people having an alternative medicine doctor managing their health are 300% more likely to show up in an ER.
AeroWesty From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 18803 posts, RR: 64 Reply 8, posted (6 years 12 months 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 1259 times:
Quoting Aloges (Reply 5): NO! You must not generalise in this case! Modern drugs are tested, re-tested and then tested again numerous times before they are released, and that is after a lot of people with a lot of knowledge spend a lot of time trying to find the best molecule(s) for treatment - dismissing them as "unsafe" is nonsense.
I used to think that way too, until I had two drugs go very bad on me, and now have to take a third drug for the rest of my life to compensate for the damage one of them did. No matter how "safe" a drug may be assumed to be, it can always be misprescribed, or taken in combination with another drug that can cause problems.
Even long-prescribed drugs can carry risks. Thyroid meds are the #1 prescribed drug in the United States. Until just a couple of years ago (literally, like 2002-2003), they weren't even FDA approved, since they'd been grandfathered in under the regulations eons ago. Later, they were found to be so terribly unstable and unreliable brand to brand, it was considered that once you became stabilized on one brand, you should stay with that brand for life, even though chemically they were supposed to be identical.
I will never again pop a pill thinking it must be "safe" just because it comes from the pharmacy and has supposedly been proven theraputic.
Sponsor Message: 
From United Kingdom, joined May 2004, 6179 posts, 
From Sweden, joined Feb 2005, 3706 posts, 
From United States of America, joined May 2000, 19737 posts, 
From Germany, joined Jan 2006, 8351 posts, 
Printer friendly format 
