Post by Mr. Jon Donnis on Mar 25, 2010 20:54:44 GMT
Dear Editor,
Following recent protests against homeopathy, I feel the need to respond. I qualified as a well-trained homeopath in 1982 and after 28 years of practice in a number of countries and thousands of patients later, I feel I am competent to write about homeopathy and whether it works or not.
To claim, as some have, that homeopathy is based on the placebo effect, couldn’t be further from the truth. How could you explain a newborn baby with bad colic getting lasting relief from a homeopathic remedy. And how about all the animals treated successfully by vets using homeopathy. Surely the baby and the animals are not “believers”, yet still benefit. And even if, for a moment, we entertain the placebo effect, isn’t it great if it is possible to be cured just because you believe it is going to help you, and with no-side effects, no harmful ingredients or drug interactions.
What is the problem if people, for whatever reason, choose to go to a qualified homeopath, to see if there is another way of looking at their health problems? Some people have been trying various treatments, often including long-term drugs use with asingle consultation with a homeopath, and the individual is given a specific, well-chosen homeopathic remedy, and for the first time, sometimes in years, they feel an improvement in their symptoms. or total relief.
I am asking you “what is the problem here?” Of course the pharmaceutical industry is not very happy with the prospect of more and more people looking at safer and gentler ways of healing.
It has been reported in the media recently that protestors took a bottle of arsenicum album [in homeopathic dilution] and that to their surprise they were still alive at the end of the day. Obviously they did not research how homeopathy actually works - otherwise they would have realised that (a) homeopathic remedies are chosen to match the person, in fact that is the meaning of the word homeopathy, treating like with like, and (b), we don’t poison people in homeopathy. The substances used in homeopathy are prepared and dilued in such a way that there is never any toxic substance in any of the remedies. Actually, rather than being poisoned, it may well be that, of all people who took arsenicum album, there may be one who is a hayfever sufferer, who will not have any symptoms this year as the remedy was a 100 per cent match for this individual.
To those who say that homeopathy is unscientific, I am happy to report that I treat many highly qualified scientists and their chidlren.
In conclusion, homeopathy is well researched and based on valid principles. I have seen the evidence of its effectiveness myself in all the people I have treated. Despite the protests, homeopathy is here to stay.
Yours,
Liliam Van Eyken,
(Registered Homeopath with the Irish Society of Homeopaths)
According to this there is sufficient evidence to support the use of homeopathic treatment of....
Allergies, ankle sprains, bronchitis, childhood diarrhoea ( had to look that one up as I was tempted to just type the s*its) chronic fatigue, ear infections, hayfever, pms, flu etc
Are they making these figures up for something to do?
Of course pharmaceutical companies are not going to be best pleased, medicines are BIG money not to mention the long list of side effects ( listed on that bit of paper inside your medication...does anybody ever read it?) that require other drugs to deal with the side effect and buggering up other parts of your body in taking them long term,......keeps the hospitals full and helps to keep the pharmaceutical companies in business.
Was quite impressed with my doctor though, I went to see her basically feeling like s*ite and although I got the initial " I can prescribe some happy pills" which I said thanks but no thanks, she did advise me to try St Johns Wort so good on her for that. I believe that alternative medicine can work with the conventional. However I feel that it is important to always seek advice from a GP before trying alternative methods for instance St Johns Wort is not advisable for a woman who is taking the contraceptive pill. It can reduce the effectiveness of the pill etc
I got the initial " I can prescribe some happy pills" which I said thanks but no thanks, she did advise me to try St Johns Wort so good on her for that.
What do you think the difference between a 'happy pill' and St. John's Wort actually is?
NOTE: St. John's wort is nothing to do with homeopathy - it's herbal medicine.
I got the initial " I can prescribe some happy pills" which I said thanks but no thanks, she did advise me to try St Johns Wort so good on her for that.
What do you think the difference between a 'happy pill' and St. John's Wort actually is?
One is a plant which is reported to have little or no effect on depression. The other is a SSRI ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) SSRI is prescription only and St John's Wort is available to the public. I would think that given the reports about SJW's ineffect would also make it non addictive. The SSRI is highly addictive! I was prescribed the happy pill years ago and I took myself off them. The side effects out weighed any benefits. I decide to tackle the underlying issue instead. One does work and the other seemingly does not!
Those are the differences to me.
NOTE: St. John's wort is nothing to do with homeopathy - it's herbal medicine.
I know it isn't homeopathic.....I meant that it was alternative medicine.
One is a plant which is reported to have little or no effect on depression. The other is a SSRI ( selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) SSRI is prescription only
[.....]
One does work and the other seemingly does not!
So are you saying that you'd prefer St. John's Wort because it is a much weaker (although not completely benign) drug than standard prescription drugs?
I got the impression (perhaps wrongly) that you thought St. John's Wort was preferable because it's naturalTM and therefore not a drug. Of course, where herbal products do work, it's because they contain drugs - and they can be just as harmful as prescription drugs.
If your doctor prescribed it, the correct medical term is "medicine" not "alternative medicine". In fact, "alternative medicine" is a stupid term - surely the alternative to medicine is poison? Therefore, your doctor prescribed you some poison, which you took happily.
Perhaps in the case of depression and St Johns Wort taking a much weaker drug than standard prescription drugs whilst tackling the underlying issues is far preferable than bombing yourself into numb oblivion or ending up addicted and ignoring the things that may be causing the depression in the first place ...it entirely depends on the nature of whats wrong with you and the depth of the problem.
Doctors seem to be handing out the "happy pills" willy nilly from what ive seen and heard and experienced whilst offering what amounts to pretty much zero in the way of councelling or therapy or even advice ...perhaps the post code lottery and waiting lists of a year for such services along with the fear of addiction to the likes of prozac etc is pushing people further down the road to trying anything they think might help ...effective or not.
A friend was recently offered Prozac and a free gym pass for 6 months all without even being asked the sources or perceived causes of the depression he was experiencing ...he took the gym pass , told em to stuff the prozac and went spent a week instead with help of friends researching councelling and advice and support sites...payed privately for some councelling sessions and took advice about the things that were causing him distress. He could easily have instead either started on the road of s*itty clap trap potions psychics or useless remedies or alternatively went down the road of prozac and medication that he didnt really need and wasnt suited to what was required....thats the position in reality a lot of people find themselves in and the choices and decisions arent as easy to make when you arent exactly at your best to make them or find all the correct or relevant info yourself . Some GP's are great , some havent a clue , and some have their hands tied by budgets and resources ....the patient is left trying to figure out what they should do or try or not pretty much on their own all to often...thats why so many seem to end up turning to things that are utter tripe in desperation .
I got the impression (perhaps wrongly) that you thought St. John's Wort was preferable because it's naturalTM and therefore not a drug. Of course, where herbal products do work, it's because they contain drugs - and they can be just as harmful as prescription drugs.
No.....having been with a doctor for 20 years who really didn't accept depression but was happy to write a prescription out for anti-depressants anyway.....it was a change to have one who was offering alternatives...therapy available within the NHS and the St John's Wort ( which can only be a suggested not prescribed by a GP) I tried the prescribed anti-depressant some years ago and it DID work in the sense that my depression lifted but with that came a feeling of "not really being on the planet" and insomnia to name a few. I decided to get myself off them and tackle the cause which was mental and not physical.
I have taken my time in answering because I have been looking at the differences between herbal and homeopathic. I agree with you that herbal remedies can be as harmful as prescription drugs and that being the case, why are they so readily available for anybody to buy? There are strict guidelines that pharmaceutical companies have to adhere by or they risk losing their license to trade. They are very closley monitored....so who monitors the herbal trade? In the case of Gingko...eating the seeds can bring on seizures and death! My Mother has one Gingko tablet a day for Tinnitus I think.....I have also read that it thins the blood..she will end up giving herself a flippin stroke! My worry is the lack of knowledge that people will have of alternative remedies and their side effects and interactions with conventional medicine. I certainly wasn't aware until i researched it. I can also understand that people who have been suffering long term will try anything to feel better. It's all well and good for people to label others for trying alternatives when they have only know good health.
I agree with you that herbal remedies can be as harmful as prescription drugs and that being the case, why are they so readily available for anybody to buy?
Because the regulatory system in the UK is extremely weak.
chronic fatigue, ear infections, hayfever, pms, flu etc
