PEOPLE'S VIEW AND OPINIONS REGARDING ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
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When it comes to IBD I know we all wish
there were some amazing magic that would make it disappear.
Since doctors don't seem to possess such a thing, alternative
medicine may be of interest.
Some health food store remedies, amazing diets and multi-tiered
marketing products have probably already been promoted to you by
well-meaning friends.
We are dealing with our youngsters' partners' siblings' parents'
health and it is very hard to stand by feeling helpless while
they suffer.
So we could be very susceptible to those advocating alternative
or homeopathic methods, ever hopeful that we will find the elusive
cure.
Have you tried any different methods? would you like to try? or
are you to afraid to change things?
Read what other people believe in, and decide for yourself.
ALTERNATIVE
MEDICINE ARE YOU FOR? - OR AGAINST?
I have had Irritable
Bowel Syndrome for three years now. After trying prescriptions
from the doctor, nothing worked. I have been taking Aloe Vera
Juice and Green Tea for two years and now suffer from IBS
symptoms once in a blue moon - I have a much better lifestyle.
However, I have found no natural or alternative medicine to help
my hayfever. Surely both alternatives can work together.
S Hardy, England
I haven't used
alternative medicines (reasons - haven't had the need). I think
that the medicines we have available today, for some people cause
side effects. Note these are all man made medicines. I would (if
needed) use alternatives as they are natural medicines. I suffer
from hayfever and have to take tablets for it. However, this
summer, I decided not to take anymore tables and guess what?
Little or no attacks! What does that suggest to me? These
manufactured medicines tend to affect other parts of us which
manufacturers don't seem to recognise. More natural medicines and
less manufactured ones, please!
Jason, UK
I have used Maharishi Ayurveda
for the last 7 years and found it to be excellent. In the debate
people should realise that "scientists" have strong
pre-concieved ideas that make them unwilling to accept evidence
of clinical trials of alternative medicines. Of course, many
alternative medicines might not work. However, the medical
establishment should be open to alternatives that work. Lastly,
one of the main opponents of Natural medicines are the drug
companies which have so much money to lose if their own expensive
and often ineffective and dangerous products are no longer used.
Huw Dixon, England
Liverpool University reckons
that 20,000 people a year are killed by prescribed drugs; in
America more people are killed every year by prescribed drugs
than by handguns - and legally actionable medical negligence is
now the third or fourth leading cause of death in the States
(after stroke, heart disease and cancer)! When I want proven,
safe, effective, scientific medicine, I choose herbal medicine or
nutritional therapy every time.
SM, UK
I had suffered with Irritable
Bowel Syndrome for years, and countless visits to the doctor did
no good. After reading various books on the subject I decided to
try reflexology. I haven't looked back since. I went from having
at least three bad days a week to, at the most, one a month. It
works for me, and because it improved my quality of life so
greatly, I am open to the idea that alternative medicine (I
prefer to call it complementary medicine) can work where modern
medicine fails. The most important thing to remember is to treat
it with respect and see a qualified practitioner, especially one
recommended.
Rachael Langfield, UK
Conventional Western medicine is
less than 100 years old. We forget that what is called
"alternative medicine" was the only medical practice
before that for centuries, & still is to a large extent
outside the industrialised West. I've used herbs rather than
prescription medications for over 10 years quite successfully to
treat everything from colds,flu,to high blood
pressure,depression,and menopause. The only so-called authorities
questioning "alternative medicine" today are the rich
cats in medicine who are losing income due to others like me
who've lost all faith in their cures, if they can't cut it out
surgically or drug it to death, today's physicians are rather
helpless. Our grandparents & great-grandparents knew more
about "medicine" than the majority of medical school
graduates today, at least in the USA.
Dr. E.D. Lister, USA
Stay on your meds those of you
taking them for IBD until you have covered all the bases of what is causing or
aggravating or triggering the IBD. Then wean off the drugs, but first get stable
with herb or nutrient therapies for at least 8 months before weaning off drugs.
Health and happiness to all.
Johnnie, UK
That's wonderful if you can be drug free, but not
everyone has that luxury. Many of us depend on our medication to assist us in
leading a somewhat normal life. I am sure that every single person that must
take a medication wishes that they did not have to take it. And I need the
drugs at the moment to give me a semblance of normal life, until the elusive
cure is found.
Anoymous, USA
There are a number
of things that you could take. Each person is different. Nevertheless, there are
some common things I believe that those with Crohn's should be taking. I have
been pursuing alternative remedies for over 9 years now and I have done a lot of
research. (By the way, I have had Crohn's since 1991 but suffer from colitis for
several years. I have made some mistakes along the way but I am doing fine now.
I have heard of people using some of the same natural remedies that I have used
to achieve remission. Even though I am in remission, I feel that I have
eliminated the major cause for my Crohn's. But I am getting close. Anyway, my
last major attack (4th one) was in 1998, which involved 28 days in the hospital.
Anyway, it would be helpful if you could find a doctor that uses integrative
medicine or some homepathic doctor or some other health care professional.
Some factors to consider with Crohn’s disease include low levels of bad
bacteria, abnormal levels of candida or some bacteria, heavy metal toxicity
(such as lead, mercury, arsenic, aluminum, etc), chemical toxicity, allergies,
poor diet, low adrenal/liver/digestive/endocrine functions, unresolved emotional
issues, low levels of vitamins/minerals or essential fatty acids, parasites,
etc.
I have used several good homepathic remedies over the years. Homepathic products
are usually gentle to the body. You would need to find someone who sells good
quality products. From my research, most with Crohn’s have low levels of
good bacteria. I take a product called Primal Defense. Include
organic cold-pressed flax seed and olive oils in your diet to ensure good levels
of essential fatty acids. These are needed in the production of certain hormones
that help fight inflammation
Work on your diet. Cutting down on white sugar, white flour, trans fats (such as
margarines), etc. may be helpful. Some believe that those with bowel problems
need to cut the grains until the body heals. I get my meats from the
health food store, which contains no antibotics or hormones. I have done a lot
of healing so I can handle a diet with lot of fiber. Also, I take a lot of
digestive enzymes and good bacteria. I eat more raw foods during the summer. I
tend to be cold natured so I cannot eat a lot of raw foods during the winter
months. Take Care
Barbara
Johnson, USA
ALTERNATIVE
MEDICINE ARE YOU FOR? - OR AGAINST?
The only "alternative"
thing about these medicines is that it is a chemical that can be
readily found in nature. I live in the US, the country where
people think a pill can cure anything from a headache to a bad
mood. This is literally a country of the mindless. Mindless,
because they fail to realize that many ills are created by your
mental state. I know I can make my headache go away with proper
meditation, for example.
Diederik Zwager, Netherlands
Alternative medicines stem from
occult and witchcraft. Their history is well documented. This
means the power that they undoubtedly have is routed in the lies
and deception of Satan who currently rules this world. Their
benefits will not last but instead bind us further to Satan's
world.
Neil Gaspar, England
Do people not realise that all
medicines are 'natural'. Many modern drugs come directly from
plants. Herbal, alternative, natural remedies are just the same
as prescribed drugs, except they don't do anything, it's all in
the mind. Do you think if any alternative medicines actually
worked you wouldn't have Glaxo at their doors offering 100
million dollars for it!!
Chris Brown, England
As a holder of an Honours degree
in Chemistry and Pharmacology I tend to be rather sceptical when
I am told of the wonderful effects of alternative medicine and
damage caused by conventional medicine. Recently I was told by a
homeopathist that not only did modern cures for cancer not work,
but they were in fact responsible for it. His evidence - the fact
that no-one died of cancer until the industrial revolution, when
modern medicine was born. This is typical of many of the
"facts" produced by practitioners and users of
alternative medicine. This person would not accept any argument
over this fact, nor were they able to produce documentary
evidence as proof.
Mark Davies, UK
Just because something is a herb
or is "natural" doesn't mean it won't have serious
consequences for some people. Just like any drug, you want to
know what it does, what's in it and what are the possible side
effects.
Emma, Scotland
One of our friends purchased
some latest-fad thistle product at the health food store for his
ulcerative colitis and he told us that within three days of
taking the stuff, he was bleeding again. Needless to say, he
stopped using the product immediately.
John, USA
The name, alternative, is
misleading and complimentary is more accurate. Some things
require a medical doctor. With other concerns, 'alternative
medicine' may be more effective and appropriate. Alternative
medicine is more concerned with having optimum health and staying
healthy. Doctors overuse of medicines that hides the problem
rather than offering a real cure encourages people to try
something that goes deeper and has a more profound effect on
their wellness. That is not to say that medication is sometimes
needed. Common sense is needed and empowerment of each individual
to make educated decisions about what is available. Their body is
not a motor that can be fixed. It is more complicated than that
and their body is not a doctor's responsibility.
Joanne K. Thordarson, United States
Complementary therapy should not
be used as an alternative to conventional treatment. People often
say that it is 'natural'... however, natural does not mean safe -
deadly nightshade is also 'natural'. It is important that your
doctor knows your complementary therapy plans because some
complementary therapies may interact with conventional treatment.
If you are getting worse whilst using complementary therapy, you
should not go back to your complementary therapy practitioner for
more or different treatment, but bring forward your conventional
consultation.
Dr. David
Rampton, Consultant Gastroenterologist, RLH
I hope I'm not going to
hurt your feelings .
The most natural healing can come from believing that you are healed by GOD.
The how and why you should not ask.
Seek it in Job in the bible. But do not compare your self to Job just read of
his relentless belief. Know that if you are cured by a drug or a herb or by
prayer it must still have been God's will for you to be ok. So why not
start by asking God to enter into your life to help you with your illness.
God answers your prayer in his time. Be a good patient and God will do the rest.
Richard, USA
Drugs are drugs, whether over
the counter (OTC) prescribed, or recreational. They all act on the
cellular chemistry of the body and their use often results in a deficiency of
various nutrients they deactivate and destroy.
There are many ways drugs destroy nutrients in our bodies:
through urinary excretion, stool elimination, blocking there attachment to
cells, blocking their absorption, binding to
them, inactivating them, causing rapid usage of them and actually destroying
them. All drugs are potentially dangerous!! (100,000 a year are killed on
prescription drugs and 1,000,000 people a year suffer from serious side effects
of prescribed drugs.) Remember: the more drugs you take and the longer you take
them, the more likely you are to be nutritionally deficient.
Important nutrients such as vitamins A, C, B, and folic acid, and the minerals
magnesium, potassium, selenium and zinc, all so important in antioxidant
activity, are easily destroyed by drug usage. Then free radicals can run
rampant.
Ken W. (Drugfree) USA
Overcoming the belief that
"cures" come in a bottle or from a "doctor" or anyone else
gives our power away and leaves us basically helpless in being the source of our
cure. We have most of the power to control what comes into our body and the
quality of what we ingest or the lack of it is most determinant in how
qualitatively our body functions.
Our "beliefs" also play a significant roll in how we experience life.
Some people have a "terrible day", while on the same day others are
having a "fantastic day".
The day doesn't care and it is not the day creating our experience of whether
it's a good day or a bad day. We do that. And when it comes to other
experiences, no matter what they are, we are the sole creators of them. What we
experience may be out of our hands, but HOW we experience is totally in our
hands and no one else's. The beliefs we hold about cancer have as much of an
influence as anything else in what we do about "having" cancer. Some
people lay down and die while others get up and live. Either way is a self
fulfilling prophesy.
Putting "cures" into the hands of others takes us out of the domain of
being in charge...Of being responsible for our power and using it wisely....Of
driving the car, so to speak.
When cancer or a tumor returns when someone quits taking herbal remedies or homeopathic
ones, but definitely not drugs, it's because the body no longer has what it
needs to build good cell membrane's and improved oxygen transport. The
body is made out of food. More accurately put, it is made out of what we ingest
and to the extent we give it substandard raw material from which to build and
repair itself and also put in things that are harmful (including harmful
beliefs)....
J Michael Bentley
LET ME KNOW AND I'LL PRODUCE A GRAPH SHOWING THE FORS AND THE AGAINSTS!
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