homeopathy and alternative medicine (long)

[Guest guest]

Hi all

I wasn't trying to start a major disagreement here, just trying to

ask people to keep open minds, based on my (admittedly somewhat

anecdotal) experience during over 50 years of consulting typical North

American doctors, physiotherapists, massage therapists, chiropractors

and osteopaths. My main point is that there is, as yet, no

scientifically accepted long term (25 years or more) proof that

resurfacing is better than a THR. Logically, it would seem to make

sense that just replacing the joint and keeping more of an otherwise

healthy bone is a good tactic; but, as with statistics, lots of

dubious " proofs " can be made with logic. However, the majority of us

in this group managed to make the necessary " leap of faith " to choose

resurfacing, despite the " rigorous scientific " advice of many North

American orthopedic surgeons. In fact, many of us travelled long

distances and paid from our own pockets for this " alternative "

surgery. And so far, many of us are glad we did! It cost me a small

fortune to go to England for surgery, but it was worth it to get my

life back. And nine months later, I'm still improving.

Rigorous science needs to be reproducible and work for everyone.

Most of us are very happy if we find something that just works for us

personally, even if the evidence as to " why " it works has not yet been

discovered. New discoveries are made in science everyday (the guy who

first postulated that ulcers are caused by a bacteria was treated like

a pariah for several years, I've heard, yet now many ulcers are

quickly cured with the right antibiotic). I am not going to presume

that just because I can't explain something, or don't believe in it

myself, it doesn't work for someone else.

And maybe the historical definition of homeopathy isn't totally

the way that homeopathic doctors operate in Europe today. I have

certainly read that homeopathic doctors in Germany use a lot of plant

preparations as well as the very diluted type of medicines. The fact

remains that the medications (rhus tox and arnica) I received while in

Dr. McMinn's care were labelled as homeopathic, and the nurse told me

that they were such, as well. Whether they fit the classical

definition, I don't know.

Please excuse me if I make some mistakes in putting my thoughts

about medical issues in layman's terms. I'm not a doctor, but I have

had to learn a lot about my body in order to relieve pain and keep

moving. Basically, I've had to take control of my own treatment. When

I only saw doctors, they just gave me stronger and stronger narcotics

that wrecked my stomach, and caused severe reflux. Plus they told me

that I had to wait weeks for diagnostic tests, and years for surgery.

One visit to an osteopath made a huge difference to the painful muscle

spasms I was getting. He knew a lot more about muscles than most

doctors (a friend who's a doctor told me she only had two days of

lectures about muscles in her four years of medical school at a

prestigious U.S. university).

On the other hand, when I tore a ligament, the osteopath couldn't

figure out what was wrong with me. A doctor who had later decided to

train as a chiropractor as well, and who specialized in backs, was the

first person to actually touch my back instead of just looking at

Xrays, to watch me move, and to diagnose where I was injured. His

adjustments helped some, but a registered massage therapist helped a

lot more. She was also the one who gave me the best exercises to do,

and who convinced me that I should gradually increase them, even

though doing just two or three repetitions was agony. I would never

have thought of visiting a massage therapist until some friends

recommended it, based on their experiences. And at first I was very

skeptical of her advice, but gradually I was able to exercise more,

and the pain did reduce considerably (although due to my " locked " hip,

it never completely disappeared).

It may be true that the effectiveness of homeopathic medicine

depends on the belief system of the patient, or on the fact that a lot

of attention is paid to the patient's concerns and stressors (instead

of a 10 minute rushed consultation as is common in countries with

publicly funded medical systems such as Canada where I live).

Certainly belief systems are very important. My brother, who is a

Vancouver trained doctor with a lot of experience, spends most of his

time practising in Africa. He tells of trying without success to treat

a very sick African patient who was on the verge of death, with lots

of medically verifiable symptoms. Finally, the relatives insisted on

calling in a " witch doctor " to remove the " curse " that someone had put

on the man. After the witch doctor's " treatment " , the man immediately

started to improve and soon got well.

Another reason that some alternative treatments may seem to work

is that they relieve stress. From personal experience, I know that

pain gets worse when I'm stressed and worried, especially if I don't

know what's causing the pain.

> Don't be so fast to embrace TOM (traditional oriental medicine).

I have never actually been to a TCM specialist. And I wasn't

thinking only about their herbal remedies, but also about their

theories of energy flows, and treatments such as acupuncture. I

understand that many Canadian doctors and physiotherapists now use

acupuncture with great success. But I'm not working in the field of

medicine, so I can't point you to any specific research studies.

>

> Bottom line with all this -- only accept it if it works in all

medical systems.

Well, that's not necessarily an option, if some medical systems

refuse to even test or try certain remedies or practices. And if they

WON'T research them just because they can't patent them and make money

on them, that doesn't seem to me to be a valid reason to claim that

such treatments are not valid because they are not supported by a lot

of scientific research... It's kind of a vicious circle, isn't it?

>If you can't find a valid reason for it, then be wary.

I am wary; I read a lot of literature about herbal remedies, pro

and con, and some of them I would never try. Some I have tried, and I

stopped taking them when they either didn't work or seemed to have

adverse effects. Others did work well for me, but not for everyone.

Some that worked for my friends didn't have any effect at all on me.

However, I believe, like Candace, that we don't yet know

everything about the body and how it works. We in North America tend

to study the physical aspects of disease, without addressing the whole

situation the person is actually living in, the way some other medical

systems do. I think many North American women are more open to the

holistic view of medicine (and life) than many men. It's kind of like

the different attitude some women have to business: they see their

employees as complex people with very complicated lives, not just as

replaceable inputs to making a profit. (That's just an extreme

example, guys; let's not get off on another argument about what's

right or wrong in business attitudes , it's not relevant on this

board.)

A few people in this group swear by the effectiveness of

alternative treatments such as rolfing. Others may feel that the

rolfer is making their injuries and pain worse. Maybe for both of

them, it's all in their mind, all in their body, or a combination

thereof. I don't think we can yet prove precisely why some of these

treatments work for some people, and not for others. So I'm just

asking those who don't have any use for alternative medicine to be

more tolerant of those who find that it works for them.

It's true that " snake oil " salesmen caused Americans to be

skeptical of anything but modern clinical medicine. It's important to

study our own history and learn from it. It's also important to study

and learn from the history and culture of other parts of the world. We

may be defined by our history, but we need not be limited by it...

n

rBHR Oct.2003 McMinn