POLL: Has 'Alternative' Medicine helped you?

[MrPlum]

I know this subject is divisive but am interested in other members experiences. Having tried almost every natural, complementary and 'alternative' therapy in existence, I have a pretty fair idea of what works and what doesn't. At least, on me.

So come on. What have you tried and do you think it helped you? If it didn't, was it down to you, the practitioner or the treatment? Which 'Miracle Cure' have you fallen for? What is hogwash and what is a serious therapy? Who was daft enough to order the hair restorer?

All polite views welcome. Muggers bent on vandalism please show a little respect for other members.

[Frank Hovis]

Voted Never tried it, I suspect it's hogwash if you mean these one part in ten billion remedies, if you mean herbs and stuff and other compounds derived either from plants or replicated in the lab then I guess I've had some extract or other built into 'traditional' pills.
Miracle Cure? None so far, I'm still going to die.

[lomuamart]

Other than some aloe vera to clear up some small patches of excema years ago, I havn't really tried any natural/alternative medicines.
However, my wife has and uses this for her eyes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centella_asiatica She should stop drinking too much Chang!! And it worked for her.
Her mother is a Buddhist nun at a temple in HH and grows lots of medicinal plants. I've got no idea of their names or uses but plenty of Thai people visit to get some.

[migrant]

I've gone to accupuncture, if considered alternative, and it helped greatly.
As mentioned on the gout thread Korean Red Ginseng worked great.

I don't discount traditional meds, but will try anything that works

[caller]

I went to try vitamin B6 supps for my stress levels, but couldn't get the top off the bottle, ending up stamping on the effing thing after a while, so that didn't work!

I regularly pop a fish oil pill with high EPA/DHA (950mg per 1360mg capsule), I don't know why, but I have this belief it helps keep my cholesterol pretty low.

[margaretcarnes]

I had to answer 'no' because a course of acupuncture did nothing for a shoulder problem. But to be fair the doc had mis-diagnosed so acupuncture was never going to work on it anyway. I would certainly try it again if it was appropriate for the condition.
And with plant related stuff - you can't beat a dock leaf to treat a nettle sting now can you? We've all done it - and it works.

[Spitfire]

I found that standardized bilberry and grape seed extract was of some benefit to my circulation regarding arteries/veins, especially in my legs, and seems to be widely reported as a good preventative thing to take against venous insufficiency. Seems to have done me some good....I think, or was it giving up smoking, can't quite decide to be honest.

[MrPlum]

The 'Health Issues' forum is sponsored by Palapon Holistic Fitness and Thai Orchid Massage. Both firmly in the 'Alternative' camp. I am surprised no-one has mentioned what conditions they relieve.

I have witnessed symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis disappear in 10 days by a change in diet.

Osteoarthritis relieved and sometimes reversed by Glucosamine and MSM (supported by studies)

High cholesterol brought down by Apple Cider Vinegar

High BP brought down by bitter herbs

High blood sugar controlled by Bitter Gourd or Phyllanthus Amarus

A man's vigor restored by Chinese Herbs

Psoriasis cleared with Sesame Oil massages

Systemic Fungal infection cured after 10 days on a sugar-free diet

Leg ulcers cured with coconut oil

Some alternatives are proven although perhaps not well known...

Malaria prevented by Artemesia Annua.

Heart disease reversed by the Ornish program.. diet, stress reduction, yoga and meditation.

Millions of ladies are slapping urea (an extract of urine) on their faces to improve their skin.

[Spitfire]

Worth a read for any that think they are at risk of type 2 diabetes, seems weight training can massively help reduce risk and stave off the onset of the condition.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19147646

[buksida]

High BP brought down by bitter herbs

Are they of the herbal smoke-able kind?

Just been to have my annual health checkup for work permit renewal and they discovered that my BP was off the chart...

Said no to the pills, interested in any 'natural' remedies.

[PeteC]

High BP brought down by bitter herbs

Are they of the herbal smoke-able kind?

Just been to have my annual health checkup for work permit renewal and they discovered that my BP was off the chart...

Said no to the pills, interested in any 'natural' remedies.

Do a Google for Oolong tea. Plenty about it and benefits concerning BP. You have to make it a few cups daily forever routine though. Pete

[J.J.B.]

This is a huge area to cover and in a part of the world where there is no socialised healthcare service and everything needs to be paid for privately, I imagine something that is attractive to consider. In the spirit of transparency, I should disclose that I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the past 20 years and still do, so my comments include in-built bias from what I have witnessed.

While many modern pharmaceuticals are derived from plants or manufactured to mimic certain organic compounds, they have all been subject to rigorous clinical trials and are also produced to very high standards. Alternative 'medicines' (something that you take), as opposed to 'therapies' - which include yoga, acupuncture etc. are not subject to such trials and so their benefits are harder to establish.

Even within the alternative medicines group, there are wide variances in effectiveness and safety. Some products are safe but don't actually do anything either, whereas others are effective but can have risky side effects for a person with an underlying health condition that has no apparent symptoms (e.g. pre-diabetes) or could cause their existing medication (statins, contraceptives) not to be as effective and even fail. Homeopathy, with the theory that almost untraceable amounts of a substance (frequently poisonous in larger doses) can create a cure from a particular ailment was subject to some comparative trials not so long ago and it failed on every count, yet many people swear by it.

The 'placebo effect' (our belief that we are taking something to heal us, when in effect we are taking just a sugar pill), therefore, has a lot to do with which therapies work for us and which don't. Happilly, there is no such thing as the 'average' person but sadly also no 'cure all'. What works for one person won't necessarily work the same for someone else and this is true for both conventional and alternative therapies.

The best option must be to try various remedies in a safe environment and with someone who knows you, or your medical history at least, and who you trust. Buying almost any kind of medicine off the Internet, for example, is almost always fraut with danger, either through the introduction of counterfeit goods, which are harmful or because the person selling them has no clue about who you are. Additionally it is vital to get the correct diagnosis from a qualified practitioner as early as you possible can, in fact this is where I would invest the most resource. It's a sad fact that many forms of cancer can masquerade as other conditions for years before being properly uncovered and when they finally are, cannot be successfully treated.

So try it, it might work for you and if it doesn't then stop doing it...and certainly stop paying for it! But if you're genuinely worried, and most of us know how to listen to our bodies fairly well, don't delay but get it properly and fully checked out.

Prevention is always better than cure.

[Dannie Boy]

This is a huge area to cover and in a part of the world where there is no socialised healthcare service and everything needs to be paid for privately, I imagine something that is attractive to consider. In the spirit of transparency, I should disclose that I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the past 20 years and still do, so my comments include in-built bias from what I have witnessed.

While many modern pharmaceuticals are derived from plants or manufactured to mimic certain organic compounds, they have all been subject to rigorous clinical trials and are also produced to very high standards. Alternative 'medicines' (something that you take), as opposed to 'therapies' - which include yoga, acupuncture etc. are not subject to such trials and so their benefits are harder to establish.

Even within the alternative medicines group, there are wide variances in effectiveness and safety. Some products are safe but don't actually do anything either, whereas others are effective but can have risky side effects for a person with an underlying health condition that has no apparent symptoms (e.g. pre-diabetes) or could cause their existing medication (statins, contraceptives) not to be as effective and even fail. Homeopathy, with the theory that almost untraceable amounts of a substance (frequently poisonous in larger doses) can create a cure from a particular ailment was subject to some comparative trials not so long ago and it failed on every count, yet many people swear by it.

The 'placebo effect' (our belief that we are taking something to heal us, when in effect we are taking just a sugar pill), therefore, has a lot to do with which therapies work for us and which don't. Happilly, there is no such thing as the 'average' person but sadly also no 'cure all'. What works for one person won't necessarily work the same for someone else and this is true for both conventional and alternative therapies.

The best option must be to try various remedies in a safe environment and with someone who knows you, or your medical history at least, and who you trust. Buying almost any kind of medicine off the Internet, for example, is almost always fraut with danger, either through the introduction of counterfeit goods, which are harmful or because the person selling them has no clue about who you are. Additionally it is vital to get the correct diagnosis from a qualified practitioner as early as you possible can, in fact this is where I would invest the most resource. It's a sad fact that many forms of cancer can masquerade as other conditions for years before being properly uncovered and when they finally are, cannot be successfully treated.

So try it, it might work for you and if it doesn't then stop doing it...and certainly stop paying for it! But if you're genuinely worried, and most of us know how to listen to our bodies fairly well, don't delay but get it properly and fully checked out.

Prevention is always better than cure.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect after reading your first paragraph, but a most interesting and informative post, so much more than some others I could (but won't) mention

[MrPlum]

I wasn't quite sure what to expect after reading your first paragraph, but a most interesting and informative post, so much more than some others I could (but won't) mention

Like yours? Almost everything he said has been mentioned previously so I'm not sure what you've been reading.

Having said that it is refreshing to have a view from someone in the industry which isn't automatically dismissive of alternatives.

High BP brought down by bitter herbs

Just been to have my annual health checkup for work permit renewal and they discovered that my BP was off the chart... :shock

Did anyone try and ascertain the underlying cause? I'm starting to feel gun-shy about suggesting anything on here so why not go with what others have tried?

[edited to reduce number of posts]

[caller]

Buksi, might be safer to pop a pill to get the BP under control whilst seeking an alternative. A friend had a heart attack which would have been avoided if he'd taken his medicine. Luckily he was in hospital for another matter when it happened!