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If it's something like cancer or something similar then I think alternative medicine should complement western medicine but that is also a case by case situation.
If it's something that's less of a big deal and you've tried "everything else", giving alternative medicine a shot may not be a bad idea.
My Dad used to do acupuncture for his back and it didn't seem to work for him. My good buddy who is a doctor is taking acupuncture classes and swears by it. <shrug> It's a hit or miss I guess.
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I just don't recommend popping herbs at your local GNC that haven't been approved, purified, tested, and proven safe (or as much as safe can be proven). Quote
Are you saying that just because something is 'approved' (by the FDA) that it is okay to take?
Look at all the side effects and deaths from drugs that were 'approved.' It's all about money.
Last edited by songinthewind7; 10-31-2007 at 10:56 AM..
Reason: quote
I just don't recommend popping herbs at your local GNC that haven't been approved, purified, tested, and proven safe (or as much as safe can be proven).
Personally, I take FDA approval with a grain of salt. If an herb has been successfully used over the years, that gives it far more credibility in my eyes than FDA approval.
Granted, some of the supplements sold at GNC and other stores might be slighty harmful if used incorrectly....BUT....they generally don't KILL people like FDA approved drugs have done by the thousands. Death By Prescription!
My Dad used to do acupuncture for his back and it didn't seem to work for him. My good buddy who is a doctor is taking acupuncture classes and swears by it. <shrug> It's a hit or miss I guess.
I believe it's like anything else--there are good drs, bad drs, good dentists, bad dentists. Some acupuncturists are just pricking with the needles, not doing anything helpful with it.
I believe it's like anything else--there are good drs, bad drs, good dentists, bad dentists. Some acupuncturists are just pricking with the needles, not doing anything helpful with it.
It doesn't matter what you do with the needles. Depth and placement of the needles do not affect the outcome.
Acupuncture -- real or sham -- helps back pain - CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/09/24/back.pain.acupuncture.ap/index.html?eref=rss_health - broken link)
My computer isn't letting me watch the video, but I found the title of this article interesting:
"Findings back theory that pain messages can be blocked by competing stimuli"
I worked for a very traditional family medical practice from November 2003-June 2007. During that time about a year ago I was diagnosed with a chronic illness for which there is no cure and fairly limited treatments. These two experiences have led me to believe that eastern and western medicine need to be brought together and used as a comprehensive way to treat illness and maintain wellness. Luckily, more and more prominent physicians are starting to see that the two need to go hand in hand. There is no question that modern medical technology and treatments are necessary wonders but they should not negate the equally powerful wonders of healthy living through organic food diets, massage therapy, yoga, herbal treatments, etc. I think if this comprehensive treatment idea was the general rule rather than the exception there would be less individuals using alternative medicines who dangerously self diagnose and self medicate as well as less individuals who use conventional medicine dangerously counting on multiple prescription drugs to cure everything and anything. Everything in life is about balance and we will be much better off a a society when the medical communities find that balance.
Most people like alternative medicine because its cheaper (most of the time) and little do they know that placebo effect plays in most of their effects. As far as its utility, thats a different matter altogether, it doesn't work... it may "work" for 1 of 1000 but not for all. I am sure there are nature freaks out there that can ascribe cures for everything by eating grass or whatnot. I know of many, many people who are victims...people who had years of chronic back pain and saw a chiropractor until one day she sought a physician and low and behold, she had metastatic cancer to her spine (she will be dead in a couple of months). Then there are people who had been trying naturopathic medications and it worked great, they don't feel pain anymore! Too bad their joints have degenerated and are now permanently disabled. A lot of naturopathic medications work in the CNS system and make you feel good and they are said to be cures for everything.
A lot of people complain about western docs "pushing pills", but then take all sorts of "natural' concoctions.
Also, I work in a pediatrician's office and it is often the parents, not the docs, who want the pills. Even though cold meds are now officially not recommended for kids under two (and the health care providers always knew they didn't work) people use them and call us for dosing advice. The cold will go away, usually with no treatment whatsoever. That, to me, is the real issue, not whether you should take Pediacare or some herbal remedy. Of course, you should watch for complications and call your health care provider if they develop.
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We need to wise up!
