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Thing is, for most people, the best solution is a combination of the two. This article exaggerates the mean and nasty conventional medicine and paints alternative medicine as, well, The Alternative. But we know that's not the way it really works best.
A better term is "complementary" medicine. Personally, I've had the best results when I've had an open minded MD who will use some complementary methods. Or if the MD works with someone who uses complementary methods. For example a great acupuncturist who worked alongside a Boston cancer specialist--the acupuncturist was helping with my allergies but he told me of a lung cancer patient who was having a really long survival due to a combination of conventional medicine and acupuncture.
He also helped people who were on chemo and had side effects. But either type of medicine in its extreme can be harmful, I think. I know I don't want to go to a regular dr and be prescribed a ton of prescription meds with side effects. But I also don't want to go to a naturopath and be given the fad diet of the day. I wouldn't go to a naturopath if I had cancer but I would go to one in addition to the oncologist--in fact twenty years ago, that's just what I did.
My perfect world would include many more of the wonderful MDs who incorporate some "alternative" ideas into their practice or who respect alternative/complementary medicine enough to refer you to someone who uses it --or at least are open to it.
Thing is, for most people, the best solution is a combination of the two. This article exaggerates the mean and nasty conventional medicine and paints alternative medicine as, well, The Alternative. But we know that's not the way it really works best.
A better term is "complementary" medicine. Personally, I've had the best results when I've had an open minded MD who will use some complementary methods. Or if the MD works with someone who uses complementary methods. For example a great acupuncturist who worked alongside a Boston cancer specialist--the acupuncturist was helping with my allergies but he told me of a lung cancer patient who was having a really long survival due to a combination of conventional medicine and acupuncture.
He also helped people who were on chemo and had side effects. But either type of medicine in its extreme can be harmful, I think. I know I don't want to go to a regular dr and be prescribed a ton of prescription meds with side effects. But I also don't want to go to a naturopath and be given the fad diet of the day. I wouldn't go to a naturopath if I had cancer but I would go to one in addition to the oncologist--in fact twenty years ago, that's just what I did.
My perfect world would include many more of the wonderful MDs who incorporate some "alternative" ideas into their practice or who respect alternative/complementary medicine enough to refer you to someone who uses it --or at least are open to it.
Completely agree with this. An open mind is a wonderful thing. No one in any profession knows everything. "Extremes" are called that for a reason. If someone claims they know everything about a health-related issue, probably a good idea to keep a healthy distance.
I may keep dwelling on this, but if it hadn't been for a few doctors who were not afraid to "think outside the box" I never would have been properly diagnosed and would have continued to suffer.
One time I was sent round and round to doctors so much that I finally ended up sitting in the office of the original dr. He asked what I was doing there again? He said that I was getting bounced around "like a tennis ball!" Then (thank goodness) he said that I fell between the cracks and the type of dr who could help me did not work within their practice. He wasn't supposed to say this, but he gave me the names to two MDs who used alternative methods.
I chose one and went to him. This guy was a great doctor. Although he didn't diagnose the food allergies, he suggested that I see an allergist. He put me on a more restricted diet--a doctor who actually discussed proper diet! He understood what I was talking about. When I talked about how sick I was getting from plastics after being subjected to a faulty furnace that was spewing soot all over the house, he "got it"--he said that was a sensitivity to petroleum. duh, but I had never thought of that. Plastics are a petroleum by product, of course.
He advised me to avoid any products that were petroleum-based like furniture polish. With that dr, things finally started making sense. After the food allergies diagnosis, things made even more sense. I guess you can get so sick and run down that your body just can't fend off these allergies and sensitivities. Not that I really understand it, but it was a relief to finally find a doctor who figured it out and put 1 + 1 together. He thought outside the box.
That was only the beginning but it led me to more and more doctors who used somewhat unconventional methods. Nothing weird, but things that were new or not 100% proven yet. Thank goodness for the food drops and shots, which were unproven at the time. Thank goodness for subsequent doctors who took the time to try other things when the conventional model just didn't work.
I essentially agree with the sentiments expressed by previous posters but feel compelled to add that the "conventional" practices of the American medical system kept my wife alive-and-kicking past the number's crunchers life expectancy dates, despite her many medical impairments.
I essentially agree with the sentiments expressed by previous posters but feel compelled to add that the "conventional" practices of the American medical system kept my wife alive-and-kicking past the number's crunchers life expectancy dates, despite her many medical impairments.
I cannot imagine any alternative treatment that could safely remove part of the stomach, part of the pancreas, and the entire duodenum resulting in 16 more years of life.
I cannot imagine any alternative treatment that could safely remove part of the stomach, part of the pancreas, and the entire duodenum resulting in 16 more years of life.
Of course, not, nor I getting a man made hip alternatively. There are definitely places for modern medicine in our lives. I do all I can working with Prevention.
I don't look at alternative medicine as a competitor but rather as a complement. Conventional medical practice combined with a lifestyle of moderation on the part of patients bear the lion's share of favorable health within the boundaries of patient genetics. Alternative medicine adds to the favorable picture.
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