Alternative Remedies

i’ve been diagnosed as having major depression, and the drs. were unsure if I am bipolar. i have tried several medications and have had awful side effects,from hallucinations to becoming a complete insomniac. i therefore do not wish to try any more medications. i am severely depressed, for an extensive period(around 8 months) and have put on a substantial amount of weight, socially isolated myself for the most part and generally just don’t care. i am looking for any home or herbal remedies. thank you.

There is some evidence to suggest that Bipolar individuals do not assimilate the B vitamins properly so some doctors recommend injectable mega doses of B complex for them. This is a anti-stress vitamin complex anyway.

Also, highly recommended is a combination of Fish oil caps and Evening Primrose oil. St. John’s Wort is a mild anti-depressant but should not be taken in conjunction with other anti-depressants as this could overdose your seritonin levels.

Aerobic exercise is also proven to release good chemicals in the brain.

If you are Bipolar, it is important for you and/or loved ones to keep track of your phases so that you can discontinue any anti-depressants when you shift to normal phase. If you don’t they can possibly trigger a major manic episode. This is dangerous.

My friend who is a Physician’s Assistant just found out he has prsotate cancer, and is looking into alternative treatments. Any suggestions?
48 years old, stage 1, no other health complications
and thank you everyone for your time and great responses – helps so much!!

I would have thought a physician’s assistant might possibly have known better than to look to alternative cancer ‘treatments’.

In this context ‘alternative’ means ‘unproven and untested’. If a medicine has been proven to work, it is no longer alternative medicine, it is just medicine.

Sadly wherever there is cancer there are ruthless charlatans waiting to part vulnerable and desperate people from their money in exchange for ineffective and sometimes dangerous ‘treatments’.

There are also, of course, well-meaning and kind people who pass on information about ‘alternative treatments’ they have heard of, usually from unsubstantiated anecdote. These people, though kind, are ill-informed and invariably have no experience of cancer.

Conventional treatments are far from perfect, but we know – because they have been rigourously tested and proven in double-blind clinical trials – that they save many lives and prolong many, many more.

If your friend experiments with alternative treatments he will be investing money, hope and – most dangerous of all – time in ineffective scams while his cancer remains untreated.

People will probably recommend diets; I once thought my organic vegan diet, rich in fruit, veg and juices, and my healthy lifestyle would protect me against cancer. It didn’t; nor did it cure me.

If your friend is tempted by any particular ‘alternative treatment’, he (or you) should do a search on http://www.quackwatch.org/ for the facts.

My grandma would like to work with a doctor that believes in alternative medicine – particularly nutrition. She has several health issues.

Go to Dr. Siegried – he is a close personal friend of mine and a great alternative Doctor. Best.

I’ve got poor circulation in my feet, some nerve damage from frostbite, and a dash of toenail fungus to top it off. Anyone have any alternative remedies to help any or all? Having my toenails ripped off and using a topical doesn’t sound fun. Also, the pills are supposed to be hard on your liver. Don’t need that. It gets enough of a workout as is.

You can try using a low mg of capsicum for added circulation. For the fungus, the best remedy I know of is oil of oregano.

I have some homeopathic remedies from over 2 years ago that I used when in labour. I’m due again and want to use them again. There is no ‘use by’ date on the bottle but lots of pills are left. Are these still usable or should I buy new ones? Thanks!

If they are homeopathic dilutions, they keep just as long as water normally keeps.

Homeopathy has become a marketing term, and the companies that use it make millions of dollars selling mostly placebos and fakery to people who really want to believe. They WANT you to think "oh, I’ve heard about homeopathy for years, so it must work."

What is homeopathy?
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Classical homeopathy originated in the 19th century with Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) as an alternative to the standard medical practices of the day, such as phlebotomy or bloodletting. Hahnemann’s theories were based on metaphysical energies rather than on biology, anatomy, chemistry, etc.

Classical homeopathy is generally defined as a system of medical treatment based on the use of infinitesimal amounts of substances that in larger doses produce effects similar to those of the disease being treated. For example, the homeopathic remedy for sleeplessness is a highly diluted dose of caffeine. Hahnemann believed that very small doses of a substance could have very powerful reverse healing effects because their potency could be affected by vigorous and methodical shaking (succussion).

So in other words, if you put a tiny amount of some ingredient in water, then shake it, then dilute it, then shake it more, then dilute it more, eventually you’ll have an effective medicine.

Homeopathic dilutions
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Homeopathic dilutions are indicated by letters like X or C. "X" means dilute 10 to 1. So a dilution of 6X means do a 1 in 10 dilution six times. Or, in other words, 1 part ingredient, 1,000,000 parts water (six zeros). "C" means dilute 100 times. So a 6C dilution means 1 part ingredient, 1,000,000,000,000 parts water. You can find many homeopathic remedies available with 30C dilutions – you do the math. And the totally ridiculous bit of advertising – the bigger the dilution, the "stronger" the medication.

They’re selling you WATER. Or, they’re selling you a sugar pill on which water has been sprinkled!!!

For example, one gram of the very popular homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum contains 1 gram of sugar and 1/10^400 (1 over 10 followed by 400 zeros) of diseased duck liver. Now, physics will tell you that there is not a single molecule of duck liver in your sugar pill. It’s just a sugar pill.

Hahnemann came up with his ideas before we knew what molecules were. So when molecular theory came along and proved that many homeopathic remedies didn’t have even a single molecule of the original substance, homeopathy proponents like Jacques Benveniste tried to prove that water "remembered" the original ingredient. (1) They never explained how the water "remembered" the homeopathic ingredient but didn’t "remember" the copper pipes, glass jars, or contents of the lake it came from. (2) Benveniste was completely discredited when it turned out his lab technicians were altering data so that their boss would have positive results.

http://br.geocities.com/criticandokardec/benveniste02.pdf

Do Homeopathic Remedies work?
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Because it has marketing appeal, "Homeopathic" is used as a label on many things, including soothing creams and herbal remedies that are NOT classic homeopathic dilutions. An herbal remedy may work just fine, but it is just like any drug, and should come with all the same testing and warnings as any drug. However, the classic homeopathic dilution liquids and pills do NOT work better than water or sugar pills.

1) Large scale, well-designed studies of homeopathic dilutions find they work no better than placebo. (But don’t underestimate the power of a well-delivered placebo to cure somebody’s complaint. Just don’t use it for cancer or malaria or AIDS, etc.)

2) Many of the people who point to studies and say "See! This study says it works" are pointing to the same set of studies by Reilly published in Lancet in the early 90s. Nobody has been able to independently repeat Dr. Reilly’s results.

3) There is a million dollar prize available from JREF for anyone who can show, under reasonable scientific controls, that homeopathic dilutions work better than placebo. The prize has been available for over a decade, and nobody has claimed it. Here is an example of a failed attempt: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s827502.htm

4) No homeopathic practitioner (or anyone else) can tell the difference between a vial of homeopathic dilution and plain water.

5) James Randi regularly demonstrates homeopathic remedies do nothing by taking an entire box of a homeopathic sedative.

In short, homeopathic pills/dilutions don’t work any better than sugar pills.

Why does the FDA allow ineffective "medicines" to be sold?
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Because of their long use in the United States, the U.S. Congress passed a law in 1938 declaring that homeopathic remedies are to be regulated by the FDA in the same manner as nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which means that they can be purchased without a physician’s prescription. Today, although conventional prescription drugs and new OTC drugs must undergo thorough testing and review by the FDA for safety and effectiveness before they can be sold, this requirement does not apply to homeopathic remedies. In other words, the FDA gave anything with the words "homeopathic" an exemption from the requirement to demonstrate that they’re effective.

Most people know that the herbal remedy St. Johns Wort can reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills. However, unlike herbal remedies, there are no "drug interaction" warnings for homeopathic remedies. Why? Because they don’t do anything.

Conclusion:
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If you can be cured by placebo, then by all means, continue supporting the imaginative people who dream up all the different homeopathic remedies. But you should look at the price on the box and ask yourself: Is this a lot to pay for sugar pills and water?

No remedy at all from what I’ve learned, some cats just loose their hearing gradually and you can’t get it back.

They tend to hide it pretty well too, we didn’t know ours was deaf till I scared the bejesus out of him when I tried to pick him up from behind. We remember that his ears stopped swiveling a good year earlier, but I never made the connection. He’d been stone deaf that long and we never noticed.

I’ve been trying to teach him hand signals for the past year, but only one works, the pointing finger and a sweeping motion of the arm (means ‘come here’ or ‘you’re allowed out this door to outside while I’m standing here watching you’).

Be very careful with them outside, they can’t hear traffic or dogs, and deaf cats seem to think nothing can hurt them if they can’t hear it. Then they’ll suddenly realize something isn’t right and panic (we ended our harness/leash walks because of that).

Indoors they work out ok. They need to make a visual connection with you more often, though, I’ve noticed. I have to go over and physically touch his shoulders or ribs to stop him from meowing too loud, as he can’t hear himself and he’s 1/2 Siamese so his volume level goes way up fast.

I am having an abscess under the skin. I have been taking anti-biotics for it as recommended by the doctor but there is no relief.
I need to know any natural remedies to treat an abscess which is under the skin
I had heard that dipping a washcloth in a hot infusion of chamomile tea does some work. But the abscess just became red and softer. Is it bad or good?

Add 1 cup vinegar to your baths(which you should take every night)
Put a small amount of anti biotic up your nose. I know it sounds gross, but that’s what my doctor said to do
If the abscess is not responding to your prescription, then it might be MRSA, an anti biotic resistant strain of abscess. Discuss with your doctor about the possibility of MRSA testing. If it turns out to be MRSA, then they will probably change your prescription. Hopefully that will work.
Also, I know it hurts, but clean it every night. Also, if you’re brave enough, STERILIZE your hands and just kinda take the scab off the top of the abscess. This should cause the pus to come out. Clean it up thoroughly, then throw away whatever you used to clean up the pus. This should relieve it a lot.
However, if the abscess does not go away after this, go to your doctor and they will lance it. It hurts, but it makes the abscess go away, and if none of the above stuff works, then your abscess will do nothing but get worse.
And make sure to keep the house clean, especially if you are living with other people.

Looking for an alternative or otherwise cure or aid in dramatically reducing the blood sugar level of diabetics.

Not a one. There is a widespread back of the mind conviction among many that there exists an entire alternative medical structure (ancient knowledge, traditional approaches, …) which offers cures or treatment ordinary medicine does not. That’s a false belief, by and large. Any natural cures which worked as well as ordinary medicine would be quite prominent indeed and wouldn’t remain alternative for very long.

consider, in the case of diabetes alone, that a plant long known to help with diabetes (goat’s rue) is the source of Glucophage (metformin) and the biguanides generally. Gila monsters (the poisonous lizard from the N American SW desert) is the source of a new diabetes drug nearing approval and release for clinical use. An herb, used in cosmetics because it makes the pupil larger in small doses, is the source of digitalis, still one of the primary drugs in cardiovascular medicine.

The common sorts of diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2) is a condition without a cure. And it’s a real pain literally and figuratively. There is a lot of quackery and snake oil om consequence. so far, diabetes related research has earned 4 Nobel Prizes, and any advance as effective as some of the advertising claims about ‘traditional’ cures or treatments would be high on the eligible list for another.

We now understand diabetes about as well as we understand broken legs. There’s little treatment for a broken leg aside from setting it, splinting it, treating it carefully, and waiting. And for good reason. Likewise there’s good understanding of what’s going on in diabetes (type 1 and type 2) and what would be needed to fix them (mostly). We can’t do that yet, just as we can’t get a broken leg to mend in a couple of days. And that’s the state of the art in diabetes treatment, alternative included.

Someday, there’ll be a cure… Would save a bundle of money and a lot of nuisance. Support diabetes research and encourage those with research money to assign some to diabetes.

Hey guys , I got a lil problem to solve , Im 16 years old and I have these bad noticeable strech marks i’ve tried coca butter and lemon to get rid , but they don’t work are there any other remedies I can use to get rid of them and I am dark skin SOI might need some strong remedies.

There is no treatment for stretchmarks. they look more noticeable on dark skin. If they are red/brown and new then i suggest applying bio oil on them everyday, twice a day until they start fading. If they are whitish, then i’m sorry mate but you’re stuck with them! my bf is skinny and not very tall but has them on his lower back and i have them allover my arms, calves, breasts, shoulders, tummy, back.. so be happy that yours aren’t everywhere! in summer im stuck with jeans and long sleeve tops and it sucks to go out or to shop.. i love winter!!!!!