Naturopathy

[geegeemcgee]

Does anyone use naturopathy as an alternative to medicines? 

I've dabbled at a really small scale when trying to find treatments for my son's eczema, and was pleasantly surprised with it's effectiveness. At the time it was a last resort as we had tried EVERYTHING, however I wished I had considered it sooner when I saw how rapidly his eczema cleared up.

So now I'm thinking of going down the naturopathy route for my own benefit. I had a chat with a practitioner yesterday and have done a little sniffing around, however opinion appears to be really quite divided on google. Does anyone here consult a naturopath? I guess I'm wondering about people's experiences. Has it been beneficial? 

Cheers =) 


 

[ArmoredGallant]

It's kind of controversial, and I get a lot of guff for it, but yes, I'm very much into naturopathy. I got sick a few years ago and was almost completely bedridden for about 3 months, but no doctor, no lab, no one could figure out what was wrong with me, and nothing they did worked. I'd used some natural medicine called Anti-I by Doctor Richard Schulze in the past, it's a topical liquid that disinfects cuts and cleans them out well. His Anti-Infection tonic actually had helped heal cuts incredibly quickly; I felt like Wolverine, lol... not really, but it was far quicker than normal. The Deep Tissue he makes made Tiger Balm look like it did nothing. These two products set the grounding for me to look into a more natural route to help me.

 

Anyway, I was bedridden, no one knew why, and nothing helped. So, remembering the other products I'd tried from Dr. Schulze, I went onto his site (herbdoc.com) and saw he had a 30-day detox. I'm not sure why I picked that one out of all things, but I did. I went raw vegan for 1 month and took the organic supplements he provided to completely clean out my liver, kidneys, and intestines. About a week into it, I was able to actually get up and walk around again. At the end I was able to do everything normally again and was living life again. 

 

After that, I've been incorporating more and more natural things into my life, and am starting another detox tomorrow. I don't completely ignore doctors or anything, and when I had an incredibly awful ear infection last month I went a doctor for antibiotics. However, I do think that most of the time the natural route is best. 

[aimless]

I am a nurse and have been one for 13 years.... but interestingly enough, I am a convert! I still think medicine has its place, but I go to a naturopath, and have been for 3 years now.

 

There's this whole 'other side' to health and healing that I never knew existed... and I'm loving getting into it! I was desperate when I found it... and am so glad I did! It has made a WORLD of difference in my life! Also, this idea of 'food as medicine' has revolutionized my family's health... the idea of whole foods/whole nutrition, no processed foods or chemicals...

 

I could go on and on... this is something I get excited about!

[Shoshie]

I think they're probably best used in combination.  There are some things that conventional medicine sucks at dealing with, like chronic pain or digestive disorders.  But there are definitely reasons to see a conventional doctor, and I really like mine.  So...yeah.  Combination.  Except for homeopathy.  Blech, homeopathy.  

[Raincloak]

Best to be an informed consumer, seek good advice and follow it. Don't assume your provider, of whatever philosophy, is going to look out for you. Ask questions and find out.

Not all herbal medicine is beneficial or safe. A lot of it is unregulated and contains everything BUT what the label says. Even the real stuff is dangerous if used incorrectly. Ephedra can kill you. Licorice and grapefruit can put you in the hospital if combined with prescription meds. And if you try to fix a genuine medical emergency with tea and prayers, the outcome may be disaster.

However, some of it really does work on some conditions if used correctly. Always do your homework and get personal recommendations if you can.

[Rostov]

I think Raincloak has it spot in with "best to be an informed consumer".  There's probably nothing wrong with trying safe alternative treatments - if nothing else, the placebo effect is real and very powerful - but the moment they start pushing people towards giving up proper evidence-based medicine in favour of treatments for which there is either (a) no evidence that they work; ( no known reason in physics why they should work; or © both, then there's problems.

 

I guess my attitude towards alternative treatments is coloured by my experience of having a chronic health condition (not fatal, but very unpleasant and currently in remission - touch wood).  Every online forum/support group I've ever been part of has attracted swarms of quacks who don't stop at the benign "have a consultation with a lovely person who'll listen to you better than your doctor and give you some basically-water that might give you a placebo boost", but actively encourage people to stop taking their medication.  And although that medication is unpleasant and has nasty side effects, it's much better than being sick.  Often these people are in some kind of pyramid sales scheme and are local distribution agents for some mega Quack-Corp.  They post anecdotes of doubtful provenance, often crafted to look like the experience of the person posting them - though careful reading makes it clear that this is not the case.  They misuse evidence - I suspect deliberately, but it's possible some of them just don't understand/haven't read it and probably don't care.

 

When I've been sick I've been desperate.  Absolutely desperate to get better.  So desperate that I'd almost certainly have suspended my critical faculties, and that's what these quacks rely on.  As far as I'm concerned, there's a special circle of hell reserved for people who prey on the sick and vulnerable in this way.

 

And I'm sorry to say that I can remember at least one "naturopath" who acted in a similar way.  She was hawking "supervised clinics" and made a number of misleading claims.  She claimed to be studying "Nutritional Therapy" at a well-respected university.  Actually, the link to the university was merely that they rented a room to a dubious-sounding external non-accredited self proclaimed "college" - there was no other link, as the university confirmed to me via email when I complained.  This was a case of deliberately trying to pass off "alternative" as evidence based, through claiming to be studying at the university, though a respectable sounding course title, and through not mentioning "naturopathy" at all until challenged.

 

Now I'm sure that there are naturopaths who would be horrified, and plenty of decent alternative practitioners who don't attempt to subvert proper evidence based medicine, but to complement it.  And that's fine.  And I'm sure other people have had entirely positive experiences of alternative treatments, and swear by them, and that's fine too.  But my experience, I'm sorry to say, is relentless marketing of dangerous quackery to the sick and desperate in places where they go for much needed support when dealing with a very serious medical condition.

[SLB]

I was lucky to make friends with a girl who I later found out was a Naturopath. She's helped me with my digestive issues, made it clear that everything I took was my choice and that I could discuss with her any doubts I had at any time. I really liked the support she gave me since she looked at all aspects of my life (childhood, personality, work life, private life, diet etc) and not just the symptoms. It was very much figuring out the 'why' of things which was great! It was slow progress but about 1 year on my issues cleared up, whether it was the treatment or placebo effect I don't know but I don't really care

 

This girl was great but she's told me some stories of some awful naturopaths out there - best to go see someone through recommendation. Some doctors (GPs) sometimes can point you in the right direction