Just seen a clinical homeopath/Tonsillitis

Anna wrote:Hi Pen,
We all (or I'd guess most of us) have done things that others may have considered useless. And perhaps some of us have even been helped. And to me, LOTS of what regular doctors do falls under the heading of guesswork and wishful thinking. But when you say that "something doesn't sit right" I'd pay attention to that. Trust your gut.
Anna

Hi Anna,
Thanks, I am not sure what it was. It wasnt the proposed treatment. It was him. Just a bit too officious maybe.
And I didnt like that the costs are way more than he suggested on email. The consultation is accurate, but the "remedies" come pouring out of the woodwork. Was it up to me to ask....I dont think so., When I was practising. it was transparent. The charge was the charge. No extras. That was naughty I think.

Pen,

I had tonsillitis and sometimes strep throat every year as a child, sometimes more than once a year. It was treated with penicillin. My mother finally demanded the doctor remove my tonsils when I was 15.

Along this same line, I recently read about the possibility about the Epstein Barr virus being involved in chronic illnesses, such as migraine (I haven't been able to find where I read this). The Epstein Barr virus is mononeucleosis. I had it about 22 or so years ago.

Becky

See Becky this is where this guy is coming from. The whole idea is that pathogens dont always leave our body and can lower our immune system and lay us open to auto immune type things, like possibly FMS/CFS/IBS (course we dont know they are auto immune, but they fit the bill). It is nuts, but also is a good theory. Depends on what you want to accept I guess.
Thanks.

Oh and Post Polio syndrome is very real., I know.

NAET is another crock. sorry.......just no science behind it at all. i had a couple friends who said it "cured" them of their allergies. the mind is a powerful thing, when it wants to believe.

i had an appt with one of the practitioners, years ago, and then cancelled it. not only was there no evidence that it would help anything, the practitioner was one of those know-it-alls-and-you're-out-of-here-if-you-ask-any-questions!

yes, i keep trying things, also, because my quality of life is rather awful at times, BUT i try to be much much more skeptical and prudent about what i believe and what i don't. i've learned by bitter experience to NEVER NEVER go by testimonials or "anecdotal evidence". period. dianne

If migraine is caused by an immune response, then why has no one ever been able to measure it? Immune responses are very easy to quantify using standard, well-established tests.

Similarly, if there was any sort of widespread stock in the idea of viral or bacterial pathogens being the root cause of migraine, it would be very, very simple to take tissue samples of migraine patients and test them for the presence of pathogen DNA. If you want to argue that it is some unknown pathogen and therefore can't isolate its DNA, then you could lyse the cells, use subcellular fractionation, and put them under an electron microscope to see what's there.

But you wouldn't even need to go that far, because if nervous system cells were either being attacked by the body's own immune system or by an exogenous pathogen, they would exhibit diseased morphology and upregulate specific inflammatory markers that you would be able to measure in 1-3 weeks of careful laboratory work.

Not to mention that there are rodent models of migraine. Rodents have far, far less well-developed immune systems than humans, and they don't make the rodent models by using pathogens or inducing an auto-immune response.

I'm not trying to attack you, but if I personally were going to see a practioner like a clinical homeopath, I would like to know how he rationalizes his answers to these questions.

Thank you both for your posts.
So much sense and good advice.
Will process.

Many thanks.


Dont worry, I dont feel attacked, I asked for people's thoughts.
Anything but personal criticism is fine with me...

Not exactly what this bloke is on about, but worth a read if you can follow it.....
Not sure I can...

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/00207450903458647?journalCode=nes

Hi,

be careful dear. Homeopathy is a scam. It has been developed at a time in Germany when any treatment by a conventional doctor would very likely kill you. Since the homeopathic potions given to you by your homeopath are so diluted with water that there is not even an atom/molekul of the original substance in it, it has neither positive nor negative effects on you. You are basically given water with a fancy name written on the label with the hope that you respond to the placebo effect. Any claims made by homeopath are based on magic and not on the laws of physics. You might as well get naked and howl at the full moon in order to get rid of your headaches.

Love

P

Thank you for your comment. Did you know not all forms of Homeopathy are the same and that in England it is available on the NHS and the Queen and the Royal family use it?

I know of animals treated with it and there is no placebo effect there, and also some of the topical preparations have been very good.

I think it might be variable, but dont worry I am desperate, but not gullible.

P

Hi again,

Yes, I know Charly is a big fan of homeopathy and the NHS has a ramshackle homeopathic hospital in London. But that does not confirm that it actually works. I read an article a while ago that they want to scrap that hospital, because of the fact that Homeopathy does not work. There have also been discussions about legislation to label every homeopathic remedy on sale with "contains 100% water and it is not proven to work" to protect consumers.

Those who have apparently been cured by homeopathy very often forget, that the biggest and best healer is the body and the immune system. Very often we heal and get better without doing anything really.

Should I have an accident in the future I will call the ambulance and not the homeopath.

Peoples despair is big business. Save you money, and buy yourself a nice treat instead.

Love

P.

Hi again Petzi, are you in living in England. We dont have too many Brits on here yet.
If so ,what area of the country?

The homeopathy argument goes on.
So far I have never had any success with it, but I know people who at least feel they have.
I was referred to the Homeopathic hospital by my GP but too ill to travel

The closing of the hospital is due to cost not because it doesnt work.
We have so many cuts going on now and given the tiny bit of money it costs,
compared to the waste on prescriptions, the NHS makes some strange decisions.
But that doesnt solve the does it work or not of course.

I agree about the labeling. I think all complementary therapy/remedies should have some sort of "advice" at least.
When I was practising I had no end of clients who had been to see others who fleeced them.
That does nothing for me and the therapy reputation, nor of course the client.

The kind of homeopathy I was speaking about is quite different in its approach to main stream.
Of course that doesnt mean it works, but the reason I was looking into it was for fibro and IBS , not migraine.
I am still thinking on. I guess we might have to agree to differ, although I havent come to any conclusion yet, hence the posting.

BTW who is Charly? Prince Charles you mean? His grandma was the "Queen of homeopathy"

Hi P,

I am Austrian, but I have been living in the UK for 14 years now.

I have been to that homeopathic hospital in Great Ormond Street to treat my migraines a couple of years ago. At that stage I was super desperate and went through a periode of thinking "something's gotta help". I also didn't bother to read up on homeopathy and had no clue what it is about. I thought it was something herbal. Herbal is natural .... natural is good. I was referred to the homeopathic hospital by my GP, so it did not cost me anything, but it meant I constantly had to go there all the time, talk, talk, talk, try some more and different water with nothing in it etc... Not so nice when you have a stinker of a migraine going on on most days.

The GP was happy to refer my to what I can only call the "rubbish heap of broken dreams" as it meant I was off her case for a while and it kept me busy.

Naturally it did not help one bit, not even the placebo effect kicked in (but then I am placebo resistant).

Check out this web site www.homeowatch.org/. It explaines everything.

Love

T.

PS: Yes I meant Prince Charles. He might be a prince, but a scientist he ain't. Love the Queen .... what an icon!

Thanks.

I have passed this web site along to the homeopath to see what he can say about it.

P

wasted far too much on homeoathy, and agree the nhs homeopathy hospital in london does need closing as it takes 10,000£ s a year that acute care isin desperate need of. think theres an awful lot of pschology involved with it, had tonsilitus as child but only one in family out of the 6 of us who do get migraines to also suffer from it. do you know pen what are the statistics of people who do get tonsilitus as a child, i think it is incredibly high, but dont know figures do you??

Hi Dawn,

The tonsillitis things you have it the wrong way around.
It is "if" you have certain problems, AND had chronic tonsil problems....(I did), then you could still have problems with a bug.
I think it is a hepatitis that causes it, but don't quote me on that, cant recall. The suggestion was just as a clincher on the diagnosis, not an absolute. Perhaps I didn't explain it very well. Probably. I had migraine and a triptan the morning I spoke with him, very hard to remember it all.
In my family I am the only one who has had a tonsil problem...not just an isolated case....I had it every winter from the ages of about 9 to 18. None of my kids have ever had it at all. And....none of them have headaches....but I dont think that means anything. It is the whole picture that needs to fit.

I have never seen the homeopathy hospital. But if it is in a state then perhaps it should go. However the £12 million homeopathy costs the NHS would only be absorbed back into the system. I cant imagine the patients are going to cost the NHS any less and they aren't just going to disappear, they still need to be treated.
Most people that end up there have already been through the system. So the however many people that improve on what we perceive to be the placebo effect will be back overloading the mainstream NHS.
As I said they have to be treated somewhere and if even some of them "think" they are better when conventional medicine couldnt help them, then it is a cheaper way of treating them I gather.

I also understand that many millions are wasted on over prescribed medication. Especially anti biotics and anti depressants. Not to mention the bird flu fiasco. I cant recall the figures, but they make the sum spent on Homeopathy look totally insignificant.
We clearly have a lot of work to do in this country to "balance the books."

That said, I am not convinced homeopathy works. It hasnt worked for me when I tried it in the past.
I am interested in this bloke's theories because they are different. None of us can afford to dismiss things out of hand, just in case. We are so individual, and I do know of people who have been helped by Homeopathy.
Of course who can tell if it is purely placebo, but does it matter? If they got a placebo effect from that and not medication, then it works.

Interesting, and apparently controversial. I am waiting to see what he says.
Thanks Dawn.
I am not being treated by him and in fact the thread was dead in the water until yesterday.

Never had tonsilitis. Never seen a homeopath. G.

Ok Gail, but also dont have Fibro or IBS, is that right?
I am wondering if this is the primary and secondary migraine thing that keeps rearing it's head.

Thanks
Pen

That's right. No fibro or IBS.

This is from today's Daily Mail here in the UK.
The debate continues.

HOMEOPATHY: THE DEBATE CONTINUES
Here’s something curious: when the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee reviewed the evidence for homeopathy, they said there was no ‘plausible mechanism’ by which it could work, so any benefits must be down to the placebo effect. But a study of patients with chronic primary insomnia in South Africa showed that the homeopathic treatment ‘resulted in a significant increase in duration of sleep, compared to placebo, which resulted in no significant increase’.
Although ‘an initial improvement occurred in the placebo group, [it] was not sustained.’ This suggests that homeopathy is not the same as placebo. Like me, many people have experienced clear benefits, according to research. In a survey by Bristol Homeopathic Hospital, 70 per cent of patients said their health improved after treatment. A study of more than 3,000 patients in Switzerland, funded by the government, found that overall patient satisfaction was significantly higher in homeopathic than in conventional care. Do consult a qualified homeopath (British Homeopathic Association, britishhomeopathic.org; Society of Homeopaths, homeopathy-soh.org) and keep your GP informed.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1285338/Health-notes-Best-medicine-sick-children.html#ixzz0qlK9M2Bd

I recently watch a sincere devotion to homeopathy take the life of my 46yr old sister in law. She had Stage 4 breast cancer that had spread throughout her body before she made it to an Oncologist to diagnose her with Western methods. She stayed 'natural' until the end. The end came in less than 4 months. Had she availed herself to Western medicine much sooner her Stage 4 would have been discovered long, long ago. It's horrific to watch one die......doing everything they think....but to the average brain.....doing a whole lot of nothing.

It was a challenge to watch one you love die that way. We supported her till the end, we all get to make our choices of how we handle our bodies.

Not only did she die........but these people who promised her the world, promised her healing as she was so yellowed and belly distended due to the effects of the cancer in her liver........they also took her money......so much of it that it would make your head spin.

It's not my choice or advice to go the all natural route with some issues.

Mianna, I am so sorry to read of your sad experience.
I understand that sometimes people do shun medicine to go this "natural" route, we read of it all the time.
It is sad she made this choice, especially if it would seem the other route could have saved her life.

I dont think most people would do this, and at the homeopathic hospitals here it is used as a complimentary, not an alternative to established medicine. I have never heard of anyone thinking cancer could be cured by homeopathy, but I guess I just dont have enough experience of it.

I dont know who these people were to give her such false hope, but there should be some sort of retribution.

A good friend of mine is a healer. He helps people with cancer to deal with it and can ease the suffering.
He would not heal anyone who does not see their doctor. That is not the way.

Very sad story Mianna.

forgot, when first i posted in this thread, that YES, i had lotsa tonsillitis as a child. my tonsils and adenoids were ripped out when i was 8 years old. those were the days (the 1940's) when almost all children had their tonsils out, whether they needed the operation or not.

that was my first surgery; have had 13 others. a life of feeling sort of like a carved turkey but life is still good, even with the pain. dianne

so sorry to read your story mianna, to see your loved ones suffer is unbearable and i lost my mother in law to cancer of the liver and saw all the same terrible suffering you did. it is indeed only worsened when you see how they are conned out of their money. you can only take comfort in the fact that your sister in law managed her treatment the way she had wanted it. and is at peace, the frustration and pain wont ever totally go away but hopefully your story will hepl prevent others suffering in the same way.take care.x

Given I started this thread to discuss a clinical homeopath, can I just make it clear please that I have no opinion on Homeopathy.
That is why I posted. I have had it,not for migraines, and it didnt help.
the fella I am talking about uses a different form, but not had it, and probably not going to, but I believe we are all different.
The bit I posted yesterday suggests that the placebo effect does not sustain whereas homeopathy does...
But they are still arguing about it.

Anyway, just wanted to make sure nobody thinks I am promoting it or anything....
No, just curious about what this guy is doing.

And thank you for all your comments.

Thanks
Pen