Alternative therapies

[elspeth]

I went for a massage last weekend and for interest value had some reiki done as part of the treatment... I'm now intrigued about it! Anybody know how it's supposed to work?

In particular, the therapist found with uncanny accuracy a very old shoulder injury that I'd almost forgotten about, and by starting to treat that has eased the problems I went about considerably even just after one session. It was a bit spooky, he found it having done about twenty minutes' reiki and not having touched my back or shoulders, and as I say I'd almost forgotten about the injury as it's so old and was not one that left any scarring on the  surface. Even had I thought of it, it wasn't something that I would have considered relevant to my current condition so I wouldn't have mentioned it.

Generally speaking I'm a skeptic about 'new age' therapies, some I can see sense in but others always strike me as a sucess for marketing rather than healthcare and reiki had always fallen more or less in the second category... but I have to say I'm converted in this instance, it felt wonderful and really seems to have done me some good!

[mad_max2024]

Maybe the way you moved gave the injury away
Most alternative therapies are a load of c**p designed to alleviate you from your money, but that doesn't mean some of them can't actually work
If it makes you feel good, it works...
Don't have a clue as to how reiki works though, I never even heard of it till now...

[berrt]

3 ys ago, i had for weeks an evil, nagging pain in my right wrist. help of pills was only of short duration, then it was back like before.
so i dicided to try acupuncture ( a friend of us does it). just before starting to see him, i felt the pain getting considerably better - so i waited. during the next half hour it faded more and more and eventually disappeared; it never came back.

acupuncture works even without acupuncture........

B.

[thalbergmad]

Most alternative therapies are a load of c**p designed to alleviate you from your money, but that doesn't mean some of them can't actually work

I think that the "alternative health" industry has more than its fair share of charlatans and undoubtedly some of them are simply after your money.

The most effective treatment i have ever had was when i was suffering from severe depression. I went to see someone who had been recommended to me as a healer. Anyway, to cut a long story short, i was asked to lay down on a bed and was covered in crystals of different kinds.

I don't know how it worked, and i think i don't want to either.

Thal

[mad_max2024]

just before starting to see him, i felt the pain getting considerably better - so i waited. during the next half hour it faded more and more and eventually disappeared; it never came back.

acupuncture works even without acupuncture........

B.

LOL, that's right, sometimes things just get better...
You probably had some sort of inflammation in your wrist that slowly healed back to normal, if it had happened after acupuncture you would probably have attributed the healing to the therapy

[pianistimo]

covered in crystals?  are you serious?  it sounds kinda fun.  but, when you are covered - you can't get up, right?  so it sinks your depression out of you.  the weight, i mean? 

what i've been wanting to get is that warm rock treatment they have at spas.  they place these warmed round rocks on your back in certain places.  it just sounds nice.  people pay for things that feel good - no matter if they 'work' or not.  i tend to think the chinese docs probably know quite a lot about the body and the nerve system. 

[pianolist]

what i've been wanting to get is that warm rock treatment they have at spas. they place these warmed round rocks on your back in certain places. it just sounds nice. people pay for things that feel good - no matter if they 'work' or not.

Well, have I got a deal for you, lady! It just happens that my friends, Richard and Frank, in Bethlehem, own and run a simply adorable spa and beauty salon, where you can go and have the platinum treatment all day long. 90 minutes of prolonged body massage, followed by a spa pedicure and manicure, hair cleansing and styling, and professional make-up treatment. How did we ever live without it, girls?

[pianistimo]

don't you think 90 minutes is long enough.  why the prolonged massage?  i'd think after 20 ,your skin would start falling off.  especially if a man is massaging.  btw, what makes you think a man would make a spa 'simply adorable.'  i'm scared now. 

i just want one of those 'women only' spas.  i don't want anything accidental happening with the towel.  women are there to make the treatment work.  men would just mess everything up.  i mean, i'm married.  i don't want to be asking richard or frank for anything personal. 

but, i'm glad you do make referrals for your friends.  i'm sure maybe someone braver than i will ask for the address.  someone who isn't worried they'd fall asleep at the 1/2 hour mark and wonder what happened the rest of the day.  wake up and not recognize themselves. 

[pianolist]

Well, despite my creative language, they really do run the best hairdressing and beauty salons in the Lehigh Valley, but I don't think I should advertise them here. It amazes me that anyone would want to go to a beauty salon all day long, but there seems to be no end of women to fill the places.

[elspeth]

i just want one of those 'women only' spas.  i don't want anything accidental happening with the towel.  women are there to make the treatment work.  men would just mess everything up.  i mean, i'm married.  i don't want to be asking richard or frank for anything personal. 

I'd take the opposite view, the women-only spas scare me! Too much potential for comparing... I find them a bit intimidating. And if you go to someone reputable, the probability of towel-related incidents is pretty small. I suppose it's a bit like doctors, after a while they get immune to that sort of thing anyway, you see that many bodies you don't really notice any more...

I'd ask for the address of the Bethlehem spa, but it's a bit of a commute from Blighty! Shame, I believe in supporting small businesses. If anybody's in the York area and wants a massage let me know and I'll pass the chap I go to's details on, then you can tell him I sent you and I'll get a discount next time I go!

[donjuan]

We had a Homeopathy specialist come talk to us a month ago, and even she told us it was all just a huge placebo effect.

[dnephi]

Death therapy! It's a guaranteed cure.

And to DonJuan, if the patient knows that it's a name brand drug, there's an even stronger placebo effect than just any drug.

Neat, huh?

[berrt]

You probably had some sort of inflammation in your wrist that slowly healed back to normal, if it had happened after acupuncture you would probably have attributed the healing to the therapy

...but i DO believe in acupuncture! i think i was so scared by the idea of being stabbed with needles that it drove the inflammation (or whatever) out of me. psyche influences the body incredibly strong.

B.

[prometheus]

We had a Homeopathy specialist come talk to us a month ago, and even she told us it was all just a huge placebo effect.

Really, haha.

But what does she tell non-medicine students?

[donjuan]

And to DonJuan, if the patient knows that it's a name brand drug, there's an even stronger placebo effect than just any drug.

than the generic drug?  That's interesting.. theyre chemically identical..  haha don't tell the patients now 

But what does she tell non-medicine students?

I dont know..  but she said that even if all it does is cause a huge placebo effect, nevertheless, the patient feels better.. so just... keep at it. heh

haha remember anchorman?  60% of the time, it works.. everytime.

[prometheus]

But are you allowed to lie to your patient and prescribe medicie that have no proven effects by the ethics of the profession?

[dnephi]

But are you allowed to lie to your patient and prescribe medicie that have no proven effects by the ethics of the profession?

I know doctors who prescribe things partially for the placebo effect, like smoking cessation treatments.  None are 100%, but they all help, and even if the product itself doesn't help much, but they get off smoking from cigarettes because you prescribed them that medicine and live longer and more happily, is that worth it to you?

Daniel

[donjuan]

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[ada]

The problem with alternative medicines, at least here in Aus, is that they're not subject to the same regulatory system as pharmaceuticals.

So while prescription drugs have to go through an extremely rigorous testing and approval before they become available the same doesn't apply to alternatives, like herbal remedies. These types of medicines can also have serious effects when mixed with conventional medicines.

Herbal remedies can be just as potent as pharmaceuticals but manufacturers don't have to jump through the same regulatory hoops. They can basically be put on the shelves wityhout anywhere near the safeguards that other medicines are subject to.

In this sense a lot of alternative medicines are more potentially "dangerous" than your prescription issue variety.

[donjuan]

The problem with alternative medicines, at least here in Aus, is that they're not subject to the same regulatory system as pharmaceuticals.

So while prescription drugs have to go through an extremely rigorous testing and approval before they become available the same doesn't apply to alternatives, like herbal remedies. These types of medicines can also have serious effects when mixed with conventional medicines.

Herbal remedies can be just as potent as pharmaceuticals but manufacturers don't have to jump through the same regulatory hoops. They can basically be put on the shelves wityhout anywhere near the safeguards that other medicines are subject to.

In this sense a lot of alternative medicines are more potentially "dangerous" than your prescription issue variety.

the exact same is true here in Canada as well.

[mad_max2024]

the exact same is true here in Canada as well.

Same in Portugal... They just place a label and a rough explanation of what it should do...

Herbal remedies actually have the potential to be far more dangerous than pharmaceuticals because they come from plant extracts containing hundreds or thousands of different substances that interact with each other. Their effects are often unpredictable.

Contrary to popular belief, drugs don't stop harming you just because they come from plants...

[timothy42b]

Same in Portugal... They just place a label and a rough explanation of what it should do...

Herbal remedies actually have the potential to be far more dangerous than pharmaceuticals because they come from plant extracts containing hundreds or thousands of different substances that interact with each other. Their effects are often unpredictable.

Contrary to popular belief, drugs don't stop harming you just because they come from plants...

While that is certainly true, the fact that there normally are no side effects must mean there is no active ingredient in most of them.  You can't get around this basic fact:  if it is powerful enough to have an effect, it is guaranteed to have some side effect as well. 

There are some known risks.  When my wife was pregnant, well meaning alternative-believing friends wanted her to take Asian herbal remedies for her nausea.  These contained high levels of mercury and lead, not exactly what I wanted to feed a fetus.  Of course we did not argue with them, just smiled, said thanks, and discarded them later. 

[mad_max2024]

While that is certainly true, the fact that there normally are no side effects must mean there is no active ingredient in most of them.  You can't get around this basic fact:  if it is powerful enough to have an effect, it is guaranteed to have some side effect as well. 

There are plenty of active ingredients, just not in enough quantity to actually do much
The doses are usually really small
Other than that I agree with all you said...
 

[pianistimo]

mercury and lead in herbal remedies?  where would those come in?  through water sources?  interesting. 

i think i was told that some kind of natural homeopathic drug would help induce labor - so i took some of it - lots of it after a while.  nothing.  nothing happened.  i was really po'd.  better than the first child- of which i took castor oil - with great sickness afterwards and no labor either.  i would not recommend either.  the castor oil just made me really feel badly - and i wondered later if it might even cause distress to the baby somehow - you know how they can get meconium and stuff).  anyways - don't believe everything you are told in critical moments of healthcare.  just do what you always do - is my motto - because your body is used to what you've been putting into it.

of course, then there are others who say it really works.  i'm not against natural therapies, per se - just not totally sure everything works on everybody the same.  what seems to work for me - is taking in a balance of nutrients as best i can.  you know.  the four food groups. 

love herbal teas, though.  i do think there's some benefit to each of the different types for different purposes.

[mad_max2024]

i think i was told that some kind of natural homeopathic drug would help induce labor - so i took some of it - lots of it after a while. 

*gasp*
 

[pianistimo]

yes.  they came in these little dissolvable pills - and i was told that if i took one a day over a period of several weeks before the due date that it would help.  i suppose the way i took them wasn't good because i forgot to take much until i went past due - then, i took three a day. 

[pianolist]

I think I was told that some kind of natural homeopathic drug would help induce labor

I'm afraid not. You need stacks of money and a hellbent desire to enter the House of Lords.

[pianistimo]

?  what?  they practice voodoo now?  i'm confused. 

[pianolist]

? what? they practice voodoo now? i'm confused.

It was a nasty "in" joke for us Brits. The police interviewed Tony Blair today about the likelihood that the Labour Party has been taking donations from rich businessmen in return for easing them into the House of Lords. Heaven knows, the US political system must be corrupt too, but at least your Senators are elected.

They may practise voodoo as well, for all I know, but I'm not privy to what goes on in the councils of state.

[pianistimo]

well, i can tell you here that they rely a lot on telephone polling and send inordinate amounts of trash about their competition without really saying what they are for or against.  you just sort of shut your eyes and pick one.  i suppose that it's difficult to be in the house of lords or congress for more than a day - so perhaps compassion is in order for those that really care what happens in government.  here there is so much bickering and fighting...but a north or south dakota senator just got sick and had to opt out and a republican is taking his place so the majority will be republican now.  i hope it wasn't a plot.  anyways - i don't think people have been radiated on purpose over here yet - as with old russian spies.

how do they zoom on in a person and radiate them?  from a plane?

[pianolist]

how do they zoom on in a person and radiate them? from a plane?

Nope. The radioactive substance was brought to Britain on a plane from Moscow - they know which one because it left traces of radiation. They also seem to know the plane the person returned to Moscow on. What I'm not sure about is how they got it into the man who died. I think he must have swallowed something for it to be so severe, and it affected his wife too, though presumably it could have got to her just because they slept in the same bed. But it's not good that radioactive materials should have been used, because their damage spreads so easily.