Better living through homeopathy

[trixtah]

No, really.

For over two years, I've been suffering with something that appeared to be gastric reflux, manifesting itself as horrible  nausea if I tried to lie down to sleep, and more recently, when I was just walking around as well. I was checked out for anything mechanically wrong and for helicobacter/ulcers a couple of years ago. Nothing. So I started taking antacid-type things to help me sleep at night, which worked, but was incredibly irksome (I hate taking drugs, except limited amounts of the recreational kind).

Then at the beginning of this year, I got a resurgence of a problem I suffered from for several months while living in England, when the nausea occurred almost constantly, and especially when I was walking around. Enough was enough, and so I took this homeopathic remedy.

And, it's GONE.

All the nausea and grossness I've been putting up with for over two years have entirely gone. I was hoping that the remedy would possibly deal with the walking-around problem and certainly was not anticipating any better result than that, but I have not had to take an antacid in order to sleep for several months either.

Can't rationalise it, but there you have it. I've tried a couple of other homeopathics for this (especially when it first started), but they did nothing at all. If it's placebo effect, then why would 2 remedies fail, and then another one just work? From the homeopathic perspective, of course, I finally took the right one.

Whatever, yay for having my guts back the way I like them.

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

I've used homeopathy for years. Some of the remedies have done nothing for me, some have made such amazing changes that part of me finds it too much to believe. I know there are homeopathy haters out there. I ignore them. I've had too many good reactions to homeopathy to care what other people think.

[trixtah]

Yes, I actually have a proper qualification as a classical homeopath, but I still often find it too much to believe. :-)

As for the homeopathy haters, honestly, they get to me. I really wish we could demonstrate how it works scientifically. Even demonstrating it does work is too hit-and-miss. :-(

[jumpuphigh]

I actually have a proper qualification as a classical homeopath

That just gave you about 1000 cool points. :D I should look into taking some classes.

As for the homeopathy haters

Yet these same people believe in vaccines, which in my book are a very similar concept.

[trixtah]

Yes, even first aid classes are interesting; I did a full four-year study course. I like the underpinning rationale of how it all works, whether you say the potions work on the "chi" or the "vital force". And some of the stuff about "constitutions" and inherited predispositions to things very much seems to anticipate genetic research.

Regarding the comparison with vaccines, the trouble there is that you don't need to believe how they work - you can quite readily demonstrate that antibodies are developed in response to the shape of the proteins on a disease organism. It doesn't matter too much if the organism is alive or dead for the antibodies to go on detection mode. (Also, treating a disease with the same substance is "isopathy" and the mechanism isn't so much about stimulating the vital force, it's a mechanical action of the body against the organism).

With homeopathy, any remedy above a 30C does not have a single molecule of the original substance left in it. When people say it's "sugar tablets", they're quite right, at least as far as we understand science now. We can't show why the body responds in the way it does. Even the existence of chi/vital force is fairydust, as far as conventional science is concerned.

[jumpuphigh]

I wasn't expressing myself well there. I understand the difference between homeopathy and vaccines. However, there is a lot of what I would call bad science behind vaccines and a lot of essentially blind faith by patients when it comes to vaccines (and most medicine, really) yet people aren't willing to acknowledge the faults of vaccines even as they are screaming about science not supporting homeopathy.

*tries to express self clearly without ranting*

As someone who has never once been informed about the dangers of vaccines, and there are dangers even though the pro-vaccinators pretend that there aren't, and who now has a horrid disease which has a link to a rare vaccine that I received, I get a bit annoyed with people being upset by homeopathy when as far as I know, there is no harm caused by receiving the incorrect homeopathy remedy.

[trixtah]

OH YES. That part of it irritates me IMMENSELY. Ok, you get some rip-off merchants saying they can cure cancer to gullible people, but if someone is not operating under false pretences, why on earth would you care whether someone spends a hundred bucks on homeopathy, or drinking a dozen cocktails in a bar, if they get some benefit out of it?

While I sympathise with people of a scientific bent saying "HOOWWWW?", to constantly imply - as the fundamentalist type do - that we're semi-criminal fraudsters is really frigging annoying. Especially when it simply can't harm you as the wrong drug can (and herbs, for those who are constantly on "cleansing herbs" and the like).

[jumpuphigh]

Oh, don't get me started on the "it's natural so it's good for you" people. *rolls eyes* My reply to them is always "arsenic is all natural, too."

I actually do take quite a few herbs but I do the research about them before I ingest them. (My primary migraine "medicine" is an herbal combination.) I also use quite a few homeopathic remedies. Some work. Some don't. The ones that do work have over the top amazing results. The ones that don't, just don't. Compare that to the allopathic medicines I've taken. The ones that work have often given me horrible side effects and the ones that don't have just been horrible. My prime example of that was the one medicine that I was absolutely convinced was going to kill me before my body had the chance to flush it out. Yeah. I'm not a big fan of allopathic medicine. When even the people prescribing the medicines don't understand them, I am quite leery.


ETA: Rant got triggered. I apologize.

[trixtah]

Please DON'T apologise! :-) Anyone who knows me in person would LOL at the thought of my curtailing (justified) ranting in any way.

And yes, I totally agree with you on all the above. It's amazing what people are willing to put in their bodies on the possibility it might work. I was reading an advice column in a paper recently from a person suffering from restless leg syndrome, and the doctor said a drug for Parkinson's *might* work. Um, give me the Rhus Tox, thanks.

[jumpuphigh]

It's amazing what people are willing to put in their bodies on the possibility it might work.

I totally get this. When someone is in pain or scared because they have this "serious" disease, it's easy to fall back on the supposed experts and hand over control of their life in the hopes of making this horrid thing that they can't control just go away. I understand the impulse. I went down that route when I was diagnosed, too, despite decades of taking control of my own health and using non-toxic remedies. In the end, I returned to my senses and attempted to discuss options with my doctor after reading the research (not just the drug companies' pamphlets that she handed me). However, she just wanted me to shut up and do what she told me to do despite there being no cure, and that was what ended our relationship. I am a smart woman who actually does understand the research results, not just the spin that the drug companies put on them, and I wasn't going to just go along with something when the research actually said that there was no benefit to doing what she wanted me to do. *heavy sigh*

[filkferengi]

Yay! I'm glad you're so much better!

[trixtah]

Yay indeed!!