Alternative Medicine...

[Syntex]

Anyone here use or know a lot about or practice alternative medicine?

I have been reading and talking to people who all work in the mental health field and it just seems that the conventional treatment options have so many side effects and people are having so many problems these days that it makes me wonder what options are out there vs conventional methods.

My mom is really into this being a nurse for 30+ years she has seen the good, bad, and ugly of the industry and is really big on essential oils and such.

I was wondering if anyone else might be practicing alternative treatment methods.

[Kayu]

Penn and Teller Bullshit: Alternative Medicine
MilkandCookies - Penn and Teller Bullshit: Alternative Medicine

[Talus]

I'll take evidence-based medicine over pseudo-science and quackery any day of the week.

[archibaldcrane]

I have been reading and talking to people who all work in the mental health field and it just seems that the conventional treatment options

for what malady? That's an impossibly broad statement.

[Moridam]

If you actually believe in the stuff you might get some small benefit, but as a general rule, 'alternative' is just code for 'not based in reality'. the whole alternative field encompasses a pretty broad range of techniques/ideas, and at least from what i've seen, most of it is based on really shaky foundations, if not outright lunacy (see: homeopathy, any kind of 'energy healing', etc.). it also seems like a lot of alternative fields rely on the sale of various kinds of snake oil to survive.

there's a serious dearth of quality research in most alternative fields, and the results tend to go one of two ways (at least out of the papers i've read): either you get positive results from poor experimental designs, or no significant benefit with properly controlled studies.

[Kiro]

I'll take evidence-based medicine over pseudo-science and quackery any day of the week.

Pretty much this. Herbs & oils can work along-side modern medicine just fine. Some do the same thing but cost less / have less side effects and aren't as brutal on the body though. There's no "omfg we're pure natural medicine guiz we can do everything the hospitals can w/out the chemicals" crap.

[aalryn]

I'll take evidence-based medicine over pseudo-science and quackery any day of the week.

^This... and this v

'alternative' is just code for 'not based in reality'

'Alternative medicine' doesn't have the side-effects of real medicine because it doesn't do jack shit. It is 100% the placebo effect at work. You'd be just as well off, probably better, just taking a one-a-day vitamin and drinking a liter of water.

[Jer]

Penn and Teller Bullshit: Alternative Medicine
MilkandCookies - Penn and Teller Bullshit: Alternative Medicine

Heh, that was actually the first thing that popped into my head as soon as I saw the thread title. 'Alternative medicine is.... BULLSHIT!' even in their voices too. Not creepy at all.

Seriously though. It's 'alternative' medicine for a reason. If it worked without the side effects conventional medicine has, it would be the conventional medicine. Any perceived increase in the quality of life is just that.

[Kiro]

Y'all seem to be forgetting most of the medication that hospitals use nowadays came from, dun dun dun, herbs & oils. "Alternative Medicine" doesn't always mean, "wear this hat and speak with lord xenu of planet zx2391 and he'll heal your migraine and clean you of cancer". :\

[Atreides]

honestly it's called "Alternative Medecine" as a purely categorical and liguistic distinction, lumping something as different as accupuncture together with aromatherapy is just like lumping radiology with proctology.

Certain ailments can be treated quite effectively by Traditional Chinese Medicine... so effectively, in fact, that they're commonplace alongside western medical institutions in developed Asian nations/cities. For treating colds and other minor (and even major) maladies Eastern medicine is often even seen as superior because it treats the cause of a disease while western medicine treats the symptoms, this of course can make the two work nicely together but I think it's a nice metaphor for how the end-goal of both practices are the same.

As for whether or not the rest of it works, I can't say, but remember that people were convinced that drilling holes into people's skulls "cured" brain disorders because it got rid of the symptoms with "managable" side effects, and they found the idea of alternatives just as inconceivable as you do.

I think there's far too much we don't understand about the natural world and our own bodies to say that anywhere near all of it is bunk.

[Tristam]

"Alternative medicine" is another phrase for "the placebo effect"

[sephir]

Some of it works.... 99% of it is bullshit.

I personally prefer to be in the boat of, eating a balanced diet, exercising and keeping busy as a better way to avoid illness... but every now and then I'll drink some green tea for some (placebo?) benefit.

[Kiro]

Green tea increases metabolism if I'm not mistaken. I dunno about all that "anti-aging, anti-oxidant" junk though.

Everybody gets all hot & bothered for anti-oxidant stuff nowadays. Shit has been about forever, only when it gets some media attention does it get popular and whored out (pomegranate for one).

There are tons of vitamins, supplements, oils, juice, powders, etc, that you can take along with exercise and a good diet that'll make you rarely get even a common cold.

I've got some 100% Goji Berry Juice (dietary supplement, but it has essential fatty acids in it that help w/ skin, hair & nails), and some "Orac-Energy Greens" - Organic Alkalizing Greens, Berries, Vegetables, "Superfood" concentrates, Herbal Adatogens & Probiotics. The list of ingredients on the Orac-Energy stuff is fucking nuts.

Take both in the morning and.. uhh, well that's it. Haven't had any need for energy drinks or anything like that.

This "Alternative Medicine" bullshit pops up because people don't seem to realize that they can't just pig out on shitty fast food and sit on their asses all day and stay healthy, so they look for some B.S. miracle cure.

Edit: Here's the Orac-Energy stuff. http://paradiseherbs.com/orac.html

[sephir]

I usually drink it after a big meal, it feels like it settles my stomach if its aching. Its likely just placebo effect, but I like the taste first, anything else comes second.

[Nirokun!]

Alternatives can be effective enough to have documented counterindications with conventional medicine. A lot of conventional medicines come with directions to stop taking xxx alternative medicine, because taking the two together can have an enhanced effect that isnt within the scope of the prescriber's understanding. (I mean, they understand the effects of the alternative medicine, but it is rare to have combinations of drugs and alternatives with documented results indicating safety and effectiveness across a broad range of clients.)

Long story short, go for things with a long history over a short one And consult your physician before you self-medicate

[Tristam]

Alternatives can be effective enough to have documented counterindications with conventional medicine. A lot of conventional medicines come with directions to stop taking xxx alternative medicine, because taking the two together can have an enhanced effect that isnt within the scope of the prescriber's understanding. (I mean, they understand the effects of the alternative medicine, but it is rare to have combinations of drugs and alternatives with documented results indicating safety and effectiveness across a broad range of clients.)

Long story short, go for things with a long history over a short one And consult your physician before you self-medicate

I basically said the same thing to my dad. "the great thing about bioactive compounds as otc pills is that they're bioactive. The only problem is, they're bioactive"

[MarkM.]

It's situational.

[Dense]

It depends what you mean by the words "Alternative Medicine" tbf.

I had a 6 year-long fight with prescription drugs trying to find a solution to several fairly severe health issues which I've finally sorted without any prescription drugs, but it took lots of research and trial-and-error. The solution was to remove certain foods from my diet and increase enzyme consumption, etc. This was after I was taking 4 different prescriptions dealing with effects of effects and so on. However, you'd be surprised at the relative health benefits of simply increasing enzymatic intake, complete protein sources, and (cough cough) real organic foods (yes, I know it's fashionable to hate on organic foods currently, but if you can find real organically grown foods, there are loads of benefits, not to mention most of them taste so much better).

I think that in western medicine we oftentimes take a strange approach to pathology, in that we take an organism that is afflicted with some malady and try to remove the malady to make a body healthy. There is something to be said for eastern medicine, simply because they look at the entire complex of a healthy living body and try to recreate that when there is a malady. This leads to better living through healthy eating, etc, rather than adding more chemicals into the mix.

I work in a biotech company that makes part of its money on hepatocyte sales (toxicology testing for prescription drug testing), so I obviously think that proper drug administration can be helpful as well, it just ended up being very drawn-out and insufficient in my case.

If you'd like some helpful tips in PM, don't hesitate to ask, my wife is finishing a PHD in biochem now, as well, so we have a few small tricks to make the healthy eating process a bit more efficient.

[Galaika]

To quote Tim Minchin:

"Alternative medicie has either not been proved to work or been proved not to work. Do you know what they call alternative medicine that has been proved to work?

Medicine."

[Wintermute]

My alternative medicine is letting my Immune System sort it out for me.

Oils and such that conventional medicines are derived from can work well but you need to research stuff before jumping in.