Treatment/cures With Herbs And Vitamins

[camerata]

Anyone had any real success with herbs or vitamins for ailments that modern medicine couldn't cure? I always believed in vitamins for general health (especially for those of us with a poor diet) but I was sceptical about any real cures from natural substances.

Then I developed trigeminal neuralgia, a relatively rare dysfunction of facial nerves that is regarded as the most painful condition known to medical science when it reaches its full-blown form. As it progresses, the first treatment is ibuprofen, then anti-epilepsy drugs that slow down brain activity, then either severing the offending nerve or having a hole drilled in the skull and a teflon pad inserted between the nerve and the throbbing vein that is irritating it.

I researched it on the web and found a few people claiming that they'd beaten neuralgia with Vitamin B (known to improve the health of the nerve sheath) and Calcium (has an anti-spasmodic action). But there is no hard evidence of this. So I tried Vitamin B complex three times a day and 800Mg of calcium. After 2-3 years of this the pain gradually subsided and I've been pain-free for 21 months.

I also had a bladder problem that I was able to treat successfully with valerian root, but it didn't take effect until after 3 months. It was far better than all the expensive drugs with their side effects.

My conclusion is that some natural therapies really work, but they take a long time to become effective because their action is much more subtle than modern drugs.

At first I was pretty disappointed that doctors didn't tell me about these treatments, but I guess they have to give the treatment they learned in their textbooks and training, otherwise face a lawsuit if something goes wrong. So, thank god for the Internet! There's a lot of garbage out there on the net but some good advice too.

Anyone else had a good experience with natural therapies?

[merlin1]

I've had a number of good experiences.

I've chased away many many colds with either large doses of vitamin C or vitamin A. We're talking huge actually -- that's the only way they work. And you have to be timely as well, before the symptoms get too bad.

I'm currently taking chinese herbs for my facial rash rosacea. It's early days yet, but there is improvement after a week. The doctor specializes in skin disorders and say it should be a month or two.

I would seriously check into TCM traditional chinese medicine. A combination of acupuncture and herbs can really do the trick but only if you find a doctor who knows what they're doing. A correct diagnoses is very important.

And yes, they do take longer. But if there's nothing modern science can do, then no problem.

Congrats on finding something that works. And it was so simple and relatively inexpensive. A real coup!

Edited October 23, 2005 by merlin1

[ZZZ]

Doctors know what they read. What they read is 99% directly or indirectly created by or sponsored by the pharamaceuptical industry.

Don't expect any doctor tell you any of these natural ways to cure ailments.

[cobra]

Doctors know what they read. What they read is 99% directly or indirectly created by or sponsored by the pharamaceuptical industry.

Don't expect any doctor tell you any of these natural ways to cure ailments.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly,

There's no money in it (yet), when the big pharmaceuticals can control the source stock then maybe.

[Judge]

Both zinc lozenges (have to suck, not swallow) and raw bee propolis make colds - and perhaps the flu - much less uncomfortable and make them go away much faster.

Lots of legitimate studies by the medical profession on zinc lozenges, but I'm not sure what they say about propolis.

[bakachan]

I've been buying a liquid vitamin supplement for a couple months. It was about 800 baht for a months supply. I pour it into my orange juice because alone its kind of

medicine tasting. some of the daily percentages are well over the 100% especially

the B vitamins. I feel much better and have more energy. My thinking is clearer too.

I can smell vitamins coming out of my skin pores!

More power to you for finding another approach to treating your illness.

Doctors pushing pills to mask symptoms!

When oh when will genetic science be able to correct the CAUSE !

Edited October 24, 2005 by bakachan

[camerata]

I've had a number of good experiences. 

I've chased away many many colds with either large doses of vitamin C or vitamin A.

I find exercise is the best way to keep away colds. When I was working out hard on a treadmill every day I only got one cold a year. Now I do 30 minutes a day of brisk walking I get two or three a year, but they never last more than 24 hours.

[camerata]

Doctors know what they read. What they read is 99% directly or indirectly created by or sponsored by the pharamaceuptical industry.

Don't expect any doctor tell you any of these natural ways to cure ailments.

I think there's a bit more to it than this. The fact is there hasn't been a whole lot of research done on the efficacy and side-effects of herbs compared to modern drugs. And I guess the drug companies are looking for products that are cheap to make and easy to mass produce. A lot of herbs (ginseng a good example) are difficult or impossible to cultivate and therefore expensive to distribute.

Since dietary supplements and herbs aren't regulated by the USA's FDA, distributors more often than not skimp on the amounts of listed ingredients to save money, yet the amounts of those ingredients may be critical for a good result. For that reason, hospitals in Thailand generally won't touch non-drug products unless distributed through a drug company!

For example, the natural sugar glucosamine sulphate isn't legal in Thailand AFAIK, but the drug company version, Viartril-S, is. I think this came about because there was eventually so much solid evidence that glucosamine stops cartilage degeneration that causes the knee and back problems old people develop.

So I reckon it's pretty difficult for doctors to recommend a natural cure if they don't have personal experience of it and can't guarantee the quality of the substance, but I wish they would at least mention these options when drug treatment either isn't working or has nasty side-effects.

Oh, yeah, another natural cure I discovered by accident is Chamomile tea for indegestion and heartburn. Works a treat.

[taxexile]

Oh, yeah, another natural cure I discovered by accident is Chamomile tea for indegestion and heartburn. Works a treat.

indigestion and heartburn in the over 40's should be investigated professionally to ascertain the cause.

there are a variety of causes , some quite innocent and benign , some not so.

you would not want to be treating early stomach carcinoma or a helicobacter infection with camomile tea.

not until you know the cause of the symptoms should you attempt to relieve them.

western medicine may very well rely a lot on drugs to cure complaints and illnesses , but the sound scientific reasoning and the the advances in diagnostic technologies available today should not under any circumstances be "sneezed at"

vitamin and health product producers are as guilty as the pharmaceutical industry in overpromotion and making exaggerated claims about the benefits of their products.

Edited October 24, 2005 by taxexile

[camerata]

Oh, yeah, another natural cure I discovered by accident is Chamomile tea for indegestion and heartburn. Works a treat.

indigestion and heartburn in the over 40's should be investigated professionally to ascertain the cause.

there are a variety of causes , some quite innocent and benign , some not so.

you would not want to be treating early stomach carcinoma or a helicobacter infection with camomile tea.

When I said "accidentally" I meant that I was experimenting with chamomile for insomnia and just happened to notice it fixed heartburn very quickly. My heartburn had been diagnosed years earlier. Now I don't jog after dinner.

[taxexile]

Ginseng can help keep you clear of colds, say scientists

By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent

(Filed: 25/10/2005)

People who take ginseng suffer substantially fewer colds, research published yesterday showed.

Only one in 10 of those given daily doses of North American ginseng root extract suffered two or more colds during four months including winter, compared with almost a quarter of those taking placebos.

While a range of health benefits have been claimed for the herb, including combating flu and colds, many previous attempts to test such claims scientifically have been of poor quality.

Publication of the research in the Canadian Medical Association Journal follows a Meteorological Office warning a week ago that this winter is likely to be significantly colder than average.

Dr Tapan Basu, of the University of Alberta, who led the study, said: "A moderate dose of extract of the root of North American ginseng was associated with an absolute risk reduction of recurrent colds, as well as a reduction in the mean number of colds per person.

"The total symptom score was 31 per cent lower and the total number of days symptoms were reported 34.5 per cent less in the ginseng group than in the placebo group.

"The ginseng extract was also found to be effective in the reducing of the severity of symptoms and the number of days symptoms relating to colds were reported."

A group of 130 people aged 18 to 65 from Edmonton, Canada, who said they had suffered from at least two colds the previous year, took capsules of ginseng extract twice a day for four months over the winter.

Another group of 149 individuals was given placebos during the same period. Participants did not know which group they were in.

Among those who took ginseng, the proportion who caught two or more colds in the four months was 10 per cent and the average number of colds was 0.68.

In the control group, 23 per cent had two or more colds and the average number of colds was 0.93.

Active constituents of ginseng have been shown to improve the immune system by stimulating the production of immunoglobulin - proteins that bind to foreign substances such as bacteria when they invade the body.

It is estimated that most adults catch two to five colds a year. Young children represent the main reservoir of common cold viruses, with nurseries and schools being prime infection centres.

While more people catch colds and flu during colder weather, there is no scientific consensus on why this is. One recent theory is that breathing in cold air lowers resistance to infection.

A previous study involving 256 people and reported at the National Institute of Mental Health conference in Florida, suggested that a combination of ginseng and another herb, ginkgo, enhanced memory and reduced mental fatigue.

from todays uk daily telegraph

[camerata]

Ginseng seems to be good for a lot of things, but it also causing sleep problems for a lot of people. North American "white" ginseng is supposed to be better, but I could still only get about 4 hours sleep when I was taking it and I couldn't buy it in Thailand.