while i was out in the yard eliminating grass during our brief 70 degree plus
weekend, what i was hoping for on lactnet happened, which was a bit of
discussion about homeopaty without anyone feeling personally offended. i knew
chris wouldn't (anyone who is a lousy cleaner but an organic gardener is MY
kind of person).
let me add a few comments. i am fairly knowledgeable about homepathy; i
suspect that homeopathic remedies are for sale at convenience stores, gas
stations and bars around here, and i just haven't been in enough of those
places to notice. their use is quite common in the denver/boulder (colorado)
area. we think we "invented" the New Age around here.
i agree that the concept of homeopathy is similar to that of vaccines, just a
difference of amount. but, that difference in amount is what seems crucial to
me. and the fact that you can take a whole bottle of them (homeopathic
remedies) and not be harmed also suggests something to me about the
difference of amount.
" You are free to think as you wish, but even if
there is a shred of validity--with no potential harm--I think you are short
changing your patients by remaining closed to this"
this worries me, because i am constantly trying to do the best i can for my
patients. i realize that some of what we do is not necessarily supported by
volumes of studies, but i do try to stick to the concept of "evidence based."
the later post mentioning a published study about homeopathic remedies is
more of what i am interested in. i am also interested in some serious study
that manages to eliminate the "clever Hans" effect. i have no doubt that with
many of my patients i could look them in the eye and say "1 ounce of fine
single malt whiskey every evening will increase your milk supply by 50%, aye,
and i have tried it meself, lassie) and they would not only believe it, but
also produce more milk when they tried it. that begins to border on religion,
not medicine. a belief system is fine, but what if it interferes with what
should really be treated? and if one only uses homeopathy for problems that
"don't" need other treatment, how do we know for sure? and what if it turns
into a larger problem because of delayed treatment?
the other thing that saddens me about homeopathy is that so many people i
know locally who are "really into" homeopathy, either on the basis of a few
shreds of things they read, some of them because they took classes that said
they would teach them everything, or just because they were told to buy them
at the health food store, use homeopathy for problems only until they become
serious, then are happy to consult the "dreaded allopathic medicine" for the
cure they couldn't obtain otherwise.
i also hope that i am not treating only symptoms. lactation certainly seems
to be an area in which we have to treat the entire woman, not to mention
treating the entire dyad. having that as the concept makes me feel a bit
reassured that i am not merely "pushing drugs" to "treat symptoms."
plenty of my patients use homeopathic remedies. that's fine with me. i am
quite neutral about it, since i don't think it is a risk unless they don't
pursue other necessary treatments. i am much more worried about people using
ABM. i have some herbal remedies on my shelf that include homeopathic
ingredients, because i have patients that won't take "medicines" (meaning the
irrational category of medicines prescribed or on a mainstream shelf, as
opposed to those "medicines" we don't call "medicines" that are at the healh
food store) and the herbal remedies seem to work.
i am just not convinced. are any of our resident molecule counters (not
meaning to be an insult!) available to comment? dr. hale? meanwhile, i would
truly like to hear more of how people use these in their practices.
especially in areas not in "la la land" (nickname for boulder), how do you
explain them and what do you say in doctor's reports?
carol brussel IBCLC
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