>Arly said: itis unlikely the dong quai caused the joint swelling. Dong >quai is a common herb, taken by perhaps millions of women in doses much >higher than this,apparently without ill effect, or at least nothing so >dramatic. > >Arly, I've loved almost all your posts before now (thank you for the time >and effort involved in sharing so much.) But I wouldn't be so sure about >that. People do react very differently to substances Dear Maureen: Thanks for your kind words. In writing this post, I originally had put "although almost anything is possible," but then decided it was unnecessary, since I had already qualified the statement by saying "unlikely." I have to stand by that, since there are definitely degrees of likelihood. In the allergic reactions you mentioned, they are generally expressed as urticaria and breathing difficulties, which were immediate, rather than generalized edema in the extremities without affecting breathing, apparently removed in time from the event. Again, I have to point out that the variable dong quai was taken in a low dose (compared to what is common), and what is more important, mixed in with other variables in the related history, some of which were new, at the same time. One just cannot draw a conclusion from just a limited, mixed experience, with a possible reaction somewhat removed in time from the variables. My thoughts in warning about the conclusion were that we will wind up ineffective if we start drawing unwarranted conclusions from failure to apply any scientific method. It would be better to say, I had this symptom at one time of the year, and looking back, I remember having taken a number of unfamiliar herbs one day (or over a few days), and perhaps there was a relationship between this or other events not recounted and the effect. This puts it in the right framework of being unlikely, but not entirely impossible, and needs more investigation. Arly [log in to unmask] MS, CLE, IBCLC