Alternative medicine

[ordinaryguy]

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I saw a PBS program last night on alternative medicine such as acupuncture and was quite intrigued. I do believe that there should be more regulation to ensure safety and effectiveness because the cost for consumer can be quite high. There was this case of this gentleman with pancreatic cancer that went to see a Dr. in New York about an alternative medical treatment. He had to pay around $2800 for just one session. In all, I believe that some alternative medicine works, but there are many unknowns. Many drugs, like dietary supplements, are not studied and regulated. Many treatments have not been proven effective. I hope that one day, research can be done to give the public information on what is safe and effective and what is not. Also, the herbs that are effective, maybe we can purify the chemicals that are beneficial. I think the health community should keep an open mind and think that some things that alternative medicine offers might actually work. I believe that in terms of medical fields (allopathic and osteopathic) should work in conjunction with alternative medicine to provide the patient the best, most comprehensive health care possible.

 

[kedhegard]

Note: Making someone feel better about their problems doesn't mean what you're doing is working. Unless of course that's all you claim to do.
Have you seen the latest type of chiropractic commercials..."I BELIEVE that chiropractic care will prevent such and such". What a crock. That way they think they can prevent a lawsuit, by saying they believe it, not that it is proven. It's called "science", people. It's actually pretty useful sh**.

 

[exmike]

Have you guys seen that all herbal smoking cessation supplement commercial where they gaurantee you'll quit in a week or less?

It's endorsed by a "doctor" whos says her patients have had excellent results from the product.

If you look closely, Her title is DC!! DOCTOR OF CHIROPRACTY. They might as well have had a DVM endorse it.

Since when did chiropractors consult their patients on smoking cessation?? Whens the last time you went to a chiropractor to kick the habit?? Yeah, this ad really did a lot to make chirpracters look any more legitimate. Do you think the general public fell for this sham?

I hate how ad. companies ***** the term "doctor" to lull viewers into trusting their claims. pisses me off. BAH!

The fools in this ad could have at least paid a MD/DO to pimp their product. I hope its because no MD/DO would be caught dead endorsing such a product.

 

[ewing]

I thought alternative medicine was when the pharmacist misreads the doctor's handwriting...

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by ewing
I thought alternative medicine was when the pharmacist misreads the doctor's handwriting...

snort snort...

 

[logos]

They might as well have had a DVM endorse it.

If they could find one that was willing to.


Alternative medicine will eventually dissapear...the way to make this occur quickly is to investigate alternative treatments...the ones that do not work will largely fall by the wayside....if some of the treatments work...science will find out why and isolate just the portion of the treatment that is necessary to bring about the result...likely even improve it.

 

[Fritz]

I look at you guys and I see ignorance coming out of your comments. Alternative medicine will not dissapear. I can tell you right now that US is the ONLY place in the world where people are so driven by science that they lost the ability to understand the other, subtle processes, underlying the disease process.
Everywhere else in the world alternative medicine is used with great success.
The only down side to all this is that there are always going to be some people trying to make a profit by cheating partients, and that has to be stopped.

But I have worked in Hospice, and I have seen acupuncture stopping the unbearable pain of one of our patients, when nothing else worked.

When used wisely alternative treatments can greatly improve the quality of life of patients.

 

[spumoni620]

it's not either/or. as future doctors we should be aware of general public sentiment toward drugs and allopathic treatments. "alternative" treatments are actually coming into favor with a lot of patients who are dissatisfied w/the quality of their allopathic healthcare (in a recent abc survey, 40% of americans). a lot of the alternative treatments are widely considered "luxuries" - i.e. rightly or wrongly, more desirable than routine conventional treatments -- so for ex., a full-body acupuncture is a "cooler" therapy than popping two tylenol.

that's not to say that alt. medicine is more effective than allopathic medicine. there are a lot of scams and misguided info on supplements/alt therapies. however, writing them off or deriding them isn't necessarily the best thing. i know a good gastroenterologist who prescribed, for a patient suffering from hearburn/gerd etc., not only the typical acid reducing drugs but also recommended fennel seeds/a chinese herb (that doesn't interact w/the drug). also, acupuncture has been scientifically shown (by md's in clincal research) to reduce pain levels and increase serotonin levels in the brain.


i do agree that it has to be done carefully. yeah, too many supplements/herbs have dangerous side effects. there are a lot of quacks out there. but as doctors, the goal is getting the patient to feel better, not that they necessarily have to get better in purely the allopathic way.

 

[Jasminegab]

Originally posted by ordinaryguy
I saw a PBS program last night on alternative medicine such as acupuncture and was quite intrigued. I do believe that there should be more regulation to ensure safety and effectiveness because the cost for consumer can be quite high. Many treatments have not been proven effective. I I think the health community should keep an open mind and think that some things that alternative medicine offers might actually work. I believe that in terms of medical fields (allopathic and osteopathic) should work in conjunction with alternative medicine to provide the patient the best, most comprehensive health care possible.

I'm appalled by the ignorance on alternative Medicine on this board coming from a group of people who some day will be MD treating patients who may very well use Alternative Medicine in conjunction with Allopathic treatment. It's these same beliefes that cause over 50% of patients who use AM to not report it to their doctors which in turn cause all kinds of contraindations and adverse effects. Yet, I should not be suprised of the response to your post since the majority of those posting are speaking from beliefe rather than facts. AM is now being studied in dept by the NIH and NCAM (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine). These organizations have recommended that Medical Schools across the country have some kind of class on AM due to the growing number of people seeking AM or CAM treatment.

I have just been accepted into a medical school ( not mentioned for a reason) where I will be doing a dual major in Allopathic Medicine and Naturopathic Medicine (MD/NMD). Yes the school is accredited and Listed with WHO. I have checked with my state licensing board to make sure that I can become licensed. It is an International Medical School and not an offshore Med School (Not a Carribean Med School). Also, it has affliations with major teaching hospitals across the US (Trust me, I'm not stupid, I have checked all this info before I made my decision). My undergraduate work is in Alternative Medicine and Health Science. I agree that there are a lot of Myths in AM and a lot of treatments not researched. However, there is also what is known as evidence based treatment in AM. I will never treat a patient on the basis of what I think or what I read is good for a particular illness. If I can't prove through studies done by NIH (National Institutes of Health), then I will not use the treatment method.

So, before anyone starts to post negatives about AM/CAM, please do your research. Go to the NIH or NCAM website and read up on what's new and what the myths are. These sites are not just another site by a NMD or ND with a Mail order dipolma. These organizations have been set up my the Government. Better yet, take a class in AM/CAM before you enter Med School. If your undergrad/grad school does not offer AM/CAM classes, check to see if the Med School you attend offers this course. You owe it to your future patients who may find your negative thoughts as being insulting which could cause major problems in the patient/doctor relationship which you don't want.

 

[Robz]

I have never been to a chiropractor or have had acupuncture done to me but some of my friends have. They swear by them and normally as is my nature I am skeptical but I trust them so I feel there must be some benefit. I have always wondered what a mixture of eastern spirituality and western science would end up being. Would it be a great mix of the best of medicine? OR a horrible mess where nothing works cause they are like the yin and yang to each other.

 

[russellb]

AM is now being studied in dept by the NIH and NCAM (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine).

NCCAM and its precursor (OAM) have been around for over 10 years now. Please list any scientifically important studies (i.e. studies which are sufficiently methodologically sound as to change the standard of practice) which have come from NCCAM. They may be studying CAM 'in depth', but the results have been underwhelming.

However, there is also what is known as evidence based treatment in AM

I call 'Bullsh*t' on you here. Anyone who takes the time to read through as many CAM websites as possible wiill find that evidence is grossly exaggerated when it is slightly positive and copmpletely ignored when it's negative. Most of CAM is based on belief, not evidence. When the evidence becomes sufficient, guess what? It becomes part of conventional medicine.

So, before anyone starts to post negatives about AM/CAM, please do your research. Go to the NIH or NCAM website and read up on what's new and what the myths are. These sites are not just another site by a NMD or ND with a Mail order dipolma. These organizations have been set up my the Government. Better yet, take a class in AM/CAM before you enter Med School. If your undergrad/grad school does not offer AM/CAM classes, check to see if the Med School you attend offers this course. You owe it to your future patients who may find your negative thoughts as being insulting which could cause major problems in the patient/doctor relationship which you don't want.

I agree with you on these points.

 

[musiclink213]

i've had accupunture before, for many reasons that i don't feel like getting into. but it's helped so much. and i prefer it to taking some sort of pain killer, cause i don't like taking too many pills, cause i don't like putting so many chemicals into my body, and accupunture works, and not just for pain. if you have arthritis, flu, a bunch of stuff.