Homeopathic Scam | Arthritis Information

I read here that some people are contemplating trying Homeopathic treatment.

I urge them to do a web search under Homeopathic Scam-in particular the results of a Lancet overview.

There are probably far better ways of wasting your money.

Homeopothy is ,at best,a convincing Placebo.

Busster - I studied homeopathy many years ago & disagree that it is a scam. It works on babies & animals & while there are many drs & people who say it is a placebo it is not. The Lancet some years ago published trials that had been carried out using homeopathic remedies and the homeopathy results were better than medication. Also the prestigious magazine Nature have printed articles on homeopathy, there was conflict about one of the trials but the last I read they said they were convinced it works. Homeopathy should be a personalised way of treating people i.e. different people need different remedies which can make trials difficult if those conducting them do not understand the principles of homeopathy but I have seen amazing results from including recovery from fatal diseases in animals.
There have been many double blind studies done on homeopathy which have had positive results all around the world and I know that the Lancet magazine has acknowledged these trials - it has been around for over 200 years, a long time for something that doesnt work but people having been trying to discredit it for a lot of that time but it still remains in use & by many qualified doctors.
Fundamentalist Christians do not approve of homeopathy in the same way they do not approve of meditation so there are differing opinions about it - each is entitled to their own opinion but I do not think it is a scam.

Cassandra,

There are several new trials carried out under correct proceedure which indicate strongly that homeopathy only works as a placebo.The most recent Lancet article is based on these studies.

Some earlier studies which did show some effect have now been exposed as misleading as a result of poor scientific process and bias.

Commonsense has always dictated that homeopathy was flawed.There is not one molecule of anything other than water or sugar in these medications such is the dilution rates.

I am not a Christian Fundamentalist-I am an agnostic.

Sorry to crush peoples notions but there is just too much quackery going around nowdays People can spend a lot of money and years on things that can get in the way of them getting real help.

busster39146.0417361111

Just my two cents. I have used only homeopathic medicines up until i became sick with ra. I have always had such good results as has my friends children but then maybe it's mind over matter, i don't know. Maybe i believed it worked, therefore it did.

LEV

Welcome to the boards, Busster. We're always glad to have someone new to raise interesting topics for discussion.

I don't think this is a subject where blanket statements can be made. There are a wide variety of homeopathic treatments available. Some are truly a waste of time and money, but it certainly cannot be said about all homeopathic remedies. Many of the medications now prescribed by physicians were originated from home remedies.

I think anyone interested in exploring homeopathic medicine should do so in an informed manner. Research is key. We must also realize that each person's individual body response to a treatment is just that - individual. Just as it is with prescription medications. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another.

I would be interested in learning more about you and your background. Are you in the medical field, or have you had a bad experience with homeopathic medicine? What brought you to such an emphatic opinion?

Busster, you SHOULD be sorry to crush people's notions. How Dare you! I dare you take hope from people - have you tried homeopathy? I would be interested to know. I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that there are many prominent scientists at present, studying the healing power of the placebo - so regardless of whether this or that works or doesn't - I really don't believe it is down to you to enlighten us with your 'experience' unless you are upset that it has not worked for you. When you are faced with an 'incurable and progressive illness' much of your control is taken from you and if you choose to practice alternative therapy which at the very least will allow you to vent your feelings to a practitioner which may well do you some good in itself and it makes you feel you are taking control then that is to be applauded in itself. People on medical trials often improve even if it is temporarily, on placebo - which can only be a good thing surely - many of our meds only work for a short time, if at all for some. I can understand our anger a scammers who target us with stupid unproven remedies that cost a fortune but a. I have never had an email or any contact for that matter from a homeopath trying to get me to part with my cash, and b. homeopathic remedies themselves cost about 5 pounds in the UK which is hardly going to bankrupt us is it. Lastly - there are a number of homeopathic hospitals ran by the national health service in the UK who would just not receive funding if there was no evidence that they were effective. I love how you pan homeopathy because it doesn't cure RA - what does exactly? I don't get why the placebo effect is supposed to be a bad thing. Isn't healing yourself with only the power of your mind the most optimal situation? I'd like a giant jar of placebo effect, please! I absolutely agree - there are so many areas being researched just now that support the placebo effect as an actual treatment in itself - it's meant to be to do with the subconscious mind and stuff - it's interesting, but deep stuff. I would like a jar of placebo effect too please, because it works with no side effects, it's free and you can make it yourself - you see, that is exactly why I was complaining about bubble bursting because often the bubble itself is actually working. Faith I guess.

Please don't shoot the messenger here.

I agree that the placebo is a valuable tool-but it is best to use a placebo that might also ,genuinely ,do some good in addition to the placebo.

I think there is some confusion between naturopathy and homeopathy here.Many naturopaths used to prescribe homeopathic treatments with good intentions-because some earlier trials did show some positive results.More recent trials,conducted in more carefully controlled conditions have since debunked these results and exposed scientific errors in these earlier trials.

A well known sceptic has offered a one million dollar reward for anyone who can prove that homeopathy does anything-either at a patient or molecular level.This prize remains unclaimed.

Please do a web search under Homeopathic scams.There are several papers from respected scientific authorities regarding these research findings.

Many naturapaths with integrity have now veered away from homeopathy and concentrate on herbs and supplements from which there may be real benefits.

There have been double blind scientific studies on homeopathy - my reference books are packed away but they are available in libraries around the world. The skeptic/magician James Randi has disappeared when these studies proved homeopathy does work.   It is a complicated subject and it seems that 'skeptics' have spent years knocking homeopathy without seriously studying it.   There have been many studies on people & animals. The Lancet have reported on more than one of these studies in the past.
Homeopathy is as good as the homeopath prescribing - some are good and some not so good but as I said in my previous post it is a personalised subject and a good classical homeopath will have the most success.   As we all know many conventional medications can have their problems, even those that have been
well researched like some arthritis medications, thalidomide with its terrible consequences was a well researched medicine, the suicide risks with some antidepressants and many other so called safe medications.
A few of the results I have had - on pets, as the placebo effect could not be an issue, have been:
1.   A cat I took to the vet who said it was dying, it had lead poisoning. It lived 12 years longer after homeopathic treatment.

2.   A pet rabbit belonging to neighbour's children had a fatal disease according to the vet - after homeopathic treatment it lived another 2 years.
3.    A dog that fell from a first floor because it was going blind, lived at least another 2 years with its sight restored after homeopathic treatment. The owners moved to another city so I am not sure of the final outcome but it was fine 2 years later.
I do not think it is right to remove hope from people.
If a placebo works it heals and surely it does not matter how that result is arrived at.   Homeopathy is one of the safest forms of medicine and extremely cheap.
I first got interested in it when my daughter was 3, she was on antibiotics constantly for bronchitis. After treatment with homeopathy she never had antibiotics again. I would take her to the dr. to have her lungs checked during treatment & they were always clear. She is in her late 20s now & still hasnt needed antibiotics.
Homeopathy is used by many doctors now & I do not think so many would be so stupid as to use something that did not work. It does not work in every instance but is certainly often worth a try. It is no doubt a threat to the drug companies because of the low cost of the remedies but my personal experience with homeopathy has been quite amazing at times. How it works is only just starting to be understood - too complicated to write about here but you may be interested in looking this out, it is fascinating.
PS to my post - a naturopath is not a homeopath. Some naturopaths use homeopathy and some are qualified homeopaths but naturopathy as I understand it relies more on dietary support, vitamins, minerals etc & while I wholeheartedly support naturopaths they are different from homeopaths.

About 15 years ago, my girlfriends daughter constantly had what i called, snot nose. She was about 18 months old. A very thick green mucas that ran out of her nose, down to her mouth constantly. We went to the health food store and went to the homeopathic aisle and saw a medicine for thick green mucas. We bought it and wow, gone. We left the bottle out once and haley ate the whole bottle. We called the company and told them what haley had done and they told us not to worry, all those little easy dissolve tablets would do her no harm. We went back to the store and bought a whole homeopathic childrens kit.

LEV

hmmm...interesting. I am a christian and have never run across other christians not approving of homepathy. I'll have to read up on some of this...

It all about belief and result that one's perceives - be it homeopathy, naturopathy, orthodox medicine or herbal treatment. There is always approval and disapproval, some may be stunned supporters and the others cry scam

Why one supports homeopathy or naturopathy? Is it because one has read successful results from publications, advertisements etc. or one has good experiences. On the contrary, if one has bad experiences it is natural for one to cry foul.

I do not know homeopathy and naturopathy but I do know a single superb Chinese herb known to Chinese and Japanese over 3,000years ago i.e. wild lingzhi. In olden days there was no cultivated one except natural wild lingzhi. The herb has been used to treat numerous diseases. The herb is used by my family for 20 years and being considered as health companion. It rank supreme to "tame" and "control" arthritis.