Other treatments

[Tazzytnt]

Has anyone gone full out with the homeopath/holistic treatments? I have a friend who is doing it right now and she really gung ho about it she really wants me to try it but i am leery. I have a hard time believing that it could work for lupus. She dose not have lupus, she has major sinus problems and allergies. I am trying to find out if it is really worth it to try. It is very expensive so I want make sure the it is worth a try. So any one who has had experience with any kind of treatments please let me know.

[jem05]

I have reflexology once a week for the past 15 months and it helps me with the pain and movement of the joints. Having reiki help to releave the stress levels. Some places in the U.K. give relfexology on the NHS, its worth a try asking your doctor if you can recieve this treatment free. :D

[Tazzytnt]

I talked to the doctor my friend is going to and she said that what she does is mostly detox of your system and she said that she had 3 lupus paitents but that they did not do well because they had been on medication for so long. I read some other post on the site and was a little upset, some women have had really bad expriences with homeopathic treatments. I don't know when I talked to the doctor i felt like she wasn't really for real. advice please, even if i don't see this doctor I want look into it.

[Clare.T]

I think your caution is well founded. No reputable alternative practitioner would advise not taking prescribed medicines - it could kill a person with serious forms of lupus.

I don't really understand this detox business and suspect someone would get as much benefit from a serious changes in diet and lifestyle.

Personally I don't believe there are alternatives although there most definitely are helpful complementary therapies and very likely some useful plant treatments but these must be advised by physicians with expertise in treating lupus with both forms of medicine.

There are some useful guidelines about choosing alternative/complementary practitioners but I don't have the excellent book with me. I'll see ikf I can find similar advice on line.
Meanwhile I suggest drawing up a questionnaire to see if she has a clue how lupus can affect people.

The proper use of the term holistic means using every means possible to treat the person in the fullest sense of the word "treat".

Take great care

Clare

[nicole7]

Hi Tazzy
I'm not sure where you're at, but different countries have different rule regulating the practice of all sorts of medical practitioners. Looking into this and choosing wisely would be the first thing I would do before deciding whether to go forward with this treatment.
I am a strong believer in holistic health care...treating the patient as a whole...and also in utilizing all resources available to me. If I was in a better financial situation right now there is no doubt that I would be trying all sorts of complementary therapies. However, in the end...you really need to decide who's hands you want to put your care into. I speak to my rheumy and my family doc. regarding any complementary or supplementary treatments I am considering. Although there are times when they do not believe in the effect of the treatment as much as I do...they are both open minded enough to let me know when things are or are not safe for me to try in conjunction with my current treatments.
I wish you the best of luck with whichever treatment options you decide on and would love it if you would keep up posted on how it works out for you.
N

[canoe]

Hi Tazzy,
In response to your question" Has anyone gone full out into holistic remedies?" That would be me.I use herbs,massage, diet and other natural and gentle things to control my lupus.It's been a long and winding journey,but I am convinced I did the right thing for me.I like to say I keep an open mind,but not so open my brains fall out.The chinese have a saying,Do no harm.And that's my goal. I have found many things that help me without causing me harm.I wish you the best in your journey and will help in any way I can. Love,Canoe

[HelenS]

hi, i saw a homeopathic dr when i was first ill with lupus. after spending a ridiculous amount of money i stopped going as i didnt find it helped me at all. i do get regular reflexology and massage treatments which i find beneficial. get as much info as you can before making a decision about whether to go ahead or not with treatments or not.

luv helenxx

[Clare.T]

The book I was referring to is available through this site

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/076...8998266-4118552 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/076152097X/thelupussite-20/102-8998266-4118552)

It has a large section on various alternative and complementary therapies, guidance on how to choose and lists the professional associations

I thoroughly recommend it :lol:

Clare

[jude mack]

Hi Tazzy

I have tried many holistic remedies, some help, but I would be very careful.
as some made me very ill, now I stick to massage, accupunture and conventional
treaments. What works for one doesn't work for another. Please take care of
yourself. Good luck . Jude :flowers:

[raggedyann1]

Tazzy,

I went all out 10 years ago. Fed up with medical doctors and trapped in an HMO and has no alternatives. By mid 1996 I was in remission and thought that it was all the things I had been doing that got me in remission. However when I came out of remission adn got very, very sick in a short period of time, I decided that my remission was spontaneous. I was doing all the same things for the most part and I got sick again.

I will tell you that my chiropractor would never let me do an all out detox. He said it would make me very very sick. There are a few things that I have held onto that do help me.
1. massage but gentle by a massage therapist that understands connective tissue diseases.
2. accupuncture. It didn't help me a whole lot but it did take care of my costochondritis.
3. Magnetic mattress pads and spot magnets. We took the mattress pad off the bed for a week. I had a great deal more morning stiffness with out it. The spot magnets I use on my wrist and occasionaly on my shoulder. Helps me be able to type more . :rolleyes:
4. Far infared comforter and wrist wrap. The wrist wrap holds teh magnet in place. The comforter also makes a difference with my morning stiffness and quality of sleep.
5. I am thinking about chiropractic again if my rheumy approves but find a new chiropracter.

I think if I spent the time I would find some herbs or foods that might be beneficial to me or lotions/oils that might help my skin. However the Omega 3 fish oils I can't tolerate in any form other than eating fish. I am on so many medications is my fear with herbs as they can be as toxic as medicine for my body.

Karen

[Tazzytnt]

Thank you all so much for your input it has helped me so much, I will be asking the homepathic doctors some very detailed questions before i even decide anything. Right now I am not feeling to good about it all. I am not very happy with the info she sent me it was like a spa menu, not really infomation about the in's and outs' of the treatments. From my talk with her I don't think that she knows much about lupus and that is scary. Any good questions you all have the I can ask her are more than welcome. :hehe:

[kiley]

Hi- From what I've seen, if you've been sick for many years, the all-out, natural ONLY health "cure" can be really difficult, and if your lupus isn't mild, I wouldn't consider trying it (JMO). Changing bad diet choices may really help and is a good place to start.

I'd been sick w/ SLE (though not organ-threatening) for 17 years when I tried an all-natural approach that has kept a friend of mine well for over 10 years now. This consisted of a STRICT diet, supplements and herbs.

But when I did it, my blood tests were coming back worse and I felt terrible, though the Dr. who ran the program kept insisting that if I stayed with it, I'd eventually see benefits. Surprisingly, he wasn't charging me or selling me any products, he just felt it had "cured" his wife of lupus.
Well, I couldn't do it more than a year and although I still eat extremely healthfully and use complementary therapies, there's no way I'd go through a program that rigorous and go without medications again.

I still find great help from some of the alternative/complementary choices; for instance Boswellia has reduced my joint pain and Reiki was a God-send in restoring some energy!

Everyone's health process and body is so different, and IMO, the earlier in your disease that you get on a nutritional/homoeopathic/ herbal program the fewer side-effects it will produce and the more benefit you'll receive.
You are wise to investigate this before jumping in! With the natural things, I believe in going slowly, gently and not exclusive of medicines.

I wish you good luck and good health!
Kiley

[nicole7]

Hi Kiley
Where abouts was this doctor that had cured his wife out of curiousity. I have recently met a chiropractor that swears the same thing and am curious if it is the same person.
I'm in Ontario
Nicole

[kiley]

Hi Nicole- I sent you a P.M. with the Dr.'s name. He was brilliant, I believe, and his program was based on credible scientific theories AND research with pathogens and disease.
Let me know if it's the same guy, ok?
Hope you're well!
Kiley