Alternative Medicine

[nailit]

I know that medics like Sqad and others would dismiss 'alternative' medicine as quackery and put any benefits down to the placebo effect. I also know that this type of thread pops up periodically on AB. But been talking to a bloke tonight and he swears that acupuncture has taken away his knee pain (arthritis). He was careful NOT to say that it has taken away his arthritis, only the pain. I also seem to recall JTH telling me on here that it helped with her back pain (going from memory here, havnt looked back through my threads).
Im sceptical of things like Reiki, homeopathy etc but I seem to come across a lot of people that acupuncture seems to have helped.
Any experiences? Thoughts?
Thanks.

[nailit]

// Sqad doesn't think autism is real either//
That could prove real interesting if Chris sees this thread?

[ummmm]

Or my son!!

There was a user on here who had two severely autistic sons so it was quite insulting.

[Sqad]

ummmm....you have misquoted me and clearly have misunderstood my feelings about Autism.
Autism is a disorder which has no confirmatory tests and relies on the interpretation of the medical practitioner who may or may not be trained in psychiatric conditions. I have stated and still feel that Autism is the most overdiagnosed and misdiagnosed condition in medicine,as is ADHD.
Many patients are diagnosed without ever seeing a Psychiatrist on the word of a parent or a GP and that is my feeling on these "common" disorders.
I have never said that it doesn't exist, i have uttered my concerns and i certainly do not come on Body and Soul to be insulting .

[Sqad]

"Nearly a million prescriptions for Ritalin and related drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were dispensed last year – more than double the number of a decade ago."

I know that these figures are for ADHD but do you really think that in 10 years, the number diagnosed has doubled? and at a time when mental healthcare is said to be underfunded?
They are very worrying for the future when these conditions are diagnosed without confirmatory evidence on the hearsay of "the unqualified."

[Peter Pedant]

hi sqad - you're having difficulty with your socio-lects arent you ?

autism has different meaning in different contexts
[ if 3T said: " yeah it was leika Ebola epidemic out there!" - you wouldnt think, "o god another appalling misdiagnosis byt he uneducated", but you would think - "heavens it must have been chaos!"]

there isnt a test for schizophrenia but that doesnt mean that it doesnt exist - ( er Laing and Szacz would say it doesnt - they are meant to be like that )
or that the criteria for diagnosis in UK and US differ
and that therefore a different proportion of the population is identified as 'ill'
and if you gave bother different populations largactil - they both had identical reponse rates.

so if you were using 'autism' as a basis for a 'statement' at school, I wouldnt bother too much if it didnt work in other spheres

[rowanwitch]

A psychiatrist who was treating me for depression said if I'd been seen when I was younger I would have been highly likely to have been given an Aspergers diagnosis. She pointed out there was no point giving me another label in my 50s I scored very high on the

[rowanwitch]

AQ test and it explained a lot. She explained like many who go undiagnosed I had developed coping and concealment strategies to the level that I functioned as an almost normal person... well except for my obsessive interests, and dislike of close physical contact.

[Sqad]

rowan/PP.

I am not saying that these disorders don't exist, I am saying that in my opinion, they are massively over and miss diagnosed with little or no professional assessment (that means Consultant Psychiatrist) backed up by the fact that in a ten year period the number of prescriptions for these conditions have DOUBLED.

[Sqad]

This thread was about Alternative Medicine and yet ummmm, turned it around to Autism just to show my "insulting" posts.

[rowanwitch]

I really do believe in complementary medicine not as alternative but as an adjunct. The exception is acupuncture which seems to work in isolation for a number of conditions. If I have cancer I want a brilliant surgeon, if I have a heart condition I want a cardiologist..if I have pain or any condition with a stress component I would probably take the alt/comp route

[Deskdiary]

Homeopathy can only ever work as a placebo.

There is no traceable element of the 'active' ingredient - it is merely water that the charlatans who practice this quackery states has a memory of the active ingredient. I mean honestly, have you ever heard anything so absurd in your life as water having a memory?

People who say homeopathy worked for them is anecdotal only - and the likelihood is they were already well on their way to being better, still, if the easily suggestible are happy to waste their money on magic memory water because they think it's doing them good, then good for them (as an aside I have some magic beans for sale if anybody is interested), but it should never have a penny of NHS money spent on it.

[rowanwitch]

Agree with you on that one

[murraymints]

as one who hates popping pills etc I always try to find alternative treatments..pressure points for headaches have worked as has acupuncture..however, when faced with conditions potentially fatal, one has to go with the big boys..

[roopower]

I think, if it isn't going to do any harm, give it a try. I don't have personal experience but know people who have acupuncture, by their gp and swear it works. So what if it is placebo effect, if it relieves pain and makes you feel good, go for it.