Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
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 Let's look at them next, keeping in mind that there's more to alternative treatments than drugs and nutritional supplements. We've already seen how exercise and sleep can play roles in improving your health. In the sections that follow, we'll look at additional treatments, ranging from massage to yoga to changes in the diet and even tai chi.
Alternative Treatments for Pain
People often ask me about three very common alternative treatments for pain: acupuncture, hypnosis, and massage. |
Bill Sardi
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 In 1992, researchers in Norway surveyed 1,000 cancer patients about alternative treatments. Their study did not find that alternative treatments produced longer survival time than did conventional treatments, though it is likely that many cancer patients may have resorted to using alternative therapies when their tumors were beyond treatment, which would produce an unfair comparison. [European Journal Cancer 31: 1785-89, 1995] Still, alternative therapies, with the exception of high-dose vitamin C, have yet to clearly demonstrate any advantage over conventional treatment. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
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 The most useful feature of this book is the alternative treatments for each drug. These alternative treatments are much lower risk than the drues thev notentiallv replace. general information on the pharmaceutical industry
The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs
Merrill Goozner ISBN: 0520239458
Book Description: In this gripping expose, Merrill Goozner contends that American taxpayers are in fact footing the bill twice: once by supporting government-funded research and again by paying astronomically high prices for prescription drugs. |
Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Alternative Treatments for Pain
People often ask me about three very common alternative treatments for pain: acupuncture, hypnosis, and massage. Three well-controlled studies have evaluated acupuncture in FM, and two of them reported positive results in reducing symptoms. One of these studies noted that fatigue was the symptom most improved, but that improvement tended to wane over time. In contrast, another study done on women with neck and shoulder pain producing headaches found improvement lasting several years. |
Dr Ron Roberts
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 Alternative Treatments for Children
Not all the alternative treatments that we discuss in Part Two of this book will be suitable for children—for instance, a very strict food diet would not be appropriate for a young child. However many, such as homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, vitamins and minerals, and massage, can be of great benefit. There are complementary remedies, in particular homeopathic and herbal remedies, prepared in appropriate doses for asthmatic babies. |
Rick Levy and Lou Aronica
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 A man of some means, he'd been to several doctors and tried many traditional and alternative treatments for his problem—even experimental gold injections. Nothing helped.
This man endured a very stressful early life due to high levels of political upheaval in his home country. I started doing regular energy healing work on him, introduced him to meditation, and used hypnotic regression to help him release old trauma. His health improvements came slowly (though measurably), but he maintained an optimistic attitude throughout. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 Some of the searches for alternative treatments for BPH have come from observations that rates of BPH are lower in Asia. One idea is that this is related to increased soy consumption. Genistein, an isoflavin ingredient in tofu, has been found to decrease the growth of prostate tissue in animal models. Isoflavin derived from red clover is sold in the U.S. as a supplement for prostate conditions. There are no controlled studies to demonstrate its effectiveness. |
| This is the gold standard for evaluating the risks and benefits of drugs, and it is required to definitively evaluate drugs as well as alternative treatments.
The placebo response is essentially how much better you do if you take a pill that you believe helps you, even if it really does nothing in terms of its actual effect on your body. At the end of the study the "blind" is removed, and the doctors look to see if the drug was better than the placebo in improving the symptoms of the disease or preventing some predefined event, like a heart attack. |
| What follows is a discussion of alternative treatments and my assessment of their efficacy. Discuss these options with your health-care provider.
CORTICOSTEROID INJECTIONS
Other traditional treatments, such as corticosteroid injections, can reduce pain and increase function in those suffering from joint disease. |
Dr Ron Roberts
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| Nevertheless, the lifesaving treatments offered by orthodox medication cannot be underestimated and it would be foolish indeed to reject the use of effective drugs altogether. The alternative treatments described in this book are complements to orthodox medication, not substitutes. Prescribed medication must be taken for immediate relief and to stop an attack. The aim of alternative and natural therapies is to control and, if possible, prevent asthma. |
| Combining Orthodox and Alternative Medicine
Although this book is primarily concerned with natural remedies, and improving asthma through alternative treatments, we do not underestimate the value of orthodox medication. Medication such as Ventolin, Becotide or cortisone may be of help, especially when the asthma is acute, because these drugs bring immediate relief. In an emergency your prescribed medication should always be used, as alternative approaches work towards long-term prevention of asthma rather than immediate relief in an attack. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 The patient may not be a good candidate for more ongoing treatments and the closer follow-up required by alternative treatments.
5. No improvement in pathology using the initial naturopathic plan or repeated alternate plan.
6. If AGUS on Pap smear and no detection of disease on colposcopy, biopsies, and endocervical curettage.
7. If AIS on Pap smear and no detection of disease on colposcopy, biopsies, and endocervical curettage
Practitioner and patient discretions:
8. Positive endocervical curettage with any degree of squamous intraepithelial lesions. |
Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
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| When doctors tell such patients there's nothing wrong with them (and show them to the door without helping), they feel they have no alternative but to seek alternative treatments on their own. Since patients can't prescribe drugs for themselves, they often turn to an endless procession of nutritional supplements.
I'm still surprised by patients' automatic trust in these "natural" products. I sometimes find that when I do prescribe a drug, a patient making a return visit will tell me that he or she didn't try it, afraid of the side effects. |
| I'm not against novel, alternative treatments; as I said, I use them in my own treatment programs. But my first rule is to be cautious. Today's nutritional supplement could prove to be tomorrow's arsenic. Statistics maintained by the American Association of Poison Control Centers make this point and are scary. The number of poisonings from herbs, vitamins, and other dietary supplements increased nine-fold from 1983 to 2005. Of the 125,600 incidents reported that year, 27 ended in death. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Robert Bonakdar, a family physician at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla, California, who blends conventional and alternative approaches, says it's crucial to tell your doctor about any alternative treatments that you are trying.
"Everything a patient is using is important for the doctor to know," he says. "Full disclosure enables full care."
"The best thing patients can do is be honest about what they are taking," says Dr. |
Bill Sardi
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| Somehow the cancer industry has managed to work itself into the undesirable position of utilizing disproven treatments while casting a condescending eye upon unproven alternative treatments. Unproven simply means there has not been sufficient investigation to come to a conclusion either way. The National Institutes of Health has not funded an adequate number of clinical trials of promising alternative therapies such as those involving vitamin D, folic acid, or intravenous vitamin C. |
| Their study did not find that alternative treatments produced longer survival time than did conventional treatments, though it is likely that many cancer patients may have resorted to using alternative therapies when their tumors were beyond treatment, which would produce an unfair comparison. [European Journal Cancer 31: 1785-89, 1995] Still, alternative therapies, with the exception of high-dose vitamin C, have yet to clearly demonstrate any advantage over conventional treatment. |
| Knowing that their doctors will cast a dismissive eye upon alternative therapies, many cancer patients hide their use of alternative treatments from their doctors. Among the patients surveyed, almost half (48%) of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and radiation used at least one type of complementary and alternative medical therapy treatment, and a majority of them (75%) didn't tell their doctors.
The study shows alternative therapies are used almost twice as often among patients treated only by chemotherapy (65%), compared to those treated only by radiation (35%). |
| He had spent thousands of dollars on alternative treatments, such as Rife machine treatment, intravenous vitamin drips, and herbal pills, all in lieu of surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. Gamma knife radiation treatment was consented to, given that the patient was experiencing twitching on his left side from the brain tumor. But that treatment was so horrific that the patient and his wife turned to less invasive treatment from alternative practitioners. |
Andreas Moritz
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 On the other hand, refusing a blood transfusion and not receiving alternative treatments may put your life in danger. If you need a blood transfusion but prefer an alternative and safe method, contact the Blood Transfusion Society in your country. They may be able to put you in touch with a practitioner who is experienced in any of the above transfusion procedures. If you pretend to be a Jehovah's Witness, the hospital will arrange for an alternative approach.
3. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 They are all good, effective alternative treatments and can help to prevent migraines. CQ10 is a nutrient that is normally associated with energy: It helps the cells utilize oxygen. Andrew Hershey, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of neurology research at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, looked at its relation to migraine in a recent study done at the University of Cincinnati.
He examined 1,552 children and adolescents between the ages of three and twenty-two and found that most had insufficient CoQIO levels. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
See book keywords and concepts |
| These alternative treatments are much lower risk than the drues thev notentiallv replace. general information on the pharmaceutical industry
The $800 Million Pill: The Truth behind the Cost of New Drugs
Merrill Goozner ISBN: 0520239458
Book Description: In this gripping expose, Merrill Goozner contends that American taxpayers are in fact footing the bill twice: once by supporting government-funded research and again by paying astronomically high prices for prescription drugs. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Antibiotic treatment of chlamydia and gonorrhea should be considered the primary treatment, with alternative treatments used as complements.
• Complications of gonorrhea and chlamydia can be serious and even life threatening, and a pregnant woman can pass the infection to her baby.
• Symptoms of chlamydia and gonorrhea include cervical discharge, difficult or painful urination, bleeding between periods or after intercourse, pain in the pelvic area during sex, a swollen cervix and/or bleeding from the cervix, and acute or chronic pelvic pain. However, many women have no symptoms at all. |
| If you have severe liver disease due to hepatitis B, I would strongly consider alternative treatments as the primary treatment, with careful monitoring of liver enzymes and liver biopsy with the help of a specialist.
UTERINE FIBROIDS <\Q
OVERVIEW
Uterine fibroids (also known as leiomyomas or myomas) occur in 20 to 25 percent of women by age 40,1 more than 50 percent of women overall. They are the most common solid pelvic tumors in women and the most common indication for major surgery in women, and they account for approximately one-third of hysterectomies each year. |
| We will expand on these in the overview of alternative treatments.
Assessing Osteoporosis Risk and Diagnosing Osteoporosis
The evaluation of risk and diagnosis of osteoporosis is made by a careful medical history, a thorough physical examination, laboratory analysis, and measuring bone density.
No one test or risk factor, alone or in combination, will accurately predict which patients will or will not experience osteoporotic fractures. In general, the more risk factors present, the greater the potential for lower bone mass and the higher the risk of fracture. |
| Unfortunately, BV can be the most difficult vaginal infection to treat satisfactorily with alternative treatments. However, even conventional treatments can be insufficient without a lot of patience and time.
Candida Vaginitis
Although vulvovaginal candidiasis (WC), more commonly known as a Candida or yeast infection, is often assumed to be the cause of vaginitis, only 33 percent of vaginitis cases are in fact WC. WC is frequently misdiagnosed by both patients and practitioners. |
Bill Sardi
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| Tumori 82: 215-17, 1996]
While many alternative cancer therapies are recommended by doctors themselves, the objection to alternative treatments is widespread. In Italy, doctors there said: "We hope that medical associations of each country declare it unethical to market questionable cancer treatment and expel members who do so. Considerable damage can be done by publishing stories that give false hope." [Tumori 82: 215-17, 1996]
Can cancer patients refuse treatment?
What about the option of no treatment? |
Bottom Line Health
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| She is a contributing editor to The Alternative Advisor: The Complete Guide to Natural Therapies and alternative treatments. Time Life.
Few doctors note the scent of a patient's breath during physical exams, but I'm a firm believer in this practice. Halitosis (bad breath) can provide several useful diagnostic clues. Although most people associate bad breath with poor oral hygiene, the more common cause is infection—such as a cold, tonsillitis or allergic congestion. |
| If you notice these adverse effects while taking diphenhydramine, ask your doctor about other, safer medications or alternative treatments.
Joseph V. Agostini, MD, assistant professor of medicine, geriatrics section, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Aging May Cause People to Say Things They Don't Mean
William von Hippel, PhD, associate professor of psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and physiology, University of California, San Francisco.
Psychology and Aging.
Nature Neuroscience online. |
Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
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| Today, alternative treatments are legion. Magazine ads and Web sites offer testimonials about the efficacy of literally thousands of food products that sound as if they might be helpful. Be careful—more often than not, these seemingly heartfelt comments by "actual" users amount to little more than a high-pressure sales technique—one aimed specifically at people whose chronic illnesses have made them feel desperate. |
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