Alternate treatments

[kbradley]

I've started this thread for those on the board wishing to talk about their experiences outside of western medicine. The idea started within the thread "Psoriasis cure, again" but as it got so long, we're starting anew.

This may not be a popular topic with most members but there are a few of us who have said we would like to share and explore with one another.

If anyone would like to tell about alternative treatments that either didn't work or at worst, were harmful, please do so. That can be helpful as well. But please, be respectful. If this is not your thing, disregard this thread.

Advertising for products, cures, etc. will not be tolerated. Thanks.

kiki

[MikeK]

Thanks for starting this thread Kiki.

I was diagnosed with plaque p in the Spring of 1964, when I was 7. No one else in my family has it. (My 78 year old mom's hairdresser thinks that mom has it on her scalp. Mom doesn't drive so that limited her choice of derms. She made an appointment back in December for a derm whose office is a couple of blocks from her house. That appointment isn't until April so we won't know for sure until then.) For many years, my P was limited to a few patches on my legs, which I treated with a variety of otc products. It started to spread to other parts of my body and I've been seeing a derm, and using prescription meds, since 1999. It spread to my hands about a year or so ago.

I recently spent the weekend with some friends. While we were eating breakfast, the husband noticed that their four year old son had some patches of dry skin on his legs. He applied some lotion to it and I said that I hoped that it wasn't psoriasis, while holding out my hands. That led to a rather spirited discussion of homeopathy. (One of their neighbors, apparently, had some success by going the homeopathic route with eczema.)

I have to confess that I never really thought about going the alternate treatment route before. Has anyone seen a homeopath in connection with their p? Was it expensive? Was it covered by insurance? Did you notice any improvement? Did you continue your regular treatment program in addtion to any treatment recommended by the homeopath?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

[kbradley]

The subject of this thread was supposed to be "alternative treatments". Sorry all for the typo.

Mike, I called the Haneman (not sure if this is the actual spelling) clinic after a friend's chiropractor recommended them. I read about them on-line. Seems they are a school with clinic attached and I think there are a number of branches around the US. When I called I was told they have a sliding scale for the first visit. The bottom end of the scale was over $200 and they will not bill your insurance. I'm putting that one off for right now. I think your first step would be to contact your insurer to see if they cover anything outside of regular medicine. My guess is that most don't.

I recently read an article on line about homeopathy that explained much of what they do and how to find a reputable practitioner. If I can remember how I found the article, I'll retrieve it and post the link.

kiki

[MikeK]

LOL! Maybe it will let you edit it.

Thanks, Kiki. My friends live about an hour from here. I think that I'll send them an e-mail asking them to ask their neighbor if it would be o.k. for me to give her a call, so that I can discuss her experience with the homeopath. It can't hurt to look into it and getting a recommendation never hurts. (That's how I found my derm, my allergist and my ear, nose and throat specialist. )

Thanks again.

Mike

[PTener]

Hello,

I have found that both diet and nutritional supplements help my p. I do believe we are each VERY different, and should each seek assistance finding what diet and/or supplements are best for us. Our bodies need balance, and self diagnosing can do as much harm as good. Research, research, research. Keep food logs, supplement logs, and a journal. We can learn an awful lot about ourselves this way.

I have tried for years to follow "healthy diets", only to gain weight and worsen my p, among other things. MDs really don't know much about nutrition, and steered me in the wrong direction on several occasions. They also kept prescribing antibiotics, which just loaded my system with candida. After much research, I determined that a high protein diet is best for me. I feel better, the yeast is controlled, and the p is much less. I also learned that I have many food sensitiviies and that these foods must be avoided at al times. If I eat bread, for instance, I am eating yeast and wheat, and I itch like mad where I have p. I have read the Pagano book and found that diet was not for me. After I had "found" my diet, I consulted a Naturopath and her dietician. Lo and behold, my detective work was correct!

My dietary success cam through the book The Macrobiotic Typing Diet. Several friends use Eat Right For Your Type and find they feel better. Either of these books are worth a look.

As for supplements, we need to know what is right for us. I only take a couple of ND recommended oral supplents right now. I am
feeling better than I have in years, thanks to the diet and the CORRECT supplements. The only time my little bit of p bothers me is when I blow the diet!

I see a Naturopath regularly and have been able to get off several drugs which had been prescribed by MDs. I save approximately $250 in drug costs now. I know that my body is healing itself from within, allowing me to get by with just T-Gel shampoo and Aveeno moisturizer.

About the cost of a naturopath; In Alaska, the insurers HAVE to pay for a Naturopath, if that is what I choose. The insurer does not have to pay for all treatment types, such as chelation therapy.
I believe each state has a Director of Insurance, or something similiar. Check in your state before deciding that your insurance won't cover the fee.

I am not "cured", but I am healing. I don't need scientific evidence, I have my improvements. Best to each of you.

Peggy

[MikeK]

Thanks, Peggy. I've only started to look into alternative treatments for my P. I know that I've got a lot of research to do. I'll start by taking a trip to the library to see if they have the books that you recommended. You've certainly given me a lot to think about.

Is there a difference between a homeopath and a naturopath? I have to admit that I never heard of a naturopath before.

I didn't realize that you were in Alaska. The winters here in New Jersey are very hard on my p and ours are tame compared to yours. Do you notice that your p gets worse during certain times of the year?

Thanks again.

Mike

[MikeK]

Here's a link to an earlier thread about homeopaths. It gave me some more things to think about.

http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showt...?threadid=3215

[kbradley]

Peggy, could you explain more about what a naturopath does? KareBare mentioned that her mother was one. If you read this KareBare, please chime in.

Finding an optimal diet is beginning to sound very complicated, at least from my perspective. I don't have a clue as to whether I have any sensitivities to certain foods. I too will look into the books you suggested, Peggy.

kiki

[PTener]

Hi everyone,

Homeopathy is a system of medical treatment based on the use of minute quantities of remedies that in massive doses produce effects similar to those of the disease being treated.

Naturopathy is a system of therapy that relies exclusively on natural remedies such as sunlight, diet, and massage to treat the sick. My naturopaths have been to medical school. When I see local guy again this week, I will try and get better definitions. Naturopaths may use muscle reflex testing as a first step in diagnosing what is wrong. They also do lab tests, many of which my MD would never order and should have.

I feel extremely comfortable with the more natural approach. Too many MD prescribed medications made me feel like a toxic waste dump. My MD didn't say much. I knew I had to find an alternative as I felt like I was losing my mind. We know our bodies better than anyone, but our upbringing teaches us not to question the western medical gods. Learn to trust your gut feelings about medical treatments.

Please don't get me wrong, I still see an MD, and always will. I have learned to utilize all which is available to me. I see a chiropractor who practices Applied Kinesiology. I get massages and I have utilized accupuncturists. They all have something to offer. Through diet and massage, I have been able to eliminate blood pressure medication and diuretics.

Mike, I lived in Rumson, NJ for 15 years. I also lived in CO for 5 years before arriving in Alaska. I have been here, on the "banana belt" coast for 27 years. I have found absolutely no difference in my p based soley on geography. Winter anywhere made a slight difference. Diet makes the biggest difference in my comfort. I take a lot of soaking baths and use Aveeno moisturizer. Believe it or not, our weather here in Homer is milder than what you had this winter. Until March, our average temperature was 36 degrees! We broke all records for warmthe. Generally 20 is about our average for Dec. through Feb.

I hope some of this helps. Take care all of you.

Peggy

[hazy]

Originally posted by PTener
Hi everyone,

Homeopathy is a system of medical treatment based on the use of minute quantities of remedies that in massive doses produce effects similar to those of the disease being treated.

I need help here.........I am not for or against alternative treatments, actually i know nothing about it, so i have been trying to learn more.

I read in the Quote:

1.Homeopathy is to create more of the disease within the body?
2. You do this by taking small amounts of medicine many times over?

Honestly, I am not making fun of or flaming, maybe someone could rewrite the quote so I could better understand. I am not having one of my smart days.

Thanks

[lapradef]

Think "hair of the dog." LOL

Foggy

/////

[PTener]

Hi,

Sorry about any confusion in the "definitions", but they came straight from the dictionary. The first one probably should read............."which in massive doses". I do not use homeopathy myself, being quite satisfied with naturopathy.

Peggy

[kbradley]

Fred,

I ran a search on Google for "what is homeopathy" and lots of articles with explanations came up. Up until 4 or 5 weeks ago I never thought I'd be looking into it either.

kiki

[hazy]

.....Homeopathy is the equivalent of avoiding a hangover by staying drunk?.....I tried that one, got to expensive.

OK, so i grasp the cure a snake bite with the snakes own venom, but I don't get distribution of the medication, it still sounds contradictory to me.


minute quantities-massive doses

JumboShrimp
Adult male
Hot Chili
Ironwood

I know I will get it as soon as I can get out of my tunnel vision.

Thanks for trying

[hazy]

I will do that, I was just taking the easy way out...

Thanks again......

[MikeK]

Fred,

I went to www.askjeeves.com and got a number of results to the question "What is homeopathy?" Here's a link to one definition (it's too long to post here):

http://www.homeopathic.org/whatis.htm

I did a similar search for "What is Naturopathy" and came up with this this definition from the following link: http://www.naturopathic.org/:

"Naturopathic medicine blends centuries-old natural, non-toxic therapies with current advances in the study of health and human systems, covering all aspects of family health from prenatal to geriatric care.

Naturopathic medicine concentrates on whole-patient wellness-the medicine is tailored to the patient and emphasizes prevention and self-care. Naturopathic medicine attempts to find the underlying cause of the patient’s condition rather than focusing solely on symptomatic treatment. Naturopathic physicians cooperate with all other branches of medical science referring patients to other practitioners for diagnosis or treatment when appropriate."


I never considered going the alternative treatment route until my friends mentioned their neighbor's experience. I never heard of
Naturopathy until Peggy mentioned it. (I didn't read the earlier thread on this subject. I didn't realize until yesterday that KareBear's mother is a Naturopath.) Right now I'm in the information gathering stage. I have no idea where all this is going to lead to, but I must say that all of this is fascinating!

Mike

[flakequeen]

Hi Gang --

Just a friendly reminder that all medicines are made up of "natural" ingredients... it is the basis of all chemistry.

Just be careful, you can overdose on vitamins and the cure is sometimes worst than the disease. People study herbal medicine for years and still can't get it right.

I don't want to bring anyone down, I just hope you are all very careful --

All the best --

Flakequeen in NJ

[PTener]

Hello again,

Thanks, Mike, for the thorough research on definitions of homeopathy and naturopathy. The greatest benefit I have received from naturopathy has been the "total picture" approach. I no longer am sentenced to a lifetime of a drug which just treats a symptom.

I agree with Flakequeen that one should be very cautious when self prescribing even vitamins and supplemnts. Balance in our systems is the goal and we need help finding what is correct for each of us. Not all "natural" remedies are right for me - I am even allergic to chamomile!

Peggy

[hazy]

Thanks Mike for the links........I know, I should have gotten off my butt and did it myself.

At any rate, I went to the site you provided and a couple others, and I can now put to rest my quagmire regaurding how much and how often.

Of course now I have a new question, which really isn't new, I just had to get the quanity thing out of my head, so here goes.

In order to treat an ailment, symptom or disease, you first must know what medicines would give a healthy person those same conditions....right?
Because Psoriasis has an unknown cause, then homeopathy meds would primarily be used to reduce its symptoms....itching, burning, Etc...not the disease itself...?
AND..... because we all react differently to "convetional" medicines, the same "hit and miss" method would apply to homeopathy medicines.....yes? (ok, three questions altogether)

The jury is still out with me, but I will continue to look further...

Thanks to all again,

[PTener]

Fred,

I agree with your assumptions regarding homeopathic treatment of ps. I, too, have tried to figure out what remedy could be given for ps.

Eliminating trigger foods can also be hit or miss, unless one gets help through an allergist or someone else. There is a good post discussing allergies under caregivers, "Parent of a sweet baby" dated 11/26/01 by bdiamond.

Best to all.

Peggy

[flakequeen]

Me again... I have been thinking about all the different and crazy "cures" that I have tried over the years and I do have one suggestion that worked for me, but only for people who suffer from a small case of P.

Oregano Oil. You can buy it at a healthfood store and it comes in small 1 oz bottles with a dropper. It is expensive about $25 a bottle. It burns a bit when you put it directly onto the skin but then softens the scales and lessens the redness. It takes about 2 weeks to clear and you smell like a pizza so I recommend you apply it at night and shower in the am.

The only reason I stopped using it was the cost. One bottle would last me about two days (I have ALOT of lesions).

Good luck! -- Flakequeen

[MikeK]

Hi Everyone,

My head is spinning. I haven't made it to library yet or talked to my friend's nieghbor, but I've been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of on-line research. To say that I'm more than a little confused would be an understatement. From what I've read so far, I'm beginning to join Peggy and Fred in wondering how homeopathic treatments would be applied to psoriasis. I haven't given up on the idea. I just can't figure it all out.

I think that it's generally accepted that p is hereditary and that it lies dormant in our bodies until it's set off by some sort of trigger. I had the chicken pox in the Fall of 1963. I was diagnosed with plaque p in the Spring of 1964. Coincidence? I think not. I've long suspected that the chicken pox was my trigger.

I also have seasonal allergies. I've been seeing an allergist off and on since I was 7, which is the same year that I was diagnosed with p. My allergies typically occur in both the Spring and Fall, and are especially severe in September. (My standard joke is that I'm allergic to September. ) Some years my symptoms were mild enough to treat with otc meds and some years they're so severe that I have to arm myself with presciptions. (Most of the time my allergy symptoms are exactly the same as the cold or the flu and I often can't tell if my allergies are acting up or if I have a cold.) I've been going for allergy shots since June 2000. (More about that later.)

Fast forward to June 1990. I was at a retirement party at a Portuguese restaurant. The san gria flowed like water. A good time was being had by all. About half way through dinner, I started to sweat profusely, became very warm and started to experience mild chest pains, and some mild difficulty breathing. I didn't think that the problem was severe enough to do anything about (talk about denial! ), but I did step outside to get some air. My symptoms went away as quickly as they began and I didn't think anything more about it. A couple of months later I wound up in the emergency room in full anaphylactic shock! It turns out that I had developed an allergy to sulfites, which both occurs naturally in and is added during the wine making process. (I'm allergic to both the naturally occuring sulfites and the added kind, so wine in any way, shape or form is out of the picture for me.) Unfortunately, it's also in balsamic vinegar , some dried fruits (I really miss dried apricots ) , some canned tuna, and in some processed meats. I could go on and on. I've become adept at reading menus. I can spot wine or balsamic vinegar a mile away. I'm become very good at avoidance. (Knock on wood.)

Fast forward a couple of more years. I went back to an allergist in the Spring of 2000, when I was in the middle of a seven month long battle with a recurring upper respiratory infection. Because the severity of the problem, I underwent the most extensive allergy testing of my life and started getting allergy shots. (They've helped. I haven't had a severe allergy attack since.) According to the tests, I'm allergic to tomatoes (among other things). To say that I was surprised by that result would be an understatement. Tomatoes are among my favorite foods. I eat them raw, in salads, in sauces, etc. (I had sundried tomatoes put on my sandwich at lunch today.) As far as I know, I've never had a typical allergy symptom from tomatoes.

But all this talk about food triggers is starting to make me wonder -- could tomatoes be one of my triggers? There's only one way to find out. I'm going to have to start avoiding tomatoes, but not until I finish the open can of tomato juice and the fresh tomatoes that are in the fridge.

I never put the words "food" and "psoriasis" together in the same sentence before. I know that there are some controversial schools of thought that says p is affected by foods. I've also read that tomatoes are amoung the foods that some people with p should avoid. I just never thought that it could happen to me!

Oh well. I'll start avoiding tomatoes and we'll see how it goes!

Thanks for listening!

Mike

[marianp]

Hi Mike...I am also sensitive to sulfites, but have not had a true allergic reaction as you have. I did end up in the hospital ER after eating "imitation crab" salad -- you guessed it.....it's loaded with sulfites. This was before I knew what was happening. Those sneaky little devils are in sooo much processed food that I just stay as much away from it as I can. And I've found that you certainly can't rely on the waitress and cooks to answer your questions correctly. (Watch out for grapes....they are sprayed with sulfites, and even if you wash them, it is difficult to get them off.) I also have a more serious reaction to MSG--also an ER trip. But the main point of this litany is that all of these allergies and sensitivities occurred at the same time the psoriasis showed up. All of this during a very, very stressful time in my life. My doctors have all said there is no connection....but I certainly have my suspicions.
Good luck to you.
Marian

[kbradley]

You're not the only confused one Mike. So many routes one could take coupled with the complexities of each of our bodies. And then having to figure out what insurance will cover. No wonder most people are willing to see an md who specializes in the field from which they suffer. Much less work on the patient's part.

Peggy, you've mentioned naturopaths, chiropractors, kineseologists, and allergists. Also doing research and reading certain books about diets. I need some advice. I'm a mother of 2 young children (6 and 2) and don't have a lot of time to try various therapies. Where, in your estimation, would be a good place to start? I haven't even seen an md yet. I have a dermatologist appointment for May 8th (earliest the western gods could see me). I'm concerned about my current ps situation getting too out of control and I've had no medical diagnosis. Would love to hear your thoughts.

kiki

[NL]

I read the Pagano book and was very interested in the diet section. Here is my problem. I am not very creative in the kitchen! I make the same 10-15 meals for my family. About 75% of them contain red meat. I need someone to help me figure out what I can eat that will satisfy me daily. I know to eat lots of fruit, veggies, drink lots of water, etc. If anyone has meal ideas or a daily sample of what they eat during a typical day on this diet please respond here or e-mail me at NisanL@aol.com. Thanks.