It may be time to go on a special type of vacation: a drug vacation.* A drug vacation is a time in which you reduce the doses or eliminate entirely whatever drug or drugs you are taking. A drug vacation may give you (and your doctor) an opportunity to learn whether you really need to continue taking this drug or not. More important, this vacation will give your body an opportunity to manifest its everyday self-regulating and self-healing propensities without the crutch of a pharmaceutical agent inhibiting or suppressing its important work.
IF you are ready, step away from the medicine cabinet. You may not even recognize it, but you may be addicted to one or more of the drugs there. It may be time that you received an intervention, though this time, you should probably intervene on yourself rather than have anyone do it for or to you.
You may have noticed but your body has become accustomed to these drugs, and you've probably have had to increase the dosage over time, though you probably also noticed that various weird symptoms emerged when you did so. You then probably chose to increase it on some days and decrease on other days, in the hopes that they will still work, though some people may wonder if they are really helping or not.
You've probably also experienced other symptoms and syndromes for which you've been encouraged to take additional drugs. If you're smart enough, you're wondering what interactions the drugs have. Your doctor has told you that "there are no problems" taking two, three, four or five medications together, but he cannot point to ANY research that has ever studied that question.
In any case, with the increased number of pills or the higher dosages, you, like Alice in Wonderland, may seem to be walking twice as fast but remaining in the same place (or are going backwards). Over the years, you're probably noticing that you are having decreased amounts of energy, increased anxiety or depression, new symptoms, including some real strange ones, and in general, you're not feeling like your "old self."
Put down that aspirin, acetaminophen, or other pain medication. Don't open that bottle or box of allergy medication, sleep aid, headache drug or whatever and step away from the medicine cabinet.
Why Unplugging Works
The logic and wisdom of "unplugging" from various stressors in your life is that there is an inherent intelligence of our bodymind that continually strives to defend and heal ourselves. Living systems have certain innate self-organizing and self-healing propensities, and unplugging is simply an important strategy that enables your bodymind to work its every-day magic as it manifests its magnificent survival strategies.
Sadly, many of us are so arrogant that we think that we are smarter than our own bodies. We think that we can do better than what nature has provided us. The idea that we can or even should "conquer" nature is so 19th century. Some people today actually think that our bodies are not very smart and that we could and should overcome its weaknesses by the use of pharmaceutical agents that can rid the body of its symptoms.
The fact of the matter is that our symptoms are our body's best efforts to defend and heal ourselves from infection, environmental assault or any type of stress. Drugs that suppress our symptoms may provide short-term benefits, but they usually inhibit our own self-healing and self-regulating functions.
Ultimately, from a purely pharmacological point of view, drugs do not have "side effects." Drugs only have "effects," and we arbitrarily differentiate those effects of the drug that we like from those that we don't like (and we then call these latter symptoms the "side effects").
The lesson here is that just because a drug is effective in getting rid of a symptom does not necessarily mean that this treatment is truly curative, and in fact, the elimination of the body's symptoms may cause more long-term harm than good.
Wisdom of the Bodymind
The basic assumption behind the broad field of natural medicine is that the human body has an inherent wisdom within it that strives to defend itself and to survive. Symptoms of illness are not simply something "wrong" with the person, but instead, symptoms are actually responses and efforts of the organism to defend and heal itself against infection and/or stress. Hans Selye, M.D., Ph.D., the father of stress theory, once asserted, "Disease is not mere surrender to attack but also the fight for health; unless there is a fight, there is no disease."
Our human body has survived these thousands of years because of its incredible adaptive capabilities, and one of the ways that it adapts is through the creation of symptoms. Whether it be through fever and inflammation, cough and expectoration, nausea and vomiting, fainting and comatose states, and even the variety of emotional and mental states, each symptom represents the best efforts of the bodymind in its effort to fight infection and/or adapt to physical and psychological stresses.
Although symptoms may be the best effort of the organism to defend itself at that time, it is not usually effective to simply let the body try to heal itself. Most often, some treatment must be provided to help nurture, nourish and augment the body's own wisdom. The challenge to physicians, healers and patients is to determine when to help aid this inner wisdom of the body and when to intervene to make certain that the body does not harm itself.
The word "symptom" comes from a Greek root and refers to "something that falls together with something else." Symptoms are a sign or signal of something else, and treating them doesn't necessarily change that "something else." Ultimately, a symptom is a signal, a warning light that something is off-balance. It is akin to an oil warning light in your car. Although this light will go off if you unscrew the lamp, this simple action doesn't solve the more complex problem that led to the light turning on in the first place.
Concepts in new physics offer further support for the notion that living and non-living systems have inherent self-regulating, self-organizing and self-healing capacities. This ongoing effort to maintain homeostasis (balance) and to develop higher and higher levels of order and stability have been described in detail by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Ilya Prigogine in Order Out of Chaos, Fritjof Capra in The Turning Point, and Erich Jantsch in The Self-Organizing Universe. In systems thinking, "perturbations" are understood as efforts of a system to re-establish balance and to increase its complexity so that there is greater dynamic homeostasis.
Please know that I am not "Pollyanna-ish" about the wisdom of the bodymind. In other words, as much as I respect the innate intelligence of the human body, I also recognize its limitations. Although the human body has magnificent self-regulating, self-healing propensities, it is usually not enough to "let the body heal itself." Usually, one needs to nurture and nourish the wisdom of the body. Various naturopathic strategies and homeopathic medicines help to augment this wisdom. The fact that homeopathy has been called "medical biomimicry" and "medical aikido" helps us to better understand why it is so effective. By using a medicine to mimic the body's own wisdom, the body is better able to defend and heal itself.
It is no coincidence that two of the very few conventional medical treatments that augment the body's own immune system are immunizations and allergy treatments, and these drug treatment modalities "coincidentally" derive from the homeopathic principle of similar (treating "like with like").
However, in order for naturopathic and homeopathic medicines to work most effectively, it is sometimes necessary to diminish or eliminate those drugs that suppress symptoms and thereby inhibit the body's own self-healing tendencies. Is it time that you took a vacation from your medications? In so doing, you may finally be giving your body an opportunity to express its own defenses and to heal.
* I am primarily referring to taking a vacation from over-the-counter drugs, but if you're taking prescription drugs (Rx), I suggest you to talk with your doctor about creating a plan to diminish the doses of whatever drugs you're taking, with a goal of stopping the medication(s) for a period of time, if possible and appropriate.
Dana Ullman, MPH, is America's leading spokesperson for homeopathy and is the founder of www.homeopathic.com. He is the author of 10 books, including his bestseller, Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicines. His most recent book is, The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy (the Foreword to this book was written by Dr. Peter Fisher, the Physician to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). Dana lives, practices, and writes from Berkeley, California.
Follow Dana Ullman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HomeopathicDana
Homeopathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Homeopathy: An Introduction [NCCAM Backgrounder]
Home | National Center for Homeopathy
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This blog entry by homeopath Dana Ullman comes with a warning. Unfortunately, Mr. Ullman chose to put it at the end of his overly long blog entry with only an asterisk at the beginning. This comment remedies that error.
Here is what Mr. Ullman has to say: "*I am primarily referring to taking a vacation from over-the-counter drugs, but if you're taking prescription drugs (Rx), I suggest you to talk with your doctor about creating a plan to diminish the doses of whatever drugs you're taking, with a goal of stopping the medication(s) for a period of time, if possible and appropriate.
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I'm a fan of N0NDescript0, so I came across this fascinating comment at Huff-Po by Mr. Ullman.
--- start ---
In a linear world, germs "cause" disease...but none of us live in a linear world. We live in a complex world where germs proliferate only when conditions are favorable for them to do so. "Conditions" are complex..."conditions" are predisposition, host resistance, immune defenses, and vital force. It is these latter factors that determine that disease results from infection.
Sadly, it is easier to think in a linear fashion, and "bad science" is able to "prove" linearity, primarily to simple people who wallow in its shallowness...and it is much more difficult to understand the real world in its complexities...but it is always worthwhile to strive to appreciate the real world as it is (which is not simple or linear).
It is now time that we stopped saying, writing, or assuming that germs "cause" disease. That is so 20th century... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wray-herbert/immune-system-mind-body-a_b_583139.html?show_comment_id=48595891#comment_48595891
--- end-----
I knew there are devices for measuring light, sound, magnetism and even gravity. And there are ways of measuring most of the fundamental particles in physics. So how come I've never heard of a vital-force-o-meter?
I thought Dana has been arguing that homeopathy was scientific. Guess I was wrong.
I see that link making an appearance in future threads!
Bacteria or for the matter of fact any germ is not the cause of disease. It's the environment which plays the decisive role
Thank you, Dr. Ullman, for this article that I just enjoyed reading again. What you have to say about the body's wisdom is helpful and inspiring to me. I will be checking out more information about homeopathy on your website as well as your books. I so admire your understanding of and respect for the natural health processes of the human body. My own health has improved since I've allowed my body to find its natural balance, and I'm looking forward to learning more.
Thank you again!
Sunny T.
Enjoy!
BTW, I found it looking for explanations of workplace bullies. Great site, UK-based apparently.
Hey st.Thomas, josephius, cable1977, lff, whatevah, and other voices of reason and compassion: Laura has been kind enough to provide a link that helps explains the bad behavior of so many of the most extreme kookie kooks that believe nothing is something. And why they keep repeating the same rants over and over again.
Thanks again, Laura.
Perhaps you fail to see the irony in your comment?
glib, shallow and superficial
possessed of exceptional verbal facility and will out-manoeuver most people in verbal interactions
displays ARROGANCE (and IGNORANCE)
quick to discredit, belittle and denigrate others
Right on!!! Thanks!
I can certainly do so. You know, agree with ChristyRed's comments, but subtlely or not so subtlely aim it towards those I disagree with? If Huff-Po is happy with one side making ad hominem comments like this, it isn't fair to censor the other side for saying the same thing.
Personally, I think comments about the people who comment aren't worthwhile and just result in unnecessary nastiness. I try to avoid starting any and usually just respond to them. I'd like to think that most people who comment here don't see much value in them.
For the record, Bono (of U2), like many educated people, chooses to incorporate into his health and life the BEST of conventional medicine and the BEST of homeopathic and natural medicines. This integrative model of health and healing makes sense. Homeopaths tend to have real respect for surgery (except in the many cases when surgery can be avoided due to effective homeopathic treatment). Homeopaths, however, tend to be much more critical of internal medicine. I have written on the questionable science behind many modern drug treatments, and I encourage people to read those previous articles at this site.
Do everyone read through the posts and the debates here, and in Mr Ullman's other articles. For background
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DanaUllman
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=1906
are all worth a look, and will lead you to other sources. for the sake of completeness
http://www.homeopathic.com/
I would find the reference to Bono more convincing if singers were noted for their ability to choose wisely in healthcare, always, but I can think of a few counterexamples offhand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_authority
In regard to your second link, I believe you intended to link to Dana's wikipedia discussion page not his user page. His discussion page is located at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:DanaUllman
His user page is almost blank. There is a tab on it to access the discussion page but it may not be obvious to people.
I have a simple question to ask you: If Bono has very bad back pain which turns out be something unusual, cauda equina syndrome (see below for an explanation of CES), is he likely to be better off in terms of getting the correct advice, get to an ER as soon as you can because it may be CES, from a real medical doctor or from a homeopath?
Put another way, does Maslow's hammer apply more to homeopathy than to real medicine, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" So that a homeopath has a strong bias to see homeopathic remedies as the answer. A real doctor may think of possible surgery, drugs, blood tests, urine tests, referrals to specialists, x-rays, ct-scans, mri or just waiting for a few days.
That doesn't sound kooky to me, does it sound kooky to you?
For the record, homeopaths are usually MDs, though many hold other licenses. Further, just because a homeopath uses homeopathic medicines does not mean that che does not use other treatments or refer to other health/medical specialists. Please STOP over-simplifying...cease and desist. Step away from your computer and think before you type.
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Dana posted a rah-rah homeopathy comment regarding the emergency back surgery Bono underwent in Germany.
Bono's being treated by a Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt who has an unorthodox treatment for some joint conditions --- and those treatments aren't homeopathic. This is the homeopath that Dana did his rah-rah number on. The other doctor treating Bono is the neurosurgeon who did the surgery.
This is not the time for going rah-rah homeopathy when the condition is serious and delay matters.
I've poked around a bit and doctors are saying what I thought to be the case --- the only reason aside from an accident for emergency back surgery is cauda equina syndrome. For this comment ---- I will assume--- that this is the case and Bono developed CES.
In CES, there is sudden pressure on the spinal nerves that look like a horse's mane (hence the name) at the end of the spinal cord. That's caused by a very bad herniation of the disks around the L4-L5 area.
There is only solution. Back surgery as soon as possible to relieve the pressure. Even with back surgery very quickly, there may be permanent damage that can range from none to minor to very severe. Delays in getting surgery make a full recovery less likely.
Those with CES often consider suing those who delayed too long in thinking about CES and getting the patient into surgery. I certainly looked into suing a very prestigious US hospital and its doctors.
The hard part is for real medical doctors to think of the zebra approaching when hearing hoof beats (CES) instead of a horse (your standard back problem which is the case in 999 case out of a thousand regardless of the pain). Diagnosis is more a matter of thinking of CES and knowing what to look for and ask about.
A physiatrist told me the story of her sister. She was at a summer camp and was concerned because of some back symptoms. So she called her sister the physiatrist who was very knowledgeable on paralysis and CES. After a few minutes, the physiatrist told her sister to get to Toronto as soon as possible and that in the meantime, she would arrange for the surgery.
I believe the homeopath that Dana went rah-rah over is also a qualified medical doctors. That's fortunate.
The rah-rah comment and my reply are here.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/21/bono-undergoes-emergency_n_584847.html?show_comment_id=48091981#comment_48091981
It's been many years since I've relied on conventional drugs, either by Rx or over-the-counter, to deal with any kind of health issue whether it is acute or chronic. Those years have brought me greatly improved health, a greatly improved sense of well being, greatly increased clarity and creativity in my work (very important since I'm a visual artist) and a far more productive and satisfying life than I had.
I discovered that the conventional drugs my doctor was prescribing were making inroads on all those desirable aspects of my life. On top of that, conventional care and drugs steadily depleted my pocketbook without producing anything that resembled a medical cure.
I turned to homeopathy for primary treatment of my health concerns with great success and satisfaction. I've also used vitamin therapy to reduce my cholesterol and blood sugar levels. I've used acupuncture for pain. I've used chiropractic for mechanical issues along with massage and acupressure. All with great benefit.
There's a great selection of wonderful healing modalities out there. Taking advantage of them is just a matter of looking for and trying them.
Bravo! An open mind in a healthy body!
Congratulations, Christy!
lff
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This blog entry by homeopath Dana Ullman comes with a warning. Unfortunately, Mr. Ullman chose to put it at the end of his overly long blog entry with only an asterisk at the beginning. This comment remedies that error.
Here is what Mr. Ullman has to say: "*I am primarily referring to taking a vacation from over-the-counter drugs, but if you're taking prescription drugs (Rx), I suggest you to talk with your doctor about creating a plan to diminish the doses of whatever drugs you're taking, with a goal of stopping the medication(s) for a period of time, if possible and appropriate.
WARNING!!
------------Start Quote-------
"In fact, one other thing just occurred to me. Besides the fact that over-the-counter drugs in general aren't meant to treat serious illnesses, recommending that people "unplug" from over-the-counter drugs includes within it a rather interesting unintentional implied suggestion. Think about it. Many of the over-the-counter remedies sold in this country are vitamins, supplements, and herbal remedies. Heck, some over-the-counter remedies are even homeopathic remedies (or at least herbal remedies with the moniker "homeopathic" slapped on them). "Unplugging from 'over-the-counter'" medications thus implies unplugging from all those "natural" herbs, supplements, and homeopathic nostrums!
You know, I think Dana just suggested something I could actually agree with.
-------- End Quote------------------
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/05/a_homeopath_unplugged_from_reality.php
Do you advocate the usage of scripts that have such severe side effects that it requires you to take two or three other scripts in order to alleviate the sides effects of the first?
How do you justify things like Adivair (spelling?)- an asthma medicine that kills asthma sufferers?
What level of adverse side effects is too much to you?
For the record, these are not intentionally loaded or leading questions. I'm not at all a blind advocate of homeopathic remedies. If anything, I'm more an equal opportunity fan of whatever works with the least amount of adverse reactions. It really bothers me to see the TV commercials that tout [drug] as Dr. Smith's Miracle Pills then has the Micromachine man machine gunning off the expected and potential side effects at the end of the commercial.
Actually, I believe it refers to a place where people keep medicine. Its not called OTC medicine cabinet. You are really running out of straws to grasp, huh?
Mr Ullman's article is telling people to stop taking all of their medications, plain and simple. He even tells them to do so in his little disclaimer at the end of the article, the only difference being that he tells people to stop taking prescription pills 'under the care of a doctor'. He's still telling people to 'unplug' from all drugs, regardless of the consequences to each individual person.
We are taught during orientation these days that patents are becoming more aware of their dz process due to the internet. I think this is great and I always advocate for the patient.
Incidentally, I am a christian and have held the hand of many who have died. I find the experience to be extremely overwhelming and I felt honored that I could give comfort during their transition to the "afterlife".
I have conversed with you about Ayurveda and so I thought I would give you a better idea of what's on offer there. I was in India last year and spent 3 weeks at an Ayurvedic Retreat Center. Below is a link to my blog where I have several short entries on the goings on there and my subjective reports of my own response to the environs and treatments. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and the reports begin on entry 2 and go till entry 8. I hope this give you a better idea of what Ayurveda has to offer... to my mind, this approach is especially suitable against chronic illness.
http://bodhinewmedia.ca/BodhiNewMedia/BodhiNewMedia_Blog/Archive.html
Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Don't know if you noticed yet but I replied that your post yesterday where you provided a link to a particular study. I basically found it way over my head :) Don't know when/if I'll have a chance to look at this one as I've spent to much time on the forums and am already behind with some other things. Either way, I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Doctors who worship the God of science close their minds to wisdom, and they close their hearts to compassion.
To throw drug after drug at patients is not practicing wise or compassionate health care. It is insanity. To torture sick people by pumping poison into their veins is not practicing wise or compassionate health care. It is insanity. Cut, poison and burn - that is the "advanced" state of our wonderful American health care system.
I have seen my family members tortured by a brand of medicine that never seems to help them, but manages only to get them through to their next appointment, or put them into the hospital or the grave. I have observed the ridiculous, brutal and incompetent brand of medicine widely practiced and advocated by the scientific community. I have been a victim of this insanity.
If I had a serious disease, I would trust Dana Ullman with my health care, while I would not visit one doctor of the medical establishment. I have read what Dana Ullman has had to say, and in my experience, it is the truth. I truly do not care what scientific studies or journals have to say about it. I know the difference between health and insanity.
Ommmmmmmm.......
Ommmmmmmm.......
Ommmmmmmm.......
Ommmmmmmm.......
If Sunny wants to "opt out" of the mainstream medical system - I think that's fine.
I'm confused why anyone is challenging individual choice.
You are a wee bit vague about how you determine the truth. How do you know that your experience matches external reality
"If I had a serious disease, I would trust Dana Ullman with my health care......." I'm not sure if I would trust him with a roll of toilet paper. Even if I had two.
What?!? Wouldn't Sunny's experience naturally match Sunny's external reality?
http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/05/a_homeopath_unplugged_from_reality.php
lff