Saturday, July 26, 2008

HOMEOPATHY: HEALTH CARE OR VOODOO?

    Aren't you lucky, dear reader: 2 new posts in one day!   The truth is, I have a ton of new topics to cover, because I have been out of touch with the blog and have left my readers hanging for weeks without a new entry.   I apologize for this.    I think in return for the wonderful support and interest I've gotten from my readers, I owe it to you to put up a new entry at least a couple times per week- even if it's a quick note about fashion that my friends will riducule.

READER QUESTION: WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY?
     Homeopathy is a branch of medicine which started in Europe not long ago- hundreds of years ago, not thousands of years ago like acupuncture or some other modalities.   It gained wide acceptance in Europe and America starting in the 1800s and going well into the early 1900s, until the American Medical Association (the AMA) launched a concerted effort to discredit homeopathy and ostracize its practitioners.   As a result, homeopathy really fell to the wayside as a "fringe" practice, offered by clinicians that the AMA widely ridiculed as "quacks."
      Without getting too political or straying from the subject, let me first give you Dr. Tofuhead's take on the AMA: this is one of the dirtiest, most corrupt organizations in the history of medicine.    Never afraid of taking huge amounts of money from tobacco and firearms companies, the AMA until very recently spent much of this money trying to increase the power and prestige of high-paid, private medical specialists, at the expense of all and sundry alternative medical practitioners.   Even primary care doctors like your beloved Dr. Tofuhead have suffered from the malignant antics of the AMA.   So when the AMA widely comes out AGAINST something like homeopathy, it makes me think: THERE MUST BE SOMETHING TO HOMEOPATHY!
HOMEOPATHY: BASIC CONCEPTS
1. Toxic or disease causing entities, in very small amounts that do not cause harm, can be introduced into the human body and actually compel the body to fight those entities and overcome disease.
2. Toxic entities must be serially diluted in a very specific and time-consuming way in order to produce effective homeopathic remedies.
3. The homeopathic serial dilution method not only yields a remedy with a tiny amount of a toxic substance, but the chemical makeup of the solution itself (in which the toxin is dissolved), is itself altered in the process, in a clinically significant way.  This point has been supported by some very complex and surprising experiments, done by physical chemists in recent years.
HOMEOPATHY: DOES IT WORK?
      The most honest answer is: we don't really know.   To date, there have not been many good scientific studies looking at homeopathic remedies and whether or not they really work.   My own opinion is that homeopathy, like any branch of health practice, will turn out to work for some things, and to not work for others.   What I hope to see in future research is studies that will help us pinpoint just what homeopathy can treat.   For the time being, I would not rely on homeopathic remedies to treat conditions for which their are proven treatments: for example, strep throat (which is treated with antibiotic drugs).    
       However: small studies have been compelling when it comes to treating viral respiratory illnesses with homeopathic remedies.    For example, there is a homeopathic medication called "Occillococcinum" which many of my patients swear by, for fighting colds and flus.   Years ago, when I worked in an acupuncture and homeopathic practice, I had access to this medication for free.   My own experience here is not worth much, but I do believe that if I took occillococcinum at the onset of a cold, it either disappeared completely or the duration of the cold was shortened.   It's worth looking into; after all, traditional western medicine or "allopathic medicine" has nothing that can cure or prevent a cold.   If any of my readers have had experience with this or another homeopathy remedy, please share.
WHERE CAN I FIND HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES?
     You can find popular homeopathic medicines such as Occillococcinum at health food stores, vitamin shops, and even some grocery stores.   My optometrist even gave me a homeopathic eye drop recently, which really worked for me.   But keep in mind that there are thousands of homeopathic remedies with odd names; names that don't really reflect the condition they are designed to treat.   So except for a few exceptions, see someone who knows what they are doing.   I recommend seeing a homeopathic doctor for advice and for remedies if you want to treat something other than a cold or flu.   And if you're taking a homeopathic remedy for an illness and it's not working, please: see your allopathic primary care doctor!
BOTTOM LINE: My take on homeopathy is that there IS something to it.   I also think it's an exciting field, in which we will see some compelling new research in our lifetimes.   So watch these pages- I'll return to the topic again in the future.

Friday, July 25, 2008

RECENT READER QUESTIONS ON FASCINATING TOPICS

     To all my friends who pointed out my own fashion mistakes when I posted my last blog choc-full of essential fashion tips, I just want to give this reasonable feedback: dress as I say you should dress, not as I do dress. I'll admit- I take a special pleasure in occasionally wearing hideous or outdated clothes, just to elicit reactions. That doesn't mean you should, unless you enjoy people laughing at you.

READER QUESTION: WHAT IS HYPOCHONDRIASIS?
Or more specifically, "what causes someone to be a hypochondriac?"
     This was a tough question for me to answer. In fact, it took me weeks to find information that I felt was reliable. Essentially, being a hypochondriac means that you have an "exxagerated concern or worry about having a health problem or health problems, despite evidence to the contrary." This actually used to be classified in the psychiatric literature as a form of a "personality disorder," in other words a mental illness all its own. That was probably both innaccurate and unhelpful, since personality disorders are not often treatable. Currently, hypochondriasis is generally seen as a symptom of a treatable mental illness, the most common illnesses being depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hypochondriasis can also be seen in other mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and psychotic syndromes.
     By far the most common underlying illness in someone who is a hypochondriac is depression. Part of that is because we are recognizing, with increasing frequency, that major depression can cause physical symptoms, which are often ill defined. Another factor is that a majority of depressed patients are very resistant to being diagnosed as having depression, and depressed patients are often hard to convince that their physical symptoms are coming from a psychological rather than a physical source.  Hypochondriacs  who are depressed and are treated for depression do very well, and are able to overcome their hypochondriasis is most cases.
    This is also true for patients who have hypochondriasis in the context of an anxiety disorder, PTSD, or other mental illnesses.

MORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HYPOCHONDRIASIS

1. DOES EVERYONE WITH HYPOCHONDRIASIS HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS?
No.   Honestly, I think many hypochondriacs just have too much time on their hands, or they're too focused on their own needs.   In these folks, it tends to be a temporary problem.   After a few doctor's visits and normal tests, and hopefully some encouragement from a doctor, they realize that they are wasting their time- and that rather than worrying about non-existent health problems, they should use their mental energy to work, have fun, and pursue more productive hobbies.  
     There are also hypochondriacs who are justified in their hypochondria, in my opinion.   For example, cancer survivors often become hypochondriacs, and for good reason.   The last time they thought they had a serious illness, they did!   I don't even think it's fair to call cancer survivors hypochondriacs.    It's better just to offer them the tests they want, whenever they want, to help reassure them that they don't have cancer again.   At least, that's what I do.
2. WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING A HYPOCHONDRIAC?
I think the biggest problem for hypochondriacs is that they are unhappy, and their hypochondria keeps them that way.   It's really no fun to think you have an undiscovered illness.   Not only does the hypochondriac worry about his or her health, but he or she wastes a lot of time- time in doctor's appointments, getting tests, searching for health information on the internet, and seeing various health practitioners.   Hypochondriacs put a big time and financial burden on themselves, and they also can make their loved ones and family members unhappy or frustrated with them.
3. WHAT IF OTHER PEOPLE THINK I'M A HYPOCHONDRIAC, BUT I REALLY HAVE A SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEM?
See a doctor.   If your doctor treats you with annoyance or insults you, get another doctor.   If there are tests that are reasonable to do, ask your doctor to run them.   But you should trust your doctor's judgement to some degree- demanding complex tests that your doctor doesn't think you need will generally get you nowhere.    And keep in mind the most important fact here: there are very few health conditions out there that "no one can detect" or "multiple doctors can't diagnose."   A recent book on the subject reviewed a number of studies of patients with "hard to diagnose, undiscovered health problems."   The studies revealed that only a tiny fraction of these patients turned out to have a real physical ailment; most had either stress-related conditions or depression.    So if you've been to a few doctors, had a number of tests, and "no one can figure out what's wrong with you," the painful truth is this: there probably is nothing wrong with you, physically.   You might do yourself a favor and seek a therapist.