I just found this article discussing the use of homeopathic remedies in the emergency room. Quite interesting and promising. Could we eventually move towards a more inclusive and accepting view of homeopathy in the traditional hospital?
http://www.camresearch.net/showabstract.php?pmid=16425109
Also, on the forums at Hpathy.com, there's a heated debate about the use of combination remedies and combination potencies that poses a hypothetical question about choosing homeopathics in life-or-death situations and details many homeopaths' views. Check it out and leave me a comment on what you're thinking.
http://www.hpathy.com/homeopathyforums/forum_posts.asp?TID=4674&PN=1&TPN=1
Be well.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
My rebirth.
Back in May, right towards the end of the school year, my life took a drastic turn. I'm not going to share all the lurid details. Suffice it to say that I reached a personal crossroads. Continue blindly and recklessly on the path I'd been on for the last several years, or make some changes and try to get back on the right path. Thankfully, with the help of a supportive wife and family, I was able to create meaningful and powerfully transformative change that has enhanced nearly every aspect of my life.
If you've never heard of the Great Smokies Medical Center, you're not alone. It's a small clinic in the mountains of western North Carolina that specializes in treatment of the whole patient rather than just the symptoms. The nice thing about the GSMC is that it doesn't reject traditional medicine in favor of alternatives. It understands that traditional medicine has a role to play in creating and maintaining health. What's unique about the GSMC's approach is that it works to get at the root of what's causing the symptoms the patient is experiencing rather than just suppressing the sypmtoms with pharmaceuticals. Then, if the root of the problem needs traditional or alternative methods of treatment, they have both at their disposal.
For the last seven years I'd been experiencing dramatic mood shifts that had been negatively affecting my relationships. I was very aware of these mood shifts, hated them, wanted to avoid them, but I just didn't know how. For years my basic approach was to maintain a high level of hydration by drinking enormous amounts of water. Seriously, I drank over 140 ounces of water a day! That's like drinking twelve soda cans of water. For the most part, this helped my moods be even. But when I'd let my water levels slip, even a little, usually between getting home from teaching and eating dinner, I'd end up getting grumpy and creating a negative space around bedtime. This couldn't last. It had far reaching negative effects.
A friend of our recommended the Great Smokies Medical Center. (http://www.gsmcweb.com/) I went and spoke with one of their nurse practicioners. Pam was amazing. She took my health history and lined me up for some (expensive!) tests. I initially balked at spending so much on the tests, but went ahead and did it. My wife and I sweated out the time between taking the tests and getting the results. On the day I was to get my results we even had a fight about the process. We both were desperate to see that something was wrong with me and that we could do something to create a change in my behavior. Worst case scenario would be having spent all that money and then the doc says, "Hey, you're fine! I don't know what's wrong. Let's take more tests!"
Luckily, something was wrong. Long analysis short, my neurotransmitter levels were way out of whack. "It's a wonder you're not crawling out of your skin," Pam told me, much to my relief. For some reason, it was so reassuring to know that there was a physiological reason for my emotional instability.
She started me on an extensive and expensive regimen of vitamins, amino acids, and other good stuff that has truly created those changes I was so desperate to make. I'm probably spending over $150 a month on these supplements, but if they make my moods more stable, it's all worth it. In fact, it's difficult to put a price tag on saving one's marriage. These supplements were worth it.
My moods are even. I don't have to drink such enormous amounts of water anymore. I'm much more patient with my little girls. And it's not that I've become a mellow zombie. I still am enjoyable and laugh freely. I probably laugh more now! In many aspects, my life has transitioned onto a much more positive and hopeful path. I feel full of hope and excitement about my future, both personally, professionally, and most importantly with my family.
I truly am living the life I always wanted, and I am blessed to live it with those I love.
Be well, my friends.
If you've never heard of the Great Smokies Medical Center, you're not alone. It's a small clinic in the mountains of western North Carolina that specializes in treatment of the whole patient rather than just the symptoms. The nice thing about the GSMC is that it doesn't reject traditional medicine in favor of alternatives. It understands that traditional medicine has a role to play in creating and maintaining health. What's unique about the GSMC's approach is that it works to get at the root of what's causing the symptoms the patient is experiencing rather than just suppressing the sypmtoms with pharmaceuticals. Then, if the root of the problem needs traditional or alternative methods of treatment, they have both at their disposal.
For the last seven years I'd been experiencing dramatic mood shifts that had been negatively affecting my relationships. I was very aware of these mood shifts, hated them, wanted to avoid them, but I just didn't know how. For years my basic approach was to maintain a high level of hydration by drinking enormous amounts of water. Seriously, I drank over 140 ounces of water a day! That's like drinking twelve soda cans of water. For the most part, this helped my moods be even. But when I'd let my water levels slip, even a little, usually between getting home from teaching and eating dinner, I'd end up getting grumpy and creating a negative space around bedtime. This couldn't last. It had far reaching negative effects.
A friend of our recommended the Great Smokies Medical Center. (http://www.gsmcweb.com/) I went and spoke with one of their nurse practicioners. Pam was amazing. She took my health history and lined me up for some (expensive!) tests. I initially balked at spending so much on the tests, but went ahead and did it. My wife and I sweated out the time between taking the tests and getting the results. On the day I was to get my results we even had a fight about the process. We both were desperate to see that something was wrong with me and that we could do something to create a change in my behavior. Worst case scenario would be having spent all that money and then the doc says, "Hey, you're fine! I don't know what's wrong. Let's take more tests!"
Luckily, something was wrong. Long analysis short, my neurotransmitter levels were way out of whack. "It's a wonder you're not crawling out of your skin," Pam told me, much to my relief. For some reason, it was so reassuring to know that there was a physiological reason for my emotional instability.
She started me on an extensive and expensive regimen of vitamins, amino acids, and other good stuff that has truly created those changes I was so desperate to make. I'm probably spending over $150 a month on these supplements, but if they make my moods more stable, it's all worth it. In fact, it's difficult to put a price tag on saving one's marriage. These supplements were worth it.
My moods are even. I don't have to drink such enormous amounts of water anymore. I'm much more patient with my little girls. And it's not that I've become a mellow zombie. I still am enjoyable and laugh freely. I probably laugh more now! In many aspects, my life has transitioned onto a much more positive and hopeful path. I feel full of hope and excitement about my future, both personally, professionally, and most importantly with my family.
I truly am living the life I always wanted, and I am blessed to live it with those I love.
Be well, my friends.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Magnet Therapy
Back in college (man, that seems like a lifetime ago), I woke up nearly every day with pain in my lower back. Walking around I was the guy you saw with both his hands planted firmly on his back, always stretching and arching my back. It was uncomfortable to sit for extended periods of time (which made class lectures difficult, to say nothing about the often times boring content of those enormous classes). It got to the point where I just felt like I was going to be one of those people who always had back pain.
My father, a traditional physician in southwest rural Colorado, heard about the practice of using magnets to help people with a variety of ailments. My dad, understand, is not a liberal minded guy. Up until very recently, he felt that GW Bush was one of our smartest presidents (he has since changed his mind). His practice was totally traditional AMA medicine. Even today, when I tell him I've had trouble with my sinuses or might be battling a head cold, he recommends antibiotics before things "get out of hand." That's what's worked for him and the countless thousands of patients he's had over the forty years or so of his practice. It's hard to knock that kind of lasting power.
Nonetheless, for him to recommend magnet therapy was quite significant to me. I was willing to give it a try. He ordered me a pair of magnetic insoles to place in my shoes, a magnetic pad that fit inside a belt that could be placed on my lower back, and, my favorite of all, he bought me a magnetic mattress pad.
This pad was about two inches thick and made of that egg carton material- only this pad had tiny magnets inserted in the egg carton material. Lying on the pad, you couldn't feel the magnets. And the pad was pretty comfy all by itself.
Lo and behold! In less than a week, my lower back pain had disappeared. There is no reasonable or even pseudo-scientific explanation for why these magnets worked for me. I briefly tried to sell the product, but ended up just giving them away when I saw others in pain who I felt might benefit from the magnets. But in the one sales conference my father and I attended, the presenters were careful to remind us that we weren't to promise any results. None of us knew how these things worked, but for many of us the results were unquestionable. I couldn't even spend the night at my girlfriend's house during those college years without waking up with that old familiar soreness.
So was I simply the victim of my own mind? Was this just the placebo affect working? Even the people selling the product didn't have an explanation. One of the founders of the company had been healed from a terribly degenerative disease using this magnet therapy. It makes me wonder, does it even matter if it's just our minds healing us?
Perhaps we need something external within which to place our faith in order to heal ourselves. Perhaps that is how all of our true healing occurs, through the power of our minds. It simply takes a framework of belief and empowerment before our bodies can be convinced.
I overworked my back hauling up my seventh grade literature textbooks to my new classroom yesterday. I found that old magnet pad in my closet once I got home, and I placed it up against my lower back. There's something comfortably familiar about feeling its subtle presence there under my shirt. Maybe I'll wake up healed in the morning, ready for my first day of students...
Be well my friends.
My father, a traditional physician in southwest rural Colorado, heard about the practice of using magnets to help people with a variety of ailments. My dad, understand, is not a liberal minded guy. Up until very recently, he felt that GW Bush was one of our smartest presidents (he has since changed his mind). His practice was totally traditional AMA medicine. Even today, when I tell him I've had trouble with my sinuses or might be battling a head cold, he recommends antibiotics before things "get out of hand." That's what's worked for him and the countless thousands of patients he's had over the forty years or so of his practice. It's hard to knock that kind of lasting power.
Nonetheless, for him to recommend magnet therapy was quite significant to me. I was willing to give it a try. He ordered me a pair of magnetic insoles to place in my shoes, a magnetic pad that fit inside a belt that could be placed on my lower back, and, my favorite of all, he bought me a magnetic mattress pad.
This pad was about two inches thick and made of that egg carton material- only this pad had tiny magnets inserted in the egg carton material. Lying on the pad, you couldn't feel the magnets. And the pad was pretty comfy all by itself.
Lo and behold! In less than a week, my lower back pain had disappeared. There is no reasonable or even pseudo-scientific explanation for why these magnets worked for me. I briefly tried to sell the product, but ended up just giving them away when I saw others in pain who I felt might benefit from the magnets. But in the one sales conference my father and I attended, the presenters were careful to remind us that we weren't to promise any results. None of us knew how these things worked, but for many of us the results were unquestionable. I couldn't even spend the night at my girlfriend's house during those college years without waking up with that old familiar soreness.
So was I simply the victim of my own mind? Was this just the placebo affect working? Even the people selling the product didn't have an explanation. One of the founders of the company had been healed from a terribly degenerative disease using this magnet therapy. It makes me wonder, does it even matter if it's just our minds healing us?
Perhaps we need something external within which to place our faith in order to heal ourselves. Perhaps that is how all of our true healing occurs, through the power of our minds. It simply takes a framework of belief and empowerment before our bodies can be convinced.
I overworked my back hauling up my seventh grade literature textbooks to my new classroom yesterday. I found that old magnet pad in my closet once I got home, and I placed it up against my lower back. There's something comfortably familiar about feeling its subtle presence there under my shirt. Maybe I'll wake up healed in the morning, ready for my first day of students...
Be well my friends.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Did you see the latest episode of 30 Days?
Did you see last week's episode of 30 Days? If you've never seen the show, it's one to be added to your viewing schedule. Morgan Spurlock, the producer and star of the movie Supersize Me!, has created a unique reality show (no, really, it truly is unique and not cheesy at all!) where he puts different people into different situations for thirty days. Their experiences during those thirty days nearly always become transformative in one way or another. In so doing, it creates opportunities for inspection of one's own values.
In the season premier, a member of the MinuteMen, the militia group in the southern US on the watch for illegal immigrants, moved in with a family of illegal immigrants in California. The Minute Man and his parents had legally emigrated from Cuba when he was a small boy. Watching this I thought there would be no way his perspective would be changed. And, for most of the show, it didn't. Only when he visited the other family members still living in Mexico did he reevaluate his position. Once he saw the extreme poverty this loving, generous, hard working family came to America to escape, you could see his eyes open. Illegal immigration no longer was simply a case of foreigners trying to take over "his" country. The issue, like so many issues, became much more complicated for this man.
Back to alternative health...The latest episode had an overweight stressed-out salesman pursue a variety of different alternative health practices. From meditation to scream therapy to walking over hot coals, this guy was pretty open-minded (this surprised me!) in his experimentation with the world of alternative healing. I was proud of how open he was to healing his body by recognizing the connection between his emotional well-being (or lack thereof) and his physical wellness.
The producer spent a brief couple of minutes talking with a guy who proclaimed that any therapy that hadn't been "proven" by science was a fake and a waste of money. Other than that, the show reflected the different paths to healing quite well. Its focus was on being open to change, being more conscious in the moment, and allowing oneself to feel the emotions generated in different situations without suppressing them. It also discussed the role of energy in health and healing, looking at a couple of examples of young cancer survivors who had turned away from modern medicine (chemotherapy and radiation treatments) in favor of energetic healers to quite positive effect.
I only wish they show had looked at the role of "modern" medicine in creating the cycle of sickness, the treatment of symptoms through suppression and the subsequent creation of the facade of health, only to often experience deeper sickness later. Homeopathy (my favorite alternative!) wasn't even mentioned once!
But Morgan Spurlock can be forgiven... I love the show. If you haven't checked it out, it plays out here in western NC on Wednesdays around 10:00. Watch it and leave me a comment on your thoughts.
(I've left a link to his show through the fx network below. Ugh, I feel a little dirty conducting such base advertising...)
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/30days/main.html
Be well!
In the season premier, a member of the MinuteMen, the militia group in the southern US on the watch for illegal immigrants, moved in with a family of illegal immigrants in California. The Minute Man and his parents had legally emigrated from Cuba when he was a small boy. Watching this I thought there would be no way his perspective would be changed. And, for most of the show, it didn't. Only when he visited the other family members still living in Mexico did he reevaluate his position. Once he saw the extreme poverty this loving, generous, hard working family came to America to escape, you could see his eyes open. Illegal immigration no longer was simply a case of foreigners trying to take over "his" country. The issue, like so many issues, became much more complicated for this man.
Back to alternative health...The latest episode had an overweight stressed-out salesman pursue a variety of different alternative health practices. From meditation to scream therapy to walking over hot coals, this guy was pretty open-minded (this surprised me!) in his experimentation with the world of alternative healing. I was proud of how open he was to healing his body by recognizing the connection between his emotional well-being (or lack thereof) and his physical wellness.
The producer spent a brief couple of minutes talking with a guy who proclaimed that any therapy that hadn't been "proven" by science was a fake and a waste of money. Other than that, the show reflected the different paths to healing quite well. Its focus was on being open to change, being more conscious in the moment, and allowing oneself to feel the emotions generated in different situations without suppressing them. It also discussed the role of energy in health and healing, looking at a couple of examples of young cancer survivors who had turned away from modern medicine (chemotherapy and radiation treatments) in favor of energetic healers to quite positive effect.
I only wish they show had looked at the role of "modern" medicine in creating the cycle of sickness, the treatment of symptoms through suppression and the subsequent creation of the facade of health, only to often experience deeper sickness later. Homeopathy (my favorite alternative!) wasn't even mentioned once!
But Morgan Spurlock can be forgiven... I love the show. If you haven't checked it out, it plays out here in western NC on Wednesdays around 10:00. Watch it and leave me a comment on your thoughts.
(I've left a link to his show through the fx network below. Ugh, I feel a little dirty conducting such base advertising...)
http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/30days/main.html
Be well!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Self-defense for the Classroom Teacher
Once the school year starts, I'm always on the watch for the slightest sign of a cold. If you've ever put yourself in front of a classroom full of pre-teens and just barely teenagers, you know how demanding it can be. With a cold, you've hardly got a chance. The nice thing about teaching is that you can take a sick day if necessary. But usually the sub that comes in can't really move the class forward like it needs to. Many of us have learned to try to suck it up and tough out those days where we feel under the weather for the sake of our students' education (such martyrs, aren't we?).
Ever since I started working with King Bio, I always keep his Cold and Flu homeopathic remedy in my desk drawer. Typically a sickness, like the cold, follows a predictable pattern. For me, I get that tiny sore throat way in the back of my mouth. This lasts for about twelve hours. Then I get a bit of a runny nose and some sinus pressure. From there, I get the full blown cold. If I catch that cold early on in the sore throat stage, and dose myself up with my homeopathic, I often can fit off that sickness entirely! And, if I catch it just a bit late, taking that remedy helps soften and shorten the cold.
I can't tell you how many times these homeopathic remedies have saved me. If you're interested in the homeopathics I use, leave a comment and I'll get back to you. You can also order off the company's website www.kingbio.com.
One note of caution for all you first year teachers just getting started: there's precious little you can do for your sweet untested immune system. Get ready to be sick. Consider it a rite of passage for the uninitiated teacher. But on the flip side, once you make it through that first year, your immune system will be rock solid!
Good luck all you teachers out there. I know first hand just how valuable your service is to our children. Just remember when things get tough, we are literally saving these kids' lives by giving them the tools they need to succeed!
Ever since I started working with King Bio, I always keep his Cold and Flu homeopathic remedy in my desk drawer. Typically a sickness, like the cold, follows a predictable pattern. For me, I get that tiny sore throat way in the back of my mouth. This lasts for about twelve hours. Then I get a bit of a runny nose and some sinus pressure. From there, I get the full blown cold. If I catch that cold early on in the sore throat stage, and dose myself up with my homeopathic, I often can fit off that sickness entirely! And, if I catch it just a bit late, taking that remedy helps soften and shorten the cold.
I can't tell you how many times these homeopathic remedies have saved me. If you're interested in the homeopathics I use, leave a comment and I'll get back to you. You can also order off the company's website www.kingbio.com.
One note of caution for all you first year teachers just getting started: there's precious little you can do for your sweet untested immune system. Get ready to be sick. Consider it a rite of passage for the uninitiated teacher. But on the flip side, once you make it through that first year, your immune system will be rock solid!
Good luck all you teachers out there. I know first hand just how valuable your service is to our children. Just remember when things get tough, we are literally saving these kids' lives by giving them the tools they need to succeed!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
With all this focus on health, who has time to get sick?
Wouldn't you know that after spending all this time focusing on health and homeopathy and working on getting the word out about King Bio's groundbreaking grant that provides homeopathic remedies free of charge to groups working in the health care industry, a big ol' head cold sneaks up and zaps me!
My wife had been suffering (just a little because she's way tougher than me) from a little sinus trouble this last week. For the most part we refrained from kissing and the usual sort of germ swapping thing that goes on around here. But I think she might've snuck in one little kiss when I wasn't watching.
I went to bed feeling fine after selling popcorn all night at Asheville's Downtown After Five concert. I should have known something was up when I dreamed my head was so filled with green goo that I quickly filled up a bathroom sink trying to clear it out *ugh*. And, when I woke up, my dream had come true. My head was clogged tight!
That day I doggedly took the cold/flu homeopathic remedy from King Bio, but really that remedy works best when you catch a cold at its initial onslaught. Usually I can sense a cold coming on when I get that little sore throat. Immediately I hit it hard with the homeopathic and dose up on the Vitamin C (I take nearly 6000mg a day when I'm in self-defense mode!), some zinc, and some goldenseal. But this time I had no warning.
Do you think my cold is learning my defenses and adapting more complicated guerilla style tactics? Oh well. It's starting to pass. Good thing. I've got a hundred seventh grade students joining me in my classroom this Thursday and lots to do to get ready. Wish me luck!
If you get a chance, check out the press I'm starting to get on the King Bio Community Outreach Program Grant. This is that grant I mentioned providing free remedies. You'd be amazed how difficult it's been giving stuff away! If you know of anyone who wants in on the program, just leave a comment and I'll get back to them ASAP!
http://www.pr.com/press-release/16045
My wife had been suffering (just a little because she's way tougher than me) from a little sinus trouble this last week. For the most part we refrained from kissing and the usual sort of germ swapping thing that goes on around here. But I think she might've snuck in one little kiss when I wasn't watching.
I went to bed feeling fine after selling popcorn all night at Asheville's Downtown After Five concert. I should have known something was up when I dreamed my head was so filled with green goo that I quickly filled up a bathroom sink trying to clear it out *ugh*. And, when I woke up, my dream had come true. My head was clogged tight!
That day I doggedly took the cold/flu homeopathic remedy from King Bio, but really that remedy works best when you catch a cold at its initial onslaught. Usually I can sense a cold coming on when I get that little sore throat. Immediately I hit it hard with the homeopathic and dose up on the Vitamin C (I take nearly 6000mg a day when I'm in self-defense mode!), some zinc, and some goldenseal. But this time I had no warning.
Do you think my cold is learning my defenses and adapting more complicated guerilla style tactics? Oh well. It's starting to pass. Good thing. I've got a hundred seventh grade students joining me in my classroom this Thursday and lots to do to get ready. Wish me luck!
If you get a chance, check out the press I'm starting to get on the King Bio Community Outreach Program Grant. This is that grant I mentioned providing free remedies. You'd be amazed how difficult it's been giving stuff away! If you know of anyone who wants in on the program, just leave a comment and I'll get back to them ASAP!
http://www.pr.com/press-release/16045
Thursday, August 17, 2006
More Support for Combination Remedies
Check out this article by Dana Ullman, a respected natural medicine advocate who has dedicated much of his life to researching, manufacturing, and distributing homeopathic remedies, much like Dr. King. I found this article to be well written and very balanced, unlike much of the literature out there that claims combination homeopathy is utterly useless and the only path to health is through classical homeopathy. Clearly there are arguments both for and against this contemporary combining of remedies into "super remedies" but to throw the baby out with the bathwater just because Hahnemann wasn't convinced of the merits of combination remedies over a hundred years ago seems short sighted and close minded.
Here's a link to the article. It seems that some of us might just be ahead of the game with regards to these combination homeopathic remedies...
http://www.lyghtforce.com/HomeopathyOnline/issue2/revchap1.html
Here's a link to the article. It seems that some of us might just be ahead of the game with regards to these combination homeopathic remedies...
http://www.lyghtforce.com/HomeopathyOnline/issue2/revchap1.html
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
The growing acceptance of combination remedies
The online homeopathic community seems quite full of those who follow the traditional, or classical, homeopathic approach. In fact, I'm hard pressed to find much information about these combination, or contemporary, homeopathic remedies that I haven't actively asked for in a forum or otherwise. Is it that this type of homeopathic remedy is so new that people haven't seen it being used? Or is it a traditional homeopathic's bias away from anything that wasn't specifically incorporated into Hahnemann's repetoire?
Even Hahnemann looked into the combination remedies as a potential new source of healing. Many of the more open-minded homeopaths I've connected with realize that these contemporary remedies have shown themselves to be very effective in acute conditions. And when pressed what they would rather use in an acute crisis, they would much rather use a combination homeopathic remedy than the potentially toxic pharmaceuticals given in our hospitals.
It looks like the next step for our powerful contemporary remedies would be to begin "proving" their efficacy in the homeopathic lab. I'm just learning what this process entails, but it looks like something that is beyond my means. I'm hoping that one of my readers might be able to help connect me with other homeopaths that would be interested in proving some of King Bio's combination contemporary remedies.
I know the power of these remedies. I can't wait to share them with the rest of the world.
Even Hahnemann looked into the combination remedies as a potential new source of healing. Many of the more open-minded homeopaths I've connected with realize that these contemporary remedies have shown themselves to be very effective in acute conditions. And when pressed what they would rather use in an acute crisis, they would much rather use a combination homeopathic remedy than the potentially toxic pharmaceuticals given in our hospitals.
It looks like the next step for our powerful contemporary remedies would be to begin "proving" their efficacy in the homeopathic lab. I'm just learning what this process entails, but it looks like something that is beyond my means. I'm hoping that one of my readers might be able to help connect me with other homeopaths that would be interested in proving some of King Bio's combination contemporary remedies.
I know the power of these remedies. I can't wait to share them with the rest of the world.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Research on combination homeopathic remedies
As many of you know, I've been working with King Bio for the last little bit. I did some writing with Dr. Frank King back in 1998 when we published a little "Guide to Homeopathy." It was enlightening and invigorating working with Dr. King and sharing his vision.
Now, I've become the Public Relations guy for the company. It's a great feeling working to spread the good news about homeopathy and King Bio specifically. I've been trying hard to create an online presence in the homeopathic world, posting on forums, reading and submitting articles to journals, and generally getting a feel for what the current state of homeopathy is.
Now I've been asked to write an article on current research and theory behind the combination remedies being produced by Dr. King at King Bio. Quite exciting news, this is! Since I know so little about how Dr. King first developed his homeopathic remedies over twenty years ago, I look forward to some lively discussions with him over the next couple of weeks as I try to write this challenging (and rewarding!) article.
I promise to keep you informed as the research and theory comes in!
Now, I've become the Public Relations guy for the company. It's a great feeling working to spread the good news about homeopathy and King Bio specifically. I've been trying hard to create an online presence in the homeopathic world, posting on forums, reading and submitting articles to journals, and generally getting a feel for what the current state of homeopathy is.
Now I've been asked to write an article on current research and theory behind the combination remedies being produced by Dr. King at King Bio. Quite exciting news, this is! Since I know so little about how Dr. King first developed his homeopathic remedies over twenty years ago, I look forward to some lively discussions with him over the next couple of weeks as I try to write this challenging (and rewarding!) article.
I promise to keep you informed as the research and theory comes in!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
State of Minnesota ahead of the curve!
I just read that low-income citizens in the state of Minnesota can receive state-funded complementary and alternative medicine. Further research is required into what exactly will be covered, but it sure sounds like a great start. Down the article, the republican representative who authored the law recognized how alternative medicine might just save the state a whole lot of money.
I sure wish we had more forward thinking legislators!
http://www.massagemag.com/News/2006/January/Minnesota.php
I sure wish we had more forward thinking legislators!
http://www.massagemag.com/News/2006/January/Minnesota.php
classical versus contemporary homeopathy forum
For the last several weeks I've been looking into the differences of opinion between classical homeopathy, or homeopathy where a homeopath utilizes only one remedy at one specific potency at a time, and contemporary homeopathy where multiple remedies and potencies are combined together into one new remedy. Seeing as how my knowledge base of homeopathy is very limited, it has been quite an eye-opening process.
The main arguments against combination homeopathics seem to be that as a patient experiences results with a combination, it is difficult to know which remedy or potency is creating a change. Homeopaths like to utilize the least amount of intervention possible, so I can see how this would be an issue for them.
The main arguments for combination homeopathics seem to be their ease of use. The latest postings on the forum linked to above discuss how these combination homeopathics might just be the bridge allowing more of the mainstream to see the power and effect of homeopathy.
Check out the forums. Leave a post. Bless us with your opinions.
http://www.hpathy.com/homeopathyforums/forum_posts.asp?TID=4617&TPN=1
The main arguments against combination homeopathics seem to be that as a patient experiences results with a combination, it is difficult to know which remedy or potency is creating a change. Homeopaths like to utilize the least amount of intervention possible, so I can see how this would be an issue for them.
The main arguments for combination homeopathics seem to be their ease of use. The latest postings on the forum linked to above discuss how these combination homeopathics might just be the bridge allowing more of the mainstream to see the power and effect of homeopathy.
Check out the forums. Leave a post. Bless us with your opinions.
http://www.hpathy.com/homeopathyforums/forum_posts.asp?TID=4617&TPN=1
Sunday, August 06, 2006
More Science on Homeopathy
I found this interesting link on a blog of a scientist who set out to disprove homeopathy but ended up finding measurable results of the efficacy of a homeopathic remedy. Neat stuff!
Saturday, August 05, 2006
NCCAM Report on Homeopathy
Hey everyone! This is a great link to a very balanced view on homeopathy by the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. I know I tend to be somewhat biased in my thougts on homeopathy (only because I've experienced wonderful results!), but this report takes a great look at both sides of the current state of homeopathy and the debate surrounding it.
I've just recently returned from Dallas, Texas where I was visiting my ailing aunt and aging uncle. These two surrogate grandparents have been very special to me as I grew up and became an adult. I received the call last week that Edna was in her last days and that Kess, my great uncle, was asking if I could come to visit. I immediately got a seat on a plane and was at their house Tuesday this week.
As anyone who has witnessed the gradual passing of a loved one knows, it is amazing what the body can endure before finally calling it quits. Aunt Edna had entered the hospital over two months earlier after a fall that broke her wrist and injured her shoulder. While there, she began having adverse reactions to her treatment. During a colonoscopy, we think she might have had her colon perforated by the doctor. A steady stream of antibiotics ensued, but little healing occurred. After a couple of weeks of feeling horrible and getting worse, Edna was able to communicate her desire to return home to wait out her final days.
When I got to her bedside, she had been unresponsive for over a week. Her son and husband honored her wishes by removing her feeding tubes, her anitbiotics, and we loved ones began our separate pilgrimages to say goodbye. I saw her as a shell of the formerly tough-as-nails woman I'd always known. Her shrunken face and emaciated frame brought tears to my eyes. I spent two nights with her and my Uncle Kess. I held her lifeless hand and stroked her head, kissed her forehead and spoke reassuringly to her. Four hours after I said goodbye and boarded the plane for home, she passed away quietly.
How often have we had a loved one who went into the hospital and became sicker or even died? How effective is our current state of health care at achieving, attaining, or sustaining health? I'm not saying that Edna's death was caused by the hospital. What I am saying is that the time spent in the hospital was plagued by indecision, doubt, pain, and a serious feeling of disempowerment on the part of Edna and her entire attending family. Only when Edna finally decided to return home did she and her family begin to feel a real sense of direction and empowerment.
The angels of hospice provided constant support for Edna, Kess, and the rest of the family. Those workers are underpaid and should have a special place waiting for them when they meet their maker.
I meant to speak with Frank King from King Bio about making a homeopathic specifically designed for these end of life moments. The health picture is so complicated and the needs are quite diverse. But if anyone can develop a remedy for that difficult time, it is he.
I love Edna and Kess. I don't know what Kess will do now that his rock is gone. I know he want to follow her. After sicty-seven years of marriage, who could blame him? Perhaps when he goes, he will pass in his sleep with dreams of his lost loved one in his mind.
If only we all could be that lucky.
As anyone who has witnessed the gradual passing of a loved one knows, it is amazing what the body can endure before finally calling it quits. Aunt Edna had entered the hospital over two months earlier after a fall that broke her wrist and injured her shoulder. While there, she began having adverse reactions to her treatment. During a colonoscopy, we think she might have had her colon perforated by the doctor. A steady stream of antibiotics ensued, but little healing occurred. After a couple of weeks of feeling horrible and getting worse, Edna was able to communicate her desire to return home to wait out her final days.
When I got to her bedside, she had been unresponsive for over a week. Her son and husband honored her wishes by removing her feeding tubes, her anitbiotics, and we loved ones began our separate pilgrimages to say goodbye. I saw her as a shell of the formerly tough-as-nails woman I'd always known. Her shrunken face and emaciated frame brought tears to my eyes. I spent two nights with her and my Uncle Kess. I held her lifeless hand and stroked her head, kissed her forehead and spoke reassuringly to her. Four hours after I said goodbye and boarded the plane for home, she passed away quietly.
How often have we had a loved one who went into the hospital and became sicker or even died? How effective is our current state of health care at achieving, attaining, or sustaining health? I'm not saying that Edna's death was caused by the hospital. What I am saying is that the time spent in the hospital was plagued by indecision, doubt, pain, and a serious feeling of disempowerment on the part of Edna and her entire attending family. Only when Edna finally decided to return home did she and her family begin to feel a real sense of direction and empowerment.
The angels of hospice provided constant support for Edna, Kess, and the rest of the family. Those workers are underpaid and should have a special place waiting for them when they meet their maker.
I meant to speak with Frank King from King Bio about making a homeopathic specifically designed for these end of life moments. The health picture is so complicated and the needs are quite diverse. But if anyone can develop a remedy for that difficult time, it is he.
I love Edna and Kess. I don't know what Kess will do now that his rock is gone. I know he want to follow her. After sicty-seven years of marriage, who could blame him? Perhaps when he goes, he will pass in his sleep with dreams of his lost loved one in his mind.
If only we all could be that lucky.
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