To cancel the appointment because homeopathy is a load of crap?

[HowdoIgetbacktothe80s]

I’ve had chronic health issues for years. These issues are getting worse and completely ruining my quality of life.
Despite lots of tests, consultant and GP appointments via the NHS, I am definitely getting worse not better.
I know and appreciate the NHS is on its knees but I am fed up waiting up to a year for consultation appointments, having them cancelled at last minute (one was even cancelled whilst I was in the hospital waiting room ffs!) and when I eventually get seen it is often a rushed 10 minute appointment. I am getting nowhere fast and pretty desperate right now despite investing so much in the hope of feeling well and trying many things myself. I don’t want to keep taking up NHS space when someone worse off than me needs the services, I would love to find someone out there who can help me heal.
I am contemplating turning to ‘alternative’ healthcare. I asked on my local town’s FB group for recommendations and several recommended a local homeopath.
I have had a 30 minute free call with her. She was so very lovely and for the first time I felt listened to and validated.
She explained how she had experience of my health issues herself and how homeopathy could indeed help me. She said that because my issues were long standing it would take some months to start to feel better.
So I have booked to go and see her in a month.
The consultation is £100 with the homeopathic tinctures being an additional £25 which she said would last about a month and I would probably need to see her for several months. Each follow up appointment will be £80 (probably every other month or so). She wasn’t pushy at all and it was left up to me to make any decisions.
I have told my dh and friends and they think it’s a utter waste of my money and homeopathy is nothing more than a placebo. They truly believe I will not get better via this route but am now having a wobble about it as it is a lot of money for me if it doesn’t help.
Of course if you look on the NHS website it will tell you much the same. But the NHS hasn’t been able to help me and I am now at a loss, stuck in limbo land and getting desperate.

What is everyone’s opinion or experience on homeopathy?
Should I pursue this route or cancel now?
I dare say that am going to get flamed on here. I know I am probably grasping at straws but I just want to feel better.

YABU - homeopathy is useless, you may as well throw the money down the drain don’t be so gullible!
YANBU - I believe in homeopathy, it works

I spent hundreds on homeopathy years ago. I'm now nearly 50 and my health is much worse than when I used it back in my 30s. I do believe in alternative therapies and use essential oils myself but I would never replace conventional medicine over the alternatives. I would save your money and find a private consultant or push with your doc for whole spectrum blood tests which is what my doctor did 4 years ago and discovered what my condition was. I now have 6 monthly. Sounds like you need a listening ear too which actually really helps me when my health is at its worse. Xxx

@Hobbi you didn’t specify… we are talking about complimentary medicine. I have never, ever said that complimentary medicine could cure cancer… I simply said if I were in as much pain as the OP then I would try everything once… and I would.

@Teaandtoast3
'no scientific evidence to show that reiki can prevent, treat or cure cancer, or any other disease.'

I see a homeopath with my kids. She used to be a paediatrician who now fully switched to homeopathy. She is certified to prescribe all medication though if she thinks its necessary. She works alone and has really bad call hours (8-9am only each day), so it has happened that i had to see a gp with my kids first before i could get an appointment with her.
Ive had antibiotics prescribed 5x over the years for the kids combined. Each time i waited a day first to consult homeopath before giving it. Each time she gave me homeopathic medicine and the kids recovered quickly. Neither of them has ever had antibiotics.
I believe in it, it really works for us. Both kids have terrible hay fever. I now give them globuli when the symptoms start and they instantly give relief. Its not gone fully, but its much much better.
I would try it if I were you. Dont really have anything to lose if youre not getting help elsewhere anyways.

No… but it ranks higher than a placebo which is what was being discussed.

Placebo or not, whatever she tries if she gets some respite… then I support that. My intentions for the OP are well meaning… yours I haven’t decided about.

To add to my previous post, yes - homeopathy could all be guff promulgated by charlatans. However, homeopathic treatment worked on my very young daughter, so I really don't think it was a placebo effect. She'd swallowed plenty of medicine from the doctor and pharmacist and none of it worked even though we expected it to. I only took her to the homeopath out of desperation.
If mainstream treatments didn't work and I was looking for a reliable homeopath, I'd check out the qualifications of any homeopath and give it a try again. I'd also ask how long it would be before I saw an improvement, so I wouldn't end up agreeing to a never ending series of expensive consultations. (And if the treatment that the respiratory consultant is suggesting for my Long Covid doesn't work, I'll be giving homeoptathy another try).

We have used homeopathy several times , always prescribed by fully qualified NHS doctors, and always after trying everything conventional medicine could offer with no success .

The first (in England) was our baby suffering the worst eczema I've ever seen. His skin was so raw that every morning he was glued to his sheets. Our GP had tried everything. Finally , almost as a throw away, she said " I suppose you could always as the witch doctor. That's what we call him. " ???? This turned out to be her partner and colleague in the same GP practice; an NHS GP also qualified in homeopathy. I'd never met him, never heard of homeopathy, we were desperate. Within a month of treatment, DS had perfect skin and never looked back.
The second was DS2, a supremely fit sporty 14 yr old, keen footballer, hiker, skier, out of the blue developed crippling polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. He was treated at Glasgow Childrens Hospital and as his condition deteriorated the specialist told us the risk of cardiac damage was high, that he would soon be in a wheelchair ,with a reduced life expectancy. At that time, Glasgow was also home to the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital (owned and run by NHS; all staff are fully trained in conventional medicine) and I asked ourGP for a referral to it . He refused on the grounds he didn't believe in homeopathy. I insisted. Son had (iirc) 4 months of homeopathic treatment with immediate benefit and within months was fully recovered. He's 45, supremely fit and sporty.

The third was more recent; DH was having troublesome side effects from cancer treatment. We had an NHS GP who is also fully qualified in homeopathy (from the GHH) and acupuncture, and offers both in addition to conventional medicine. She prescribed homeopathic treatment for the side effects and the problem went away.

From those experiences, all I can says is, homeopathy worked for us. And, my family's treatments were always chosen and prescribed by NHS fully qualified doctors fully aware of their medical history.

Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital is still run by the NHS and now called
NHS Centre for Integrative Care, and still offers homeopathy on the NHS>

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHS_Centre_for_Integrative_Care,_Glasgow

There are plenty of examples of people finding homeopathy “works” as in several PPs here.

The point is not that the homeopathy is actually doing anything it’s that the person undergoing the treatment believes it is going to work, develops a more positive and open mindset, anxiety drops off and general baseline wellness is improved. It’s textbook placebo effect.

There’s nothing inherently damaging about doing this. The problem is that the treatment is not addressing the root cause of the problem (because homeopathy doesn’t do anything). You are simply buying yourself a short term psychological fix but the underlying problem will not be treated. And the risk is that if the problem recurs you will repeat the same cycle but the placebo effect diminishes over time.

Its just a waste of money and if it’s psychological reassurance you want you are far better off just going to see a therapist.

@Snippysocks
A 'qualified' homeopath would be indistinguishable from an unqualified one. Studies have shown this to be the case. So many folk don't understand what regression to the mean implies. Illnesses go away, especially mild childhood illnesses.

Save the homeopathy money and spend it on a private consultation. If the private consultant feels you're in need of serious medical help they can give you an emergency referral to the NHS.

Homeopathy is not based in science and all the evidence is that it doesn’t work. There’s no harm in going to a health food shop and buying a remedy or tea for a few pounds but wow £100 for a consultation! You could see a fully registered and trained GP for around that. Without knowing exactly what you’re struggling with it’s hard to recommend what to do but I’d get advice from a private health care professional as it’s likely to be less biased. Sometimes it’s about learning to live with the condition and someone like an occupational therapist may be able to help with that.

The point is not that the homeopathy is actually doing anything it’s that the person undergoing the treatment believes it is going to work, develops a more positive and open mindset, anxiety drops off and general baseline wellness is improved. It’s textbook placebo effect.

There’s nothing inherently damaging about doing this. The problem is that the treatment is not addressing the root cause of the problem (because homeopathy doesn’t do anything). You are simply buying yourself a short term psychological fix but the underlying problem will not be treated.

This. In fact research shows that if the doctor tells you all they are giving you is water/sugar pills etc it is just as effective as really selling it with all the woo. I would have no issue with using open placebo in this way, it's charlatans who steal money by pretending their tap water is medicine that are the problem.

There’s great power in positive thinking and placebo, I’d agree the problem is when people are paying a great deal
of money for it. And also when it leads to totally rejecting conventional medicine which can be quite dangerous

Which goes against NHS England recommendations that are based on research to show that it does not work.
At least you're not paying to be duped I guess.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/homeopathy/

I would go with your gut. Who cares if it is 'placebo' if it works? I spent a hell of a lot of my time making myself the best placebo I can be, and all the best healthcare professionals do that too.

That bollocks about how 'if there's evidence, it's called medicine' is just that.

There's no evidence that antidepressants are better than placebo, but Mumsnetters will be falling over themselves to tell you they are worthwhile, and that the outdated and disproved serotonin-lack theory of depression is true. Prozac is actually less effective than placebo, but it still gets prescribed.

There's OODLES of procedures available on the NHS (certain knee surgeries for example) that have been proven to be ineffective and placebo only. Why not use a placebo where someone listens to you and gives a shit?

Surgery is dangerous, so no, don't do that as a placebo. Chiropractic is dangerous, so do't do that either. Homeopathy is harmless - and it has worked for my sister's horses and dogs.

The NHS website says this about homeopathy: "Some homeopathic remedies may contain substances that aren't safe or interfere with the action of other medicines." So you can't have it both ways - either is does nothing (so can't interact with other medicines) or it does something.

I'd check out the society of homeopaths.....

No it's not. Is completely and utterly different and has been clinically proven to work for number of things. NICE recommend it for chronic pain, certain types of headaches, osteoarthritis of the knee, hot flushes, and a couple of other things. It's nothing like the bollocks that is homeopathy!

I don't believe in homeopathy but I don't agree with people who dismiss the value of the placebo effect. I think the placebo effect can be very powerful and can help people feel better. So in that sense, I think if nothing else is working and you can afford it, what's the harm in trying.

ittakes2 thank you. I will contact them, I suppose I have nothing to lose from purchasing a few homeopathic remedies. It’s cheaper than seeing the homeopath. I have listed my issues in the past and had lots of very helpful advice. Sadly, I had tried most of the things advised. It’s been a 25 year journey trying to find something to help. I haven’t really ever explored the complementary/alternative health route much though.

The second was DS2, a supremely fit sporty 14 yr old, keen footballer, hiker, skier, out of the blue developed crippling polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. He was treated at Glasgow Childrens Hospital and as his condition deteriorated the specialist told us the risk of cardiac damage was high, that he would soon be in a wheelchair ,with a reduced life expectancy. At that time, Glasgow was also home to the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital (owned and run by NHS; all staff are fully trained in conventional medicine) and I asked ourGP for a referral to it . He refused on the grounds he didn't believe in homeopathy. I insisted. Son had (iirc) 4 months of homeopathic treatment with immediate benefit and within months was fully recovered. He's 45, supremely fit and sporty.

That condition is a lifelong, incurable condition in some cases but I quote:
Although the exact cause of JIA is unknown, the symptoms often improve as a child gets older, meaning they can lead a normal life.

That was taken from this MHS Scotland link:
www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/muscle-bone-and-joints/conditions/arthritis. My sister was half-crippled by juvenile arthritis when she was around 13 but a year later you would never have known what she'd been through.

If there was the slightest scientific proof that homeopathy cured arthritis not just the NHS but the drug companies would be all over it — because there are millions to be made. But they're not because they know it's bollocks.

I wish people would stop spreading bullshit and luring vulnerable people like the OP into spending hundreds, even thousands, on little vials of water peddled by smiling con-artists.

I'd be more inclined to go diet based - cut dairy and wheat for starters as those food groups seem to cause people the most issue - and see if you can rebuild your health on a simple diet before adding food groups back in rather than try homeopathy.

I totally agree with this. The gut is such a powerhouse and we need to look after it. Definitely look at what you eat and drink and see if cutting out certain things help or even eating less if any processed foods and drink.

From what I've heard the only alternative therapy that works is acupuncture.

Reiki etc, load of bollocks

A homeopath prescribed some crystally stuff for my daughter's chronic stomach pain. Two tablets today, another in a week, another a week after that. Twelve quid.

She, being an intelligent and inquisitive kid, looked it up.

Sea salt.