Anyone used homeopathy? Does it work?

[extraconfusedhelp]

I have PCOS and just went to see a homeopath today. She has given me something to take.

I just wanted to find out if anyone has been treated by a homeopath before? And how quickly the treatment worked?

Let's not forget the OP here, who is probably even more confused...

OP, I'm sorry to hear of your PCOS. Unfortunately this is the type of ailment that a homeopath might love - having myriad symptoms and unidentified causes.

You might have been asked to look out for changes in your energy levels, weight, pain levels, perspiration, temperature, acne, body hair, etc etc. Please do bear in mind that these are all things that fluctuate anyway. An increase in symptoms might be described to you as a "healing crisis" whereas a lessening could be described as "healing."

You might do well to keep a diary of your symptoms for a month both with and without the homeopathy, if you want to seek some guidance from yourself.

I hope that you feel better soon.

I can unconfuse the OP.

No, I am afraid that it will not work.

There are some "alternative" approaches to PCOS involving diet that you may want to investigate and try.

But homeopathy will not work. At all. even a little bit. Because homeopathic treatments are small bottles of incredibly expensive water and pills made out of sugar.

They might work if you're very very kind of slightly thirsty, or need a teeny tiny sugar kick. Or you have a bad back caused by a heavy wallet unbalancing your core muscles.

"There are many things that can't be explained rationally in this world"

No, there are not. What on earth are you talking about?

"can't we accept that is the case and agree to disagree like the 'rational people' we are"

There are facts and rational people believe in these facts. Then, there are fantasies like sugar pills having magical effects and only fools believe in those.

We can agree to disagree on subjective matters like the best color or the most attractive actor. We can't agree to disagree on physics and chemistry that work on simple rules that frankly you should have learned about in your early teens.

Okay then I'm a fool and the side effects of prescribed tranquillisers which sometimes include suicide are a rational scientific great thing that we must all believe in.

i spend no money on those things i was just mentioning that they are inexplicable, we don't know the answers to everything despite our 'education', science changes all the time.

well these medicines save many many lives, so the side effect will be (should be) carefully monitored. it is all about the balance of risks and benefits.

Ppeatfruit and your point is?

Yes, conventional drugs do have side effects- some of them very serious. For every few thousand people they cure, one person will have a side effect. Fact.

So?

The point is they have been tested and shown to work . Homeopathy has been tested- using double blind trials- and shown not to work.
Do you know what a double blind trial is? I asked you that and you didn't answer so I assume you don't know.

ALL drugs have side effects. If they can do good they can also do harm.
People have a choice though- take the drug and risk the side effects or don't take it.

OP - one of my friends has seen a nutritionist who has really helped with her PCOS so you might want to explore that.

Homeopathy is indeed a load of nonsense but I am a big fan of Arnica in proper concentrations.

Who is disputing that conventional medicines have side effects? Sometimes truly dreadful ones, that aren't found out about early enough. Sometimes because "big pharma" try to cover them up. That is absolutely true. (You can find out more about the ways it happens in the Bad Science book by Ben Goldacre. ) Luckily there are enough ways of reporting side effects that they are usually found out and then it is all up to the indivdual to decide whether those side effects are worthwhile.

Chemotherapy is massively toxic and has vast amounts of awful side effects, but that has to be balanced with the fact that it is also toxic to cancer cells. So are you prepared to have no feeling in your fingertips if your cancer is cured?

All people are saying is that homeopathy doesn't have any side effects because it isn't any better than placebo. Please note, I did not say it does not work. I just dispute the mechanism it uses for working.

There is NOTHING - including alternative medicine - that works that does not also sometimes have side effects.

I am so in love with that man!

in case anyone's not seen it before.

I have a friend who is a homeopath. She has a machine which works, apparently by 'radiotrons' WTF. You look up the illness in a book, which gives you a corresponding number. You then tap the number into the machine which zaps water with the radiotrons and voila you have your remedy. Wouldn't it be just fantastic if treating real illness was that simple? Seriously, trying to keep a straight face as she explained this to me was a real challenge.

OP, I think it is very unlikely that homeopathic medicines work for anything apart from self-limiting illnesses, which were probably going to get better anyway. And of course having someone have the time to listen to you will make a big difference to how you feel.

And arnica (not homeopathic arnica, but herbal medicine) works because it has an active ingredient at a high concentration that.

I think the advice to see a nutritionist is a good one, because something like the GI diet, which is similar to the diet recommended for people with diabetes, may help to stabilise your insulin and blood glucose concentration and therefore your PCOS.

Yes cornflower your diet can make you ill or cure you. I did post," In my own experience" when talking about homeopathy and naturopathy's side effects. I do know what a blind trial is but Goldacre says even they can be skewed.

But in my experience no conventional medicine has had side effects. That proves nothing. I know that others experience differs, and it would be ridiculous for me to to post "In my experience, conventional medicine has no side effects" and expect that to be taken as a useful comment.

Of course homeopathic "remedies" have no side effects. Neither do they have any effects.

And that is because They Have No Active Ingredients.

Did I mention how much I love Tim Minchin?

who is tim minchin then?

PPEa you seem unwilling to acknowledge that the illness may simply have got better of its own accord. And that homeopathy had nothing to do with it.

and the arnica is a herb- if it was lotion you used it has a lot fo the raw ingredients in it- look at wiki for all the info about arnica and why it works.

I CAN work for some - & for SOME things

I've had it prescribed several times over the years - for free - because my old friend is a therapist, so NO-ONES time or money wasted - it HAS worked for some ailments - but not for others - its has also worked well for DD & for several other friends - & even a friends Dog - do Dogs benefit from placebo effect

& TBH the amount of money I have wasted on regular NHS prescription charges that HAVEN"T worked for me & too often ended up making me very ill, often for days, sometimes weeks, then even if I HAD paid for the times it hadn't worked, I'd be no worse off

OP all you can do is try it & hopefully you will be one of the lucky ones that it DOES work for :)

It does not work for anyone. It can't work - because there is nothing in it that can work.

Don;t encourage the charlatans or well meaning but deluded people who peddle it.

And animals can have time limited conditions that get better all by themselves too. And they can be calmed and soothed by attention.

in YOUR opinion seeker

seeker - i take your point about some mainstream medicine not working some times. However, homeopathy has been conclusively disproven, it's not just a matter of opinion it DOESN'T work unless as a placebo (which can be of great effect)

Hey - I'm on the side of the Enlightenment!,Expatagain!

No, rickinhippy, NOT in my opinion.

This is not a matter of opinion - this is a matter of fact.

Homeopathic remedies have no active ingredients - and so do not/cannot work.