Anybody into herbal medicine?

echelon · Post by **echelon** » 19 Jan 2009, 11:36

I have taken to treating myself for certain things because I detest going to the doctors.

So far, I have successfully dealt with:

my chronic fatigue
PMS
anxiety and depression
a fungal nail infection

My doctor now considers that I am perfectly healthy! *lol* I don't tell him my secret for fear of ridicule.

I use fennel tea for stomach upsets
Vitamin supplements for general health and energy
Rhodiola Rosea for tiredness/depression
5htp for depression and pms
L-Theanine for anxiety and when stressing out/pms
Passiflora for anxiety
Valerian to aid sleep
Tea Tree Oil for nail infection
Olive oil/onion/garlic for ear infection - mainly the kids
Probiotics/prebiotics for general health

I wish doctors would recognise the benefits that can be gained by using herbal medicine. I know that there can be safety issues, but I think they should be incorporated into mainstream medicine a lot more - many people would benefit.

Post by Mo » 19 Jan 2009, 13:03

When prescribing 'modern' medicines doctors should review what else you are taking in case they interact.
How do you find that information for herbals? I assume that if they work (other than by making you fell you are doing something), then they have 'active ingredients', the same as other medicines.

Yes I agree that doctors should take them into consideration, for that reason as well as the fact that a lot of modern medicines are based chemicals found first in plants.

Meanqueen · Post by **Meanqueen** » 19 Jan 2009, 13:36

I might try them if I had any problems, luckily I don't need to go to the docs very often. I do take an omega 3 oil capsule and a folic acid pill every morning, not sure if they are working though. They are supposed to improve your joints, and memory, now where did I put my glasses. :-D

Ilona

hfbinnie · Post by **hfbinnie** » 19 Jan 2009, 14:58

I think that alternative medicine and the usual medicine should complement each other and neither side should condemn the other side without strong proven justification

Post by **wendy** » 19 Jan 2009, 16:22

Acupuncture for arthritis and Trigeminal Neuralgia.
Brilliant
Wendy

Post by **p.penn** » 19 Jan 2009, 19:40

I had acupuncture for 2 frozen shoulders but, when I was talking to him (I talk with my hands too!) I accidentally knocked all the needles out and they started to bleed! :oops:

He said that had not happened before!!!! :shock:

vyxxn · Post by **vyxxn** » 19 Jan 2009, 19:44

I drink coffee which cures my narcolepsy ..... and roll my own cigarettes which cures my depression :-D

I have other ailments , but apparently the herbal cures for them are illegal :razz:

Effie · Post by **Effie** » 19 Jan 2009, 20:40

I love my homeopathic first aid kit.

Arncia cream for bruises on the outside - tablets for bruises on the inside!
Hypercal, cuts and sores.
Hypericum cream ( i think) for burns - put it on straight away and no blister, until you wash the cream off, then it will spring right up, magic

Pyrethrum spray on insect bites

Also, dosed up on echanacia (sp?) and vit C to keep colds at bay over the holidays.

derra · Post by **derra** » 19 Jan 2009, 20:54

I am a Registered Nurse and Registered Herbalist. I grow the majority of my own herbs to make pills and put into tinctures etc.

Take care when self-medicating, some herbs work against each other, some should not be taken with prescription dr-ugs. Pregnant ladies should avoid some herbs altogether.

Bear in mind too that a lot of "over the counter" herbal remedies are of a very low dosage and may not actually be effective. There are a lot of Herbalists in the U.K. who do not charge a fortune for consultations and their medications would be more beneficial, effective and in a lot of cases cheaper.

Babycakes · Post by **Babycakes** » 19 Jan 2009, 21:00

I consulted a herbalist when I was pregnant. She supplied me with raspberry leaves which I made tea with for weeks leading up to having the baby. I dont know if it was that or not but I had a good labour - my problems were related to SPD in my pelvis, not the actual labour, and I didnt have any interventions.I delivered Grace within an hour of starting to push and did not need any stitches, was not even bruised or grazed and she was 9lb4 - and was up and about a couple of hours later soon as the epidural wore off.
She had a stall at a farmers market, but it's on a saturday morning and I work every sat. morning now, so need to find a new herbalist

kate egg · Post by **kate egg** » 19 Jan 2009, 21:25

I take a cod liver oil capsule and a glucosamine sulphate tablet each day, and I am sure my hips have been much better and not so achy since I have been taking the glucosamine. They are sometimes very clicky and when I put my leg down it just collapses from under me :shock:

not happened now for quite some time )t'

derra · Post by **derra** » 19 Jan 2009, 21:25

You did well Babycakes, raspberry leaves really work in aiding labour. Shame you can,t get hold of your herbalists telephone number cos I bet she does,nt restrict herself to just the market stall. Some herbalists make a huge business out of it and to be honest they are not always the best either. A true herbalist uses their intuition as well as their academic learning. they tend to be lousy business women too, lol, just wanting to cover their costs.

Babycakes · Post by **Babycakes** » 19 Jan 2009, 21:29

I post on a forum that is all women who were due babies in aug. 2007, a lot of them took the capsules but I was the only one who got the actual leaves and I think I got the best results. I didnt mind the taste either, it was pretty bland, and I sweetened with a little hiney anyways so it was fine. At one point I was using it to wash down huge quantities of curried prawns followed by raw pineapple while bouncing around on an excercise ball - my poor stepson thought I had gone mental LoL

derra · Post by **derra** » 19 Jan 2009, 21:51

Im loving your method of managing labour. Definetly the real leaves work best, I have millions of them on my land if you ever need them again - for free..

Your using the right stuff for your hips, eating oily fish like mackerel, tuna or salmon helps as well. Often eating the right foods can make a huge difference too. Tablets containing Green Lipped mussels works incredibly well too. Bestg of luck with it.

Bok bok bok · Post by **Bok bok bok** » 20 Jan 2009, 12:09

Wow, Babycakes - we must be related! ALL of your methods above I relegiously followed! Everyone thought I was mad ... but I beleive it worked - Will was born within 20 seconds of pushing! and Milli within 10 - if I have any more I will be careful with the rasberryleaf and any other labour excellerents!

I am very interested in animal aromatics and strongly beleive that animals as well as humans can instinctivly heal themselves - before all the big pharmacutical companies there was nature - and limited knowlege, but now we know so much more it is a facinating subject which really works!

x