Homeopathy Discussion Thread

[KateH1]

Beatle suggested that I start a thread to open up some discussion on Homeopathy. I have been involved with homeopathy for over 30 years. I was very fortunate to have a family doctor who was both an alopathic MD, as well as a homeopathist trained in the UK. He was my only family doctor for 12 years, when my children were quite young. He also offered semester classes through the local extension University. I took two years of classes from him...I learned a lot, even worked a bit with the Materia Medica. I am by no means an expert on this topic, but I would love to discuss homeopathy with all who might be interested!

[beatle]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

Thank you, Kate. First thing I would like to know: Materia Medica. I have heard of this, but not in association with homeopathy.

Also, I wonder, with the vaccination issue so much in the forefront now, I've always had this feeling that homeopathy has some similarities with vaccinations, in that its principle is that like cures like (or something like that)? I admit to complete ignorance here, and am hoping for some clarification.

[Gold]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

I'm interested in healing generally speaking and have had experience of homeopathy in relation to myself and my dogs.

Beatle, the Materia Medica of Homeopathy is a repository of the various remedies and their uses, as I understand. Materia Medica as I'm sure you're aware is Latin for medical material and so it is probable the term is used outside of Homeopathy.

I too believe that vaccination utilises the principle of homeopathy, i.e. like cures like. Interestingly homeopaths have long referred to vaccine induced problems as "vaccinosis" for which the remedy Thuja is recommended.

There is a lot of information available regarding over-vaccination of dogs which attributes many conditions that we see in them to this, due to a weakening of their immune system. The argument put forward regarding over-vaccination is that vaccination bypasses the normal functioning of the immune system. My dogs now receive the homeopathic nosodes instead of the booster, and my new puppy had the vaccine but took Thuja and the homeopathic nosodes at the same time.

[KateH1]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

There are two forms of Homeopathy, the purest form is the one remedy at a time treatment. Then there is the "shotgun" treatment. The shotgun treatment is using several rememdies together. We see these combo remedies in health food stores. They are labeled by the illness that they are designed to treat. I am much more of a purest, and I believe in the one rememdy for of treatment.

Homeopathy treats the symptoms and the person, not a "labeled name", like cold, flu etc. This is how the Materia Medica is used. The practitioner finds the primary symptoms, then researches further into the more minor observables that the patient is exibiting. The choice can, at times be a bit complicated and it takes experience and practice to really become adept at prescribing.

Homeopathic remedies are created from plants, venoms, and even chemicals.....very minute portions of these base ingredients are used in creating a remedy. Then a process called "potenizing" is used and the ingredients are combined with a benign binder. Homeopathic remedies work best when the remedy is put under the tongue and allowed to melt.

[beatle]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

Thank you Gold and Kate.

Interestingly, I met an old friend in the healthfood store today who has been practicing homeopathy. I'm not sure how or where she has been educated/trained. Anyway, she explained that the homeopathic "remedies" such as Calms Forte and others that combine things are exactly as Kate says, a shotgun approach. Basically, only one of the ingredients in that remedy is working for each individual, but putting a bunch of them together increases the chances that one of them might work for you. In other words, she was definitely of the same mind as you, Kate, in that one remedy is what you need for whatever it is you want to treat. But, of course, the remedy that works differs from person to person.

Another thing she told me is that if a remedy works right away (which it sometimes, maybe often, does) then you can stop administering it right away. If symptoms re-emerge, you can administer it again. I had not been aware of this.

Also, she said that there are "constitution" remedies, that each one is for each person, but if you find the right one, it will balance your body in such a way that multiple problems may be resolved. And for example, if she is feeling well, and then something new comes up -- something that makes her feel unwell physically -- she takes that constitution remedy, and that seems to do the trick.

For terrible shocks, like sudden loss of a family member (which she experienced recently), she said Ignatia (sp?) does wonders.

Any input on this anyone?

[Gold]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

The pure form is called Classical Homeopathy here and only uses one remedy at a time, I have used this myself and the remedy was taken just once. I don't know whether Classical Homeopathy always suggests the remedy once, I do know that if symptoms recur the remedy is taken again.

I know that in between the shot gun approach in health food shops and so on, there is the approach some homeopaths take which is to prescribe more than one remedy at a time but it is based upon the individual need rather than the general approach in shops and so on.

Other than remedies there are the nosodes I mentioned in connection with my dogs, my understanding of these is that they are made from cultures of microbes or bacteria associated with a specific disease to infer immunity or they can be made specifically to treat an individual problem, for example my dog had an ear problem that didn't respond to remedies so I took samples from his ear and a nosode was made specific to his need.

Another aspect of homeopathy is miasms which I find very interesting, Samuel Hahnemann the creator of Homeopathy, found that some chronic conditions did not respond to the remedies prescribed and he came up with miasms which are underlying strains of disease which have dogged mankind and may be inherited and which he believed frequently were treated medically in a way that drove them deeper into the body resulting in other symptoms that did not respond to remedies. The first he identified was Psora (the itch) this when scabies was common, the two others at that time were Sycotic and Syphilic. Since then others are the Tubercular and Cancer miasms. There is a nosode for each of these miasms, (there may be more than one I'm not sure).

Certain personality types/consitutions are attributed by many UK and European homeopaths to one or other of these miasms, it does not necessarily follow that the disease itself is evident within the family.

Interesting isn't it!

[Doggygirl]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

Just wanted to say that I can't contribute to this topic, but find it very interesting. So I hope you all keep talking about it!

DG

[beatle]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

Anyone know about dosing? I understand that the less there is, the stronger the effect(?). And I see that there are X,C,M after dose numbers. I am having a hard time making heads or tails of this. And even if you understand the dosing (if anyone does), then how do you know how to apply it?

[Gold]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

I believe x and c are two scales used in making the remedies, decimal and centesimal, I haven't come across m. I've only experienced remedies made using the c scale,

My understanding is that the number reflects the number of times the mother tincture is diluted and succussed (vigourously shaken), the greater the number of dilutions the higher the potency paradoxically.

Again, in my understanding the lower potencies are used for acute conditions and the higher potencies for chronic conditions. Those even higher may be used once or twice rather than regularly.

If you're not sure start with a lower potency and see how it goes perhaps.

ABC Homeopathy - Guide to potency and dosage

[Gold]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

You got me thinking beatle!

ABC Homeopathy - Guide to potency scales

My understanding from the above is that the c scale remedies are more potent than x scale remedies. M it seems is referring to a 1000c dilution and is not a scale itself. As Roman Numerals it begins to make sense.

Certainly in the UK the most common, if not the only, scale is c.

[beatle]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

Thanks for that, Gold. It also answered another question for me -- where the D fits in (I've been scratching my head about that for years.)

[KateH1]

Homeopathy Discussion Thread

Gold, Your undersanding of dosing is the same as mine. In dosing, I always begin with the smallest dose. The thing is, it takes many years to learn homeopathy and it is very hard for me to try to make sense of homeopathy in a few words on a message board. But this is fun and interesting. The astute practicioner is acutely aware of not only the symptoms that the subject is exibiting but, also physical and emotional constitution and minor as well a major symptoms. This also makes homeopathy radicaly different from allopathic medicine......more like Ayurvedic medicine............boy! That could me an entire discussion in itself as well!