22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I thought homeopaths were quacks., July 12, 2007
This review is from: Homeopathy Beyond Flat Earth Medicine, Second Edition (Paperback)
I was never seriously ill during most of my life, but a stubborn case of no-external-trigger urticaria (hives) has been plaguing me for nearly a year. I've visited one regular doctor, one osteopath, two emergency room docs, three allergists, and three acupuncturists. They were all unable to cure the hives, but the allergists finally brought my symptoms under control with a powerful hellbroth of prescription drugs:
1 Prednisone (steroid, immunosuppressant) 20mg pill in the morning
1 Tagamet (Cimetidine, H2 antihistamine) 300mg pill in the morning
1 Allegra (Fexofenadine, H1 antihistamine) 180mg pill in the morning
1 Zyrtec (Cetirizine HCl, H1 antihistamine) 10mg pill in the afternoon
1 Atarax (Hydroxyzine HCl, H1 antihistamine) 25mg pill at bedtime
3 Doxepin (antidepressant, sedative) 10mg pills at bedtime
1 Tagamet 300mg pill at bedtime
1 Prednisone 20mg pill at bedtime
Plus, I had to carry an emergency epinephrine (adrenaline) syringe everywhere, just in case my precariously-balanced immune system tipped into anaphylactic shock.
One of the allergists provided me with a light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel newsflash: "These cases usually burn themselves out in three to five years."
But if you take Prednisone for a long time, you tend to gain a lot of weight, and your immune response is slowly crippled. The allergists tried to cut down the Prednisone gradually, but my hives always returned with a vengeance. [A minor bout with urticaria is much like being flayed alive... and after experiencing several full-blown major attacks, I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy.] I was clinically depressed, and marginally suicidal.
My doctors thought I was doing great, considering.
Since the AMA and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioners couldn't really help, I turned to homeopaths as a last resort. Even though I had always viewed homeopathy as a marginal--if not totally quack--science, I was at the end of my rope and desperate enough to try anything.
After a few homeopathic treatments, my drug regimen is now down to:
1 Prednisone 2.5mg pill (1/16 of my previous daily intake) in the afternoon
1 Benadryl 25mg pill (over-the-counter antihistamine) at bedtime
These doctors are determined to wean me off drugs completely, God bless 'em. Needless to say, I now highly recommend homeopaths. And they recommended that I read Homeopathy: Beyond Flat Earth Medicine, for an overview.
I wish I'd read it a year ago.
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