• secretlife said on May 14, 2007....

  hmmm...i'm new to meditation - i started in january.  but i really believe this has helped me a great deal.  i don't believe in chiropractic ...that's a personal choice.  my husband is a big believer.

  i believe in herbs and healing herbs especially.  i drink green tea and take antioxydents daily.  i'm actually looking into raw linseed oil and flax now...and this stuff called goji juice.

  i'm willing to try these things more so now than i have been in the past.  anything that talks about immune system boosting i'm into.

• uniquely-ironic said on May 14, 2007....

  SL - I started meditation about 3 years ago, and I'm no good at it (I have "monkey mind"), but when I practise it regularly I notice that fewer things in life bother me.  I did chiropractic during pregnancy and my back thanked me for it, but it is a personal choice.
   

• jnana said on May 14, 2007....

  Tea Tree oil is the most amazing thing ever.  It will literally get rid of poison ivy/oak in like 2 days.  It has great healing properties from pimples to burns.  It is very expensive on it's own, but you can find blended with aloe and vit e in the black hair care section for very little cost.  the pure oil is also a great aromatherapy oil when you are feeling sinus issues. 

• silverwhisper said on May 14, 2007....

  honestly, i'm unfamiliar w/ any alternative medicines that actually do anything.
  
  ed

• CreativeWoman said on May 14, 2007....

  I use Tea Tree Oil a lot too.  I'm big into essential oils for healing in general.  After my recent accident, I used Lavender oil on my bruises and it's amazing how quickly they faded.
  
  I also use herbal remedies too. I have been using Oregano gel capsules all winter into spring.  My allergies have not gone full blow so far this spring and I managed to make it through the winter without a bad cold.
  
  Alternative medicine is great as far as I'm concerned.
  
  CW
  

• dailyachesandpains said on May 14, 2007....

  I'm just going to start taking notes here!!!
   
  Poison Ivy...Husband gets it like nobody's business.
  Zits...Well, now that I'm over 30, I'm getting HUGE loners. 
  back spasm...my combined middle name!
  Allergies...Little D and I both get them!  Husband is on something daily/365. 
   
  Thanks for this post, I'll be checking back often and making a list of things I need to buy!
   
  Daily

• uniquely-ironic said on May 14, 2007....

  jnana - I've heard of tea tree oil, but was never sure what to do with it.  Thanks.  I'll have to give it a whirl.
   
  SW - I understand your skepticism, but in recent years have run into some amazing fixes.  I once sprained an ankle and traditional medicine had 2 goes at it.  I went to an accupuncturist and within a week was "dancing" again.
   
  CW - I've heard about lavendar being used medicinally.  I use the oil to help lull me to sleep when I have insomnia.  Haven't heard about the oregano.  I don't have allergies, but will keep it in mind for those who do.

• uniquely-ironic said on May 14, 2007....

  daily - have you been to a good masseuse for your back?  I know traditional can address this too, but why not try something that doesn't leave you fuzzy or woozy for the back pain?

• CreativeWoman said on May 14, 2007....

  uniquely,
  I have quite a collection of essential oils.  I go to them first before I try any other remedy.  :-)
  
  CW
  

• uniquely-ironic said on May 14, 2007....

  CW - I have worked in the medical field for decades, but I'm very much in favor of solving anything you can naturally first before trying drugs and procedures.
   

• truthsayer said on May 14, 2007....

  Having had an awful diagnosis of what I will only refer to as the f-word ; )  I used Arnica Montana all the time.  We use it on all bumps and bruises and they usually never even appear. 

  I haven't tried lavendar oil for that though.  I will have to try it.  We use it for relaxed sleep.  A funny story.  I used it at one of my first salons to help people to relax and speak freely...we used so much that we were all falling asleep!  No kidding...

  We also take Ambrotose and rarely get 'sick'.  If we do catch something from someone...we start taking A/O's on the hour (another Mannatech product) and whatever 'it' was trying to be in us, just seems to peter out!

  We have a cupboard full of herbal remedies.  Just two capsules of cinnamon will keep most diabetics blood sugar way down...as it slows the break down of sugars. 

  Chiropractic and accupuncture both work, but only as well as the practitioner's ability and understanding.  I have been to good ones and bad ones. 

   

• uniquely-ironic said on May 14, 2007....

  truth - I haven't tried arnica though, again, I've read about it. 
   
  LOL on the falling asleep at the salon.  Now that is what they should use in the dentist office! 
   
  Haven't heard of Ambrotose, is that the name of the herb or the brand name. 
   
  I have heard of the cinnamon thing, but in tea form.  Our mail guy at work swears by it. 
   
  Yes, a good accupuncture and chiropractor are worth their weight in gold.  I'd love to find a good osteopath too, but they're very scarce here.

• truthsayer said on May 14, 2007....

  Don't sweat it on the osteopaths, they write scrip just like the md's do now.  I was in a car wreck, my DO listened and started to tell me what had happened to my 'frame', then you could see it just get wiped off his face by some pharmaceutical sales rep!  I pressed and asked what he had started to say, and he actually said what had happened (I found out later) but he refused to adjust me and just let it go.  It took me five more months before I found a chiropractor that knew about the sternum thing that had happened.

  Oh well.  I have a good chiropractor now.  He uses the Gonsteadt (sp) method, and it works much better for me. 

  The Ambrotose is all eight glyconutrients that our cells need for healthy cell glycolysis.  Mannatech holds the patent on the process and any product that puts all eight together.  They make the A/O's that we take too...phytos + Ambrotose + the most powerful antioxidents on the planet. 

  The only down side is that they set the company up with network marketing.  No one is supposed to sell the product on eBay, but they do.  It is great stuff.  You can buy other brands of single or several of the healthy sugars in a product; just not all eight in one.

  The best Arnica Montana I have ever used is made by  Roberts Laboratories in Florida.  I think they were bought recently...hope they haven't changed the name; )

• uniquely-ironic said on May 14, 2007....

  truth: You sound like you've done a lot of research on these things.  I admit that I do not always do the "whole 9 yards" of research when there is something I'd like to try.
   
  I'm pretty sure I know what you mean by the sternum thing.  I have encountered it myself after having a spectacularly big fall in jujitsu.  Luckily all the jujitsuka in my dojo are also trained in restorative techniques.

• truthsayer said on May 14, 2007....

  lol...yes, in Jujitsu, it would be a good thing to be trained in restorative techniques.  I have researched it.  I used to work for 'health agencies' after college, until I learned that they should rightfully be called 'disease agencies'...sorry, don't mean to sound bitter ; )

  Having a diagnosis of the f-word, way back then (1986) kind of meant that you had to do your own research.  Doctors treated you very badly and offered no help but a tens unit.  Like you want to go through life hooked to a battery pack! ; ) Not me!

  I have to get five berry bushes in the ground...but I am curious what you do in the medical field.  Unless you feel that is divulging too much.  I understand that.  If you do tell me, I will check back tomorrow.

  Have a great night, and nice to see you again ; )

  truthsayer

• sweet_cookie01 said on May 14, 2007....

  some times if its tried and tested to cure and help... i love tea tree oil and coconut oil with lavander or mint extracts for my aromatherapy massage!

• Artemis223 said on May 14, 2007....

  Arnica gel works wonders for bumps and bruises as well as muscular aches and pains.
   
  I have no idea if its all in my head, but I swear by Bach's flower essences.  I have no medical rationale for why they work, but they seem to make me feel a whole lot better.

• mobil said on May 14, 2007....

  I use flax seed oil every day, not sure why lol. I always stick Vic's

  up my nose when I have the first sign of a cold too. I had an old

  Great, Great Aunt who ate Vic's by the spoonfull. Don't know what

  that did for her. She was 96 when I was a lilttle kids and I'd watch

  her eat it, yuck. Other than that, I go to the doc, nice post Uni !

• BombShell said on May 15, 2007....

  Skeptics listen up!  I'm not big into alternative medicine, but let me tell you, when you have a toothache, clove oil WORKS!!  It's the nastiest taste, but it totally takes away the pain.  Before I had braces put on a few years ago, I had to have eight teeth removed to make room for the orthodontist to move the others around.  I got infections in two places AND dry sockets.  The oral surgeon applied little gauze things and said if they fall out, to just get some clove oil and apply it with a Q-tip.  I use it on my kids when they're teething too.
   
  I also drink cranberry juice for UTI's.
  For insomnia, valerium.  It's in Sleepy Time tea, which is usually enough for me, but you can find it in capsuls too.

• Fionnuala said on May 15, 2007....

  I also have a bruised knee and a pulled shoulder from having a little go round with a patio door and a cat - my cat that is.  That one legged hop dance is called the cat dance here but the human isn't supposed to fall which I did because I didn't know the patio door had a 30 cm drop to the patio outside.  I don't know what the dance is called when a car door attacks!  At any rate, I'm taking codeine for my shoulder, which doesn't have a mark.  My knee doesn't hurt.

  Anyway I have no real alternative medicines that I use for injuries, except maybe that Chinese Oil (I call it).  I live in this small northern town now and can't get it, I've tried Tiger Balm - no way, useless.  I use Dettol for all cuts and scrapes and surgeries, for myself and my two cats.  The doctor and vets say "No.", but it was certainly what people used years ago and it definitely still works.  The doctor gave me ointment for a cut that wouldn't heal and told me not to use Dettol.  Well after a week (maybe not, I'm not that patient!) I switched to Dettol and immediate improvement.  If you're going to use it on a pet I guess you'd want to make sure they wouldn't lick it which I doubt because they don't like the smell, still their instinct is to lick injuries.

  I don't know if this is traditional medicine or not, but it is something that really works if you're sick.  I make a Chinese soup called conji or congee.  You cook rice until the it is like cereal consistency.  I put a chicken in it to make it taste better but the important thing is the mushy rice.  You can look it up on the internet for recipes but if you're really sick it's best if you just use chicken and rice and if you're using it for the 'flu and you have diarrhea a few teaspoons of yogurt will help replace bacteria in your bowel.  Take that separate from the conji!  It's been a long time since I've had babies but I have grandchildren now and for diarrhea my daughter boils rice and then pours the water off into a bottle for the baby.  This is what I did for my children.  I saw so many people from Fiji, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Hong Kong etc do it for their babies, and it worked, that it just seemed stupid not to.  Conji is commonly served for breakfast,  but there are also many variations for healing different things.  All I know, is when we get the 'flu we make conji and it works. Apparantly rice is a harder carborhydrate to digest and slows the digestive system down.  I don't know, I don't care.  Conji tastes good and it works.  And when you're not sick you can still make it and put lots of other vegetables in it.  And of course it can be made with tofu and/or beans.  I just find the chicken conji best when we're sick.  But I don't know if it's alternative medicine since most of the world uses it.  I guess it is in western society.

  And of course if all else fails you can always have a few pints of Guinness.  I've heard that usually helps but it tastes awful!  So much for my Irish heritage!

  Nuala 

• uniquely-ironic said on May 15, 2007....

  Truth - I've done a lot of support staff work in the medical field.  I've worked in hospitals, private offices and even dental offices.  For a long time I was "that bitch" who didn't rush to get you in with a doctor in the ER.  I saw a lot there and think it really formed a lot of my personality.
   
  sweet - do you give massage?  I have done a little training in massage and use Palmers cocobutter most of the time.
   
  Artemis - I'm hearing a lot about Arnica so now I'm going to have to go and try it.  You know, if it is all in the head, it still counts.
   
  Mobil - My mom did the vicks thing on the chest.  My Oma (gramma) used to make this vile stuff of milk scalded with an onion in it and sweetened with honey to kick a chest cough.  It totally worked, but was so vile you had to be near death to use it.
   
  Bombshell - I've seen the clove oil thing work.  I use the cranberry thing, but find that it's more effective if it's no sugar added concentrate. (tastes awful)  I also use camomile tea and warm milk to go to sleep as well as Sleepy Time tea.
   
  Fionnuala - I've used the rice soup thing to help out my ex, who always seemed to get stomach things.

• jnana said on May 15, 2007....

  what a great post and full of information here!  I've learned a few things myself, and had others confirmed!!!  THANKS EVERYONE! :-) jnana

• truthsayer said on May 15, 2007....

  Thanks uniquely-ironic.  You learn a lot just being around hospitals, doctors, nurses, etc.!  It does tend to leave a lasting impression too...sort 'sticks' ; ) 

  Great post. 

  Later,

  truth

• uniquely-ironic said on May 15, 2007....

  jnana - I've enjoyed this post and learned a lot too!

  truth - this is true.  If nothing else, you figure out what really matters in life and how to avoid a lot of stupid injuries.

• mormonblog2 said on May 15, 2007....

  I used a good diet (lots of super-grean foods and greatly reduced meat consumption and prayer to cure my lymphoma cancer). my email address is mormonblog@gmail.com. I would love to tell you or anyone more about it.

• brokenandused said on May 15, 2007....

  U-I: i work with organic or all natural products, so i'm very much into teas, herbs and such. Everyone here has posted wonderful things and even some i didn't know! thanks for this post! by the way, did you know that soy is the worst thing to put into your body? Our bodies were not meant to digest soy. It's okay in little amounts but most  companies put soy in large amounts into there product. It's not good for you!

• uniquely-ironic said on May 15, 2007....

  mormonblog2 - I'm glad to hear that you were able to beat the cancer.
   
  broken - I hear conflicting things about soy.  What resources do you use for your information?

• brokenandused said on May 15, 2007....

  U-I: to be honest, this is what i am taught by my boss. We are a full fledged grocery store and we do not sell any soy products in our store. They have seminars once a month, and when i first started there, i was given a huge pamphlet of why soy is bad for you and why the store does not sell it.

• mormonblog2 said on May 15, 2007....

  I use soy milk on my cold cereal instead of milk once a day for health reasons, I hope that is not too much soy

• uniquely-ironic said on May 15, 2007....

  broken - I know it's probably a lot to ask, but if you could dig up the pamphlet and see if there's an internet address on it with info I'd like to read up on it.  I have never heard that it was bad, though like many things, it depends on which study you read.

• brokenandused said on May 16, 2007....

  U-I: i would love to get that for you.... it may take me a bit to get it, but i promise i will. i found it so fascinating! Soy is in sooo many products! This is good, it will give me an excuse to actually CLEAN out my file cabinet hee hee

• brokenandused said on May 16, 2007....

  Okay, a really good website for information about soy products is: www.westonaprice.org

  If you want to learn about organic food in general a good website is: www.ota.com

  The 2nd one is the organic trade's association website

• brokenandused said on May 16, 2007....

  For the soy one, click enter website and on the left side under deptartments there should be one that says soy alert, that is the one we got at work.

• dailyachesandpains said on May 16, 2007....

  unique, I bought the tea tree oil for my husband while I was at the pharmacy picking up prescriptions, lol!
   
  I have had massages, but the last one, she ended up making me worse and I never went back.
   
  Accupuncture...the doctor was dating my best friend at the time I went to see him.  He NEVER had anyone jump a foot off the table like I did when he nailed me on point.  It didn't bother me until that last one.  I was saying "this is working, I know it is" and then that!  I was open to trying it again, but he thought I was to sensitive for the type of accupuncture he was doing.  He's also a chiropractor.  I might try it again soon though.  The only thing that I got was a migrane head-ache.  It was better than feeling the back pain for a half an hour!
   
  Daily

• mormonblog2 said on May 17, 2007....

  brokenandused:
  I really appreciate all the good info you had on soy, but somehow I can't find my way back to all your good comments.
  please email me at: mormonblog@gmail.com
   

• uniquely-ironic said on May 17, 2007....

  broken - thank you for the links.  I will look at them when I have a minute.  I will also look at the info on organics.  I just read up on coconut oil and apple cider vinegar.
   
  daily - it sounds like you had an awful masseuse.  one way to find a good one is to ask around to friends and family.  I don't know where you live, but there is a network of dojos that also study restorative massage in the US and abroad.  If you could find one of those I'm sure they could help or refer you to a good masseuse and accupunturist.

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