GP with interest in alternative medicine?

johnmacward

Ok, you either want a proper doctor or a fool. You can't have both. Why are you looking for a doctor when you don't want them to practice proper methods.

How about you go to a standard GP and let them know you want to avoid the use of antibiotics as much as possible. They wont kick you out and will understand your concerns.

Degsy

Halal Butcher wrote: »

Which is why I stated in my original post that it depends for what reason she is attending the GP in the first place.

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Well i'm sort of old fashiooned and only ever attend a GP when i'm actually sick..at 50 euro per visit i certainly wouldnt be going there for a chat.

Paparazzo

Halal Butcher wrote: »

85% of new medicines according to research in 2009, and a total of 80%, IIRC, of all medicines in a 1990's study in America.

So, that's 85% of new drugs in america offer few benefits.
Sounds like a hell of a lot lower than 100%. And the highlited words mean either it'v very vague, and doesn't apply in ireland.

snickerpuss

I know of a number of GPs (and one consultant) who do acupuncture. But I'm not sure that's really what you're looking for.

mcmoustache

maireann wrote: »

If you're knowledge about homeopathy comes from a documentary only you've probably never been to a good homeopath (is it them you refer to as quacks?), so how do you know they're not as "smart" as doctors?

First, I fear that you have comprehension problems. My post did not say that I gained my knowledge about homeopathy from a documentary. I was just giving an example of a trained doctor who practiced homeopathy to demonstrate that such people exist. How you managed to misinterpret that is a mystery.

Second, I know that homeopaths are dumber than doctors because they believe that treating an ailment with water is more effective than treating an ailment with water. That's pretty dumb right there and I don't think that I need to go into detail about the multi-discipline training that is required for someone to be a doctor.

maireann wrote: »

The training involved there is quite challenging as well, especially because you have to think for yourself (to get to the cause of the illness) and can't just consult a manual of what to prescribe for which symptoms.

A homeopath prescribes water for everything. All the rest is just window dressing to make the practitioner and "patient" believe that there's something medical or sciency going on. Homeopaths can study for a day or for four years but in the end, all that they've done is learn ever more complicated ways of giving people water.

maireann wrote: »

To answer your last question, it's just life-long experience and having been in the hands of a few very incompetent doctors, which makes me seek out those whose horizon extends a bit further.

You really should seek out better doctors or even a herbalist because certain herbs do produce pharmacological effects but don't fall for the idea that pure water can treat anything more than thirst.

spagboll

I'd be very surprised if their is such a GP, but some would be more willing than others to engage in a meaningful conversation about it

so has anyone ever chatted about alternative medicine with their GP?

Owen

So the premise of Homeopathy is that water has a 'memory' (B*llocks, it has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen) and that it can remember the properties of whatever was in, no matter how much you dilute it - so they dilute it to the point where you'd find it hard to isolate even one drop of the original vial containing the item in question in an entire swimming pool.

So if that's the case, why doesn't water remember the properties of poo, used condoms, snot, shampoo, semen, nappies, used tampons and other stuff which has also been floating in it?

Stark

Owen wrote: »

So the premise of Homeopathy is that water has a 'memory' (B*llocks, it has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen) and that it can remember the properties of whatever was in, no matter how much you dilute it - so they dilute it to the point where you'd find it hard to isolate even one drop of the original vial containing the item in question in an entire swimming pool.

So if that's the case, why doesn't water remember the properties of poo, used condoms, snot, shampoo, semen, nappies, used tampons and other stuff which has also been floating in it?

Because you have to bang the vial of water against a leather-bound book a few times before it "remembers" what was suspended in it.

Of course that doesn't sound like modern day witchcraft at all.

MagicMarker

maireann wrote: »

If you're knowledge about homeopathy comes from a documentary only you've probably never been to a good homeopath

You realise it's just water? Like, from a tap?

Paxmanwithinfo

"Hey, I'm looking for a GP in Dublin 6, 6W who wouldn't be big into antibiotics first thing, but rather going the herbal route. It's funny how health care professionals here are either or... Anybody out there who has trained in conventional medicine but might have extra qualifications in more holistic approaches?
Appreciate your help!"

Dear OP,

Depending on the nature and seriousness of your illness why not try a herbalist like Sean Boylan if the herbal route is your preferred route? He is not D6 however, but a lot of people do sing his praises.

floorpie

I love the implied dichotomy created here by everybody between good doctors (ones that aren't afraid to dispense antibiotics, for example) and quack doctors (ones that seek alternative solutions).

I'd never suggest homeopathy, specifically, to anybody - it does seem like quackery to me - but at the same time, there's nothing wrong with alternative solutions. For example, I don't think i've never heard of a GP recommending a solid diet (i.e. not the food pyramid) to anybody, and i'd hedge a bet that a sizable chunk of conditions/cases GP's see are purely caused by diet. There's an alternative solution.

More fundamentally than this, though, i don't think i've ever been to a GP who seemed interested in, not only solutions, but even just helping a patient feel like they're being treated well, whereas i'd imagine that a homeopath would make sure that there's at least a perception of good treatment seeing as that might be all they have going for them.

So what i mean is, the dichotomy here is silly, because a non-quack doctor isn't automatically a good doctor. In fact, in my experience, many of them are bad, and she's not wrong to feel like she should shop around.

But just find a better GP.

endacl

If homeopathy worked, the whole city of Dublin should be in great health. Didn't a months worth of free medicine fall out of the sky in the course of a few hours there about a month ago? Sure parts of the town were under 3 feet of medicine. Unless the medicine was having a flashback to being at the bottom if the sea...

eilo1

snickerpuss wrote: »

I know of a number of GPs (and one consultant) who do acupuncture. But I'm not sure that's really what you're looking for.

I had a look at some research on acupuncture a while ago. I think the general consenses is that acupuncture shows some benefit for some conditions such as anxiety and stress. But shows a very poor return for the money you pay for it.
But interestingly one study they compared real acupunture with sham acupuncture (so they just put the needles anywhere rather than into specific spots). They found the sham had an equall effect to the real acupunture. Further discrediting the theory behind it.

shadowcomplex

Degsy wrote: »

Well i'm sort of old fashiooned and only ever attend a GP when i'm actually sick..at 50 euro per visit i certainly wouldnt be going there for a chat.

you must go alot so

_blank_

shadowcomplex wrote: »

you must go alot so

banned for trolling

HivemindXX

There's a big difference between a GP who will suggest you drink herbal tea or meditate to reduce stress as a remedy for nausea and one who suggests homeopathic 'remedies'.

I've had anything from diet change to excercise suggested by my GP and have more than once come out without a prescription of any sort. I trust them to know what they are talking about and to prescribe hard drugs when they feel I need them.

Homeopathy is not a part of alternative/complementary/whatever medicine, it is a scam. The very best interpretation that could be put on it is that it is a placebo and you may as well go to a psychic or carry your lucky stick if that's all you need.

supersheeps

I think there's a lot of emphasis being placed on homeopathy here, but that's just one branch of alternative medicine, and a pretty dodgy one at that. I always rather a doctor with an interest in complementary medicine over a "purist" doctor, they're generally more open-minded and more likely to recommend something other than a bunch of pills.
Case in point-when I moved to my hubby's hometown, I started using his family doctor, having had a complementary approach doctor for years. I found him to be prescription happy (giving me steroids and two inhalers for asthma symptoms which ended up being caused by mold spores in my room) and thought he made some really odd diagnosises (?) when treating the in-laws, such as having someone on anti-depressants for well over 15 years with no suggestions of counselling or changes to a very sedentary lifestyle.
My hubby had stomach problems for years, doctor kept prescribing him ulcer meds, "just in case", but no other advice. My old doctor would have recommended food exclusion diets, etc, to see if there were aggravating factors (worked for me, diagnosed with lactose intolerance, no tummy woes ), so I asked around to see if there was any similar doctor in the area. Got recommended a doctor with training in herbalism and acupuncture as well as "straight" medicine, so hubby reluctantly went along. She asked him about his lifestyle as well as his symptoms, pretty much immediately said that she thought he was coeliac and sent him to be tested. Yep, he's coeliac, and much healthier all round now! In-laws still see the old doctor and still have a full press of tablets to take everyday, with no serious health issues to justify this.
So, long story short, give me a doctor who recommends lemon and ginger "tea" for a cold or manuka honey for a sore throat rather than dishing out antibiotics any day!
OP-if you're still looking for someone, PM me for my doctor in Dublin's details, she's interested in alternative medicines (except for homeopathy!)

Coriolanus

snickerpuss wrote: »

I know of a number of GPs (and one consultant) who do acupuncture. But I'm not sure that's really what you're looking for.

Acuptuncture is one of the few alternative medicines to have proven itself in clinical trials.

issi

Dear God, Maireann, I'm sorry you've had to put up with so many ignorant replies to your question and only a few of any help.
I too have been looking for a gp who is more alternatively open, or willing to support my interest in using other methods of healthcare.
If you are still looking, you can pm me and I'll share with you what I have so far found, or maybe we could swap the info we've gathered...
Best of luck.

schemingbohemia

issi wrote: »

Dear God, Maireann, I'm sorry you've had to put up with so many ignorant replies to your question and only a few of any help.
I too have been looking for a gp who is more alternatively open, or willing to support my interest in using other methods of healthcare.
If you are still looking, you can pm me and I'll share with you what I have so far found, or maybe we could swap the info we've gathered...
Best of luck.

Ignorant replies? In response to someone proposing the use of homeopathy? Really?:rolleyes:

I've no problem with some aspects of herbalism but homeopathy taints herbalism because it's pure mumbo-jumbo. And the OP never bothered actually including her "evidence" of the efficacy of homeopathy, probably because there is none, certainly none that's better than a placebo.

Mr Simpson

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