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Natural vs. Conventional Medicines and Treatments

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There are lots of good studies, however;
But what exactly is a 'good' study in your eyes? I am absolutely positive that you'd never recommend treatments that you think are bullshit, yet your list isn't exactly a compilation of reputable modalities. I see a contradiction there and hoped for you to clear things up for me.
BTW thank you for not reacting to my question as if it were a provocation. I was kind of worried about that and wish I had made it clearer what I want to achieve with it.

Just so you know what my standard is:
In the case of medical treatments I will bullshit every modality that's not supported by at least three independently conducted, truly randomised, placebo controlled, rigorously double-blinded, 5.000+ participant studies whose outcomes have a p-value of under 0.05 and an efficacy above the 80% mark.
This gets rid of most of the items on your list, and those that remain do so only because I don't know enough about them to make a judgement. That's why I recommended the two websites which I think do a good job in pointing out scientifically unsupported or even disproven treatment modalities. They do so by testing studies against high scientific standards. That isn't a bias but the way scientific peer review works.
 
No offense... not reading any issue with your questions... they are just questions to me.

I feel you are defending your opinion based on your recommendations though of quality vs. my statement on dated information. Can I presume you kind off skipped over the moral there? Do you have a connection to the above websites?

Yes, 90% + of the above are bullshit treatments, however; regardless their science based merits, you would recognise that placebo is real, thus, if it works for someone, then its not bullshit, though should simply be given less precedence in scope. That does not stop treatment options being mentioned as valid, regardless scientific evidence, because scientific evidence proves without doubt placebo effect.

Even if St Johns Wart, as an example, is more placebo than anything else based on science as a natural alternative, whilst it doesn't work for the majority, it may for one or two, so hence, it becomes valid.

My personal recommendations for treatment and what is written on this website should not be compared, as I do not control the modalities that members choose to follow. This website does not have strict boundaries of what type of treatment or such can be discussed, regardless their efficacy.

If you ask me for my recommendation, it will be the same every time, CBT based treatment for PTSD, as it is the most proven for longevity recovery results. EMDR is also equally as good, providing its not just EMDR, ie. treat the trauma, but the full spectrum combination, trauma then behavioural aspects all entailed, which most EMDR specialists do perform nowadays.
 
I feel you are defending your opinion based on your recommendations though of quality vs. my statement on dated information. Can I presume you kind off skipped over the moral there? Do you have a connection to the above websites?
Apparently quackwatch isn't as good as I remembered it to be; I'm sorry for that. The main reason why I recommended the site is that it's a place to start research into an altmed topic. It gives you an idea about useful search terms, kind of like wikipedia. It's how I used it, and that's all the connection I have to this website.
sciencebasedmedicine is one of the science blogs I that read regularly, plus I listen to podcasts by two of the blog's authors. That's all the connection I have to that site.
I don't think that the implicit accusation of your question is fair. I didn't post life links. I didn't even state any explicit opinions about the various treatment modalities.
you would recognise that placebo is real, thus, if it works for someone, then its not bullshit,
I don't think 'placebo effect' means what you think it means.

Maybe I don't get the intention of this thread.
 
Not meaning to imply with my question about connection to websites, you forget that I am the admin and unless I ask members questions, I don't get answers. So I ask direct questions... I don't imply anything with questions, only the answers. If I didn't ask, I wouldn't know, thus my position to administer this website effectively would be compromised. No need to look at my questions beyond that scope... as that is it.

Placebo effect is getting off-topic. There is a wiki page on that topic already: [DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/c/wiki/placebo-effect/[/DLMURL]

The point of this thread was made back in 2006 when I initially wrote and posted this. Basically, one or the other is not always the best solution, but instead, try different things to find the right balance / approach that actually works for you uniquely, as an individual.
 
Hi,

Your list mentioned many great therapies- another worthy of mention: Family Constellations Therapy, developed and expanded by Burt Hellinger. Both individual and group sessions address family relations and wounds passed down from generations. Truly healing for many.
 
I don't want to start a debate about skepticism here, but I seriously recommend you look up therapies at quackwatch(com) or sciencebasedmedicine(org) before investing any hopes or money in them.

Stay away from quackwatch. EMDR? BAD!!! NEurofeedback? BAD!!! NLP? BAD!!! I could go on.... It only serves to scare people away from viable treatments.
 
The article on smb about EMDR only says that the modality isn't researched enough yet to justify the hype made about it by the media.
Actually, this comes back to my initial point that you argued in the first instance... that the information is dated. Look at the reference list on the EMDR page: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/emdr.html, not one referenced source beyond 1995. That is over 15 years old medical information. Seriously... 15 years dated information. Shapiro only started teh first trials in 1989 on EMDR... she only began thinking about the process in 1987.

Now... go review the latest 5 star reports as you eluded, on EMDR, and you will find it has now substantially proved itself as efficient as the original cognitive and behavioural model itself. Latest studies actually show there is no marked difference between either treatment for efficacy, and backed by the worlds leading experts on these subjects, all professors in major Universities around the globe.

This only reinforces my initial point you chose to argue... the information is dated, which means either the site isn't kept updated, or it is biased and holding onto a specific older viewpoint.

15 years ago... PTSD was frowned upon to even be spoken in public! Should we write a page based on 15 year old information on PTSD? Should we run this website based on 15 year old information on PTSD? No... hence such sites are dated information and irrelevant other than for historical reading purposes. The wikipedia page on EMDR is more up-to date than that sites information, and lets face facts, the wikipedia is no shining beacon of light for known accuracy.
 
Your post was extremely helpful. How can I find a doctor with such beliefs? I am currently on three high dose medications. Each time I see my Pdoc he increases one of them. His reasoning is to get rid of my nightmares and flashbacks (which are not intense and manageable). I want to be treated natuarally and use my coping skills to get through my recovery.
 
Its not that easy to just ignore medication... you need to keep reading around this site and put all your ducks in a row, so to speak, first, before making such conclusions which could be more dangerous to your health than helpful.
 
I have been over medicated for a bit now. I have tried a lot of meds during 12 years. I am still on the same dose of xanax when I started. I figured out early I did not want to up my dosage. I have been on other meds for a very long time as well. My PTSD has robbed me of having children, I get hyperemsis gravidium. Means I get stressed and can't keep a thing down, not even on the feeding tube. Anyway, meds helped me at first. Now they hinder me. I have been begging my doctor to start lowering some meds but she says as long as I am sick(ulcerative colitis) she does not want me going through the process.
I have been lowering myself. I know we should all be careful with meds but I don't need the ones I am taking less of. I am sleeping through for a decent period of time, after forgetting my meds. I wake up feeling good at first but soon withdrawals set in for my body. Feels like I am coming off bad acid. So I take these heavy meds when fully awake so I will not get sick. They make me tired and unmotivated. I hate them. I truly feel like they are adding to my stress and sickness, so I don't get why my doc. won't at least lower my meds.
I quit my meds all at once 3 years ago. DO NOT DO THAT. I was angry and wanted control. I ended up having a siezure in the hospital. No matter how mad you get at taking meds, do not just stop. It is a process to get your body used to NOT having them. Just some advice. Every cell in my body hurt when I quit all mine, lesson learned.
I hope to figure out my meds this year. I want to spend this next winter on no heavy drugs, a wish, a hope.
I just turned 35. I have lost 8 pregnancys. I have spent 12 years in therapy. I think it is time to accept how I am, know I have changed as much as I can and just live. I feel like my whole life has been a huge waste of time.
 
I guess I am starting to get a little frustrated at people who suffer more exagerated symptoms from traditional medicines, but then their doctors just prescribe some more in an attempt to counter act side effects, instead of changing medications, experimenting with different avenues, all in the best interest of the patient, and not themselves. This frustration of mine is stemmed from half witted doctors no longer careing about the essence of why they became a doctor, instead careing about their own wallet, financing their new car, boat or house, and the patient is just a pay cheque to them.

Let me just say, that females are the ones more often to use natural alternatives, and females are often the ones that feel great within themselves each day. Us males do need to put our pride behind us a little, and give alternatives a shot, because you never never know, if you never never go.

I couldn't agree more! I wish I could hit "like" on this post 100 times!

Anthony, do you think that once the majority of males have discovered the benefits, that the medical community will be forced to accept it all?
 
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