chinese medicine

[viz48]

Has anyone any experience of chinese medicine . Any success stories? I am having a course of accupuncture and am taking the most disgusting herb conconctions for vertigo! Am 2 weeks into the course and would appreciate some encouragement!

Thanks...... V

[abstibus]

Hi viz
I have no experience of taking it internally, but 5 years ago I had a persistent swollen foot and ankle, making it very painful to walk. This was about 4 years after I had torn the tendons, and the problem kept coming back. I went to the local hospital (I was living in China) and the doctor gave me a large bag of herbs. I was to put them in boiling water, let it cool, and then soak my foot. The problem cleared up in about 7 -10 days and has never been back.
Chinese medicine has been around for 5000 years, and as long as you get a reliable, trained practitioner, it can be remarkably effective. I would stress 'trained' though - there are a lot of quacks out there.
I had to laugh when I was visiting the doctor - he was smoking, and all the waiting patients crowded into the consulting room to give advice. Mind you, I was about the only foreigner living in that part of the city, and most preferred to use their expensive private western medicine. I'd done that, with no success, but I felt a bit stupid sitting at home with my leg in a bucket.
I also have friends, both in China and here, who have had acupuncture and swear by it.
Good luck

[MrXLA]

Chinese medicine and 'alternative' therapies have their place as adjuncts to 'traditional' medicine.
Many people have reported 'great success' with Chinese and 'alternative medicines'.
I'm of the personal believe that if a therapy does no harm and is effective for an individual then there is no problem with it's use.
However I would always recommend that you consult your GP to exclude any serious underlying medical condition requiring 'traditional' investigation/medicines/drugs/managment.

A couple of points to note (remembering my answer above please)
- If a therapy/drug/technique/diagnostic aid is found to produce reliable, reproducible, beneficial effects with a wide safety margin and has undergone randomised controlled trials and 'tests' and peer review it becomes accepted practice.
- Many 'alternative' therapies when under scrutiny have not achieved this, if they do they cease to become 'alternative' and become medicine.
- Many 'alternative' therapies are thought to work by the placebo effect (or in fact are simply used alongside natural healing to zero effect). The placebo effect iself has been shown to be beneficial and therefore itself could be considered to be of positive therapeutic value.
- If any therapy works then it has a method of action, even if it is not understood, however its action should be reproducible.

NB - just because something has a long history does not add any value or evidence to its relative effectiveness as I hope I've clarified above (unless of course its value can be demonstrated by scientific evidence).