Homeopathy

Continuing with my thread about alternative health care I’ve explored, we come to the venerable modality of homeopathy. My usual source of online misinformation, Wikipedia, defines homeopathy as follows:

Homeopathy (also homœopathy or homoeopathy; from the Greek ὅμοιος, hómoios, "similar" + πάθος, páthos, "suffering" or "disease") is a form of alternative medicine first defined by Samuel Hahnemann in the 18th century. Homeopathic practitioners contend that an ill person can be treated using a substance that can produce, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those of the illness. According to homeopaths, serial dilution, with shaking between each dilution, removes the toxic effects of the remedy while the qualities of the substance are retained by the diluent (water, sugar, or alcohol). The end product is often so diluted that it is indistinguishable from pure water, sugar or alcohol. Practitioners select treatments according to a patient consultation that explores the physical and psychological state of the patient, both of which are considered important to selecting the remedy.

Elyn and I have used over-the-counter homeopathic products for about ten years now, with good results. We have used arnica montana for pain, coffea cruda for sleeplessness, homeopathic mineral salts for a variety of complaints, and NoJetLag for long travel. In spite of our favorable response to these substances, the scientific point of view tells us:

Claims for efficacy of homeopathic treatment beyond the placebo effect are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical evidence. Common homeopathic preparations are diluted beyond the point where there is any likelihood that molecules from the original solution are present in the final product; the claim that these treatments still have any pharmacological effect is thus scientifically implausible and violates fundamental principles of science, including the law of mass action.

So much for what the scientists say. The short version is that homeopathy is quack medicine. In the past year I have been seeing a classical homeopath who conducted extensive interviews covering aspects of my life and being that I had never been asked about. Based on those interviews she prescribed a single homeopathic remedy that I take daily. This remedy is in a dropper bottle. I place one drop under my tongue each day. Here is the response so far.

The first remedy that I received resulted in severe depression within a few days. The homeopath quickly gave me another and the results, while not as dramatic, are profound. I have noticed a gradual improvement in chronic symptoms such as acid reflux, sudden depletion of energy, depression, etc. I believe that this remedy accounts for the general improvement in my quality of life that has resulted in our plans to travel and live abroad for a few years. All this may just be placebo effect, but I don’t care what you call it. I am enjoying a wonderful quality of life and homeopathy is a significant part of it.