When thinking of treating a particular condition, integrative approach is always preferred. First let’s discuss what Integrative Medicine is. By definition, it is medical philosophy that integrates many different medical disciplines, both conventional and complementary/alternative, with the goal of finding the most efficient and least harmful approach to treating what ails the patient. Medical field is very wide. No doctor is an expert in all the modalities available. The best doctor is the one who is an expert in some of the modalities, while having an open mind and enough humility to realize their limitations and know when to refer to another expert.

Let’s take a look at some of the more common modalities. They fall into two main categories: those dealing with the physical body and those dealing with the body’s “energy”. The physical body is made up of organs, which are in turn made up of cells, then molecules, atoms, etc. It is a chemical/mechanical system. This system is in turn driven by what some people call “energy”. Homeopaths call this energy Vital Force, Chinese practitioners call it Chi. I like to compare this setup to a computer, which has hardware and software. The physical computer and its accessories do the actual work: print documents, send emails, process music, etc. However, the work is not possible without software, animating the computer. When hardware and software work well, the person sitting at the computer is happy. If something is not working right, the problem could be either some hardware malfunction, or a software problem, like a bug, virus, etc. Any computer technician worth his salt will address both issues.

Well, it’s sort of similar with our bodies. The energy we talk about is probably something like an extremely sophisticated software, an interface between our soul and our physical body, which our soul uses for its expression in the physical world. It is then pretty clear, that in order to address possible body’s malfunctions we need to address both its hardware and software.

Hardware approaches include conventional medicine (surgery and drugs that block processes in the body), nutritional therapy (addition of missing components and removal of toxins), herbs (natural chemicals that can modify body’s chemical reactions), chiropractic (mechanical correction of trouble-causing situations), etc. Software approaches include acupuncture (manipulation of Chi pathways with needles), homeopathy (debugging the Vital Force), energy healing of various types, etc. At its best, most practitioners of these arts utilize both hardware and software modalities in their work. For example, most good chiropractors will tell you that their adjustments open up energy flow in the body. Even conventional doctors’ patients will often report improvement in how they feel even before they leave the doctor’s office or start on the prescribed treatment. Some energy exchange between the patient and the doctor probably takes place in those encounters, and the doctor, even without realizing it, does some direct energy healing on their patient.

In this section we will look at various disease conditions and discuss how they can be addressed looking from the integrative perspective. This is a work in progress. I will do my best to add more conditions as time goes on.

When discussing whether a particular condition responds to homeopathic treatment, one always needs to remember some simple basic ideas.

• Homeopathy has no direct effect on the physical structures of the body (see Homeopathy in Brief)
• All healing by homeopathy relies on stimulation of the body’s Vital Force by the remedy, which in turn attempts to heal the physical structures, if at all possible. Sometimes the physical structures can’t be healed, because the pathology is irreversible, as, for example, if a limb is missing, it probably won’t grow back even on the best remedy. A good homeopath should be able to make an educated guess, whether a particular condition will respond to the treatment. However, whether it does or not, a good remedy should always be able to improve the patient’s general state of being and make their life generally better.
• Other methods of healing can often be used in conjunction with homeopathy. Sometimes conventional medicine is the best option, sometimes it is some nutritional approach, chiropractic, physical therapy, etc. Discuss this with your homeopath to make sure other methods are not known to interfere with homeopathic remedies. It is also a good idea to start one treatment at a time and give it sufficient time to know what it does, before adding another. Otherwise we don’t know what is working, and follow-up becomes very difficult.

ADD/ADHD

Lately, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of patients coming in who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Before we discuss some possible ways of dealing with this problem, I’d like to discuss what we mean by these diagnoses. The first and foremost thing we need to remember is that these diagnoses don’t correspond to any recognized pathology. Read more…

Infertility

My first experience with treating infertility homeopathically took place several years ago when I was working in a clinic where I don’t usually do homeopathy. I saw a lady who complained of being unable to conceive after trying for 2 years. She had had no proper workup. I spoke with her for about 10 minutes and the remedy became clear to me. Usually, it takes me much longer to arrive at a good prescription, which is why I don’t use homeopathy in this clinic, where I get only 15 minutes per patient. In any case, the remedy was staring me in the face and I decided to offer it. She really did not know what she was getting, I could just as well given her Tylenol and she would not know the difference. I also sent her to a gynecologist for a workup. Read more…

Weight Loss

Obesity is an incredibly common condition in the US. On occasion a patient is able to lose weight when a good homeopathic remedy acts. However, in my experience, if weight loss is your main goal of treatment, a different approach is more effective. Aminoacid therapy according to the protocol developed by Dr. Hinz is my first choice for helping people slim down. In the long run homeopathy may be very helpful as a way of getting your body healthier in general, as well as dealing with some of the more difficult emotional issues, often predisposing people to overeating.

Dizziness/vertigo

Dizziness is a very common problem, especially in older people. It is basically a disturbance of the function of vestibular mechanism. On this picture you can see the organ responsible for balance and hearing,.. Read more

I will be adding more diseases to this list. Let me know what diseases you’d like to know more about, and I’ll write about those, for which I get more questions.