by Dr. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Dr. Robert Ullman
Ten Questions to Ask Yourself to See if Homeopathy is a Good Match
When we first dipped our toes into the stream of natural medicine some thirty years ago, options were relatively few. A manageable number of flagstone books had been written on the subject of natural healing and diet. Little formal training was available naturopathic medicine, as well as homeopathy, were unfamiliar terms to most people. The playing field sure have changed! The past decade, in particular, has brought such widespread mass interest, a market-driven cornucopia of natural supplements of every kind, and a fascinating array of nearly every imaginable natural therapy. As we peruse the pages of The Townsend Letter each month, we are impressed by how many different natural options are available. How bewildering it must be for some of you to decide what to pursue.
Admittedly we have a bias towards homeopathy since we’ve been practicing it for the past twenty years but this type of medicine is not for everyone nor is everyone a good candidate for homeopathy. Constitutional homeopathy is an investment in time, money, and hope. We most enjoy patients and families who stay with us over time so we can witness the longterm transformations that are possible. Here are some criteria you can use to decide whether homeopathic treatment is likely to be a good match for you. Anyone can use homeopathic medicines to self-treat for acute conditions. But here we are talking about constitutional treatment for a chronic, longstanding problem or, more accurately, to bring you as a whole into balance. Other homeopaths may or may not agree with us- these are observations from our two decades of practice and from seeing who make the best homeopathic patients and seem to be the happiest with treatment.
1. Am I Looking for an Whole-Person Approach to Healing ?
If the notion that one medicine can help all of you makes sense, homeopathy may be your best bet. Analyzing a patient’s case using homeopathy is much like putting together a many-pieced jigsaw puzzle. Once the entire puzzle is assembled and the image becomes clear, it is recognizable. Although the images of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilmanjaro all have certain mountainlike features, each is unique. The same is true with each person and that is what makes selecting one medicine out of more than two thousand substances from nature made into homeopathic medicines both exciting and challenging. If the idea of having most or all of your health concerns addressed by homeopathy rather than needing to go to a different specialist for each part of your body or each problem is appealing, you will probably be very glad that you discovered homeopathy. There is no problem consulting with a primary care physician, or a specialist if appropriate. However, if your security lies in seeing a different specialist for each of your health concerns and blending all of their recommendations, it might be confusing and counterproductive for both you and your homeopath.
2. What is My Reaction to Reading About Homeopathy?
When a patient who is totally new to homeopathy calls us about treatment, we often recommend that he or she read one of our books. Reading about homeopathy will convey, especially about cases of others that were helped, conveys not only what is possible with homeopathic treatment but what the process entails. If you are intrigued by what you read and find that the message and cases ring true to your own experience, chances are it is the right approach for you. If, on the other hand, it seems like a foreign language and you find yourself skeptical of the whole matter, it may be that a more down-to-earth type of healing is a better choice for you.
3. Do I Like the Idea of Taking One Medicine for All of My Health Issues?
Many of our patients, as is probably true of our complementary medicine colleagues, seek out our care after having tried a number of other approaches. We request that they bring in any supplements they are taking and they often arrive with a tote bag full of products. Although we do prescribe supplements for a number of our patients, the quantities are generally much less than they have taken in the past at a much reduced monthly cost. This is often a relief and they are amazed that a single homeopathic medicine can relieve most or all of their complaints. If taking a different medicine, whether natural or conventional, for each of your problems appeals more to you, then you may not feel comfortable with homeopathy. Although it is definitely possible to use nutritional supplements and some other therapies along with homeopathy, the goal of the homeopath is still to find one medicine for all that ails you.
4. I Love My Aromatherapy.
There are some substances that interfere with the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines in some people. These include the phenol group of aromatic substances such as camphor, eucalyptus, and tea tree as well as coffee. It is fairly easy to get around the coffee by administering the medicine daily. However, if your life would not be the same without applying your aromatic liniment every day, homeopathy may not have a chance to work its magic for you. Most aromatic scents, by the way, are fine. It’s those phenol-containing tree barks that tend to be the biggest barrier to homeopathic treatment.
5. Do I Like the Idea of Addressing the Mental and Emotional Imbalance at the Same Time as the Physical?
Many patients are quite surprised at the level of depth, psychological probing, and thoroughness of the initial homeopathic visit. We spent two and a half hours with an adult the first time and two hours with a child. At the conclusion of the interview, they may express amazement that the process revealed one thread that tied everything together in their health and life. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a therapy that only addresses your physical complaints and if you find it objectionable to talk about yourself more deeply, homeopathy may not be your cup of tea.
6. Has Homeopathy Helped Me in the Past?
If homeopathic medicines have helped you previously, either with acute or chronic problems, the chances are high that you are a good candidate for repeating your success. If you found the experience worthwhile but the homeopath who was caring for simply could not find a medicine that helped you profoundly over time, it may be that you just need another opinion. Assuming you are a diehard homeopathic patient and have tried numerous homeopaths without success, although the next might be a charm, it might be time to move on to a different modality. The same is true if you have found acupuncture to help you over and over again in the past. You may not need to venture beyond Chinese medicine.
7. Do I Prefer to Try a Different Approach to Healing Every Few Months
If you are an eclectic patient who is always reading the latest about this therapy and that and simply must try it, you may not have the temperament for homeopathy. The best patients for homeopathy are those who have patience to hang in with treatment, even if the best medicine does not reveal itself for a period of time.
8. Do I Have Reactions to Medicines, Even Herbs?
If you are one of those folks who reacts to just about anything- drugs, herbs, foods- then homeopathy may work very well for you. There is no type of medicine you can take that is more gentle with fewer side effects than homeopathic remedies. For those of you do have a history of reacting to whatever your doctor gives you, it is best to share this up front with your homeopath because you may need a low-potency medicine or one that has been diluted in a different fashion called an LM potency.
9. Am I a Machine-Oriented Type of Patient?
A number of doctors these days use high-tech approaches with their patients. What we are referring to in this article is classical homeopathy in which one medicine is prescribed at a time, a period of time- usually at least five to six weeks- elapses before evaluating the effect of the medicine, and the selection is based on an in-depth interview. If you are a gadget kind of guy or gal and want to see those dials move to indicate what you need to take, then classical homeopathy may not satisfy your needs.
10. Does Homeopathy Just Feel Like the Right Path to Follow?
Despite all the considerations above, perhaps the best advice is just to follow your intuition. If it seems like the right thing to do in the moment, go for it!
Different Strokes
Whichever therapy you decide to try, fine. Judyth’s mother, Essie, always used to say, “’Different strokes for different folks’ said the old lady as she kissed the pig.” We can call it an “Essiephorism”. Be thankful that there are so many options offered by so many healers. And for The Townsend Letter which affords us the opportunity to glean the latest information about them hot off the press.
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