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More Americans are using alternatives medicines to treat health problems
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There's an old saying that, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." But recent studies show more and more people believe that yoga, herbs and even prayer can do the same job.
An increasing number of Americans are using alternatives medicines to treat health problems ranging from headaches and depression to cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses, according to a recent government study by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health.
The survey, part of a larger national health survey done periodically by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, used personal interviews with more than 31,000 adults across the country on their use of 27 types of alternative therapies not considered part of conventional medicine in the United States.
Dr. Stephen Straus, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Bethesda, Md., said people were asked if they had ever used or had used within the past year 10 types of treatment provided by experts. The treatments included acupuncture and chiropractic, as well as 17 other therapies that can be self-administered, such as herbal botanical supplements, special diets and megavitamins.
The survey can't tell to what extent people used alternative treatment exclusively rather than alongside traditional care, although most experts think people tend to blend their health care, Straus said.
Richard Nahin, the center's senior adviser for the survey, said the results underscore that "some remedies can be unsafe when used inappropriately or with conventional medicines, and people who use complementary and alternative medical products have to be sure to tell their health-care providers what they're doing."
The results for use of some natural products was particularly interesting, with 40 percent of those who used any such products taking Echinacea, mainly for colds, and 21 percent using ginkgo biloba, Nahin said. Interestingly, more than 6 percent were using kava kava, a Polynesian shrub extract often taken for anxiety, despite warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it can be toxic to the liver.
Straus noted the center has a number of studies continuing about the safety and effectiveness of several popular herbal products, and that as results of those studies are released in the next several years, it will be possible to see if scientific evidence has any impact on the popularity of those products when the next survey is done in 2007.
A woman's journey
Madison Township resident Marion Gray owns and operates Natural Remi-Teas, a combination tea and coffeehouse and health products store.
The genesis of her interest in natural remedies was in the diagnosis 20 years ago of a condition in which her body's auto-immune system attacks the thyroid, Gray said.
For 17 years, she took the prescription drug Synthroid without question.
Three years ago, when she was "tired of being tired," Gray began a journey of discovery into her own disease, and was shocked at what she didn't know.
She then took her amassed research to her doctor and discussed it with him.
First, she told the doctor that she wanted to switch her medication to Armour, instead of Synthroid. Armour is a "natural" prescription drug, made from the ground thyroids of pigs.
She also told her doctor she was going to "stop doing things that were working against my thyroid," such as ingesting fluoride and chlorine.
"Then I started drinking Yerba Mat tea, which helps the immune system," Gray said.
Gray describes Yerba Mat tea as a "complete food source," that gives the "wake-me-up" of coffee without the addictive caffeine.
As she started feeling better, people she knew became interested in the use of "natural" teas and substances.
Gray's store opened in summer 2001. Since then, she has spent a lot of time educating her clientele on how to use natural products to complement their traditional medical treatment.
"Why does it have to be one or the other?" Gray asked. "A customer will say, 'Oh, so I don't have to take my prescription anymore?' and I say, "No, no. Don't go against your doctor. Work with your doctor.' Some people call me an alternative, but I don't consider myself alternative. I go to the doctor. I take my prescriptions, I drink my tea and eat chia seeds."
On a wing and a prayer
In the survey, prayer was the No. 1 CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) used by respondents in the prior year.
The Rev. Jim Ekensten, director of Healing Rooms of Ashtabula, laughs at the designation of prayer as a "complement" to traditional medical treatment.
"We like to think we're the 'primary care physicians,' " Ekensten said. "We feel doctors are a complement to our belief. God created doctors, and they work hand in hand (with God). They always will."
Ekensten is not a physician.
Survey numbers show 43 percent of those surveyed said they used prayer specifically for their own health in the past 12 months. Twenty-four percent used prayer by others for their own health, and 9.6 percent of respondents participated in a prayer group for their own health.
The next CAM on the list - natural products - was used by 18.9 percent of respondents, followed by deep breathing exercises, 11.6 percent; meditation, 7.6 percent; chiropractic care, 7.5 percent; yoga, 5.1 percent; massage, 5 percent; and diet-based therapies, 3.5 percent.
Ekensten said the Park Avenue location attracts believers and nonbelievers looking for help. All are welcome, he said.
"It's a step of faith just walking through the door," he said.
"We've been open since December 2003, and we've prayed for between 125 and 150 people. People from as far away as Erie (Pa.) have driven here to have us pray for them."
Although Ekensten counts healing in mind and spirit in those numbers, physical healing also is a large part of the ministry. Ekensten said his group has three cases in which local doctors have diagnosed someone with a condition, which apparently disappeared after prayer at Healing Rooms.
On the initial form people fill out before being prayed for at Healing Rooms, they are specifically asked if they are under a doctor's care.
Insurance pays, selectively
According to statistics from the Hyattsville, Md.-based U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, the U.S. public's use of CAM increased substantially during the 1990s. This high rate of use translates into large out-of-pocket expenditures on CAM.
It has been estimated that the U.S. public spent $36 billion to $47 billion on CAM therapies in 1997 alone.
Of this amount, $12.2 billion to $19.6 billion was paid out of pocket for the services of professional CAM health-care providers such as chiropractors, acupuncturists and massage therapists.
These fees are more than the public paid out of pocket for all hospitalizations in 1997 and about half that paid for all out-of-pocket physician services.
According to the survey, 8 percent of those polled said they used chiropractic.
Terry Davis, administrator for Lake Chiropractic in Willowick, said 20 years ago, chiropractic services were not covered by insurances.
Today, 99 percent of patients at the clinic are indeed covered by insurance.
"But I know a lot of clinics who are all cash businesses because they are tired of fighting with insurance companies," Davis said.
Tammy Roesch, of Roesch's Natural Foods in Geneva Township, said insurance prescription cards can be somewhat of a trap.
"They're like welfare: It keeps people in the system, and they never look elsewhere for help," said Roesch, a master herbalist and "old-fashioned Seventh-day Adventist" who worships at home.
As with most practitioners of alternative medical care, Roesch warns anyone who takes her advice that she is not a doctor.
"I tell them I can only tell them what I would do and what has helped my customers," she said. "I tell them first to go to their doctor and tell them you want to try this. If the doctor says, 'Absolutely not,' I would tell them to try a different doctor."
Roesch said she has many doctors who send their patients to her for different natural herbs.
Success story
Sherrie Janz of Madison Township used to go to the doctor just about every week.
"Even with health insurance, our medical bills were astronomical," Janz said.
Janz has multiple medical problems, including asthma and allergies that required daily medication.
Janz spoke with her doctor about taking an herbal alternative to inhalers and pills. She did so with his approval, and has improved to the point of not needing the prescriptions.
"My doctor said, 'Wow, that's great. Just be careful,' " Janz said.
Janz said she takes advantage of conventional and alternative medical care.
"I just stopped going to the doctor for every stupid thing," she said. "I'd rather spend $10 for a natural product than pay the $15 (insurance) co-pay at the doctor's office. But if my arm's broke, I'm going to the doctor."
A doctor's view
Dr. Laura Bailey, board certified in internal medicine, is in a group practice within Lake Hospital System, in Willoughby.
Bailey's main concern with alternative treatments is that patients often don't think it's necessary to tell their physician what they are taking.
"I had one patient who had fairly significant asthma that no medication would improve," Bailey said. "Finally, we sat down with her and looked at everything she was taking, and found out she was taking Echinacea."
Once the patient stopped taking the herbal treatment, Bailey said she was able to cut back her asthma prescriptions by more than half.
Echinacea use by some patients does seem to reduce the length of a cold, Bailey said. But those who have a sensitivity to ragweed can cause more problems than it solves.
"Natural isn't always better. Poison ivy is natural," Bailey said.
Another example of interaction concerns St. John's wort, which is often used to treat mild depression.
"But it does react with birth control pills," Bailey said.
There have been at least 20 documented cases of pregnancies caused when the "natural" herb lessened the effectiveness of the prescription drug.
Communication between doctor and patient is key to making sure that using "natural" substances is safe.
FDA approval needed
Bailey also noted she is concerned that none of the herbal products available is subject to control by the FDA.
In a study by Consumers Union, the Yonkers, N.Y.-based company that publishes Consumer Reports, it was discovered that random samples of herbal treatments indicated that the concentration of the actual substance varied widely, from 0 percent to 150 percent of what the bottle says is in it, Bailey said.
"That is the concern of a lot of doctors," she said. "As you know, if you plant tomatoes, one year, you may have 100, and the next year, maybe 30. The concentration of the substance will be different."
Bailey said she prefers to work with her patients who want to take herbal supplements. She also would like to see more studies conducted on the products.
What about prayer?
Asked about the No. 1 "alternative medicine" cited in the NCCAM study - prayer - Bailey said that is a highly personal approach but it definitely "has a place."
But has she seen prayer work with her own eyes?
"I've seen lots of people live through things that they had no right to live through," Bailey replied. "I couldn't rule it out."
Results of the survey are available at the center's Web site: www.nccam.nih.gov. Scripps Howard News Service contributed to this story.
İThe News-Herald 2004