I've had a number of patients undergo various surgeries over the last two or three years, they call me for the arnica/phosphorus/symphytum/bellis perennis/staphysagria type remedies that often come in handy post surgery. In this area of Southern Ontario, patients seem to go to particular hospitals for certain types of surgeries--and over the course of the last few years, each patient has presented me with a three-page list of Things They Must Not Have before surgery. The list is extensive, includes things like Arnica and garlic and various vitamins, and is obviously compiled (I hate to say it) by someone who hasn't a clue what they're talking about. Unfortunately, every surgeon in the area's hospitals now hands this list out as their "pre-surgery" protocol. I don't believe many of the doctors even read the list, to know what's on it. They seem surprised when patients ask them why the substances are off limits, and just say, "because" as an answer to their concerns (that was my first response to being presented with that list of no-no's--I'd send my patients back to their doctors to find out why certain substances were deemed off limits in their cases--typically, the answers didn't make sense, or the doctors couldn't say).
These doctors and those who've compiled the list are specifically ignorant about Homeopathy, and don't distinguish between homeopathic remedies and herbal preparations of, say, something like Arnica. Most are unaware there's a distinction at all, and don't have a clue what either one does or why their patients seem to come ready to take it before and/or after their operations.
So watch out for it. As for Arnica interfering with diclofenac--it might, in that it may just put the Rx drug to shame for arthritis pain relief, and the patient may never get the prescription filled again. And we all know how that might go over in conventional medicine, don't we?
As for arnica's effects--in a strict herbal tincture, too much of it is toxic; I do think it has an effect on blood vessel integrity and blood "thickness", so someone might want a person on drugs which thin the blood to think twice about taking it. However, I believe its preparation as an herbal tincture was never meant to be taken internally or without supervision.
I never think of what homeopathic remedies will interfere with, in terms of their compatibility with prescription drugs. I reverse that question: what will those drugs/supplements/foods/substances do to the work the homeopathic drug has initiated in the body? How will they interfere with the patient's altered vital force? Otherwise, the question doesn't make sense to me.
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To:
minutus@yahoogroups.com
From:
rosemaryhyde@lmi.net
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:56:02 -0500
Subject: RE: [Minutus] Well here's a new one!!!!! More!!
My guess is that the doctor may be talking about the herbal preparation of Arnica, and that he doesn’t know anything about homeopathy. A homeopathic remedy above 12c or so should not have any ability to interact physically with an allopathic medication, since they act on different planes.
I don’t know that Arnica tincture would necessarily interfere with Diclofenac, either – but I do know that a potentized remedy should not interfere. Docs sometimes (often?) make proclamations like this without knowing what they’re talking about, possibly being afraid that anything, no matter what, might interfere with the meds they’ve prescribed. If asked, I guess they feel they should sound authoritative in whatever they say, and “better safe than sorry.”
I’ve heard all kinds of edicts from medical doctors who clearly have no idea what they’re talking about, in telling patients that homeopathic remedies would be dangerous. There was a spate of proclamations that remedies contained lead, and therefore should never be taken (several years ago). Turned out there was one Ayurvedic herbal preparation in which lead had been found just prior to these edicts. Some people, of course, think “homeopathic” means “anything alternative.”
I’ll be interested to learn if anyone knows about the herbal tincture of Arnica and potential contraindications with any meds?? It’s always good to know about any real information in regard to substances we use.
Rosemary
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
-Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President (1809-1865)
From:
minutus@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
minutus@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of rochelle
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 12:14 PM
To:
minutus@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Minutus] Well here's a new one!!!!! More!!
More from the patient:-
The tablets he takes are diclofenac for arthritis.
Does anyone know about this link?
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk
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