Could these things really help??

[TiffanyJean]

First off I hope this is the right place for this, if its not just let me know

Richie's dad is a doctor of acupuncture and homeopathic medicine (Chinese herbs and such); Since Richie was first diagnosed (ESRD 5% GFR) he has been doing everything he can think of to help. At first Richie's doctors ok'd some of the homeopathic remedies, but then changed and said that it would be better that he not take them. As of now Richie's GFR is less than 1%; his dad is still suggesting various remedies this is the latest : An LC Balancer, http://www.weilab.com/kidney_failure.html

Now I must admit I am as big a skeptic as you can get when it comes to this stuff; Richie having grown up around it is indifferent, and feels that if it might work then why not. I'm afraid that these things can maybe cause more harm than good.

So I guess my question is - Could these kinds of things really help with someone who's kidneys are so damaged?


I wish I could find the words to help him understand how far gone Richie's Kidneys are. Everytime I try and explain it to him he gets defensive, and I sympathize with him I can only imagine how hard it is as a parent to have there be nothing you can do to help your child. I'm sure that I would do everything I can to help.  I just can't get him to understand that there is dialysis and transplant, that's really all the options.


  Tiffany Jean

[hurlock1]

Homeopathic schoemeopathic! Once the kidneys are gone, the only thing, there is is dialysis, and a transplant. When you say homeopathic "doctor", and he says this and that should help. I'm sure that that his intentions are good, but he's a quack! I'm sure that homeopathic  "doctors" help a lot of people that don't really need any help. What the hell?! Is a homeopathic doctor gonna do a transplant surgery? "Here, eat some fortified wheat germ, forget the kidneys, you'll be OK" We'd LIKE to believe that people can do things medical w/o going to medical school. An astroligist can do as well. A dialysis tech has more specific training than a homeopathic "doctor", for a person with bad kidneys.
I'm sure that there are people that that believe in homeopathic "doctors". good for you!

[okarol]

I would be careful about what herbs or nontraditional medicines you take - kidneys do not need cleansing when they are beyond recovery - and it could do more harm than good.
People try to helpful, but they often confuse "acute" kidney failure, where the possibility of function is possible, with "chronic" renal failure, where the function is beyond repair.
I looked at that website - the founders are supposedly graduates from Harvard, but I cannot find them listed as having any publications in well known medical journals.
Also, if you read the kidney page here - http://www.weilab.com/kidney_failure.html it says you can restore the capillary structure and function of the kidney - and then if you want to read more about their success with case studies here - http://www.weilab.com/cases_discussions.html there is no mention of a single kidney case on that page.
People recommended lots of different solutions for Jenna when she was diagnosed - from acupuncture to herbal teas to hands-on healing - and we just smiled and said thanks.

[jbeany]

Tiffany, does his dad practice acupuncture himself?  If part of the problem is his feeling like there is nothing he can do, maybe you could ask him to perform acupuncture treatments that are focused on relieving stress?  It can't hurt, might help your hubby, and might help his dad feel like he is being proactive with helping his son.  Most of the herbal treatments used in homeopathic medicine are going to be a risk for someone with no kidney function.  The acupuncture should be safe, though - as long as your hubby doesn't mind a few more needle sticks!

[Rerun]

I read a true story by Jim Yates called "Flight 653 From Austin" where this young girl was married to this guy who thought he could save her from kidney failure with herbs and crystal healing.  She almost died.

Very good book.

I can't imagine how he functions with 1% kidney function. 


Keep us posted.   

[Stoday]

Richie's dad is a doctor of acupuncture and homeopathic medicine (Chinese herbs and such); ... ... At first Richie's doctors ok'd some of the homeopathic remedies, but then changed and said that it would be better that he not take them. As of now Richie's GFR is less than 1%; his dad is still suggesting various remedies this is the latest : An LC Balancer, http://www.weilab.com/kidney_failure.html

I can understand the real doctors' attitude. Homeopathic medicines won't hurt him, so they are OK with that. But herbal preparations are a very different matter.

Homeopathy works, if it works at all, by the placebo effect. The basis of it is to dilute the active ingredient and then shake the coontainer, then dilute again and shake and so on. Homeopathists say this reduces the side effects and improves the results. I can believe the side effects are reduced because typical dilutions mean there's only perhaps one molecule of the active ingredient left after all the dilution. If it's administered with sufficient mumbo-jumbo to a somewhat dimwitted person, I can believe the placebo effect will be active too. Except I've never come across the placebo effect having any positive effect on failing kidneys.

The problem with herbalists is that their preparations can have some effect. However they have never been properly tested. There's good reason for that — no profit. A manufacturer can't get a patent on a herb, so will not pay for the herb to be tested. What's worse is that no one knows how it reacts with other medicines and only the very worst side-effects are known. People who take herbal preparations run a risk.

As for me — I'm not daft enough to take either type of preparation.

 

[TiffanyJean]

Thanks everyone for weighing in!!

My biggest problem with the whole thing is that these things have never had significant testing, like Stoday said

The problem with herbalists is that their preparations can have some effect. However they have never been properly tested. There's good reason for that — no profit. A manufacturer can't get a patent on a herb, so will not pay for the herb to be tested. What's worse is that no one knows how it reacts with other medicines and only the very worst side-effects are known. People who take herbal preparations run a risk.

As for me — I'm not daft enough to take either type of preparation.

 

His dad has never been able to provide me with any reports,    its all crazy 

I read a true story by Jim Yates called "Flight 653 From Austin" where this young girl was married to this guy who thought he could save her from kidney failure with herbs and crystal healing.  She almost died.

Very good book.

I can't imagine how he functions with 1% kidney function. 


Keep us posted.   

Thanks for the book suggestion Rerun, I will definitely check it out. As far as him functioning with 1% GFR; Richie does ok his doctors attribute it to him living with it undiagnosed for so long, and because he is still young 25 he'll be 26 in september. The biggest problems he has is a lack of energy on some days, and his brain is 'cloudy' has a hard time remembering some things. But he's pretty good and healthy otherwise.

oh and jbeany, Richies dad does do the acupuncture, he unfortunately lives on Kauai, when we live on Oahu; but he has gone to have acupuncture with his aunt (his dad's sister). He mostly has gone to appease his dad and step-mom (who was our potential donor) but he doesn't mind it so much.   

I'll keep everyone posted on whether he chooses to talk to his doc about this... 

thanks for listening...

tiffany jean