Has anyone tried chinese herbal medicine ?

[antioch4]

I have recently been to see a chinese herbal medicine docter
They have a natural herbal remedy for Hep C & B course that lasts about 4 -6 months that aparently has great results.

They say that conventional medicine has a lot of effective
diagnostic equipment but lacks medicines to cure serious
diseases. Yet herbal medicines have been around thousands of years and restore the natural functions that in themselves are able to fight and destroy foreign bodies such as virus etc.

I have been taking some for about 3 weeks now and feel a lot
stronger, my tiredness seems to be going and I feel a lot better.

Has anyone tried this ? and did they have any good results.

The chinese doctors say that many only come to them at the last resort and when on last stages of the desease after trying all other western meds first and really they should try them first for effective treatment.

[Tallblonde]

No, I've never tried Chinese herbal medicines.  I would encourage you to do a lot of research on anything you put in your body.  Personally, I wouldn't take something that hasn't been studied by reputable researchers.  Herbs aren't always safe.  For example, Licorice is often recommended for people with Hepatitis C, but it has some potentially dangerous side effects.  

I once considered taking Sho-saiko-to.  It has been studied fairly extensively and has demonstrated some impressive results with HCV patients.  However, it can cause pneumonia, so I decided I'd try safer things.  Again, it's important to read up on these products and not simply rely on the advice of a Chinese Medicine practitioner who is primarily motivated to sell you something.

Good luck!
Susan

[gr8faith]

I wanted to jump in on a thread to say Good Morning.  I took my first shot last night and woke up about 2:45am to the most severe and intense chills I have ever experienced.  My husband was such a gem, getting me blankets, water, giving me hugs.  Fell back to sleep about an hour later with these words repeating over and over in my mind:

"I will never forsake you. I will never leave you."

Woke up this morning in a pool of sweat, groggy headache.  Can see the need for multiple sets of jammies. LOL

Drinking so much water, could float away.  

I can do this.

blessings to all on this day!

[antioch4]

Still waiting for my first biopsy, completely terrified
to find out what stage I am in.

Never was one for drinking much and gave up completely 16-17 years ago including smoking.

[stc1993]

I did the same thing my first shot the first couple of nights. after that I haven't done it but one time since, around week 11. I haven't had any bad sides just anemia. Dr. giving me weekly b12 shots.  I hope you have an easy time with it.

Monte

[Califia]

I am very well acquainted with Traditional Chinese Medicine, having been a patient of  Misha Cohen, OMD, for fourteen years,and studied heavily on my own.    Just your very description of seeing a "chinese herbal medicine doctor" makes me a little nervous.    Are you seeing a doctor of Oriental medicine, an OMD?   A state-licensed acupuncturist, or L.Ac?   Where are you and what are you taking?  What is your particular TCM diagnosis?  If you offer details, I would be happy to advise or comment.  If you'd rather do this off-list, that['s good, too.  

If there is demand for such a thing, I could publish a reading list.   There is no reason to get involved with hucksters making claims for 4-6month cures when there is such a wealth of conscientious, well-educated and licensed practitioners out there.  

TB:
I took Chai Hu, Minor Bupleurum Combination for two years in 1990-91, what you call by the Japanese name Sho Saikoto.    It's a standard liver tonic, but it has  absolutely no antiviral activity whatsoever.  Nor does it address the immune system.   A good TCM practitioner would not prescribe it across the board to all HCV patients, nor would they prescribe it alone for a patient with immune dysregulation caused by chronic viral infection of any kind.    A cure for hep C?   Absolutely not.

My doctor, Misha Cohen, has co-written a book called _The Hepatitis C Help Book_    with Robert Gish, MD, who covers the Western medicine end of things.    (I contributed research.)  Good read, and carefully lays out a sensible herbal protocol, pointing out both it virtues and its limitations.

Hope this helps!

[new-sojourn]

That's so funny! I keep Misha's book right by my elbow and use it as a 'spell check' for all these advance stages and complications.  So that means I leaf thru it many many times and often stop to re-read parts.  ditto w/M Palmer's 'Complete liver guide'.

When I was 1st dx, I didn't even own a computer so I bought those 2 books and already had Dr Andrew Weil's books.  those were my guides thru dx to cl.  after tx and svr, I started loggin' on the hep c sites.

The advances in treatments and understanding of symtoms and sx's has advanced so much in just 3 years!  No wonder both authors have re-issued updates of excellent books!

[lackalustre]

been there done that.  i worked with a herbalist from canada and used chinese herbs for 2 years.  for a while i thought they were making me feel better but came to the conclusion that it was a waste of time and money.  i wish i would have done tx. sooner before it wacked out my immune system so bad.    i spent a lot on all those herbal and "natural" cures.    my viral load did drop while on the herbs but i think it was just a coincidence as the viral load can fluctuate anyway.  i finally did the tx. and got rid of the virus.

[Califia]

Tiny, interdependent world we live in!    BTW, the U.C. Botanical Garden in Berkeley, California has a huge Chinese herb section presided over by someone I went to high school with.   Life's a little different out here on the Pacific Rim....