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Homeopathic treatment - General Information
What Homeopathy can do for you Homeopathic medicine offers you a safe, effective and natural way of healing by activating your body's own natural defenses and releasing your inner power of self-healing. By inquiring into the possibility of consulting a professional Homeopathic doctor, you have already shown that you are interested in a legitimate medical alternative for a specific problem or your overall health care. A truly healthy person has a natural resistance to disease and symptom development. The immune system is one part of this natural resistance. When any symptom appears, it is an indication that this naturally strong and complete defense has been overcome to some extent. True health can be restored only when the inner defense has been repaired and returned to its optimum strength. The body can then once again defend itself against further disease. Homeopathy works naturally, and thoroughly to cure disease by boosting this inner defense. For many people, it may have been so long since they actually had a sense of ``well-being" that they have forgotten what it feels like to be truly healthy. Homeopathy can restore the vitality, energy, joy of living and happiness that are the natural attributes of a healthy person. Conditions that can be treated A wide variety of medical, emotional and mental ailments can be treated very successfully with Homeopathy. For nearly 200 years, this medical system has been used world wide to assist hundreds of thousands of people to recover from ``chronic" or ``incurable" diseases. Such conditions are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, migraine headaches, premenstrual syndrome and other menstrual problems, anxiety, high blood pressure, digestive problems, allergies, asthma, childhood illnesses including ear infections, skin problems, herpes and many other medical problems have been successfully treated with Homeopathy.
Length of treatment The length of treatment depends on many factors and can only be estimated at the conclusion of the initial evaluation. Your overall health, the type of disease conditions present, the amount of conventional or prescription medications that have been or are currently being used are all influential in anticipating the response to treatment. Each case is different and you are special as a unique individual, so the time it take to recover will vary.
First interview The first evaluation lasts about two to three hours. During this time an extensive interview is conducted in which the Homeopath gathers a great many details about your current condition, medical problems, past history, life style, character, how you respond to certain stresses and other relevant information. Physical examination is also done when needed to complete the evaluation of your condition. Much of the information that is useful to a Homeopath is very different than the kind of information that other physicians use. The general focus of this initial evaluation is to gather enough pieces of information to get a clear picture of you as a whole complete person including the medical, emotional and stress factors in your life. Once the evaluation has been completed, one specific Homeopathic remedy is prescribed for you. It is chosen specifically to activate healing for the variety of ailments and problems that were discussed in the evaluation.
Follow up visits The first follow up evaluation is made one month after the administration of your specific Homeopathic Remedy and lasts approximately 1/2 hour. It is necessary to wait a month to allow the healing process to begin. The total number of follow up visits varies from person to person. The frequency of visits depends on the extent and nature of your medical problem. Generally, it is extremely rare to make more than one visit per month. Most patients have far fewer visits, being seen every second or third month until their problem is eliminated. In general, I estimate that most adults with a chronic problem require 4 – 7 visits in the first year, and about half that for the second year. Again, it is important to emphasize that it is your individual needs that determine the number of visits.
The Healing Process Homeopathic medicine can provide thorough, long lasting and complete elimination of many kinds of ailments, both acute and chronic. The process of this kind of healing is different than the process for symptomatic relief or chronic medical treatments. During the first stages of homeopathic treatment, often patients will experience an intensification of their symptoms, or a return of symptoms they had in the past. This can include physical symptoms as well as emotional states. If this does occur, it is usually limited and often occurs within the first few weeks of starting the remedy. This reaction is viewed as a very favorable one from the perspective of the overall health of the patient. It indicates that the body is responding to the homeopathic remedy and is working now to eliminate the disease process that is at the root of all the symptoms. This stage is often referred to as the ``Homeopathic aggravation", however, a more accurate name would be the ``Homeopathic Healing Event". The idea of having an increase of the very symptoms you want to eliminate can be a rather unpleasant thought. This should not frighten you or cause any concern. There is a big difference between a typical aggravation of symptoms and what occurs during the Homeopathic treatment. Here, the symptoms generally are intensified for only a short period of time, occur in a modified form and are accompanied by other signs and indications of healing and improvement from other aspects of the total person. Homeopathic Remedy The Homeopathic remedies are made from natural substances such as plants and minerals. Homeopathic remedies are extremely safe, non-toxic and do not cause allergic reactions. There are 3000 different remedies and it is the job of the Homeopathy to determine which one is correct for you. The remedy is provided for you as part of your consultation. As your Homeopath, I am interested in providing you with the greatest benefit from Homeopathic treatment. It has been my experience that there are occasions when knowing which homeopathic remedy has been prescribed can influence your perception of your symptoms. Often a patient will investigate the way a specific remedy is suppose to effect them and this will in turn make subtle changes in the way in which they may report their symptoms to me. Because a Homeopath often needs to rely on very subtle changes to determine improvements or make the decision to change your remedy, it is vital that all the information collected be spontaneous and unbiased. For these reasons, I require the ability to decide when to inform you of the name of the Homeopathic remedy I have prescribed for you. In most cases, once I am certain of the remedy's positive action, I can discuss the remedy with you.
Substances that interfere with your Homeopathic treatment are listed on the Antidote List. They either completely stop the action of the remedy or delay the healing process. It is essential to avoid all the items on the list. Homeopathy is a complete medical system which treats all ailments a person has at a given time in a comprehensive way. Symptoms can arise seemingly independent of the reason you are receiving Homeopathic treatment, and may actually be part of the overall healing process. Self-administration of medications for these kinds of problems may disrupt treatment. It is important to report ``minor" things like colds, flu, back aches, headaches and other problems to your Homeopath for evaluation rather than treat them yourself as you may have been accustomed to doing.
Patient education Homeopathy will work for you whether you understand how it works or not. However, the more you do know and are involved in this treatment approach, the easier it will be for you to understand the reasons for your own healing process. An audio cassette tape entitled Homeopathy - An Introduction and my book, Everyday Miracles: Homeopathy in Action are provided at the time of making your initial appointment to assist your education about Homeopathy. For those who are interested in more information, there are two other tapes entitled Homeopathy for Skeptics and Homeopathy - First Aide.
Video Recording All patients will have a written medical record and a video recording of their medical case. These notes and recordings are made to assist me in evaluating your medical case and determining your correct Homeopathic remedy. The recording allows me the liberty of paying more attention to you and what you are saying rather than being confined to taking extensive notes. It has been my experience that these video recordings are a great assistance in my efforts to help you and provide you with optimum Homeopathic medical care. These recordings are completely confidential, as is all medical information.
Office hours The office is open from 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Thursday. On Fridays, the office closes at 3 pm. For emergencies occurring outside of regular office hours or on holidays, either myself or another physician are available by calling the regular office phone number and leaving a message by following the instructions on the voice mail system. Non-emergent calls will be returned during the next business day. Emergency calls will be forwarded to me by following the instructions on the voice mail system. I may also be contacted by email. I do return calls and emails in a timely way, so if I have not replied to you within 24 hours, something has occurred to prevent me from receiving your message and I suggest leaving it again. If I ma out of town this information will be on my voice mail message and I will still reply to phone messages. I do not, however, receive email when out of town.
Costs Fees for Homeopathic consultation are:
Phone consultations are charged at $30 for each 5 minute period.
Insurance As a medical doctor, my services are covered by most insurance companies. Therefore, you are probably entitled to whatever reimbursement is designated in your specific policy. Whereas this office cannot guarantee what your insurance company will do, it has been our experience that the majority of people are reimbursed about 10% - 40% of the initial visit costs and up to 80% for follow up visits. You are responsible for billing your own insurance company. Because the initial evaluation is so lengthy, some insurance companies may disallow a portion of the fee and then pay your contracted amount based on the reduced fee. On occasion, an insurance company may try to disallow the entire amount. Some insurance companies may require copies of the medical notes taken during consultation before processing the claim for benefits. Whatever decision your insurance company makes, you are ultimately fully responsible for all fees for services.
More Information I am always happy to answer any additional questions you may have about Homeopathy and my services. |