Ambivalence is Normal

September 2nd, 2011 | Women's Health |

How you feel about yourself, your baby, and your pregnancy most likely will change from time to time during the nine months of gestation.

If the pregnancy was a surprise, finding out you are pregnant may be more of an emotional shock than if the pregnancy was planned. (more…)

The Cardio Workout: Interval or Steady State

August 18th, 2011 | Health |

Miller offers two options for the cardio portion of your workout: Sprint up and down an entire flight of stairs (interval training) or limit your movements to an up and down motion on a single step in front of you (steady state training). You’ll burn the same number of calories, no matter which workout you choose, says Miller.

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The Remedies of War Part 5

August 12th, 2011 | Health |

He was treated with Mercury LM potencies. At first, his migraine headaches, that made him vomit and insist on complete darkness, got worse. He broke out in rashes and his old familiar jungle rot returned. The blood in his stools, however, stopped. Memories of the war ambushed him when he would try to sleep. He would stay up days at a time at first to avoid their return. Eventually the memories faded and he could have the memories rather than the past choking him with fear. He also talked about the Veteran Association and the rap groups he now helps to assist.

“What a difference”, he related. “For years I would say nothing in these groups, though they would threaten me for not participating. So one day I talked and didn’t stop until I saw one guy puke, another wet his pants and another guy run out. I guess they didn’t really want to hear it. Now I have made peace and want others to feel that peace too.”

Today I can hardly recognize him from the man I first met. His skin and eyes are clear. He speaks of the war as an event in his life rather than a part of him being left there. Headaches come only occasionally now. The hesitancy in his speech is gone. He can sleep through the night, the nightmares are gone. His hand had fully healed. Periodically when he was angry he would hit the wall with his hand rather than strike out. He had broken the bones in his hand repeatedly before. He can now eat foods that he would cause him to have cramps that would double him over, especially acidic foods. He is very active in his community today. He says he feels like he did when he was 18, before he went into the war.

I feel like I have a chance and I want to experience the good that life has to offer.

His wife held through until she could see that he was doing better but decided to leave him. She said, “although he is my best friend I can’t live with him anymore. I am happy to see how much he has changed. I just wished it would have happened 10 years ago.” I have seen many wives of veterans live through their own war of sorts. They and their children need homeopathic care for the emotional scars of distance set by their husbands or the struggles of warding off ghosts of the past.

Over three million veterans served in the Vietnam war. There was no implied consent forms signed as to the long term possible dangers these veterans and their families would have to face eventually for decades and for life. The government in 1985 determined that the only symptom they would verify having a direct relation to the effects of Agent Orange was if a veteran developed chlor-acne within three months of exposure to Agent Orange. The government is recently reinvestigating their stand. And as one veteran, who publicly attested after 20 years and was then dying of cancer said:

I got killed in Vietnam – and I didn’t even know it.

Over 20,000 Persian Gulf veterans are now seeking medical treatment. Many of these veterans are in critical condition and are deteriorating rapidly. Consistent unusual symptoms are being passed onto their families and children. Presently the government refuses to acknowledge these veterans to give them treatment, saying there has not been established a correlation with their active duty in the Gulf and their current illness. But in the face of Vietnam, they won’t be able to turn their backs as long. Congressional meetings and public view will hopefully demand a response. At present, though, the Gulf war registry won’t show environmental illness. The burden of causation of illness and exposures has been on the veteran. What of the veterans who had to be subjected to vaccinations (over 300 substances, including Anthrax). Those that got sick who never actively served are not accounted for. They may have been blinded or paralyzed but if they were just in the reserves they did not even go on record.

One study tried to follow 20 pregnant women who were Persian Gulf veterans’ wives to observe any birth defects. Of the 20, “coincidentally” all 20 miscarried before term. History repeats itself with governmental denials. Time will tell as to how long this ostrich will bury its head in the sand. Typically Vietnam or Gulf war veterans do not seek out homeopathy for treatment of their symptoms.

Often a family member has benefited from homeopathy and the veteran is dragged to the homeopath reluctantly. They have been entrenched and disillusioned with the VA hospital shuffle yet expect little relief elsewhere. If one veteran is helped, however, and they are still in contact with other veterans, with the issue of trust bridged between them, they may seek out homeopathic care. This is what occurred in my practice. I was lucky because one Vietnam veteran referred over 10 veterans to me.

I do not know of another medicine that creates such beneficial change in these wounded warriors of body and spirit as much as homeopathy. Time will be the storyteller to see what the remedies of war will be for the Gulf Veterans given enough cases. Again, each case is always treated individually. The similar themes of essence and totality of symptoms of there long-term “acute miasms”, however, is helpful in understanding the core of how the vital force struggles on all levels through its symptoms to be free.

The Remedies of War Part 4

August 5th, 2011 | Health |

Calcarea carbonica

They are often the patriots who have gone to war to protect the citizens of this country, their national family. To drown out the memories, these vets often are workaholics and are very devoted to their families. They are loyal to the government’s position, the stance of doing what’s right for our country to protect it. Calc-c often is stirred with questions about why does life turn out the way it does, why does God allow war and death? They are seekers looking for answers to what they’ve gone through. (more…)

Virginity Pledges Work — for Some Adolescents

August 4th, 2011 | Health |

More than 2.5 million adolescents have taken part in public pledges of abstinence until marriage, and study findings released Thursday show that such promises are effective.

Teens who pledge abstinence “are much less likely than adolescents who do not pledge, to have intercourse,” according to study co-authors Drs. Peter Bearman of Columbia University and Hannah Bruckner of Yale University. (more…)

The Remedies of War Part 3

July 29th, 2011 | Health |

Unlike the Persian Gulf War, Vietnam veterans suffer a unique predicament. The responsibility and blame was left on the heads of those that fought the war. They were left to sort out who was responsible for what. There was no “homecoming parade”, no yellow ribbons. Instead they were spat upon, or jostled by the antiwar demonstrators who called them “baby killers”, asking them to wear humiliation that did not come off with their uniform. (more…)

The Remedies of War Part 2

July 22nd, 2011 | Health |

The symptoms may vary between individuals. And, although I am not advocating isopathic medicine for the exposures about to be mentioned, I feel it is important to state clues that may lead to a clearer etiology to help find their correct remedy. Perhaps this could be likened to viewing a plague or epidemic in the past. Hahnemann, from his Organon of Medicine, aphorism. (more…)

Collegiate Health and Wellness

July 21st, 2011 | Health |

New Piercing Fad Brings About Health Concerns

Piercing a variety of body parts and inserting jewelry can be traced to ancient times, and has become a very popular fad with adolescents and young adults today. However, there is much to be considered before proceeding with piercing.

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The Remedies of War Part 1

July 15th, 2011 | Health |

The following are some of the observations I gathered while working with 42 Vietnam Veterans as a student at the Hahnemann College of Homeopathic Medicine in Albany, California, where we were asked to do research on a project over 18 months. (more…)

Preventing Diabetes Related Heart Attacks

July 7th, 2011 | Cardio and Blood |

People with diabetes who’ve already had a heart attack may forestall further heart trouble by taking a cholesterol-lowering drug, even if they don’t have high cholesterol, according to a study in the December 8, 1998, Circulation. (more…)