Medications (Homeopathic, Natural and Pharmacological) Effect the Whole Body

Last week we considered how illness is an individual experience.  The value of an integrative approach to health is that it allows for more effective care to the degree that it takes the individual into account.

This week we consider how most medications act on many parts of the body that are not the intended target.  Whether these medications are natural or pharmacological, they can act on mental, emotional and physical levels. How they do so also varies uniquely from person to person.  This means that not only is illness an individual experience, but so are medications, herbs, and supplements.  They all affect each of us differently.

Let's consider this in more detail: We know from clinical and post-marketing studies in pharmacology that most medications have side effects in other body systems than the targeted one.  Eg: Anti-depressant medication is among most commonly prescribed medications for people aged 25-44, according to StatsCan.  Cymbalta is one of them. It "is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressant (SSNRI).  Duloxetine (this is the Generic name for Cymbalta) affects chemicals in the brain that (may) be unbalanced in people with depression." as per www.drugs.com.   From the same reference under the "Side Effects" tab: "Common side effects of Cymbalta include drowsiness, sedation, fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, insomnia, hypersomnia, dizziness, weakness, headache, and xerostomia. Other side effects include agitation, vomiting, tension, nervousness, erectile dysfunction, psychomotor agitation, abdominal pain, hyperhidrosis, loss of libido, anorexia, decreased libido, restlessness, and decreased appetite."  Note that the side effects may not be felt and if they are may touch on several body systems, from neurological to digestive to reproductive.  If you read under the "Professional" tab, you will find detailed results of clinical studies and side effects listed by body systems affected.

We know from Homeopathy that most Homeopathic Medicines may also have effects on the mind and on the body.  Eg: A common homeopathic medicine is Mercurius. Mercurius may be considered in cases with clinical presentation including: "Abscess Bone, Disease of Breath, offensive, Bronchitis, Diarrhœa, Dyspepsia, Joint (pain), Noises in the Head, Prostate, Disease of Taste, Disordered Teeth, Affections of Toothache Tremors " (and many more).  

In this abbreviated list we find affections of skeletal (and dental), digestive, respiratory, reproductive, and nervous systems.  These are just a few clinical indications.  But if you read on in the reference, you see that there are many more clinical indications including Symptoms, to be distinguished from Clinical Indications. 

These are (similarly) grouped by body "area" starting with "Mind": "Great anguish, restlessness (is constantly changing from place to place), and agitation, with fear of losing the reason, or with excessive internal torment, principally in evening, or in bed at night, as if conscious of having committed some crime.  ─Moral dejection, with great listlessness, discouragement, dread of labour, and disgust to life.─Great indifference to everything.─Does not even care to eat.─Apprehensions.──Ill-humour, disposition to be angry, and to fly into a passion, great susceptibility, humour quarrelsome, mistrustful, and suspicious.─Moroseness and repugnance to conversation.─Groans.─Continuous moaning and groaning.─Excitement, and great moral irritability, with a tendency to be easily frightened.─Bad effects from fright, leaving one in a state of great anxiety and < at night.─Home-sickness with nightly anxiety and perspiration.─Distraction, inadvertence, difficulty of conception.─Entire-unfitness for meditation, and tendency to make mistakes while speaking. Hurried and rapid speech." Read on to see how this homeopathic medicine may affect other body systems.

It is important to note that while Homeopathic medicines can affect various body systems, they do not have 'Side Effects' as the pharmacological medicines do.  They do not affect other body systems unless they too are symptomatic.  This is because the mechanism of action of Homeopathic medicine is completely different than that of pharmacological medicine.  There is more to this.   The point here is that both Homeopathic medicine and pharmacological medicine can affect various body systems.  Neither type of medicine works in isolation.

We know from natural medicine clinical studies that herbs and supplements also affect many body systems.  Let's consider the well-known St. John's Wort. The Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database tells us that it is "used for depression, dysthymia, heart palpitations, mood disturbances and other symptoms of menopause, somatization disorder, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Other uses include smoking cessation, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), burning mouth syndrome, headache, migraine headache, muscle pain, neuralgia, polyneuropathy, sciatica, and angioplasty. It is also used orally for secondary symptoms associated with depression such as fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia, and anxiety. It is also used orally for cancer, glioma, vitiligo, herpes simplex, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, weight loss, as a diuretic, and for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Oily St. John's wort preparations are used orally for gastric indigestion."  Note again, that this herb preparation may be indicated for improvement of various body systems. Herbs too can affect various body systems.

(It is important to note that The Natural Medicine Comprehensive Database is a valuable resource for anyone taking or interested in Natural Medicines. It provides the most non-biased, non-commercial, comprehensive, and research-based information about most known natural medicines.)

These three examples, based on publicly available information, suggest that when we treat a disease or a symptom, even such a common one as a cold, it behooves us to choose our medicine taking into consideration feelings and functions of the entire body, family medical history and pre-dispositions as well as possible interactions among medications, This is because the effect of our chosen medicine may be more readily determined by all we know about the medicine, the symptoms, and the person. 

Integrative Medicine

In the last blog entry we spread the word about the public health care system "Patient's First" plan and considered what you can do to help the public health care system meet your needs. 

The "Patient's First" plan recognizes the importance of an integrative approach in that it may better recognize the complex nature of the human body.  It can recommend and allow recourse to the most appropriate combination of specialists to address our health as safely and effectively as possible.  This ensures our health is analysed in its entirety and takes into account the individuality of the case; not only the physical symptoms and test results, but also the mental state and emotional backdrop. Ultimately, this would allow for more effective care.  "360 degree Wellness", as we would say here at the 360 Wellness Clinic.

The integrative approach allows for more effective care precisely because of the complex nature of the human body. This presents itself on various levels: mental, emotional and physical and in entirely individualized fashion. Many diseases present mind, emotion, and body symptoms. Each symptom is experienced in an individual way.

According to the Report of the Incidence and Prevalence of Diseases and Other Health Related Issues in Canada Essential HTN (Hypertension) is the most prevalent diseases diagnosed in the general population. The Professioal Version of the Merk Manual  states that Hypertension "is sustained elevation of resting systolic BP (≥ 140 mm Hg), diastolic BP (≥ 90 mm Hg), or both." While Hypertension is known as the "Silent Killer" because it has no warning signs or symptoms, this means that it presents differently in every individual.  Conventional medicine gives us diagnosis, information about causes based on test results, and correspondingly indicated pharmacological or surgical treatment.  True causes may be related to kidney, adrenal, or thyroid function,  medications, or environmental factors (Merk). Clearly, there are many causes to be considered and other tests may be done to determine these. 

Homeopathy may provide further insight and treatment options which have no known side effects.  Taking into account the conventional understanding of hypertention (see above), the Homeopath further individualizes the case based on such details as: desire or aversion to salty foods and food in general, level of thirst, flushing of the skin, conflict management approaches, or reminiscence or resentment of past events. Based on such information and more, a Homeopathic diagnosis is made and a Health Canada approved Homeopathic Medicine is prescribed.

German New Medicine provides further complementary understanding of the physiology involved, the emotional relationship to the condition, and the ebbs and flows of the symptoms. GNM theory is anchored in embryology and provides biological reasoning for symptoms. Those familiar with GNM welcome knowing 'why' their body may be manifesting certain symptoms. For example, from the GNM perspective, hypertension is related to a "fluid" conflict. This is an emotional and active conflict which can be metaphorically or literally related to fluids. From there it would generally require working with a practitioner to understand if this is relevant and if so how this understanding may be effectively, clinically applied.

TCM and Ayurveda are two other well established (over thousands of years) comprehensive medical systems which have further complementary understanding to provide.

Regulated Health Care Practitioners are required to continuously educate themselves. These continuous education courses may provide further information about recent research and understanding. Recently genome testing is becoming popular. Not surprisingly, it aims to better understand our individuality and thereby how better to meet our individual health needs.

The integrative approach allows for more effective care by way of more complete understanding of the case, causes, variables, and relevant symptoms. The greater the understanding of the individual case, the more likely the possibility for individually tailored, and therefore effective treatment.

The idea behind an integrative approach is not a competitive one, pitting one approach against another, but rather one of wise and unprejudiced understanding of a case with a view to finding what works for each person.