She writes:

I have lupus and I have a very well intentioned husband who thinks that holistic medicine will cure me. Everyone tells me to that multivitamins, exercise, smoothies, will be the way! If that were the case…why hasn’t the medical doctors said anything??? My husband is very agitated that my primary doctor hasn’t recommended “natural” cures…maybe because there aren’t any!!!!!!

I have very strong opinions on this matter, which I can sum up in one sentence. Most forms of alternative medical treatments are a load of crap and are specifically designed to cure you of having any excess cash in your bank account.

Please note that some activities like yoga often fall under the umbrella of holistic medicine, and I think relaxing your body and stretching is a good thing and will probably make you feel better in the long run; however, if your yoga instructor says that yoga will cure your lupus, then that person is making a claim that is not supported by evidence.

That being said, I believe that the phenomenon referred to as the placebo effect may very well be something that is not just a psychological reaction but also a physiological process. If you believe that a treatment is helping you, your body reacts by producing chemical substances like endorphins and adrenaline that do actually make you feel better.

I share LupusKatie’s frustration. My wife has many well meaning friends that are positive that their multi-level marketing juice product or herbal treatment will cure her lupus. You may be thinking, well, what’s the harm? In my opinion, any belief or endeavor based on false assumptions that may prevent a patient from receiving actual medical treatment is harmful. If you stop taking your Plaquenil because your chiropractor says he can align your Chakra, well good luck with that. Now if you continue to follow the treatments prescribed by your rheumatologist and it makes your muscles feel better to get a massage, then that’s a wonderful thing.

My wife recently had a neurologist suggest that go buy some colon cleanser product! What century is this? I really could care less if people choose to spend their hard earned cash on alternative treatments, but it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that herbal colon cleansers are quackery. If you’ve never visited Quackwatch.org, it’s worth a visit. Your wallet will thank you.

If I sound a little testy, it’s because I am. It’s been a very difficult few days. Neuropathy has been added to my list of things that really suck.

There is the rheumatologist, the general practitioner, the pain specialist, the ENT, the physical therapist, the chiropractor, the pulmonologist, the psychologist, the psychiatrist, the ophthalmologist, and the really odd guy that just says, “I do bugs.”

What’s even more annoying is how everybody and their brother has some “cure” for lupus. Funny how the medical community just can’t see how that huge bottle of mega-juice is the cure for all your ills! Just look at the evidence! Oh… there is no evidence. Okay, how about these herbal supplements? They’re “natural” right? That’s gotta be good! Oh… all that immune system boosting is causing a lupus flare? Gee, didn’t see that coming.

I think my wife has enough doctors without every snake-oil multi-level-marketing salesperson trying to sell her a “cure” that doesn’t exist.