Comments on: Skeptical Battlegrounds: Part III – Alternative Medicine

By: Rational Moms » Blog Archive » How Infertility Made Me a Skeptic

Rational Moms » Blog Archive » How Infertility Made Me a Skeptic — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:54:38 +0000

[...] Steven Novella recently wrote a great piece on how Evidence Based Medicine is losing the battle against complementary and alternative medicine. [...]

By: salzberg

salzberg — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:33:50 +0000

Thanks for the support, Steve! PZ Myers wrote a blog post today supporting my proposal as well:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/01/how_to_save_225_million_dollar.php
and his huge audience of Pharygulists have been supporting it in large numbers. Orac posted as well.
-Steven

By: Fifi

Fifi — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:54:43 +0000

Well if yoga is “alternative medicine” so are skiing and snorkeling…um, anyone care to write me a prescription so my holiday, er, healing journey can be a tax write-off…

By: Steven Novella

Steven Novella — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:25:17 +0000

salzberg – nice job. I signed up and voted for your proposal (and added a little comment myself). I will write a post about it on SBM and link to it.

By: salzberg

salzberg — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:57:00 +0000

Excellent post, Steve! I agree that we’re getting overwhelmed by pseudoscience (CAM) proponents, but we have to try to fight back.

Readers of this blog can help. I just posted a proposal to the Obama transition team that they eliminate funding for NCCAM. They have a site set up for new proposals, and proposals that are popular will (presumably) be taken seriously. If readers of this blog will vote for my proposal, perhaps we can slow down the CAM movement. Here’s the link:
http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004y2f
You have to login to vote, but the process only takes about 30 seconds. In less than an hour, my proposal already has at least 4 negative votes from CAM proponents, who obviously don’t like the idea. Each “yes” vote increases the proposal score by 10 points.

By: Infinite Monkey

Infinite Monkey — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:05:39 +0000

Mr. Huxley, I’d have to disagree with your thought of natural secation on two accounts. First, they’d have to pass before they reproduce. The problem with that is they usually have at least had children before they turn to alternative medicines. Second, that thing that states that you have to specifically refuse medical help would take precidence when they get to certain point.

So, I submit before the peers for review my idea of alternative selection. I got it from the geniuses at Walt Disney from thier movie “Ol’ Yeller”.

By: Skepthink

Skepthink — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:56:40 +0000

Dear Dr. Novella, Dear Skeptic fellows,

I hope nobody has already pointed out the following (sorry if that’s the case). Did you know about THIS?

International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies (like we say in Spain, “¡ahí es nada!”)
http://www.issseem.org/about.cfm

They feature a “peer-reviewed” journal. Please for laughter visit http://www.issseem.org/journal.cfm

It’s like the Fountain of Youth for Skepticism: tons of neverending debunkable frauds! A whole university degree could come out of that.

Dr Novella, I hope you find some time to deal with this.

Merry Christmas!

P.D.: I think the ISSSEEM is about to release a “peer-reviewed” article on Santa Claus sightings based on anecdotal evidence, yeti testimonials and UFO shopping patterns.)

By: DancingSamurai.ca | CAM skepticism - a good starting spot.

DancingSamurai.ca | CAM skepticism - a good starting spot. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:36:05 +0000

[...] useful essays on the problems with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). I especially like Steve Novella’s article: I think the biggest victory scored by the promoters of complementary and alternative medicine [...]

By: sonic

sonic — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:57:49 +0000

jessiedark- I would hope you went to the Dr. so that your child could be helped.
If we divide the world into “complementary” and “alternative” and “scientific”, we lose sight of the actual purpose-
Will the therapy help the condition?
New things about ADD are being learned everyday. Ask the Dr. why she is suggesting what she is suggesting.
(Sitting in front of a bright light can do more for deprssion than drugs.– Who woulda guessed?)

By: jessiedark

jessiedark — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:21:19 +0000

All right so what do I do? My daughter’s pediatrician, a respected doctor and teacher at a MAJOR university hospital offered my husband the option of treating her ADD/Anxiety/Insomnia (she was born severely dyslexic with some other signs of integrative issues) holistically????? I came to her for medicine. Now my daughter’s therapist doesn’t want to meet with my husband because she wants to use some of the ‘alternative” medicine supports in the community. How many times can I change therapist/doctor until I find one who is not so open minded her brain is falling out?

I actually became angry when the staff at my clinic (mental health) was proud to introduce a new staff person with a speciality in “ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE”. I can’t logically fight it because they have this insane idea it is being taught at major universities so it must be real. We have a psychiatrist who regularly prescribes herbs and supplements.

What is the answer, how do we fight when the very acts of combat are seen as “buying into big pharmacies, being closed minded?”

I’m frightened, I truly am.
There is a clear movement to ‘honor’ alternative medicine.

And then, I recommend Yoga and exercise and deep breathing to address stress and for self care. I am then told that I using alternative medicine.

So a guestion: Is there a difference in Alternative versus Complimentary medicine?

What is the role of physical activity versus alternative medicine; I have been told and from what I thought were reasonable studies; there are documented improvements in coping wth mood disorders (non-suicidal depression, non-debilitating anxiety, poor sleep) from increased activity?

Is that wu? Is it real?