Category Archives: Alternative Medicine

The possibility of reducing hospital length of stay while offering quality care to patients in the comfort of their own home are the primary benefits that sees hospital in the home (HITH or hospital substitute treatment) as an emerging model to treat patients with illnesses or conditions that need close care and monitoring, but who are not likely to deteriorate rapidly.

Much has already been written about the advantages, ranging from faster rates of recovery, lower readmissions and the minimal disruption this option has on the patients lifestyle. For hospitals, HITH enables earlier discharge of patients, which reduces the burden on the system and helps keep beds available. Additionally, there is a minor cost-saving benefit.

In the last five years, both federal and state governments have invested in the model, and a combination of the onset of COVID-19, which put pressure on hospital capacity, and improved technology, ranging from telehealth to monitoring devices, has led to a rapid uptake of HITH. It is inevitable that we will see HITH grow as technology, infrastructure, resource planning and patient awareness increase.

To make HITH work, however, we need a tripartite effort from the key players: insurers, hospital discharge planners and doctors/surgeons. Alignment between these three parties using a person-centred approach to develop goals can make a meaningful difference to the effectiveness of HITH.

Insurance companies mostly want to remain ethical and impartial with regard to which providers they use. In order to be approved as alternative treatment providers to hospital services, these providers need to have partnerships with both private hospitals and insurers to make these parties more comfortable about using them.

Moreover, insurance companies need to embrace full coverage hospital care and allied health care to get the most out of each provider rather than offering fragmented treatment. Support from insurers will help HITH become a person-centred care model where patients can access a full spectrum of healthcare services from home to assist with their recovery.

The role of a hospital discharge planner is to make arrangements for patients to move from the hospital into outpatient care, or in some cases where hospital substitute treatment is the initial option, planners will establish the resources and actions needed to maintain the patients care schedule.

Planners need to understand a patients holistic requirements, which may fall outside what the hospital offers, or include existing healthcare practitioners the patient prefers but are not available through the hospital. The inclusion of allied health services in a discharge plan can help the patient balance the resources provided by the hospital and those outside it to coordinate their care.

Doctors and surgeons also need to be aware of the partnership between insurers and providers to authorise this discharge. It is also important for these healthcare practitioners to open their minds to the many aspects of a client. This means to take into account care needs that may fall outside their discipline, or even the more familiar pillar disciplines such as physio, so they have a better view of the whole patient.

The intersection of hospital healthcare and allied healthcare is a significant one. When healthcare practitioners understand complementary disciplines and factor them into their HITH decisions, it enables them to tailor recovery to the needs of the patient, which may also cover the lifestyle to which the patient is returning.

Lets consider the example of a joint replacement. The hospital discharge planner recognises at admission (or even before) that the patient is an appropriate candidate for a HITH Program. They engage with an allied health provider and the patients PHI fund to ensure the patient has a swift discharge to receive the care they want in their own home, as opposed to on the hospital ward. This results in a better experience for the patient, great outcomes as a result of the allied health care and a saving for the insurer, when compared to funding a prolonged hospital stay.

Hospital in the Home is here to stay. As patients evaluate the advantages of in-home care, they will look to the industry to incorporate a holistic approach that in many cases will include allied health disciplines. By working together to support patients, the health sector as a whole can boost the benefits for both the individual and the healthcare system.

*Jonathan Moody is the founder and CEO of Physio Inq, a business he founded in 2006 providing a range of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology and exercise physiology services both in-clinic and via mobile practitioners, the latter specialising in disability and aged care. Trained as a physiotherapist, Jonathan is an allied health advocate, with a passion for empowerment through education and training, and committed to improving access to quality allied health for all people. In 2020, Physio Inq was awarded as 'Franchise Network of the Year' at the MyBusiness awards and Jonathan was recognised as Melbournes Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the 'Health and Medicine' category at the Business News Australia awards.

Image credit: stock.adobe.com/au/Khunatorn

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Why we need to support the hospital in the home services - Australian Hospital + Healthcare Bulletin

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. On Monday, Leaders of the Horry County Republican Party gathered in the multipurpose room at the Base Recreation Center in Myrtle Beach for one of the local GOPs monthly meetings.

The party has found itself embroiled in a number of issues this year, but party leaders had gathered to discuss a different topic: Treatments for COVID-19.

But rather than encourage party members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, wear a face covering or avoid large gatherings all measures health experts say help prevent the spread of the deadly virus the party leaders said they wanted to discuss less-accepted treatment methods, including the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin.

Ivermectin...the medicine that can end the pandemic, said a video party leaders played.

The medicine has brought relief and saved the lives of millions across the globe for nearly 40 years, the narrator of the video continued. It has eradicated pandemics of numerous diseases for four decades.

But local doctors say theres a problem with the party and others in Horry County encouraging people to use ivermectin and home remedies to prevent or treat COVID-19.

They dont work.

Or worse, the doctors said, those treatments could be harmful.

The drug hasnt been cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the most extreme red flag for Conway Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Paul Richardson. Hes heard the theories about ivermectin for preventing and treating COVID-19, and hes particularly worried about the recommended dose of ivermectin thats circulating online and in conservative circles.

I think the potential for overdose is there, absolutely, Richardson said, adding that he hasnt heard of any cases of ivermectin overdose at Conway Medical Center or across Horry County.

A certain dose of ivermectin can be used as an anti-parasitic medication in humans, and a different dose is recommended as a dewormer in animals, Richardson said. Taking large doses meant for animals is especially dangerous and can lead to serious side effects including vomiting, low blood pressure, seizures and more, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

In the most severe cases, an ivermectin overdose can lead to death, according to DHEC.

Local GOP leaders even pushed having ivermectin on hand in an attempt to prevent or treat COVID-19, a drug that hasnt been cleared by any major reputable medical agency to do so.

Im a physician, and I dont have ivermectin in my medicine cabinet, Richardson said. That, to me, is something I dont think they should be (doing).

In the Horry County Coroners Office, at least one ivermectin overdose has been reported, Coroner Robert Edge told The Sun News. The exact number of overdose deaths is unclear.

I know weve had some people who have tried to treat themselves, Edge said. And one was with ivermectin, which I always thought was the dewormer for animals. Im not saying its not a good way to go, but its not really sanctioned by DHEC or the CDC or anybody like that.

Edge added people are likely getting their information on ivermectin from the internet, TV and other unreliable sources, and urged people to pay attention to the medical agencies responding to the pandemic.

Ivermectin was first discovered in the 1970s and was made available for use in animals in the early 1980s. Doctors and researchers quickly found that the drug excelled at ridding animals bodies of parasites, and its use spread around the world. By the late 1980s, researchers and health officials began testing if the drug could rid humans of parasites, too, and found that it could. A 2005 medical paper called it a wonder drug for treating parasitic infections.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe in 2020, researchers began testing whether or not the drug could inhibit the spread of the virus in the human body. Some studies have suggested the drug may be useful for that purpose, though a medical consensus has emerged that ivermectin is not an appropriate treatment for COVID-19.

The FDA issued a message earlier this month advising that the agency had not approved ivermectin to treat COVID-19, that studies examining its effect on the coronavirus were ongoing and that humans consuming animal-grade doses of ivermectin could be dangerous.

Theres a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that its okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay, the FDA wrote in its message. Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans.

At Mondays GOP meeting, party leader Tracy Beanz Diaz interviewed a North Carolina nurse about the benefits of ivermectin and other preventions and treatments for COVID-19. The nurse, Sarah Absher, said she formerly worked as an oncology nurse but left her job earlier this year because she felt that hospital staff were lying to pregnant women and telling them that the COVID-19 vaccine was safe. The FDA has said the vaccine is indeed safe for people older than 12 years of age, including pregnant women.

But Absher said she quit her job and now works for a doctor in Texas performing telehealth appointments and working to give ivermectin to patients who want it. She said shes been surprised that some health professionals have tried to stop doctors from prescribing the drug for COVID-19 patients. She suggested that health experts are working together to prevent doctors from prescribing an important medication.

I think a lot of doctors and nurses know exactly whats going on...they are being threatened, yall, they are being threatened, she told party members. We had in the case I was just on, we had an infectious disease doctor that was willing to do ivermectin, he wrote the order in the chart, and then he called back and said the administrator said no.

Party members gasped after she told the story. Diaz said the hospital administrator had overstepped.

Nasal spray and mouthwash treatments?

Absher and Diaz, though, promoted other treatments for COVID-19 aside from ivermectin. Diaz said that she and her family members do a daily nasal-spray-and-mouthwash-gargle to coat their nasal passages and throats with enough substances to prevent COVID-19 particles from infecting them.

Diaz told party members that her young son had tested positive for COVID-19, and that she believed the at-home treatments, plus ivermectin, helped keep other relatives safe.

Doing that...along with a prophylactic post-exposure dose of ivermectin on day one of my sons symptomatic infection and 48 hours later prevented me and my entire family...from contracting COVID-19 from my son, Diaz said. We were all doing the nasal spray, we were all doing the gargle.

Diaz added: We were kind of able to keep it at bay. Now I dont know what that was from, if it was just dumb luck, if it was because of what we had been doing, or if it was because of the ivermectin, Im not sure.

Absher and Diaz on Monday told party members that they should stock various vitamins and other over-the-counter supplements, like vitamin D3 and zinc, to help prevent COVID-19.

Doctors, though, questioned those methods. Richardson, of Conway Medical Center, said nasal spray, while effective for other ailments, isnt used to treat COVID-19 in hospitals.

Ive never heard of any kind of nasal spray, for COVID-19 for sure, he told The Sun News.

Similarly, Richardson said theres not a mouthwash or gargling technique proven to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

I am not aware of mouthwash, gargle, anything of that nature, Richardson said. Much less approved or (given Emergency Use Authorization) for COVID-19.

Richardson stressed the importance of vaccinations in the fight against COVID-19, urging people to get the shot to avoid being infected with the virus in the first place instead of trying to treat the illness with home remedies that havent been proven to help or approved by the appropriate agencies.

Why the party promoted ivermectin

Still, party leaders said they felt it was important to share information about alternative treatments to COVID-19, outside of the vaccines, masks and social distancing that health experts say are the best ways to prevent getting sick.

In an interview with The Sun News, Horry GOP Chairman Roger Slagle said the local party chose to host Absher and discuss alternative treatment options for COVID-19 because he and other party leaders felt that information wasnt as widely available as information about vaccines.

But, Slagle said, the party leaders advised their members to discuss any treatments, including ivermectin, with a doctor before trying them.

We feel compelled to share both sides of the story, and Id say our big motivation was we are concerned about our members and we want them to have all the information to make decisions, Slagle said, adding, Its a very important caveat that we stressed many many times: Talk to a medical professional, talk to a doctor.

Slagle argued that information about the COVID-19 vaccine and other accepted forms of treatment are widely available and that the local party, based on its own research, felt it was necessary to inform members of other options.

(Health institutions) are not even sharing any of this data and what we want is for our members to learn, Slagle said. And then have a conversation with their physician.

(c)2021 The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

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2021 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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In SC, some push ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure. Here's why doctors say that's dangerous - The Bakersfield Californian

Dr. Brian Poole, a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellow, poses for a portrait near the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories looking at front-line fatigue among health care workers in Utah.

SALT LAKE CITY A COVID-19 patient lies on a hospital bed with tubes coming out of their mouth and nose and chest. They have large IV-catheters on both sides of their neck. Their body is so swollen that their face looks disfigured and hard to recognize. Their fingers and toes are bruised and black.

The medical team in respirator hoods and full protective gear hold up a phone with the patient's family on FaceTime. The doctor has to tell the family on the phone that because they had a family party without following public health guidelines, their loved one will not be coming home and will likely die in the next few minutes.

The family spends the final few minutes of their loved one's life telling the doctor that COVID-19 isn't real.

The patient dies. The family is overwhelmed with grief, but medical staff is already clearing the bed for another critically ill COVID-19 patient, and the cycle begins yet again.

And the doctor acknowledges the elephant in the room: This death was preventable.

These are the jarring, everyday moments from Dr. Brian Poole's life as an intensive care unit doctor that he says he wishes everyone could see. These are the hopeless, sorrow-filled scenes that he can't get away from even in his dreams.

He and his colleagues at University of Utah Health say they have had this experience in various iterations innumerable times since the pandemic started.

He has had to tell patients' families that their actions effectively killed their family member. He has had to tell teenagers that they are going to lose one or both of their parents.

"I think if people could witness that firsthand like we have so many times since (the pandemic) first started, they would have a whole lot more empathy. It would diffuse tensions about politicized things. After all, who wouldn't want to wear a mask if the other option is telling a 15-year-old that both their parents are dead?" Poole said.

After all, who wouldn't want to wear a mask if the other option is telling a 15-year-old that both their parents are dead?Dr. Brian Poole, ICU doctor

Dozens of surveys and studies have demonstrated that dealing with this level of death and sorrow day in and day out has resulted in a still-increasing spike in post-traumatic stress disorder and mental illness in doctors and health care workers, sometimes even resulting in suicide. Dr. Michelle McOmber, CEO of the Utah Medical Association, said that doctors working in emergency rooms and ICUs are the physicians hit the hardest during the pandemic.

She said that after hearing from the families of physicians who died by suicide, she found that the factors that contributed to the decline in the mental health of health care workers include hospitals being beyond capacity, physicians having to work extra hours, people dismissing medical expertise, the widespread refusal to be vaccinated and/or wear masks and the fear of bringing the virus home to their loved ones.

All of this occurs on top of typical work-related stress, which is demonstrably higher in health care professionals and ICU doctors in particular, according to pre-pandemic research.

The very first day that the vaccine was distributed to health care workers at Poole's hospital seemed like a miracle, he recalled. The health care workers were in tears, seeing a finish line for the trauma they had all been through caring for COVID-19 patients for so long, working extra shifts and putting everything else on hold.

"We did what we had to do. We had no choice. And then the vaccine was so much more effective than anyone had hoped for, with a greater than 90% efficacy," he recalled. Watching his co-workers finally get this protection was "honestly indescribable," and "it seemed like everything was headed in the right direction."

But it wouldn't last.

Poole very clearly remembers a work meeting just before the Fourth of July weekend when the case numbers had started picking up and experts gave a forecast of how the numbers would increase. At that point the hospitals were already full of patients who had delayed medical care during the early part of the pandemic, to the point that they were now in critical condition. There was already a nursing shortage and a blood shortage.

"I remember just the horrible, awful feeling I felt. Almost like a PTSD reaction, that this is coming back, we're going to have to do this again," he said. "It's kind of like this almost pit-in-your-stomach feeling. Just the sorrow and despair of it all. An overall feeling of resignation that this is reality and this is what we're going to deal with."

Dr. Sam Brown said he was one of many physicians who had to "put every other aspect of our career on hold."

Brown is a Harvard-educated ICU physician at Intermountain Medical Center and a medical researcher and associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine and medical ethics and humanities at the University of Utah. He also serves as the director of the Center for Humanizing Critical Care at Intermountain. He explained that after long clinical shifts in the ICU, he goes home only to keep working on his research. The pandemic has affected his ability to conduct that research, which is an essential part of his job.

"We were hungry to get back to the good stuff we were doing before then, but it was taken from us by misinformation campaigns and partisan wrangling. And then to get yelled at for taking care of patients. ... It's just demoralizing," Brown said.

He was also holding out hope that he would be able to spend more time taking care of his family. At the beginning of the pandemic, Brown was working over 100 hours a week while his wife handled every other responsibility. She told him that she could handle it for six months, but then something had to change. Six months passed and the work had not gone away. But when the vaccine came, he hoped it would mean a respite from the long hours.

"ICU docs notoriously work too much, even before the pandemic. You are exhausted and thought that the pandemic was calmer and the crisis had somewhat abated. Then a large group decided not to get a highly effective and safe vaccine and all of a sudden, the plans you had to take a week off with your family and go somewhere fun are ruined," Brown said.

The couple found a compromise, with him working about 70 to 80 hours a week, but he worries about all the work still left to be done.

"There's always more to be done. It's a tricky process of give and take and trying to communicate well," Brown said.

Brown describes the typical day for an ICU doctor right now as a constant struggle to find beds, as the ICUs across Utah and across the nation are beyond capacity. He said that, because COVID-19 deaths are usually slow, patients can be in the ICU for much longer than a typical patient. The only way a bed is freed up is if a patient recovers or if they die. Either way, that bed is immediately filled by another patient.

"We have the traffic police role above and beyond all of our other duties. I usually spend an hour-and-a-half looking at ICUs across Utah just to place one patient," he said.

Idaho has declared a statewide "crisis standards of care," which permits hospitals there to ration care meaning that scarce resources like ICU beds will be given to patients who are deemed most likely to survive.

Even in Utah hospitals, there sometimes aren't enough resources or dialysis machines, and the doctors are forced to make decisions on who will get them and who will have to wait.

"I've personally felt that we recently have been not too far off of doing what's being done in Idaho. It would not surprise me to see that," Poole said.

He explained that because Salt Lake City is a medical hub for Utah and neighboring states, his hospital gets calls daily from smaller, rural hospitals that don't have the resources or expertise to treat their patients. And almost every time the answer has to be no, because there is no space. Having to say no again and again to people who truly need help can be hard and exhausting and goes against everything medical caregivers are trained to do.

"You know that when you have to say no that those patients are going to do worse and maybe die because smaller hospitals just don't have the expertise. We feel that very acutely," he said.

Once while Poole was working with the other staff, trying to resuscitate COVID-19 patients who were actively dying, another COVID-19 patient made a comment about how he felt like his care was being neglected. He was sick, but he wasn't sick enough not to notice the rushing and the noise as the medical team tried to save his COVID-19-ward neighbors.

"It was purely just a lack of empathy, even as sick as he was," Poole said.

Every physician who spoke with KSL.com mentioned an argument they hear frequently that they knew what they were getting into when they chose their medical profession and they should just suck it up. Expressions of concern for personal mental health brings a chorus of criticism that if they couldn't handle it, they shouldn't go into health care. But even physicians who have been in the profession for a long time say that the conditions under the pandemic have been far beyond the normal stresses of the job.

"This is worse, by far, than anything I've ever seen. In terms of the morale and exhaustion, I've never seen anything like this in 20 years," Brown said.

Poole spoke of the "in the trenches" mentality that nurses also mentioned in a "Front-line fatigue" story published last week. Even people who have worked in health care before cannot understand what this pandemic has been like unless they've been in the thick of it, he explained.

"This is what we signed up for, but at the end of the day we have to acknowledge just how brutal this has been with the amount of illness and death that we have seen," he said.

McOmber noted that there is a large group of people who are dismissive and untrusting of doctors because of how often recommendations have changed during this pandemic, when in fact science is always changing. That means treatment and recommendations surrounding a virus like the novel coronavirus and its variants is likely to change as doctors and scientists discover more about the disease.

These changes don't mean that the scientists are consistently getting things wrong and are untrustworthy, but rather, that the rapid pace at which the treatments and vaccine are developed points to the value of scientists and doctors doing their jobs correctly, she explained.

"It's frustrating to physicians to be put in that category of basically not being any kind of expert in any way. How can we reach (the people who don't believe), especially after it going on for so long?" McOmber asked. "Things may change over time, but the basic principles of hand washing and mask wearing and social distancing are still there. People just don't want to hear it."

Things may change over time, but the basic principles of hand washing and mask wearing and social distancing are still there. People just don't want to hear it."Michelle McOmber, CEO Utah Medical Association

Both Poole and Brown mentioned that patients and family members verbally attack doctors because they don't believe in the COVID-19 diagnosis or the treatment. Some say that the doctors are making up a false diagnosis. Others are convinced that they need medicine like ivermectin, which is usually used as a dewormer for horses, cows and sheep and is not an FDA-recommended treatment for COVID-19. Or, they get recipes for medicine concoctions on the internet and become livid if they don't get the unproven alternative treatment.

"Conversations like that often don't go very well," Poole said. "People have pretty strong opinions. They don't trust us at all about the vaccine, but then they trust us to give them critical therapy in the ICU that is not as supported as the vaccine.

"What we don't see (in the ICU) is people dying from the vaccine."

At the start of Poole's residency in an ICU rotation, he thought some of his attending physicians seemed unfazed and unbothered by the illness and death that surrounded them. He believed that it was appropriate to feel sorry and thought, "I hope I never get that way."

But this summer, he had to learn to check his feelings at the door of the hospital, especially when it came to patients whose illness could have been prevented if they had chosen to be vaccinated.

"I'd think, 'OK, all right, they died.' And then have to continue. It was a rude awakening to me about how depersonalized I had to become to deal with it," Poole said. And then immediately they are replaced with another patient and the doctor and his emotionally depleted staff has to carry on.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't care about his patients or doesn't feel for them. He has heard a lot of criticism from the community about how health care workers need to let go of any frustration and just treat the patients, even if they made questionable life choices like not being vaccinated.

"Some people have tried to compare it to smoking or drunk driving, but we see people who make terrible life decisions all the time and we care for them," he said. "This feels different. I've never had a smoker who denied that smoking was bad for you or a drunk driver who thought that it was beneficial to drive drunk. People know that it's bad. But people have just been fed so many false fears or information that a lot of them truly believe them not getting vaccinated is the right choice."

I've never had a smoker who denied that smoking was bad for you or a drunk driver who thought that it was beneficial to drive drunk. People know that it's bad. But people have just been fed so many false fears or information that a lot of them truly believe them not getting vaccinated is the right choice.Dr. Brian Poole, ICU doctor

Brown talks about how, as a physician and an ICU physician in particular, the work has a deeper meaning that comes with a sense of balance and calm in the face of crisis and how that balance gets thrown off when people don't believe you or are yelling at you, combined with fewer breaks, fewer opportunities with family and a lot more work.

"You're doing hard things because you know you have a therapeutic bond with the patients. You have the opportunity to carry them through a life-threatening illness and get them through to the other side or treat them with great respect and tenderness as they head off to the next life. You feel the quiet awareness that your sacrifice is an important one, but you lose that to anger," Brown said.

"It just sits heavy in the soul for ICU docs."

Poole has always loved the view from inside the University of Utah Health building, overlooking the Salt Lake Valley, but now when he looks out, he's reminded of all the division and hate. He sees the state Capitol and thinks of the politicization of the pandemic that has led people to not take necessary precautions and end up in his ICU.

He thinks of the unvaccinated COVID-19 patients he has treated and how easy it can be to judge them for their decisions, but when he gets them to open up, he usually finds that their beliefs stem from two things: disinformation spread by someone who should know better; and young people who assumed that because they had a healthy immune system and took care of themselves physically they couldn't be affected. These reasons are often not the same expressed by the vocal anti-vaccination crowd, Poole explained.

"The enemy here is the virus. It's not each other. The broader conversation has really tried to turn it that way. At the beginning of the pandemic, reasonable people could disagree with procedure and mandates and how the government should handle the pandemic. Now, the science has indisputably demonstrated that the safest way is the vaccine.

"It's hard to see all the fighting. It's hard to see the lack of empathy and respect," he said.

At the beginning of the pandemic, reasonable people could disagree with procedure and mandates and how the government should handle the pandemic. Now, the science has indisputably demonstrated that the safest way is the vaccine. It's hard to see all the fighting. It's hard to see the lack of empathy and respect.Dr. Brian Poole, ICU doctor

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Front-line fatigue: COVID resurgence leaves ICU docs feeling 'heavy in the soul' - KSL.com

Every few days, I meet or speak to someone who will not get a COVID-19 vaccine. No, Im not talking about all-in-Trumpers or deep red staters. These are generally successful white professionals who lean left. Some are family members. All are adherents of integrative, alternative, or holistic medicine. And they are Democrats.

Having reported on Cuban/South Florida politics since the 1990s, I am well-acquainted with the chasmic divide between the right and the left in many areas of our nations political life. But vaccine deniers have no such divide. Anti-vaxers from the left and right are thoroughly marinated in the same propagandawith mildly divergent talking points.

Most of my adult life has been spent in California where, for half a century, the progressive cultural trends of the country have ripened: environmentalism, the New Age, Green politics, wokeness, you name it. Its a state with a solid 68 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated and 84 percent partially vaccinatedbut those holding out are hard core. You would be mistaken if you thought they were mostly on the right.

I have been left slack-jawed not by the reliable anti-vaxers/anti-maskers of the right, such as Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Rand Paul, and the self-described Trumpistas I know in South Florida, but by friends who self-identify as progressives.

All are highly educated yet will not get a COVID vaccine, voicing qualms about its creation, side effects, and effectiveness. Some cite personal issuesone had Lyme disease, another blames her heart arrhythmiaalthough millions of people with the same issues have been vaccinated without serious side effects.

Most alarming is the news that one of my cousins and her husband, both successful television actors, will not get vaccinated. Instead, my cousin is microdosing a homeopathic remedy. Another normally sensible family relation is also not getting vaccinated. He is currently dating a popular yoga influencer and has been, well, influenced.

Podcast September 17 2021

On today's podcast, Tim Miller joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss the retirement of Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, Biden's new ...

According to a recent Los Angeles Times piece, many of the anti-vax memes and false claims now circulating on the left can be traced back to QAnon, the far-right conspiracy cult. But much is coming from prominent figures in alternative medicine.

A widely reposted letter from Frank Shallenberger, a Nevada-based integrative practitioner, suggests that mRNA vaccines are potentially fatal: We have absolutely no idea what to expect from this vaccine. We have no idea if it will be effective or safe. . . . If you ever wanted to be guinea pig for Big Pharma, now is your golden opportunity. (While it is true that deadly pandemics tend to galvanize all-hands-on-deck action, the research into mRNA vaccines goes back about fifteen years, to when SARS first appeared.)

Disturbingly, most of my vax refusenik friends work in health care. One has a Ph.D. in nutrition. Another works in biofeedback, a field of alternative medicine. A third (and well-known) naturopath/chiropractor sent me an anti-COVID screed at the beginning of the pandemic, saying that COVID was nothing more than a bad flu afflicting the elderly or infirm; indeed, nothing more than the Big Lie created by the Deep State. As the U.S. death toll crested past half a million, he modulated his message: The disease was sort-of real for those with weak immune systems. Still, he maintained that vaccines are the sinister product of collusion between the Deep State and Big Pharma.

Last week, he was admitted to an L.A. hospital with COVID pneumonia. As of this writing, he remains on oxygen. According to a fundraising page set up by his family, he believes that people around him who took the vaccine have made him sick through a process called vaccine shedding. (The CDC and other health authorities and scientific experts have repeatedly debunked this notion.)

Unlike when I was growing up, alternative, integrative, and holistic medicine now have tens of millions of adherents in the United States and constitute a multi-billion-dollar industrynothing to rival Big Pharma but nothing to sneeze at, either. I know this world well. I have long benefited from the best in Western medicine, supplemented by acupuncture, massage, supplements, homeopathy, etc. One could reasonably say I was born into the alternative medicine world: My mother was a follower of natural health pioneers Adelle Davis and J.I. Rodale.

Buta big butit was a world that generally held vaccines in high esteem. That is no longer the case. Today, among practitioners and adherents of alternative medicine, incendiary and often untrue claims about vaccines are circulated. For example, a friend of mine, a nationally known nutritionist, will not get vaccinated and claims that infants today are given 26 vaccines bundled at a time. It is true that some vaccines are bundled togetherfor public health reasonsbut that does not apply to the COVID vaccine, which is administered in single doses that are spaced out. The new vaccines are also made without any heavy-metal components (another false claim of anti-vaxers). Like millions of others, Ive had three Pfizer vaccines over the last nine months with zip reaction to any.

While the anti-vax talking points coming from the left are about the same as those from the right, the lefts are arguably more pernicious because they are likelier to make inroads among younger people, and among those who view themselves as independent thinkers.

The social media posts and emails my friends pass on often cite doctors who claim an array of irregularities in the making and marketing of COVID vaccines. No matter that these supposed authorities are often discredited, like Andrew Wakefield, the anti-vax propagandist barred from practicing medicine after his research was discredited; or Frank Shallenberger, who was subject to major disciplinary action in California where he surrendered his medical license; or the supplement czar Joe Mercola, an osteopath whom the FDA has warned to stop selling fake COVID products.

When I seek to engage my refusenik friends, I am usually met with a wall of whataboutism. One, who has a doctorate, was shocked last year to learn that hydroxychloroquine didnt save Donald Trump from getting severe COVID. A much-in-demand naturopath in Santa Barbara asked me if I wanted a prescription for hydroxychloroquine to have just in case.

The anti-vaxers I know opine on the rare but possible adverse reactions to the COVID vaccines but seem unbothered by the known potential side effects of hydroxychloroquine, which range from seizures to ventricle arrhythmia to suicide. And while Ivermectin may have been the COVID drug of choice for Fox News in recent weeks, it has long been very popular with the holistic crowd.

Heather Terbell, an OB-GYN at Santa Barbaras Sansum Clinic, sees a lot of anti-vax sentiment in her practice, mostly among the my-body-is-a-sacred-temple crowd and lots of home birthers. Recently, a popular chiropractor in Santa Barbara I see came down with COVID. On Friday, I canceled an appointment with one of his associates, having learned that she, too, is not vaccinated.

Mainstream outlets are right to put much of the blame on the far right for anti-vaccination sentiment. Yes, their numbers are legion. And yes, the stories of right-wing radio hosts and QAnon cultists who spread anti-vax propaganda before succumbing to COVID themselves have proven irresistible to reporters. But anyone who thinks COVID misinformation begins and ends on the right is fooling themselves. Among the anti-vaxers, the far left meets the far rightin a deadly embrace.

Originally posted here:

Anti-Vax Fever: Where the Far Left Meets the Far Right - The Bulwark

Cupping (Hijammah in Arabic) is an ancient, holistic method (Unani regimental therapy) for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Though the exact origin of cupping therapy is a matter of controversy, its use has been documented in early Egyptian and Chinese medical practices. Diverse human civilizations have contributed to the historical development and continuation of cupping therapy.

Hijammah-Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative Unani (Gecko-Arab) medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. People get it for many purposes, including helping with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.

The cups may be made of:

Glass

Bamboo

Earthenware

Silicon

Cupping therapy might be trendy now, but its not new. It dates back to ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cultures. One of the oldest medical textbooks in the world, the Ebers Papyrus, describes how the ancient Egyptians used cupping therapy in 1,550 B.C. In Arabic and Islamic countries, cupping (Hijammah) are recommended in the Al-QanunFil-Tibb, Canon of Medicine (1025AC), to treat menstrual conditions. According to Galen, the principle of indication for bloodletting is to eliminate residues or divert blood from one part to another.Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) is reported to have been a user and also advocated about it.

Types

There are different methods of cupping, including:

Dry cupping (Hijammah-bila-Shurt)

Wet cupping (Hijammah-Maul-Shurt)

During both types of cupping, your therapist will put a flammable substance such as alcohol, herbs, or paper in a cup and set it on fire. As the fire goes out, they put the cup upside down on your skin.

As the air inside the cup cools, it creates a vacuum. This causes your skin to rise and redden as your blood vessels expand. The cup is generally left in place for up to 3 minutes.

A more modern version of cupping uses a rubber pump instead of fire to create the vacuum inside the cup. Sometimes therapists use silicone cups, which they can move from place to place on your skin for a massage-like effect.

Wet cupping creates a mild suction by leaving a cup in place for about 3 minutes. The therapist then removes the cup and uses a small scalpel to make light, tiny cuts on your skin. Next, they do a second suction to draw out a small quantity of blood.

You might get 3-5 cups in your first session. Or you might just try one to see how it goes. Its rare to get more than 5-7 cups, as per experiences which I learned from last 21 years of my services.Private quacks are using 10-20 cups in single sitting to mint money from innocent clients.

Afterward, you may get an herbal henna or neem antiseptic ointment and bandage to prevent infection. Your skin should look normal again within 10 days.

In Kashmir I have proudly introduced cupping therapy in year 2010 at smaller level in AYUSH Unit District hospital Pulwama with so many apprehensions by patients about safety and efficacy of this therapy. But now apart from vast network of Govt run AYUSH healthcare centres & dispensaries across J&K some private clinics are also doing such therapies with good public responses and follow ups. But there are growing regulatory and scientific ethical concerns from senior Health and AYUSH officers about Hijammah in our Union territory.

The larger public interest to get therapeutic or prophylactic Hijammah is nowadays mostly exploited by unqualified persons in J & K who are falsely claiming many benefits of Hijammah for many serious diseases not proven clinically or scientifically. They are using unhygienic, messy and unregulated set ups which can be harmful for patients who may acquire many serious transmissible infections including HIV, & Hepatitis B. Such unregulated private Hijammah setups are concerning even developing nations like United Kingdom also.

What Does the Research Show?

There havent been many scientific studies on cupping. One report, published in 2015 in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, notes that it could help with acne, herpes zoster, and pain management.

Thats similar to the findings from a 2012 report, published in PLoS One. Australian and Chinese researchers reviewed 135 studies on cupping.

There are many other research papers published on Cupping in Arabic & Asian countries to prove their philosophical concept about this therapy but western scientists still do not accept it as evidence-based treatment.

Side Effects

Cupping is fairly safe, as long as you go to a trained health professional. But you could have these side effects in the area where the cups touch your skin:

Mild discomfort.

Burns.

Bruises.

Skin infection.

If the cups and equipment become contaminated with blood and are not sterilized correctly between patients, blood borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C can be spread.

What to Ask Your Doctor First

Here in Kashmir as per curriculum and trainings of AYUSH services only BUMS doctors can practice Hijammah or cupping therapies if he has registered clinic with Govt of J & K. This service is freely available in Govt Unani Hospital Shalteng Srinagar or most of the AYUSH Units in District hospital or Medical Colleges.

Persons must never try to receive this semi surgical procedure from fake practitioners or hakeems/davakhana persons or gym trainers. Talk to your doctor before you start cupping or any other type of alternative or complementary medicine. And talk extensively with your cupping therapist, too, before you try it. Ask:

What conditions do they use cupping for?

What is your training with registration No.?

What is your experience in using it?

Am I already getting the standard treatments for my condition?

Are there reasons I should not get cupping?

Contact nearest District AYUSH Officer to report any Hijammah false practitioner.

(Dr Altaf Hussain Shah, Medical Officer (UnaniMedicine) AYUSH Unit, District Hospital Pulwama. Email: - draltafshah@gmail.com)

Continued here:

Ilaj-bil-Hijammah (cupping therapy): Overview, benefits and side effects - Rising Kashmir

Soham D Bhaduri

Public Health Commentator

TWO contrasting scenarios have characterised the Covid-19 pandemic ever since its outbreak. On the one hand, it has presented a gargantuan public health challenge, which even the best of healthcare systems have failed to tackle. On the other hand, it mostly presents itself as a simple medical condition, scarcely requiring esoteric and complex medical interventions. Treatment still remains largely supportive, rarely ever drawing upon a medical super-specialists arsenal. And its public health antidote remains the all-too-conventional general healthcare system, rather than any of the plethora of targeted national health programmes.

The fact that Covid-19 is a simple medical condition has permitted the greater battle against it to be fought within the community and outside the hospital, requiring diligence and a modicum of technical expertise. The biggest testament to this has been the ubiquitous role of practitioners of alternative medical systems who have manned nearly every level of Covid-19 care. Covid-19 has reminded the medical community of the fundamental lesson that healthcare is much more than just about prescribing the right drug, and that there is enormous potential to mainstream the legions of alternative medical practitioners who have been perpetually exiled in the name of science. To our dismay, however, this stark lesson has yet again gone unregistered, despite the pandemic.

Over the years, the experience of multiple grassroots NGOs has provided some invaluable insights into community-based healthcare. They underscore that communities are capable of dealing with four-fifths of their healthcare needs by themselves, via health personnel selected by and from within their respective communities. Also, such community-based care demands less in the way of higher-order technical expertise in medicine and more in the way of community participation, health communication, and primary healthcare. Alternative medical practitioners, much more congenial to the rural folks than allopathic doctors, find ready acceptance by these communities. Why then is it so that the medical ecosystem remains largely refractory to measures seeking to formalise them?

Transforming healthcare in the interest of communities entails that communities stand in the vanguard of health reform. On the contrary, all our measures to mainstream alternative practitioners have perpetually been top-down -- aimed first at the highest echelons of the medical ecosystem which remain obsessed with technical expertise in medicine. Each successive political attempt to formalise alternative medical practitioners has tried to gain legitimacy from this medical elite -- whose fussy benchmarks of healthcare delivery have stymied every such attempt. Going top-down about such reforms, through instruments like medical curricular reforms and changes in laws and regulations, therefore invariably ends up aborting the process in its infancy.

For reforms directed at mainstreaming alternative medical practitioners to be successful, they have to derive their legitimacy from the community and a consensus has to be built from bottom-up. This in turn would require expanding the scope of decentralisation in healthcare planning and delivery, which would allow the faith reposed by communities on alternative medical practitioners to manifest on the national picture. And there cannot be a better window for pushing this than the pandemic's immediate aftermath.

Another unfortunate aspect of healthcare reform in India has been our subscription to a passive paradigm of healthcare coverage expansion, which believes that simply increasing the availability of free healthcare services would automatically show in the way of improved health outcomes. There has been little recognition of the importance of acceptability of healthcare services the fact that health services, even if delivered at the doorstep, would do little if they are not accepted and assimilated by the community. Part of the explanation for this can be traced to the fact that these nuances are mainly the domain of social sciences and public health, which have been scandalously under-represented in healthcare in favour of technocratic modern medicine. However, much of it is also owing to a belief that communities should, and will, unquestioningly accept everything that is backed by modern science and evidence, and that whatever lacks hard conventional evidence today should not be permitted even if it is highly acceptable. This has greatly doomed alternative medical systems.

It is impossible to contend the significance of evidence-based medicine today. However, it is also necessary to consider how communities perceive and understand evidence, and also how much do communities value conventional scientific evidence in making healthcare choices at a reasonable level of understanding. Imposing a paradigm of evidence-based medicine conceived by an urban scientific elite upon culturally disparate communities is paternalistic behaviour unbefitting for a democracy. While evidence is imperative, no other evidence than that of safety can be held sacrosanct, and all other kinds of evidence should form part of an array of different considerations that includes community acceptance. Again, decentralised healthcare and a bottom-up approach would be the key to building this renewed paradigm.

Reforms always tend to take the path of least resistance. It is very likely that the entire corpus of healthcare reform that this pandemic begets never embraces anything beyond a few more hospitals and laboratories. There is a need to dig deeper to keep this opportunity called Covid-19 from being frittered away.

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Role of communities integral to health reforms - The Tribune India

Stroke is one of Indias leading causes of death, with 1.8 million people suffering a stroke every year, says Dr G Prakash, Deputy CMO, Jindal Naturecure Institute. He adds that post-stroke, a person may experience cognitive deficits, motor deficits, fatigue, and sleep disorders. While standard medical care such as medication and therapy is often prescribed to stroke survivors, research has shown that CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) therapies can significantly improve the quality of life and functionality during the recovery phase from a stroke. Though modern medicine has an important part in stroke recovery, using different naturopathic approaches, the process of recovery from stroke can be enhanced and sped up, he continues.

Stroke can occur at any age to any person. However, the chances of a stroke significantly increase if a person has either of the following risk factors:

Heart diseaseHigh blood pressureDiabetesSmokingHigh blood cholesterol/TriglyceridesExcessive alcohol useObesityLack of exerciseGenetic or heredity factors

Alternative therapies for efficient recovery from stroke

Post-stroke, patients may opt for CAM therapies to get relief from various physical symptoms like immobility or pain as well as relief from psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, or grief. Here we look at various alternative therapies for stroke survivors for a better outcome in recovery, the expert says.

YogaStroke survivors often face issues with coordination and balance, and yoga proves beneficial to improve those impairments. According to a study by the American Journal of Recreation Therapy, yoga can increase stability, improve range of motion and emotional regulation, as well as bring positive changes in participation and activity in people with chronic stroke. The stretching, strengthening, balance, and body awareness exercises involved in yoga can produce a plethora of advantages for stroke patients, he shares.

AcupunctureThe Chinese complementary medicine acupuncture involves skin penetration with fine needles at certain points. Research and studies have shown that acupuncture improves issues with spasticity, pain, physical functions, cognitive functions, and quality of life if administered after a stroke. Apart from facilitating recovery of function, acupuncture assists in the improvement of the nervous system functions, which is highly desirable in stroke patients. The therapy works by stimulating the nervous system, which releases chemicals into the brain, spinal cord, and muscles. This stimulates the natural healing ability of the body and promotes physical and emotional well-being, he explains.

Massage therapyMassage therapy can manipulate the tissues in the body to enhance overall well-being and health. The Journal of Chinese Integrative Medicine published a study in 2012 revealing that herbal treatments and Thai massage can improve mood, daily function, pain, and sleeping patterns in stroke survivors. Researchers have also pointed out that certain massages can aid in improving fine motor skills in stroke patients, he says.

Herbal supplementsThere are a variety of herbal supplements available that improves blood circulation and prevents another stroke. Some of the popular herbal supplements, according to the expert, are:Asian Ginseng This Chinese herbal supplement enhances memory.Ashwagandha Ashwagandha or Indian Ginseng is loaded with antioxidant properties that may treat and prevent stroke.Gotu Kola Gotu Kola or Centellaasiatica is a staple ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. This herb which is commonly found in the wetlands of Asia, boosts cognitive function and also acts as an antidepressant.Bilberry This nutrient-rich fruit helps to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.Turmeric Turmeric contains a compound, Curcumin which not only assists in preventing blockages in the arteries but also reduces fatty deposits known as plaques in them.

HydrotherapyHydrotherapy, also known as aquatic therapy, is a treatment that makes use of water to treat different types of clinical conditions, including stroke. Hydrotherapy offers a safe environment for stroke patients to increase their mobility and strength, reduce pain and improve overall cardiovascular health. When aqua therapy is combined with specific exercises, it serves as an excellent way to regain physical skills without putting too much stress on the body, hesays.

Fasting therapyNaturopathy considers fasting therapy as one of the most efficient methods to get rid of toxins from the body. Studies have shown that fasting reduces homocysteine, IL6 and C-reactive protein in the body that may form atherosclerotic plaques, which increases the chances of stroke. Other than reducing the risk of stroke, fasting therapy also fosters the development of neurons and new neuronal connections during recovery from stroke. Fasting therapy further enhances the bodys inflammatory response system and lowers the risk of tissue damage after stroke.

For stroke recovery and prevention, CAM treatments come with numerous benefits. Other than important lifestyle changes, alternative treatments like acupuncture and supplements can make a huge difference in the outcome of stroke recovery. While these treatments are not meant to replace traditional, modern medical treatment protocols in stroke management, they have the potential to help achieve faster recovery and better prevention through their natural approaches, he says.

The above article is for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other qualified health professional for any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and dont miss out on the latest updates!

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Stroke management: Expert suggests alternative therapies - The Indian Express

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Ayurveda is the most preferred Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among cancer patients in India even as a large section of them are not satisfied with such therapies, says a research carried out at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC).

The study finds wide usage of CAM amongst cancer patients in India. It also demonstrates a direct correlation between psychological distress and the usage of CAM therapies among cancer patients.For the study, 303 patients in the 15 to 88 age group undergoing treatment at RGCIRC were surveyed. More than a third (104 participants) responded positively to taking CAM therapies. Out of these (61%) took the therapies alternatively, before taking conventional treatment, and (39%) were still taking CAM in a complementary manner.

Ayurveda emerged as the most preferred form of therapy chosen by 85% of those surveyed. A majority of the participants are either from middle or lower-middle-class families (56% and 35%), respectively.Patients were also screened using a tool, Distress Thermometer (DT), for measuring subjective reports on the level and severity of distress on a scale of 0 to 10. While 0 means no distress, 10 reflects extreme distress. The study revealed significant psychological distress in 79% of all patients.

A significant correlation was found between the level of psychological distress with the use of CAM therapies meaning that with increasing levels of psychological distress, patients tend to choose CAM more often, said Dr. Vineet Talwar, Director, Medical Oncology, RGCIRC who headed the team undertaking the study.

Interestingly, awareness of cancer diagnosis and its prognosis was found to relieve psychological distress. Although, 81% of the patients felt there were no side effects associated with CAM therapies, but only 40% were satisfied with such therapies.

CAM remains the popular choices of treatments among the Indian population and have been reported by some major studies. However, the use and prevalence of such treatments need more extensive exploration and documentation, significantly in the field of oncology, said Dr Talwar.

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Ayurveda most preferred alternative medicine for cancer - The New Indian Express

PORTLAND, Maine, Sept. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --SoulBeing today announced that it has joined Buoy Health's innovative healthcare marketplace to bring alternative medicine services to Buoy's more than 2M users per month. Representing over 40 categories of therapists such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, physical therapists, registered dietitians, and behavioral health professionals, SoulBeing offers a portfolio of evidence-based alternative medicine services and is a market leader in telehealth for the alternative medicine space.

With the Buoy Health navigation platform, users can access free AI-driven tools and reliable information to better understand health issues they may be experiencing and the right next steps in care. At the end of each experience, users are provided with personalized care options through this healthcare marketplace that are most relevant to the user's self-reported symptoms. Through this medium, SoulBeing will offer alternative care pathways to millions of patients that may not have otherwise had the option.

SoulBeing's platform delivers on-demand access to services across all interrelated components of health: physical, mental, and emotional. It also features scheduling and payment functionality to help make services more logistically and financially accessible for users. "Much like SoulBeing is designed to fill this gap in health plan networks, we are able to plug our alternative medicine providers into Buoy's marketplace to provide options," states Colleen Kavanagh, CEO of SoulBeing.

"The alternative medicine space is rich with evidence-based therapies that have been proven to provide real outcomesboth in treating chronic conditions and preventing them in the first place. We see alternative medicine as the first line of defense," says Kavanagh.

Want to learn more?

Employers or brokers:www.soulbeing.com/for-employers or email [emailprotected].

Practitioners interested in joining the SoulBeing network: http://www.soulbeing.com/register or email [emailprotected].

About SoulBeing SoulBeing is reimagining a healthcare infrastructure that incorporates every facet of health and wellness into one intuitive platform. The SoulBeing platform is a web-based and mobile application that serves as the gateway to both alternative care pathways and traditional medicine, including an integrated, HIPAA-compliant telehealth portal designed specifically for the wellness community. Corporate clients leverage the platform to drive utilization of alternative medicine resources for both preventive health and treatment of conditions, filling a gap left by health plan networks. SoulBeing empowers employees and their families to explore options for integrated health and improves affordability through the leveraging of HSA-funds. For more information, please visit http://www.soulbeing.com.

SOURCE Soul Being

http://www.soulbeing.com

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SoulBeing Joins Buoy Health's Marketplace to Offer Alternative Medicine Services to Consumers - PRNewswire

BAJA CALIFORNIA After Marcus Capone completed seven tours of duty, including Afghanistan and Iraq, he seemed like a ticking time bomb, his wife Amber says.

Capone suffered traumatic brain injuries as a specialist in setting explosive charges for U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6. After retiring in 2013, he suffered from depression, anger, debilitating headaches and violent dreams. Brain doctors and psychologists treated him with pills, which he mixed with alcohol. Neither worked.

Amber was at a breaking point. I was just preparing myself for what my life would be like as a widow of suicide because I felt like it was inevitable, she said.

Then they discovered psychedelics.

The couple went to one of the treatment centers in Baja California that offer an underground therapy using ibogaine, a highly potent alkaloid traditionally extracted from the root of a plant native to Gabon in Africa. After the therapy, Marcus said he was able to let go of everything that had happened to him, including pain from his early childhood.

In its whole-plant form, the Tabernanthe iboga shrub has been used for centuries in religious ceremonies by the Bwiti people, who say the plant heals them and allows them to talk to God. Users describe their experience with the ibogaine extract as being in an intense waking dream. The plant and its effects have taken root among retired special operations combat veterans who may be suffering from blast related injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.

But the drug is illegal in the U.S., and it poses cardiovascular health risks. Ibogaine may block channels in the hearts system, slowing down the heart rate, which can cause fatal arrhythmias.

A 2006 medical journal article noted that at least eight people have died from taking ibogaine. Experts say the true number is likely much higher because its use is unregulated.

Of all the psychedelics, its probably the one that carries the largest risk because of its arrhythmogenic (ability to cause arrhythmias) potential, said Dr. Ken Adolph, a cardiac anesthesiologist in Austin, Texas.

In 1970, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grouped ibogaine together with LSD and psilocybin making them all schedule I substances illegal drugs which have no medical application and are not safe for use even under medical supervision.

In Mexico, ibogaine use falls into a gray zone not exactly legal, and not exactly regulated, either.

State health authorities say people can obtain licenses to use it, but it remains unclear whether they can administer it to others or what qualifications they would need to give it to someone else. There are no clinics licensed to provide medical treatments with ibogaine, according to Marco Gmez, the director of the Comisin Estatal de Proteccin contra Riesgos Sanitarios, or COEPRIS , a state health agency.

Very little data exist about ibogaines effectiveness as a treatment of trauma-related psychological issues and cognitive impairment. Because the drug is illegal in the U.S., it cant be administered to study its effects.

One peer-reviewed study, in the Journal of Chronic Stress, found that the psychedelic-assisted therapy holds unique promise. In looking at 51 military veterans who had gone to Mexico for a psychedelic clinical program between 2017 and 2019, the study found large reductions in their suicidal ideation, cognitive impairment, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.

Ibogaine is currently undergoing clinical trials abroad for its viability as a treatment for addiction, which can often occur simultaneously with traumatic brain injuries and PTSD.

A 2018 study from New Zealand interviewed 11 people a year after undergoing a single ibogaine treatment and found eight of them had cut back or stopped using opioids. One of them died.

Another 2017 peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies surveyed 88 patients, who were mostly daily opioid users, who received ibogaine treatment in Mexico between 2012 and 2015. Fifty percent reported that ibogaine reduced opioid craving and 30% of participants reporting never using opioids again.

Critics point out that of that 30%, only half were interviewed a year or more after their treatment, that the data was self-reported, and that the clinic was calling its own former patients.

Dr. Dan Engle, the founder and medical director of Austins new Kuya Institute for Transformational Medicine, and author of The Concussion Repair Manual: A Practical Guide to Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries, said more research is needed on ibogaine.

The success rate of traditional U.S. drug rehabs hovers around 10 to 20%, he pointed out. He said when the proper support systems are set-up after a ibogaine treatment, the success rate for addiction recovery he has witnessed is between 60 to 70%.

The standard of care hasnt changed in the last five years, Engle wrote in an email. Those numbers 10 to 20 percent are more accurate for the standard of care when aftercare and recovery coaching are not successfully engaged after traditional rehabs.

Alternative medicine and psychedelics have a long history in Mexico. If youve got an ailment, theres probably a Mexican tea or herb for it.

Mushrooms were considered sacred in the mountainous region of the Sierra Mazatec in the northern part of the state of Oaxaca. A Mazatec curandera (medicine woman), Mara Sabina, introduced magic mushrooms to a vice president for J.P. Morgan in 1955, prompting U.S. tourists by the thousands to make long, strange trips to Oaxaca.

In recent years, medical tourism in Tijuana has exploded with brand new, state-of-the-art medical skyscrapers and billboards promoting weight loss, cancer centers and chiropractic services.

Many of the estimated 1 million Americans who cross each year into Mexico for medical treatment are looking for lower-cost options. But some are seeking treatments they wouldnt be able to get in the United States.

Homeopathic shops offering herbs and botanicals are everywhere in Tijuana. Gmez, the head of the state health agency, cautioned tourists to investigate any homeopathic procedure they may undergo to make sure it is authorized by Baja California.

Jos Inzunza, the director of Nouvelle Vie Holistic & Wellness Center in Tijuana, says hes not interested in ibogaine treatment becoming part of that medical tourism boom, but rather in helping people who really need the treatment.

We dont want to create Mexico as a tourist destination for ibogaine where people think Go and have fun with ibogaine, because youre not going to have fun, Inzunza said.

He said proper screening procedures have helped prevent any deaths because of ibogaine in Baja California for 12 years, but he stressed the treatment cannot be given to everyone because those stringent screening guidelines must be followed.

In Baja California, ibogaine patients typically pay around $5,000 to stay in a large, rented villa or house that has been converted into a clinic. Depending on what the person is being treated for, those stays can range from four days to a few weeks.

Some clinics are more like spas with saunas, massage rooms and other amenities, whereas others incorporate a more traditional Bwiti ritual into the experience.

Inzunza and others stressed the importance of clinics having proper medical equipment, including EKGs and other equipment to monitor the patients heart rate and vitals during their trip.

At first, Marcus Capone was reluctant. He had never taken drugs, especially psychedelics.

He was like Uh-uh. No way. Thats weird. Thats crazy. Im not doing drugs. Im not going to Mexico, Amber recalled.

But then, Amber convinced him, she says by approaching him with compassion and telling him she wouldnt stop fighting for his life.

I wanted my depression to go away. I wanted my anxiety to go away. I wanted my anger to go away ... I just wanted to be normal again, Marcus said from the couples San Diego home. (Before retirement, Marcus worked as a Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs, or BUD/S, training instructor in Coronado. The family now divides time between Texas and San Diego.)

He said it worked.

Think of it as the individual is carrying around a backpack of 1,000 pounds of bricks. And its just heavy; its weighing on you. You have trouble walking and doing simple tasks because of that weight that is on your back and on your shoulders, Marcus said.

As you go through your ibogaine experience, you just take those rocks out one at a time, and by the end, you have an empty bag. You feel like all the weight has been lifted, he said.

The couple has since become big proponents of ibogaine treatment, starting a nonprofit called VETS that funds ibogaine research at Stanford and helped with the initial study in the Journal of Chronic Stress. They send other struggling combat veterans abroad for psychedelic therapies illegal in the United States and lobby for legal therapeutic use of psychedelics.

Bobby Laughlin, 32, who owns a private equity firm in Los Angeles, described his ibogaine experience as undergoing years of intense therapy in just a few hours.

At the time, Laughlin was a 23-year-old daily intravenous heroin user. Five rehabs in the U.S. were not completely useless, he said, but he was still addicted to heroin until he tried ibogaine.

I felt a very intense, real feeling of free falling ... It felt like a gigantic hand reached up through the earth and grabbed my entire body and just pulled me down ... and I could feel myself going through the mattress and through the concrete violently, said Laughlin about his experience.

During his hallucination, Laughlin said he saw demons and dragons yelling at him about the choices hed made. He was finally able to break his spirit free from this underground hell, as part of the soundtrack of the movie "Mortal Kombat" played in his head. When he came out, Laughlin said he felt a love, acceptance and a self-compassion for himself he had never felt before.

Laughlin says he has been sober since his treatment in 2013 and has remained involved in the recovery community.

Inzunza and Laughlin both said there isnt much concern about people becoming addicted to the ibogaine because the experience is brutal not something anyone would do for recreation.

Theres growing pushback against the U.S. ban on psychedelics. Last year, Oregon became the first state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms. Denver, Oakland and Washington, D.C., have decriminalized it.

Last month, the California state Legislature sidelined a similar bill that would have removed criminal penalties for the possession, use and cultivation of certain psychedelics.

In June, Texas and Connecticut enacted laws allowing research into how psilocybin might help people with post-traumatic stress disorder. Meanwhile, investment money is pouring into the hallucinogens market.

But ibogaine, considered one of the most powerful psychedelics on the planet, isnt likely to be at the front of the line for legalization.

2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Post-9/11 war vets go to Mexico to treat trauma with a psychedelic that's illegal in the US - The Bakersfield Californian