“As I recall, Curmudge, you had an unfortunate brush with
alternative medicine 20 years ago.”
“I had almost forgotten, Julie. I had tendonitis in my arm, and a colleague gave me some
capsules containing the Chinese herb, ma huang (ephedra). Assuming that a billion Chinese can’t
be wrong (they were), I took a couple.
My head felt like it was going to blow off; my blood pressure must have
gone through the roof. The effects
soon subsided, but not before I trashed the rest of the capsules. I have since learned that although
ephedra is presumably banned in the U.S. due to serious side effects, it is
still available for weight loss under appetizing names like ‘Green Stinger’ and
‘Yellow Bullet.’ “
“And more recently, Old Guy, you saw an article on page 1 of
the 7/25/13 issue of USA Today telling about the dangers to
bodybuilders of questionable supplements…stuff with names like ‘Craze’ and
‘Superdrol’ “
“Believe it or not, Julie, the vendor set up his business
from his jail cell.”
“Now that we have our readers’ attention, Curmudge, what
resources are available to guide consumers away from supplements that might be
ineffective or dangerous and assist them in finding alternative medicines of
potential value?”
“There are a number of databases that are quite
comprehensive. Listed below are
some with hyperlinks:
Natural Medicines
Comprehensive Database (Professional Version [by subscription]) http://naturaldatabase.therapeuticresearch.com/home.aspx?s=ND&cs=&referer=none&logout=1&logoutcomplete=1
Kaiser Permanente Consumer
Information and Education
(Same database as above in which searches are free.)
Kaiser Permanente
Database (vitamins,
herb, and supplements)
Dietary Supplements:
What you need to know to stay
safe and avoid fraud. (From
Human Performance Resource Center,
Department of Defense)
Kaiser Permanente
Which
websites are reliable?
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(NCCAM): Herbs at a Glance.
How Safe Is This
Product or Practice? These
are lists of items that can be searched.”
“You know, Old Guy, there are also extensive lists of questionable
associations, institutes, and presumed educational and research organizations
in Quackwatch. The name of the site speaks for
itself. Quackwatch also has a list of doctors that they
call Promoters of Questionable Methods or Advice. Another Quackwatch database is A Message to
Cancer Patients Seeking Alternative Treatments. Of special interest are the treatments
and information sources that are absent
from their nonrecommended lists.”
“Julie, I wish that I were confident that Quackwatch is
accurate and up to date. A few
people and organizations appear to be listed because they were on the wrong
side of conventional wisdom.
Examples include Dr. Russell Blaylock, Dr. Mehmet Oz (TV), Suzanne
Somers (actress), and NCCAM (database above). Sometimes I wonder who is watching Quackwatch.”
“In any case, Curmudge, after looking at these databases I
can see why you are impressed. If
one searches on a substance, the database answers questions like: ‘What is it?’
‘Is it effective?’ ‘How does it work?’ ‘Are there safety concerns?’ ‘Are there
any interactions with herbs and supplements?’ ‘What other names is the product
known by?’ “
“Also, Julie, the report from the Department of Defense
lists some alerts on product labels.
There are notes of what should be there as well as statements to look
out for such as claiming to cure a wide range of diseases. I was interested in their list of
problematic ingredients that included my nemesis, ephedra.”
“Common advice also is, ‘Talk with your health care
provider.’ “
“That’s great advice, Julie, but after studying these
documents you might know more about the product of interest than the doc
does. To make the conversation
more productive, you might give him or her the appropriate documents ahead of
time. Incidentally, this problem
has not gone unnoticed by physicians.”
“If we end our Alternative Medicine series right here,
Curmudge, we will be leaving our readers pretty much up to their own
devices. You have read quite a bit
about alternative medicine.
Despite your total lack of formal qualifications, is there more information
on this topic that we can share?”
“I believe the info presented in this posting is a pretty
big gulp for our readers, so let’s ring the chapel bell to end the
lecture. But next week we’ll share
our further perceptions on Alternative Medicine.”
Kaizen Curmudgeon
Link to posting from blog archives: Patient Safety—Medications 2 1/14/09
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