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Author Topic: homeopathic alternatives  (Read 6215 times)

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Offline byathread

  • Member
  • Posts: 15
homeopathic alternatives
« on: June 07, 2007, 05:46:57 pm »
I can't complain about the meds ive been on for thepast 4 years.  they have made me healthier than I was 5 years ago.  Unfortunately Im reaching the point where I am sick to death of the public assistance I'm on.  I had to reapply up here in Mass because they failed to send me the annual renewal form.  Long story short... now they insist on sending me to a shrink as part of the process that with make me eligible for Masshealth.  I think this is wrong because I am eligible for assistance because 1) I am HIV+ and 2) I fall well below the poverty level.  But I am willing to just jump through that hoop in order to keep my medicine coming. 

My social worker agrees and has tried all this week to make this whole interview process unnessesary.  He was not successful so fine now i have to jump through that hoop. Unfortunately they won't allow me to schedule the appointment according to what fits into my schedule.  So we  rescheduled the appointment  and I am waiting for that to come in the mail.  Its only at that point that i will know when I have to see this complete stranger in order to explain to him why I might be a tad bit depressed and anxious regarding my experiences with being HIV+.

 They just sent me a notice stating a date today.  ...and the date?  Yup the date was for today!  I tried to call the Physicians office I was supposed to show up at... but the number was out of service.  I called the disability company responsible for setting up these interviews and their 800 number doesn't work from my cell phone... nope no land line here either.  So I went online and found the name of someone whom i contacted to please call so i could schedule my own appointment according to my schedule (not theres!).  I have a feeling though that this will all turn out badly.

So Im considering switching my residential status to my partner's house down in Rhode Island and try to get ADAP there.  That shouldn't be a problem.  My problem is that we intend to move to Georgia (savanna) He's in the wedding business and im an artist and so that's where we want to be.  The down side is that ADAP in GA is pretty bad.  Theres a lot of restrictions keeping people with good Viral load/CD4 numbers from participating even though those numbers are due to the fact that I have been on medication for the past 4 years!  At least that my translation of their websites listing of criteria governing the dispersal of benefits:

GA ADAP Medical Eligibility    

    * Comfirmed HIV status with CD4 and viral load restrictions.
    * CD4 < 350, or
    * Viral load > 55,000
    * No insurance coverage for prescriptions.
    * Must be a resident of Georgia.
    * Must not be eligible for Medicaid.
    * Must not be eligible for third party funding.

So yeah Im tired of the red tape and quality of my life and sanity is going down the longer I remain within these broken systems.  I'm in a healthy enough place where I think i can go off my meds and supplement my health by using homeopathic remedies to treat my HIV.  Is this a good temporary option at least on a temporary basis until another insurance option becomes available?

Offline allopathicholistic

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,258
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2007, 06:07:50 pm »
Paging Joel aka Bear60

Bya: Joel's got a story for you about homeopathic "medicine" and it ain't a good one, so brace yourself (Sneak preview: Homeopathic "medicine" is a load of crock)

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #2 on: June 07, 2007, 08:00:25 pm »
FULL OF BS and they took my 500$ for a one freaking visit where they asked me what my dreams were... WTF
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline Carolann

  • Member
  • Posts: 233
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2007, 12:02:24 am »
The theory behind homeopathic treatments is pure quackery. Please don\'t play with your health. You need to keep fighting for treatment even if you (understandably) feel frustrated at times. I belong to an HMO and have to constantly fight for my patient\'s rights, so none of us have it easy all the time. The thing you have to remember is that you can\'t let other people get in the way of services that are rightfully yours. The nature of the bureaucracy is to deny services by using the ol\' red tape roadblocks. Jump through the hoops, keep all your paperwork updated, and document everything. You have to be your own advocate. I hope your problems with ADAP resolve so that you may continue treatment.

Carolann

Offline bear60

  • Member
  • Posts: 4,105
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2007, 08:35:09 am »
If you use homeopathic medicine to TREAT HIV, you run the risk of becoming another statistic to prove that homeopathic medicine does not and will not treat HIV.
More later.....
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline allopathicholistic

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,258
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2007, 09:08:09 am »
FULL OF BS and they took my 500$ for a one freaking visit where they asked me what my dreams were... WTF

that's one hefty chunk of change egello  :( well, live & learn

and to bya: save your cash, save your health

Offline aztecan

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,530
  • 36 years positive, 64 years a pain in the butt
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2007, 09:18:49 am »
First things first. I you are planning to move to Georgia, I would contact an ASO in Georgia to find out more about what is and isn't required.

I know if you move to some states, like New Mexico where I live as an example, and you are already on ARV therapy, you can get a 30-day emergency supply of meds from ADAP here until you get onto the Medical Insurance Pool, which is how most people get their services here unless they qualify for Medicaid, etc.

This may or may not be true elsewhere, but its worth a shot.

Now, regarding homeopathic medicine, what Bear said.

HUGS,

Mark
"May your life preach more loudly than your lips."
~ William Ellery Channing (Unitarian Minister)

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2007, 10:26:12 am »
Pennsylvania does the 30-day emergency supply  as well.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline kabbalahboy

  • Member
  • Posts: 8
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2007, 10:33:25 am »
Get off the govt program and get a part time job at Home Depot. They have great coverage and benefits.

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #9 on: June 08, 2007, 01:17:39 pm »
and don't fall for that whole crap about becoming one with the nature and understanding your body and energy around your surrounding blah blah blah and also how people are dumb and not sensitive like us won't understand a thing about homeopathic works,,, this is how they persuade you to waste money on them...
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline bear60

  • Member
  • Posts: 4,105
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2007, 06:01:11 pm »
Ok.  Here is the more later:
In 1989, my partner tested HIV positive and chose to TREAT the HIV with homeopathic medicine and went on a macrobiotic diet. ( Read Louise Hay book: HEAL YOUR BODY for example). 
Well at the time the only "western" treatment was AZT and the prognosis was not good with a diagnosis of HIV.  I didnt say anything. Because I hoped he would be OK.
For a six month period of time he did pretty well but was loosing weight way too fast.  "His fat was falling off his bones"... fast.
The homeopathic doctor said his body was cleansing itself.
Then came the crisis and the emergency room and the diagnosis of PCP. He survived that ordeal but his "taste" had changed.  Only thing he would eat was comfort food....pasta, spagetti, meat loaf and meat and potatos.
But he went on to develop a lot of oportunistic infections and died just befor HAART meds became available in 1995.
If he had gone on Bactrim and AZT immediately,  I feel he would not have developed PCP and would possibly be alive today.
« Last Edit: June 08, 2007, 06:04:06 pm by bear60 »
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #11 on: June 08, 2007, 06:11:53 pm »
Bear, that's sad, painful and not unfamiliar story to read.

Big hugs,
Andy Velez

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #12 on: June 08, 2007, 06:13:09 pm »
Bear is quite right. The real horror of homeopathy (and other faux medical nut-casery) is not when people quaff these useless potions for minor ailments, but when the desperately ill turn to them in terror eschewing well proven western orthodox treatments.

People with HIV are a classic group. Especially in the years before combination therapy. How many of us died at the hands of quacks peddling ozone threapy or chelation or other various nonsense?

MtD

Offline egello

  • Member
  • Posts: 907
  • cb
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2007, 08:36:11 pm »
Ok.  Here is the more later:
In 1989, my partner tested HIV positive and chose to TREAT the HIV with homeopathic medicine and went on a macrobiotic diet. ( Read Louise Hay book: HEAL YOUR BODY for example). 
Well at the time the only "western" treatment was AZT and the prognosis was not good with a diagnosis of HIV.  I didnt say anything. Because I hoped he would be OK.
For a six month period of time he did pretty well but was loosing weight way too fast.  "His fat was falling off his bones"... fast.
The homeopathic doctor said his body was cleansing itself.
Then came the crisis and the emergency room and the diagnosis of PCP. He survived that ordeal but his "taste" had changed.  Only thing he would eat was comfort food....pasta, spagetti, meat loaf and meat and potatos.
But he went on to develop a lot of oportunistic infections and died just befor HAART meds became available in 1995.
If he had gone on Bactrim and AZT immediately,  I feel he would not have developed PCP and would possibly be alive today.

yup,, thast exactly what i went through,,,, all those people were telling me that i was detoxing and naturally fighting infections when i was loosing weight and constantly having a high fever,,,

and I bought it...
1/29/07 14 T, 300 k V, 1.8 %
2/22/07 197 T, 247 V, 6.8 %
3/27/07 164 T, <50 V, 5.4 %
5/28/07 177 T, <50 V, 8.2 %
7/28/07 214 T, <50 V, 9.6 %
10/3/07 380 T, <50 V, 10 %

Offline bear60

  • Member
  • Posts: 4,105
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2007, 07:33:49 pm »
If I have to tell that story another 10000 times,  I will.  I still get chocked up about the ordeal that poor guy went through.
Poz Bear Type in Philadelphia

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: homeopathic alternatives
« Reply #15 on: June 09, 2007, 08:08:57 pm »
You can't possibly tell that particular story enough.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

 


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