Herbs, vitamins that can hurt you

[trotsky]

8/20/2009 (CNN) -- Carole Grant doesn't really trust medical doctors. She never has. Whenever she has had a health issue, she has headed straight for an herbalist, acupuncturist or other "natural" healer.

A few years ago, her alternative practitioner of choice was a self-described "intuitive healer" in New York, where she lives. The healer put Grant on a regimen of herbs, supplements and vitamins to help her lose weight. A few weeks later, Grant, a geriatric care manager, was closing up an apartment for an elderly client who'd died when she started feeling strange sensations in her toes.

...

After some testing, Lee discovered the reason for Grant's numbness: She had sky-high amounts of vitamin B6 in her blood, which can interfere with circulation. "The intuitive healer had told me to double my dose of vitamin B6," Grant said. "She never told me when to stop the double dose, and I never checked with her."

...

As for Grant, she's still feeling tingling and numbness in her legs and feet even three years later. "I still need to lose weight, but I'm not taking any supplements," she said. "I'm just too gun-shy at this point."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/20/herbs.vitamins.harmful/index.html">More...

The article includes a short list of some of the most common supplements and their potential side effects. Remember, folks - "natural" is not a synonym for "harmless."

[create.peace]

1. the word here is 'intuitive'- my flags go up

why anyone would only go to an intuitive, without checking out from a 'non-intuitive' i don't know....

[Ken Burch]

2. This settles it...Michael Savage is trying to KILL us!

n/t.

[elocs]

3. There are some drugs, also, which are "natural" but are not "harmless" either.

I had a physical last week that made me wonder about vitamins and supplements. I had a blood test done 6 months ago and my liver panel was elevated, although within normal. My doctor asked if I had been using a lot of Tylenol or drinking (neither for me). My last liver panel dropped 20 points, so he asked if I had stopped taking Tylenol or cut back drinking. Actually for a couple of weeks before my last blood test I had not been regularly taking my vitamins and supplements (no mega-dosing). So it did make me wonder what caused the drop in the liver panel levels.

[trotsky]

6. Tylenol isn't exactly natural.

It's chemically synthesized. And it has been long known to cause liver damage at high dosages, especially when consumed with alcohol. The dose makes the poison, as with everything.

[elocs]

9. Right, but I had not taken Tylenol in years, or was a drinker,

so why was my liver panel levels elevated? In my last blood test I had not been taken my supplements or vitamins regularly and the levels dropped 20 points.

[trotsky]

10. Ah, I see what you mean.

Sorry, got confused.

[hlthe2b]

4. this is a soap box area for me, but I will refrain...

I strongly believe in evidence-based (science based) medicine, but I also do believe herbs and supplements, acupuncture and some other options can be extremely beneficial when used cautiously and with full disclosure to all who would advise you on health issues.

Frankly, I wish, that there were reimbursement for medication/supplement consultancies with a well trained and very "current" pharmacist who could review periodically all medications and herbal, vitamin, and mineral supplements for any contraindication issues. They do this at major pharmacies already for prescription drugs, but it should be widened.

Unfortunately, the general public often relies on either their physician or their alternative source "practitioner" to perform this function and neither are comprehensively trained to do so. Western Medical practitioners deserve some lumps, as our training emphasizes dogma and has for decades deemphasized nutrition and other companion issues. But, the lack of trust that has sent so many into the welcome arms of untrained charlatans only underscores the foolishness that can result-- as the ancients knew long ago, caveat emptor.

[enlightenment]

5. I'm not a huge proponent of natural remedies and such, but

there is a telling line in that story that points to an important issue.

"She never told me when to stop the double dose, and I never checked with her."

Yes, the 'healer' should have given her more information, but the lady should have asked/checked, as well. The supplement became a problem because it wasn't used with guidelines, but the same could be said for ANY drug or treatment. The saying that 'ignorance is no excuse for breaking a law' applies double to putting something in your body. If you can't be bothered to find out what it is, how it works, and what the potential pitfalls of taking it are, you're probably going to have problems, eventually.

[LeftishBrit]

11. While patients should always check...

the doctors or other practitioners have a duty to give clear advice or information. It shouldn't be a case of 'let the buyer beware'.

[trotsky]

12. I find it very telling...

that it's a pretty consistent reaction in the Health forum, when a story about a "medical mistake" is brought up, it is generally 100% the doctor's/hospital's/big pharma's fault. But when cases like this are reported - concerning harm from "natural" treatments - blame is assigned to the patient. Fascinating.

[FiveGoodMen]

7. "natural" is not a synonym for "harmless."

Yup.

That's worth repeating.

Rattlesnake venom is natural.

[trotsky]

8. Arsenic, nightshade, toadstools, 100% natural too! n/t

[create.peace]

13. good link about interactions between herbal, conventional meds, and other good info

http://www.holisticonline.com/Herbal-Med/hol_herb_med_reac.htm