Alternative therapies

You've all made me look up a mobile massage person. It would be lovely (especially with my DS being on holiday from college) to treat myself to an aromotherapy back massage, to relieve stress and help with the breathlessness. Maybe it would help and it certainly won't do any harm. Better than when I was spending the same amount of money on cigarettes! Thanks ladies.

Hmm, not wanting to offend or start an argument but, if someone wants to spend his or her money on treatments which help them feel better when they have a horrible illness, why is that a problem to anyone else?

I suppose others might think false hopes were being raised but then sometimes there are miraculous recoveries that the medical profession find hard to explain. It might be that an alternative approach helps someone to live more healthily or endure conventional treatments. We can't know everything and not everything can be scientifically explained at the moment but some treatments that were once laughed at are now accepted.

I've seen a few people die of cancer after following conventional medicine protocol and refusing any alternative or complementary treatments and frankly, it was horrible to watch. It's a vile business with drugs that make people more sick though apparently curing them and with the state the NHS is in, the attention they get is lacking.

I've got a friend with stage III ovarian cancer at the moment. It took from her GP visit in April to last week to be diagnosed and to start chemotherapy. She is using some complementary treatments (acupuncture and herbs from a qualified acupuncturist and also massage) and it is no doubt that these things are helping her to be really positive.

I like reflexology, too, as well as Indian head massage.
When my husband had cancer, he used to have a reflexologist come to massage his feet. He always slept really well afterwards.
I had reflexology for sciatica. It helped there, too.

NikDumpling;- So Glad you had a positive outcome from your reflexology, that's good to know I've just booked in for a session at the end of august and now I'm really looking forward to it hope it's bliss too

I don't know if the reflexology massage I had last week actually helped any part of me physically. I don't care. It was bliss and I came away so relaxed I'm really glad I didn't have to drive home!

alea. Yes, I used the wrong word there. Complementary more logical and indeed more up to date

Thank you once again for all your thoughts advice and helpful suggestions.

Bellanonna.
Thank you for your lovely encouraging message, it's so good to get some feedback and thoughts from other people

Alea
Have just booked in for reflexology so really looking forward to It.

Overthehill
Earthing is one I have not heard of before but will look into it.

Rosannabanna
Will make enquirers about Living movement and tai chi and will look it up on line I have heard that Tai chi is very gentle and relaxing so worth a look .

Thank you everyone once again for taking the time to leave messages much appreciated . Have a good day.

I am a believer in cemplementary therapies, but get uneasy at the concept of alternative if that means what it says, i.e. an alternative to recognised conventional medical treatment. Reflexology, reiki, aromatherapy, dietary changes etc I consider complementary therapies and on the whole can make you feel more relaxed/more in control/more "grounded". The late husband of a friend sadly went down the road of rejecting conventional treatment and wasted thousands if not tens of thousands of pounds on trips to Mexico for coffee ground enemas and I don't know what else. He died, I am afraid but his last months were largely wasted and distressing to his family because they too were clutching at straws.
Sceptical? Maybe.

I have just put a post on here about 'earthing', of course I cannot say it would do any good, but I sure it certainly wouldn't do any harm.

Hello Sally, it's nice to see you posting and I do hope you are continuing to make a good recovery. Is there an association connected specifically with leukaemia who could support you with recommending possible alternative therapies and more importantly ones to avoid? I have always benefited from massage, aromatherapy and reflexology but do none of them regularly. In your own case I just think it might be an idea to see what could help your recovery. You always sound upbeat, and I'm sure that must help the recovery process. Positive outlook and all that. Good luck with whatever you do, and let us know !

I live in the Midlands but I have just spent a lovely weekend at a tai chi camp in Branscombe. The teacher is called Angus Clark and he runs classes in Chagford, his school is called Living Movement. He's lovely and his students seem very nice too, might be worth a visit?

Thank you sooo much for all your advice on alternative therapies it's most helpful and i will try those recommended and get the book Bodywork by Thomas Clair, it's good to have feed back . Thank you once again for all your thoughts. Have a good day Speak soon byeeee Ps I live in Torbay South Devon.

Sally, I've used a lot of alternative therapies in my life. I've found chiropractic, cranio sacral therapy (an odd one but worth looking out for, very gentle manipulation and releasing of the tissues), reflexology and massage helpful. I'm not sure about the applicability of those to your recent illness. I think the most important thing is to look around and find a therapist who suits you and who leaves you feeling looked after.

I made a decision last year to allow myself to have a regular, monthly massage which I was going to budget for, whatever. It's done me a huge amount of good. The therapist does reflexology too and I liked that but as well as the sheer joy of a whole body massage with scented oils, I have noticed distinct physical changes - I'm sleeping better, my digestion is working better, I'm calmer, my skin is smooth and silky. On top of that she cured some tendonitis I had in my hand, the GP could only offer pain killers/pain killing gel. As part of the massage, it became obvious that the problem was in my shoulder and it's now gone!!

I also do yoga and tai chi. Again, what's on offer is such a mix, you have to try around to find a class and teacher who you like. I think both of these at their best are calming and stretching and keep you moving and flexible.

It can be expensive and frustrating but ultimately I've got far more out of trying these things than I ever have out of the GP. I am lucky though maybe because I haven't ever had a really serious illness.

I hope that helps. Do try things if you can, apart from anything else it can be very interesting. Best wishes for continued healing.

I've just remembered, there is a very interesting book, just called Bodywork by Thomas Claire which I found in my local library. It's by a massage therapist who went about trying out dozens of alternative therapies and then reporting on what they are and how they made him feel and what sorts of things might be useful. I just checked and it's available cheaply on Amazon so that might be worth a read.

My problems have been mainly orthopaedic and I tried reflexology but it did zilch for me. I now have or at least did have before application of a B/K POP massage of lower limbs weekly. It was not a deep massage and seemed to help me a little.

sally I'm sorry to hear that you have been ill but hopefully you are on the mend now. I haven't myself had any alternative therapies but as a nurse who worked with a lot of very ill people I have seen many good results from various treatments which seemed to reduce stress and anxiety which in itself is very helpful in combating the illness itself especially pain relief. If it were me I think I would be trying things which helped that area. A dear friend had great relief from aromatherapy massages.

Where do you live, sally345?
I ask because we had a lot of help from a local charity which does alternative therapies when my husband had cancer.

I thought you wanted to know our opinions about tv programmes/adverts etc sally345...