Herbal remedies and homeopathy.

Losing 20lb and increasing exercise seemed to have a good effect on my blood pressure going from 140 average systolic to 125. I managed to come off amlodipine. I woud go back on it if needed though so I still monitor bp at home.

Ive just signed up for this research programme - my BP is in the "could do better" range.

I'm genuinely interested to find out whether doing daily wall squats will help

www.isofitter.org.uk/

I know 23 people who died from cancer after having followed Drs' orders to the letter. Allopathic treatments can be brutal.

Milliedog

I'd take the medication prescribed by the doctor. Having said that, I have had only 2 experiences of homeopathy - both positive. When young, one of my daughters had a cough that went on for months. The doctor couldn't prescribe anything that worked. In desperation, I took her to a local homeopath. She gave her a remedy which quickly cured it. Another time, our other daughter had a health problem the dr couldn't help with, but the homeopath sorted it. Any good, registered homeopath would check what prescription you are on and make sure nothing clashed. But it's important to ensure that the homeopath is registered.

Homeopathy isn't going to interact with anything so don't worry. Herbal stuff is of such variable quality it is difficult to say

Do you have any underlying issues apart from blood pressure?
Carrying extra weight plays a big part as does stress.

I had a severe chest infection a couple of years ago and my BP went through the roof and despite the GP going into a bit of a panic mode, I said its because of my chest infection and that Ive just climbed steep stairs. Normally, its fine.

I had to agree to phone my BP in when I got home or immediately return to the surgery for meds.

I did as I was told and it dropped but i had to monitor and send in readings for a week.

I was determined to stay off medication.

I have since lost a stone and.a half in weight which has also contributed to lowering my BP.

Same with cholesterol a few years back - (now we know its not all bad for you!) - mine was higher than they liked and ‘statins’ were suggested (more drugs). I said no, I would self manage and changed my diet.
It can be done.

If I can self manage and avoid being stuck on the merry go round of constant meds, I will.

Just my personal story and choosing to be med-free.

SpringsEternal

I know 23 people who died from cancer after having followed Drs' orders to the letter. Allopathic treatments can be brutal.

Crikey! That's a lot.....and there was me just thinking of one person (younger than myself) who has breast cancer. Maybe things might have been different if they (ie the NHS) had found it when she first started complaining about pain. But I have to say my own take is she's wasting her time going through all the chemotherapy (with accompanying hair loss) etc that they're now putting her through - as she's Stage 4 anyway and the treatment itself is making her feel more ill.

I admire the way she's determined to "live" as much as she can until the end and taking a very positive attitude about it - but it does look very pointless to me re the conventional NHS treatment she's having.

When I started nurse training 50 years ago (good grief 😳) I was told B.P. if the top number is 100 plus the age of the patient was good and the lower number had to be under 100, a lot has changed since then.

Could you go to an accredited dietician in a private practice who could advise you foodwise? I am hoping to do this with my acid reflux.

SpringsEternal
I go for alternatives every time. I avoid Big Pharma. Alternatives have no side effects and they treat the whole person, not just one problem.
That is dangerous nonsense.
Google ‘hepatotoxicity of turmeric and black cohosh’ for starters.

And this is what can happen when you think alternative medicine is better than mainstream medicine www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/02/paloma-shemirani-cancer-inquest-mother-kate-shemirani?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As Tim Minchin famously said
‘If alternative medicine worked, it wouldn’t be alternative. It would be mainstream.’

janeainsworth

SpringsEternal
I go for alternatives every time. I avoid Big Pharma. Alternatives have no side effects and they treat the whole person, not just one problem.
That is dangerous nonsense.
Google ‘hepatotoxicity of turmeric and black cohosh’ for starters.

Exactly this

I'll stick with Amlodipine. It has kept my blood pressure under control for over ten years now.

There may be a trend to medicalise herbal remedies. Big Pharma is on to anything for a profit.

I take prescribed senna tabs from time to time, Recently the tabs have lacked the pleasant flavour of the herb presumably to disguise the fact that senna is a herb.

Jane Ainsworth quoted Tim Minchin.

Maybe Jane underestimates the economic influence of big Pharma on NHS prescribing.

Caleo
Big Pharma is on to anything for a profit

And you think the companies which manufacture herbal remedies aren’t?

I know 2 people(not related to each other) very well who both have dangerously high BP. They are both thin and fit with healthy diets. There can be genetic factors and other health issues which cause it. Diet and exercise are certainly good things, but aren’t always the whole solution

gwyneth28

When I started nurse training 50 years ago (good grief 😳) I was told B.P. if the top number is 100 plus the age of the patient was good and the lower number had to be under 100, a lot has changed since then.

Interested to know what they said as to why they changed that - ie genuine research had shown they needed to or drug companies said they needed to?

Were people okay with their blood pressure at the old readings? etc

At 72 years old = 172 for my first reading would mean "Yep....my blood pressure is fine" - whereas they're telling me "Eeek at the sort of levels you're getting - you've gotta take Big Pharma's drugs or you're gonna have a heart attack". Cue for me telling them "I'm not that bothered about a heart attack - few minutes and I'll be gone...safely home in Heaven and breaking out the virtual champagne at my "Welcome Home" party. No big deal".

Having failed on that tack they then come out with "Ah....but ah....you might have a stroke instead".

It feels like they're threatening me with "summat or other" unless I help keep Big Pharma in business. Considering just what Big Pharma has been doing the last few years = "Well I didnt trust them anyway re my welfare and I know exactly how concerned they aren't with that since 2020".

One of my most recent medical conversations was "I'm not going to let you jab me with That Jab anyway - but, outa interest, if I was going to let you = which one would you use for me?" Yep.....got it in one....ie the one that I believe has since been stopped because of all the heart attacks it caused - and I make it plain to all medical people right from the start that I'm from a very heavy-duty heart attack family indeed. Astra-Zeneca - that's the one I'd probably have died from by now...and would have saved the State quite a bit on my pension money they have to pay me...because I'm still alive.

janeainsworth

And this is what can happen when you think alternative medicine is better than mainstream medicine www.theguardian.com/society/2025/oct/02/paloma-shemirani-cancer-inquest-mother-kate-shemirani?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As Tim Minchin famously said
‘If alternative medicine worked, it wouldn’t be alternative. It would be mainstream.’

I've been following that pretty closely - and from what Kate Shemirani says = one of the things they did to her daughter was the adrenaline her daughter and her had both decided against and yet they used a noticeable amount of it. From what I read - that alone can kill people.

Ultimately - it was crystal clear her daughter had stated exactly how she wished things to be for her care - and they went against a lot of what she'd said! Her body = her choice.

She certainly wasnt an airhead - and was obviously an intelligent woman. So it was entirely up to her what they did and didn't do and she told them clearly - but they ignored her own wishes for her own body!

I once had a GP who practiced general medicine but was also a homeopath. He gave me homeopathic medicine to help with the sore throats I was getting frequently rather than antibiotics and I have never had a bad sore throat since. I think they can work but you need to go to a trained practitioner - not wander into Holland and Barrett and pick something up.

janeainsworth

Caleo
Big Pharma is on to anything for a profit

And you think the companies which manufacture herbal remedies aren’t?

Right you are However Big Pharma has the NHS in its pocket due to creeping privatisation of the NHS.

My daughter aged about 3 developed Chicken Pox - very quickly.
Had a friend who had a Health Shop and she suggested Pulsatilla. Gave it to her in grains and the next day there was no temperature, just the spots which fell off, the chicken pox didn’t develop.

Caleo
However Big Pharma has the NHS in its pocket due to creeping privatisation of the NHS
The NHS provides over 90% of healthcare in the U.K., funded by the government.
So I think it’s the other way round - having almost a monopoly, the NHS is in a position to get advantageous prices from the drug companies. Always assuming of course that those in charge of procurement are acting in the NHS’ interests and not their own.

Cariadagain
I've been following that pretty closely - and from what Kate Shemirani says = one of the things they did to her daughter was the adrenaline her daughter and her had both decided against and yet they used a noticeable amount of it. From what I read - that alone can kill people

Of course adrenaline can kill people. It has also saved many lives.

Kate Shemirani was removed from the Nursing & midwifery Council Register in 2021 for spreading dangerous misinformation about the Covid vaccines.
So I wouldn’t believe a word she says.
I’m more inclined to believe Paloma’s brothers’ and the mainstream media’s version, that Kate brainwashed her daughter against having the conventional treatment which could have saved her life.

janeainsworth

Caleo
However Big Pharma has the NHS in its pocket due to creeping privatisation of the NHS
The NHS provides over 90% of healthcare in the U.K., funded by the government.
So I think it’s the other way round - having almost a monopoly, the NHS is in a position to get advantageous prices from the drug companies. Always assuming of course that those in charge of procurement are acting in the NHS’ interests and not their own.

Acting in their own interests is precisely what creeping privatisation of the NHS is causing

A centralised truly nationalised NHS would be centrally controlled as to the pharmacopeia available. And in other important respects such as communications.

Caleo A centralised truly nationalised NHS would be centrally controlled as to the pharmacopeia available. And in other important respects such as communications.
There has always been a tension between central control and how much autonomy the regional health authorities (or whatever title they have now) should have.
In some ways regional autonomy is a good thing. Northumbria Healthcare trust (my local one) was until recently run by Sir James Mackey and he was responsible for a number of innovations which proved beneficial to patients. Innovation would be limited if control was exerted solely by a central body.