Quackery... Snake Oil... Pseudo-Science Mumbo-Jumbo...
It took 2 trips to the ER, 3 doctors, more pharmaceuticals than I care to admit, mild hallucinations, and memory loss to finally take the skeptical leap of faith and try the natural supplements my neurologist had recommended MONTHS before.
And even after I purchased them, I KNEW they wouldn't work. I was only doing it to mark another treatment off my 'migraine preventatives' list. In short I had a bad attitude. One thing I am proud to say, is that the negative connotations I had with natural supplements drove me to research the heck out of each ingredient. I also took great pains to adhere to the dosing recommendations.
And I noticed a change.
It took awhile for me to notice a change in my migraines... I was not keeping a migraine diary at first and I had already written it off as a waste of time and money well before I took my first pill. But these supplements, which have been studied in clinical research, were a much better experience for me when my hard core pharmaceutical medications only added horrible side effects to my 15-18 migraines each month.
There is a very real stigma associated to natural alternatives to prescription medicines. It is part of our culture now. Sitcoms and comics poke fun at those poor souls who dose themselves with placebo pills and think they are helping... Supplements are tricky, and so many make false claims and don't have any quantifiable evidence backing efficacy. But there are many natural products that do help. In fact many pharmaceutical drugs started as natural remedies.
Aspirin in its natural form (salicylic acid found in Willow or Mertle) has been used for thousands of years! We have been practicing medicine through natural remedies for thousands of years, and science now has the ability to test these natural remedies and keep studying which ones have real evidence behind them.
Butterbur root is one natural ingredient that has been studied in clinical research for migraine. Guidance on it has changed over the years, and the American Academy of Neurology withdrew its recommendation in 2015 because of liver concerns with butterbur that wasn't PA-free. That is why we only use certified PA-free butterbur, and why you should talk with your doctor before trying it.
It is so important to research natural remedies! While it is easy to make a blanket statement that all supplements and natural remedies are bad because many of them make false claims and use pseudo-science... many have real evidence supporting their claims. And who knows what other natural treatments that have been used for centuries can unlock someones medical problem with fewer side effects? The stigma needs to end. Science can work hand in hand with nature and together who knows what can be accomplished!
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