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Sarcoidosis Treatment Options: Part II - Page 2

© Lou Robinson

2. Mind-Body Interventions: Examples include meditation, creative therapies, and prayer. 3. Biological-Based Therapies: Herbal remedies, special diets such as those by Drs. Weil and Ornish, and orthomolecular. Megavitamins, melatonin, and laetrile are some examples. 4. Manipulative and Body Based Methods: Examples are chiropractic and massage therapy. 5. Energy therapies: Qi Gong, Reiki, and t'ai chi fall into this category.

Growing up in the rural South in the middle of the 20th Century, most illnesses were treated at home by folk remedies, including herbal teas and poultices, spiritual interventions, and daily doses of castor and cod liver oils for good measure. Native American healers also attended to a variety of illnesses. Only severe, life-threatening illness warranted a visit to the local physician. While the rise of conventional medicine in the second half of the 20th Century displaced some CAM products and practices in the United States, many countries outside of the US have been researching and approving CAM for years.

Although I moved far away from the South and folk medicine as I embraced a career within the medical model, I observed patients' positive responses to massage for assorted aches and pains for many years. Sarcoidosis had been my constant companion for over a decade when I made a decision to pamper myself with a spa treatment that included a full-body massage. My positive response to massage helped me determine to make massage a more regular part of my comfort activities. I was just one of the many consumers who had received the benefits of CAM, and were making significant statements about how we would spend our healthcare dollars.

NCCAM recommends that you do the following when considering CAM: 1. Evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the therapy or product, 2. Find out about the practitioner's training and experience, 3. Consider how and where the service is provided, 4. Do some comparison-shopping-is it cost-effective? 5. Talk to your primary care physician.

Consultation with the primary care physician, along with thorough research, are good places to start when determining whether CAM is right for you. The stage of your disease, its acuteness, and the effectiveness of allopathic treatment are primary considerations. Understand your symptoms and how CAM products and practices affect the body, and interact with medications. Besides precautions related to sarcoidosis, it is important to be aware of how other medical conditions and their treatments could be affected.

I still resort to NSAIDS when I must, but I rely on my tai chi chih, walking, and good nutrition as primary methods of managing my weight, fatigue, stress, and pain, all of which contribute to my physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Massage ranks a strong second in helping to get the knots out, especially in my neck and shoulders, smoothing out some of the tender spots, and helping me feel more supple and flexible. Chiropractic care eliminated some long-time back pain and made me feel more balanced by equalizing both sides of my body.

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