What to Expect from
Homeopathic Treatment
and why it doesn't always work
Health, well-being and improved quality of life
Homeopathy offers a holistic approach to treatment as healing takes place through the re-establishment of one’s physical, mental, and emotional balance. Each personalised remedy is prescribed after a careful examination of the patient’s disease symptoms, causation of symptoms, personal circumstances and constitution, thus allowing one’s innate healing mechanism to be stimulated with the aim of restoring the patient to good health.
A number of patients who work with me are those who, having tried various therapeutic options without much success, have opted for homeopathy. Often these are patients suffering with long- standing conditions, sometimes chronic. Although I always advise my patients against harbouring unrealistic expectations in relation to homeopathy, the vast majority experience its subtle healing effects within a few weeks of starting treatment.
The guiding principle is that of “treating the patient, not the disease”, whereby host defenses are strengthened and made resilient, as opposed to killing microbes or blocking pathophysiological processes. Tailored homeopathic treatment has the potential to lead to a general improvement in one’s quality of life, and ultimately a greater sense of well-being.
Challenges in homeopathic cures
Homeopathy is not simply a system of therapeutics, where one size fits all. The gold standard in homeopathic practice is individualisation. This requires the patient to be interviewed by the trained homeopath in order to determine the specific remedy for him/her based on the individual’s physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. The success of a cure is not entirely dependent on the skill and knowledge of a homeopath - some other underlying factors including certain genetic predispositions and simultaneous use of other drugs may result in a delayed response to homeopathic treatment. Correspondingly, there may be occasions where a patient experiences partial benefits and/or any improvement in symptoms is not significant. It remains the case however that as an experienced homeopath, I am able to anticipate an outcome whereby a patient may not respond as effectively to certain homeopathic treatment and I discuss such an eventuality with my patient through open and honest dialogue.
Many acute and chronic conditions can be treated through homeopathy although the time taken to stimulate the patient’s self-healing mechanism may vary depending on the complexity and severity of the case.
Can homeopathy cure every condition?
The short answer is no. The possible outcomes to treatment depend to some extent on whether any irreversible damage has occurred or not. As a system of therapeutics based on sound, reasoned and rational principles, the claim that homeopathy can permanently cure every disease would be mere rhetoric. As in conventional medicine, some conditions are able to be treated successfully and permanently whilst others require management. It is no different with homeopathic treatment.
The body’s healthy functioning hinges on very fine balances which can be described in terms of biological and immunological pathways. An imbalance in these pathways will manifest as disease and it is the homeopath’s aim to attempt to correct these. Sometimes these pathways (especially in the case of auto-immune conditions) become so deeply ingrained that they require extended treatment which over time lead to less frequent and milder relapses.
Are the cures sustainable?
Each individual is capable of self-healing, self-renewing, is homeostatic and adaptive. Homeopathic remedies are directed to stimulate this innate healing capacity that we all possess in order to overcome any imbalances which one may exhibit in the form of disease.
The aim of homeopathic treatment is to identify and remove the underlying causes to bring health, vitality and a sense of wellbeing to the patient, instead of merely masking the disease symptoms. Homeopathic cures are thus usually long-lasting but it remains the case for long-standing chronic conditions that recurrences/relapses cannot always be ruled out. Such recurrences of symptoms may be reported after a few months to a year after homeopathic treatment has stopped. These relapses are far and few, usually milder than the original complaints, and can often continue to be treated successfully with homeopathic treatment.