Homeopathy FAQ

How Many Consultations Will I Need?

Overall, you should be seeing some beneficial changes within a month of starting a well-chosen remedy. There are a a few factors which will help answer this question. The first is how long you have had your chronic condition. If it is an ailment you have had for a number of years, it will take more time to address than if you just developed it a few months ago. Age, lifestyle, and environmental considerations will also influence the length of time you will need homeopathic support.

Over time you may need more than one remedy. Homeopathy is a dynamic modality which addresses the symptoms as they present themselves. You can expect to have one follow-up appointment per month at the outset. This will allow me to closely follow your progress and recommend any adjustments, if needed. As a good remedy is established, you may find you are able to space your appointments out for longer stretches.

Can I Still Take My Medicine?

Yes! Homeopathy is a wonderful complement to allopathic treatment. Homeopathic remedies do not work on the chemical level like allopathic medicines do so there are rarely, if ever, any contraindications.

If you are seeing alleviation of your symptoms and wish to reduce your prescription medication, you will need to work closely with your medical doctor to do so. Do not stop any medications before consulting with your medical doctor.

How Does Homeopathy Differ from Conventional Medicine?

Conventional medicine works on a biochemical level whereas homeopathy works on an energetic level. This means that the majority of conventional medicines are rooted in chemistry, whereas homeopathic remedies are rooted in physics.

There is also a fundamentally different philosophy between these two modalities as well. Homeopathy takes the whole person - mental, emotional, and physical - into account to find a remedy that will match an individual's unique symptom picture. Conventional medicine addresses each symptom as its own separate problem and gives a number of medicines to address each one, instead of viewing the individual's health as an interconnected whole.

Can You Treat My Diagnosis?

I am not a medical doctor or a licensed medical professional; therefore, I cannot diagnose, treat, or prescribe for any medical particular condition or disease. Homeopathic care is recommended for strengthening the constitution and vitality and is not a replacement for licensed medical care.

What is "Classical" Homeopathy?

Classical homeopathy uses ONE remedy to alleviate unwanted symptoms and increase vitality. This remedy will match the client's entire mental/emotional/physical symptom picture, not just a few individual symptoms.

In classical homeopathy, we do not recommend protocols or multiple remedies taken as these are often not rooted in homeopathic philosophy and will not get to the underlying condition but only suppress it. Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of Homeopathy, wrote clear instructions on the best way to administer remedies, and that they should not be repeated unnecessarily. Classical homeopaths adhere to this tenant, as it allows us to track progress better and effect more lasting results.

Why Should I Be Concerned About How My Homeopath Was Trained?

This is an important topic. Not every homeopath has the same level or quality of education in the principles and philosophy which underpin homeopathic decision-making. This can lead to an extremely different outcome for your homeopathic care. This is why it is important to find a classically-trained and certified homeopath.

How Do Remedies Work?

Homeopathic remedies are minute doses of natural substances that go through a specific process of dilution and agitation (also called succussion) to activate or "potentize" them. Once these substances are potentized, they act as a signal which stimulate the body's own healing mechanisms. This leads to alleviation of negative symptoms and improvement of overall vitality.

Homeopathy is based in the principle of "like cures like" which means that instead of suppressing symptoms, we find the remedy that best matches the client's mental/emotional and physical symptom picture to treat the entire organism. By giving the body a signal (remedy) which mirrors its own dis-ease, we are able to ameliorate these troublesome symptoms.

Do I have to stop drinking coffee & using mint?

This is depends on the sensitivity of the client. If you're a coffee drinker and have been for a decade, you likely will not need to stop. If you've been using mint toothpaste for a long time, you should be fine to continue. The issue arises when people are sensitive to strong mentholated products like essential oils, rubs, shampoos and it creates a nervous system response. This is what could antidote the remedy. We can address this at the time if it appears to be an issue for you!

What can Homeopathy be used for?

Homeopathy has a wide breadth and depth of applications for both acute and chronic conditions. If you have symptoms that came on suddenly from an external source (like a bee sting), that would be an acute. Any symptoms that come and go or last more than 2 months would be considered chronic.

Homeopathy does not address named conditions and does not view each symptom as an individual problem; rather, homeopathy views a person's mental, emotional, and physical symptoms as external manifestations of a deeper internal imbalance. When a remedy is chosen that covers this larger, more holistic symptom complex, you are addressing the person's underlying state and will see beautiful results. In short, Homeopathy addresses the whole person, not individual symptoms.

Can I use Homeopathy without a Homeopath?

For acute, self-limiting situations (again, like a bee sting) homeopathy can be used as long as the person understands the basic tenets of homeopathy and is familiar with how to take a case and match symptoms to a remedy. For anything chronic or recurrent, you will see best results with a homeopath. If you find you're needed to take remedies frequently to keep your symptoms at bay, that is a sign it's a deeper problem and the remedy you're on is just suppressing the problem.

What is the Difference between Acute and Chronic?

In origin and development, acute symptoms develop rapidly, are self-contained, self-limiting, and typically have some exciting cause (i.e. traumatic injury, virus, bacteria). True acutes are clearly defined departure from the normal state of health, the totality is relatively small and easy to discern because it is so different from their normal chronic state.

Case-taking and analysis is a much more involved affair with chronic issues. The discerning homeopath will spend a great deal of time reviewing all of the client's health history and symptom picture, carefully noting variables like modalities (what makes it better or worse) and concomitants (what happens at the same time in other areas of the body). The goal is to get the largest symptom picture possible of the person's mental, emotional, and physical symptoms and find a remedy that displays that same symptom complex.

What is Suppression?

In Homeopathy, suppression is when a person alleviates certain external symptoms without addressing the underlying causative factors. When this is done, temporary relief will be seen of the bothersome symptoms; however, once the suppressive agent is stopped these symptoms will return (sometimes more aggressively).