Conventional Doctor vs Holistic Natural Medicine?

I am so confused about deciding which doctor I should go for all my health care. Conventional Doctor seems to give me a diagnostic right away, and prescribe me medication. I was told it is a money making scam. But in some care, you do need these meds. Then, there are Holistic natural medicine, usually they are not MD, but like acupuncture or massage therapist where you would go see them on regular basis regardless of sick. or when you get sick, is it too late to go see them? They usually gives you herb medicine. It cost like $90 each time you go see them, may be twice a week. Conventional doctor would cost you about the same, but once a month or only once. They would gives you a quick fix, powerful medicine that has a lot of side affect. A lot of them just treat the symptoms. I am so confused what is the truth and who do I really need to go see. Like anxiety, depression, flue, virus, infection, allergy, just any disease…..who for what?

My 6 year old son is taking Adderall and Zoloft ?

My 6 year old son was diagnosed by a child neuropsychologist and a child psychiatrist with sensory integration issues, severe ADHD (impulsivity control type), and an unspecified mood/anxiety/anger disorder. He hurts people sometimes and at 4 years of age had to leave his preschool because he hurt other children and sometimes adults. We did not want to medicate him, and cried many tears deliberating, but he was becoming more and more out-of-control and aggresive and hurting his twin brother multiple times a day, as well as doing sometime dangerous things because of his total lack of impulse control. We first treated him for the aggression with Zoloft, which worked immediately. He went the entire first day w/o hurting anyone. Since he was not in school yet, we did not feel the need to treat the ADHD. He got through Kindergarten with the help of a wonderful and very understanding teacher, but team sports, play dates and group situations have been really difficult for him. Academically he did great and he is very creative. Since he was going to start first grade this year and have to be in school an additional 3 hours per day, along with the extra homework we made the decision to try to treat the ADHD. We tried a few meds, but did not like what they did to him. Currently he is taking Adderallrx in a pretty low dose and it calms him down after about an hour – just enough so that he can focus and not be in trouble constantly. It doesn’t “dumb him down” at all at this dose and he is still very creative and expressive- – just more able to concentrate on things and focus on whatever is in front of him. Some days though he seems to be a little more easily agitated or stubborn since starting the Adderall. The 3rd day of school he ran away from his teacher to another building and hid and refused to come to her and the principal had to be called. I am also very worried about having him on these very strong and controversial medications at such a young age. His doctor thinks that he is in more danger psychologically if he is out-of-control at school and gets labeled by the other kids, parents and teachers as a trouble maker. I agree with that, but just want to know that there’s not a better way. He’s a sweet boy and wants to do the right things – he just can’t do it on his own. We also make sure he eats right, gets protein at every meal. I also give him high grade Fish Oil and zinc. I almost forgot – the Adderall was keeping him awake until 10:30 at night (he said his brain would not go to sleep), even though we were giving him the Adderall at 6 a.m., so he now is taking yet another drug, Trazadone to “shut his brain down” so he can fall asleep. I believe in holistic medicine to a point. That’s if it works. He has such an extreme case that I don’t know if anything natural will work for him. I’ve read mixed reviews on some herbal/natural formulas such as Attend and Natures Remedies. I’m thinking about trying St. John’s Wort with 5-HTp, Kava, and even SAM-e. Sometimes, I just feel like he’s a little guinea pig. But he has some serious problems and it’s way beyond just being a boy. I know because he has a twin brother who is all boy and this is a whole different ballgame. We don’t want to cause him any health issues down the road by medicating him, but we also don’t want to cause him serious psychological damage and have him hate school & feel like a failure if we don’t. Any advice? Any true life success stories to share? (Please no sermons about how you’d never medicate your child or how boys will be boys) We do not take this lightly. We just want to help our child.

Does SSI/SSDI have biased against mental health recipients using alternative medicine?

Okay so I have severe depression and anxiety and trying to get on SSI, and I’ve tried various anti-depressants since Febuary and nothing seems to work and giving me bad insomina or making me too tired. So I thought if my doctor ok’s the experiment, I may want to try St. John’s Wart or some other alternatives for treatment, along with therapy. But I also know a lot of these alternative medicines aren’t approved by the FDA and Medicaid doesn’t pay for holistic healing so if I tried alternative medicine as opposed to pharmascueticals, could it hinder me getting SSI?

Anxiety. Yoga and/or meditation. Any luck?

I have struggled with anxiety all my life. This isn’t necessarily the kind that makes one stressed out or have anxiety attacks. Often it’s just an underlying feeling of anxiousness. My mind races all day and is usually two steps ahead of whatever it is I’m doing. My place is a mess usually because I seldom stop and take the time necessary to clean, or fold a shirt, etc. I’m racing through such small exercises as if it’s an overwhelming chore. On the rare moments when I feel calm and not anxious, I clean. This is only one example. Other anxieties are of a more serious nature. They can involve worrying, minor social anxieties, insomnia due to a racing mind, etc.

Firstly, I would ask please that nobody offer any simplistic answers, like “give it to God”, etc. I do pray, and, while I left the Christian faith of my youth, I have much peace in my belief in a higher power. This is a psychological and/or physiological issue, not a spiritual one. I seem to worry more about the little things.

Also, please do not ask me to see a doctor. Done that, and will continue to consult them for holistic help. I have chosen to avoid pharmaceutical medicine for this. I have decided that the side effects outweigh the benefits. And, since I’ve seldom had any benefits from them, I’ll just stay away.

Yoga, meditation? I have decided to try these age-old things a sincere try, though I have always been a skeptic. I’ve tried before, but have never really been all that committed to them. This leads me to my point. Has anyone who shares my proclivity to stress and anxiety had much luck with Yoga or meditation? Any tips? Types? Can it REALLY bring me that feeling of calm that can help improve my quality of life, friendships, business skills? Thank you for your generosity in trying to help.

Need to find a doctor who treats mercury toxicity in St. Louis Missouri who takes insurance also?

I have a mercury toxicity problem, along with lead and aluminum that is causing me anxiety, insomnia and several other problems. I tried one doctor who would not treat me with Chelatin (sp?) therapy. I’ve been taking natural supplements for detox (passion flower) and for anxiety (the passion flower also and L-Theanine) but I don’t feel that I’m getting better. I have also had ALL the mercury and lead based fillings taken out of teeth. Now I need a doctor who will help me continue to work on solving this problem located in the St. Louis Area (South County) and does take insurance. I don’t particularly want just a “Holistic” doctor, who prefer one who practices both types of medicine: Western (the modern every day type) and ALSO uses the “holistic” approach because most regular medical doctors are unfamiliar with this problem and won’t even discuss it. I have had hair, blood and tissue analyzes to asses the problem and they came back positive. I’ve been battling this problem for about 2.5 years now and really need some help. I did see one doctor, but he did not make me feel that assured and I wasn’t comfortable with his approach and all the “supplements” he wanted me to take. Can anyone tell me of any such other doctors that can help me, please. It’s been ongoing for too long now and I want to get better and get rid of these toxins. Thank you.