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I sometimes think about how wealthy certain people have become from telling others really crazy advice.


This isn’t really anything new. People have peddled snake oil since the beginning of time. They prey on gullible, vulnerable people who are looking for ‘miracle’ cures.


Self help books, seminars, workshops and the like are big business! Oh, and the latest, ‘life coach’. Do they even have degrees for any of this? Not always.


I know a few life coaches that don’t have psychology degrees, or any other degree in the medical field. They are getting paid a lot of money. They do blogs, workshops, etc.


Yes, some are legit and good but many aren’t.

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Screen,

Great points!
This is why we do have to speak to the doctor about our individual circumstances. Just because something is right for one person doesn’t make it right for another.

Thanks for responding to the post!
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The Two worst chunks of advice are:
1.essential oils which have induced anaphylaxes, and other adverse allergic reactions.
2. CBD oil, which kills the effects of drugs that are metabolized through the P450 system. In short, CBD messes with the effectiveness (efficacy) of all medications that are processed through the Cytochrome p450 system.

The worst cases we've seen are patients who families have forced them to breathe diffused essential oils, Simultaneously while using CBD products.
Those patients mostly experienced repeated allergic reactions that they were told were just the body "detoxing." Benadryl would resolve the allergic reactions, but wouldn't work as normally, if CBD was in the body's system.

We had a family that refused to understand they were harming their mother by forcing her to breathe diffused "essential oils." The mother would become agitated every time after her family visited, because the family would bring her essential oils that they told her to hide and use within a diffuser. Every time that diffuser was running, the mother couldn't breathe and she would experience adverse neurological reactions. The family refused to stop, and refused to understand that allergic reactions grow worse with every encounter with whatever is inducing the allergic reactions. Their mother ended up with severely damaged lungs but, the family continued to insist the "essential oils" were helping her.
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Pam,

So true about infomercials! It’s a lot of bunk.

I can see where we can have a Vitamin D deficiency. So many of us spend a lot of time indoors.

Do you find things run in cycles? As soon as one things fades away, another trend pops up. Then sooner or later it all gets recycled!
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NHWM.. We used to think you just peed out the excess vitamins, but these days many feel a good mulivit will do the job if your diet is poor. And since so many "seem" to have a Vit D issue with people being in the house more,, it can be a cheap fix. I personally take several supplements right now,, probably don't need to but with my job and stress I figure it can't hurt,, yep,, I am probably peeing it out.. LOL. I do agree the infomertials play into peoples fears.. so far I have resisted getting her the stuff! And don't get me started on "high colonics".. LOL
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caringforken,

We always have to check with the doctor about anything to take. My mom has Parkinson’s disease. Its can be difficult to treat.

When you say marijuana, do you mean CBD? The CBD products don’t get you high. I haven’t researched any of it for a treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

I know what you mean though. Lots of people feel that it cures everything!
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Lisa,

That’s what I don’t like. If it is an excessive amount.
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There’s a women’s magazine that I used to read and it was pages of what to eat or take this supplement for all these health issues a person could have.
A person would need a Spreadsheet to keep all those supplements organized.
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GardenArtist

Thank you so much. I will look it up.
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Hailey: if you do want to try peppermint oil, find a good herbalist and buy from her/him. The WalMart source might not be from an organic supplier. I don't have time right now, but do research Nature's Truth. I have a few bottles of pure oil processed by them.

I'll check my 2 herbal suppliers later and let you know later if they offer pure peppermint oil.
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Hold up. I have been wanting to buy peppermint oil for allergies, cough, asthma, etc. etc.

I just looked it up online at Walmart.

It says it contains chemicals that can cause cancer. Whew, scary.
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Polarbear

Thanks for this information. I have been wondering about peppermint oil. Now that you say it does work, I am going to get some.
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I had to add one other thing because of a recent experience. Won’t bother you with details but it was my response to caring advice and I know that they mean well, but it would be at a cost. I simply said that there’s 2 things that caregivers have very little of ... time and money!
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There’s a kerjillion. My partner is in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. Had a good 8-9 year run after diagnosis, but 2 years ago things started happening at a much faster rate. We had been invited to a round table group for patients and caregivers (about 15-20 couples) the patients at varying stages. Parkinson’s disease is still a vast unknown and so everyone is experiencing it at different rates and symptoms and advice on home treatment was flying around the room, vitamins, supplements, oils, marijuana and high colonics. The facilitator never once suggested that they should consult with their physician first. The meds PD patients take are some serious stuff and it drives me crazy that people just say “try marijuana” like it’s a glass of orange juice - it is mind altering chemical people and you add that to the heavy doses of Dopamine and Serotonins patients are on the results could be dangerous. For god’s sake, I think that the next person that suggests pot as a medical treatment I will say to them, “I could stand with a full night sleep and getting away from it all for a bit love, you think I should give heroine a try? I hear it’s quite the ticket !”
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GA,

My mom takes B12 too. Plus calcium and cod liver oil. The last time she had a bone density test she had great results.

With all of the falls she never once broke a bone. Lots of bruises and scrapes though.

I have never been a big milk drinker so I have crappy bones. I have steel rods holding my arm together after an open compound fracture with bones in my arm due to a bicycle accident that I had years ago.

There was debris in the road. I didn’t see it. Down I went. Thankfully a man driving behind me stopped his car, called 911 and waited with me until the ambulance arrived.

I was in complete shock and told him that I was fine! He said, “I saw the whole thing. You are in shock. You’re not fine.”

Well, the shock wore off in the ambulance and I told the driver to stop driving so fast because my arm was killing me and I was screaming when he hit bumps in the road. New Orleans has crappy roads with pot holes.

The driver said, I am trying to get you to the hospital, lady! Sorry about the potholes. LOL

I had surgery and later on I did months of aggressive physical therapy. My orthopedic surgeon told me to incorporate dairy in my diet so my bones would heal.

I asked my surgeon about supplements because I don’t like milk all that much. He told me he preferred that I have any dairy even if wasn’t milk, such as cheese, yogurt, etc. or even chocolate milk.

I think a modest amount of supplements are fine but some people take a ton of all kinds of stuff.

Yeah, some doctors do support certain supplements for specific reasons.
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Polar,

Yes, mint is therapeutic. I like mint tea too.

Interesting about asthma. I have asthma. I use an inhaler. I have been hospitalized with attacks of asthma. I was on oxygen and the breathing machine.

Plus they sent me home with a nebulizer to help me breathe.
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Bridger,

Crazy, right? 😂 LOL
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I looked online at the Goop candle. I don’t want or need a candle that smells like a vagina.
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NeedHelpWithMom, our doctors have told us to use specific supplements, as they review the med list which includes supplements every time we visited. I can't remember off hand now what Dad was told to take, but I've been told to take iron and B-12 as I presented with deficiencies with my appendix ruptured.

In fact the surgeon wanted to give me a B-12 injection when I had my stroke, but I was only kept overnight and wasn't admitted, and I didn't want to pay the $25 cost or whatever it was since I could just take B-12 and eat more B vitamin foods when I was released.

I've also been told to take calcium supplements.

This kind of advice is one of the reasons I'm particular about which doctors I see.
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NHWM - Almost every year, I get a cold and a lingering lingering lingering cough...(2-3 months.) Cough medicine knocks me out and makes me drowsy, even the non-drowsy med makes me drowsy (yes, it's true. I took 1/2 dose of DAYQUIL and I slept for 18-24 hours.)

I was introduced to 100% pure peppermint oil to help with my cough. And I can swear by it. I sniff/inhale the fume of the oil through my nose. It warms and calms my throat and lungs and cuts down my cough by 90%. The effectiveness is short-lived though because as I breathe in and out, the fume goes right out with my breaths, so I need to inhale the oil every 15 minutes or so. I don't mind though because I love the smell of peppermint oil. It's better than coughing my head off all day long.

With the peppermint oil, I don't have to take the cough med that puts me to sleep and dehydrates me. I can drive and go about my day, and come in contact with people without coughing at them.

My cousin who has asthma also uses peppermint oil and she claims it helps her enough that she doesn't need her inhaler.
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Actually I am not at all opposed to certain things being brought into the light that are not ‘new age’ so to speak but are touted by some new age people.

I’m referring to meditation which is multi cultural and goes way back. Also, yoga, music and art therapy, etc.

These things are extremely helpful to people in many aspects of our lives.

Although, having said that, my friend that told me music would help my mom with Parkinson’s disease drove me nuts and I am a huge music lover!

My mom enjoyed music when she could hear and it. It’s soothing for a person and can calm nerves and some say even pain. That I agree with but my friend thought it could help with her issues with mobility. Um, no. It can’t do that.

It helps in indirect ways. It helped motivate my mom in physical therapy. Mom worked hard in rehab and home health. Really hard! She wanted to improve because the falls would terrify her and they hurt! So she made an effort to improve but being in her 90’s would get exhausted.

One day I told her physical therapist that she and my dad loved to dance to Frank Sinatra when they were dating. He said, I can work up a routine set to Sinatra. That was so sweet of him. Of course we had to blast the music so mom could hear it! Hahaha

We live in a big music town! We have volunteer musicians that play for hospital and hospice patients in facilities and they absolutely benefit from listening to them. I’m just saying that it only soothes. It isn’t anything more. It can’t take away issues from a neurological disorder brought on by Parkinson’s disease.
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Pam,

So what is your overall take on supplements in general? It’s confusing to me. My doctor has never told me to take any supplements.

If we eat nutritious food do we really need a bazillion supplements? A lot of people don’t have funds for expensive products.

Do a lot of people have deficiencies? Or do the infomercials play it up as being a more serious issue than it probably is?

I have never ordered anything from a television commercial. I suppose that makes me unusual.

Infomercials make a lot of money so obviously lots of people order these products.
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I have a lot of friends who are into essential oils.. for everything.. I like the smells and I use diffusers but really only to make things smell better. I also hate all the infomertials,, my moms latest is some fish oil crap she saw on TV ( oh yes, get a subscription for that at 50 a month and try to cancel) that will heal her pain.. We all took fish oil years ago for our hearts,, they proved it was pretty useless(and if that pill every dissolved in my throat they would have had to cut my head off,, it was horrible). So I am stalling on this, it is pricey on Amazon with out the subscription and she is pretty frugal.
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cwille,

Ahhh, yes. The television doctors who want good ratings. They become super stars that make tons of money! Hey, I am not opposed to people making money. Not at all. More power to them if it’s done in ethical ways but misleading others is sad.
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Our grandmothers had old fashioned remedies. Some are actually accepted by the medical community for having some merit. Plus, it wasn’t about money with them.

These newer introductions of products are certain techniques to be used are sometimes so bizarre and the worst part is people are paying big bucks to hear what is often bunk! It’s popular to do these ‘workshops or seminars.’
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Ali,

Geeeez, I am not familiar with placing rosemary oil on our skin. Sounds awful though.
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GA,

I totally agree. I can’t stomach it either. Sometimes I feel like the entire world has become a huge infomercial! Drives me crazy!

I am like you. I love public television and radio but I don’t watch those programs either.
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Ooooh, that was because the oil was drawing out the toxins ABB!

We always got that line when my alternative medicine friends would serve up some of their "healthier" foods and beverages and all the rest of us felt ill effects - "you'd feel better if you just stick with it". Yeah, no thanks.
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Oh, or putting the oils on your skin. I saw a lady in a YouTube video putting rosemary oil on her face, and her face was so inflamed from it but the lady was claiming that it was helping her skin.
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It's probably not the worst thing I could think of, but essential oils came to my mind. I think aromatic use of oils is great, I use a few myself. But the idea that you can ingest these oils and that they are like vitamin supplements, that is bananas to me. It could be beneficial, it could also poison you.
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You aren't likely talking about Dr Oz GA but IMO he fits the category. Yes, he is a cardiac surgeon but that doesn't mean he is an expert in all the other things he endorses, that makes it worse because his status appears to give credence to a lot of the cr@p he peddles.
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