@jeannegibbs - I think it is quite foolish to think God created dementia. The question was asked about herbs, and the chaplain claimed he didn't see evidence in "real people" and I simply pointed out to him and I suspect he is a man of God that in the bible herbs and essential oils are given to us by God.
To answer your question about pharmaceuticals... did you know many of our medications today are essentially emulations of herbs and essential oils? Yes, they are gifts.
So, because herbs and oils are given by God, a chaplain can't state his own observation that the uses of them he has seen applied to dementia have not been effective? What is your point?
The question was asked about herbs and I responded to the chaplain. I merely pointed out to him that the bible.. Gods word talks about herbs and essential oils and I suspect he is a consecrated man should be reminded of this. You see, herbs and essential oils by and large have been pushed aside, emulated but pushed aside. Coconut oil for example was given to patients with dementia 80+ years ago but when the AMA realized you can't patent something natural then you can see how things have evolved from there. I think if it brings some small bit of relief to a loved one ...why not? I hope that helps.
Simonofcyrene (btw a most creative username to identify servanthood)--I appreciate your effort at trying to theologically assess this very difficult issue. In regard to Jesus' miracles, the constant in all of them is Jesus. Spittle and mud have not become standard treatments for blindness. I suspect that all religious people dealing with Alzheimer's have sought God's intervention. We would readily accept such a miracle. However, when the miracle does not occur, we assume that God is with us as he is with cancer patients, diabetics, heart patients: He is supportive of our using the best tools and wisdom available to us. We each have to make our own choices on that. My choice is to make use the best clinically affirmed medications, and to anticipate that God will walk with us as we continue down a darkening pathway. I pray that you will have affirmation as you bear your cross in the way you choose.
@hospicechaplin - Thanks, I've always felt a connection with Simon of Cyrene. I think its because he was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. Caregivers carry that same cross. The bible talks about Aloes, Anise, Balm, Bitter herbs, Cassia, Mustard, Myrrh and Saffron all of which have healing properties. This is not to say this is the route for everyone, but I merely was making the point these are God given gift for us to explore and use. Suffering has always been a mystery, and while we run away from it, it does have redemptive value. Wishing you the best to you and yours.
@kellse - Suffering is really a mystery. To watch our loved ones decline…we can’t help but ask why God? You know, while I was in deep dispair and entertaining thoughts of suicide, I asked God why. Why would he allow this evil disease to destroy and cause great suffering and he said to me, not in an audible voice but the thought just appeared in my mind… “when I was on the cross, I asked that same question, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I understood perfectly and I knew I wasn’t alone. He understood my pain and it was what I needed to hear.
When we suffer, we have two choices. We make something good from it, we redeem it, or we make something bad, we become angry or bitter.
Last year my husband, who had Hepatitis C was cured by Sovaldi, a MAN MADE drug. After enduring many years of fatigue and depression associated with HCV, he developed liver cancer. A transplant saved his life, but he still had HCV. 84 weeks on interferon almost killed him again. Then this miraculous drug came to be approved and after only 12 weeks (no side effects!) on this he was cured. We're still trying to wrap our brains around it.
IMHO, God made all the things--and He made scientists too. I don't make light of other's beliefs, but I use western medicine for healing and a very few oils for "comfort". Oddly enough, the oils my daughter uses (along with her meds) to alleviate her migraines, GIVE me migraines.
Simon, I believe it was the man's faith, not the spittle and the mud that cured him. That parable is about faith, not medicine. But I respect your right to believe what you choose to believe.
Oils are all the rage now. My 86 yo mother shakes her head and says "It used to be belladonna and laudanum". (Actually, those had opium in them, so they were good for something!) You DO have to be careful with those. Seriously-not FDA approved for human consumption. If the smell nice and add to the comfortable feeling in a home--go for it.
@Midkid58 - First of all, praise God for your husbands health. Thats a great testimony. The mud and spittle was simply to point out Jesus used things of the earth and even in those days was outside the normal mindset. This isn't to say there was power in those things and I do understand that. Many of the medications we use as I've said copy herbs and EOs. There are wonderful testimonies of this. People tend to think if you're pro-herbs then you're anti-medicine and that simply isn't the case with me. Under the watchful eye of your doctor I believe you can have both. To your point its about faith. :)
God presumably made all things dull, ugly, awful, dangerous, horrible, and terrible too. So why should we ask Him, every Sunday, for special favors? He clearly doesn't listen because, being almighty and all-powerful, He goes right on killing millions with war, pestilence, floods, fire, you name it.
Simon-- I respect your and anyone else's right to choose their path to wellness.
I do, however, remember this: When my husband was dxed with Primary Liver Cancer, his drs were adamant: He stay the course with "traditional Western Medicine" or they wouldn't allow him to be listed for a transplant. Not a problem, but wow, we were inundated with well meaning folks who dropped of boxes of oils, crystals, magnets, healing wands, juices....the list was endless. Loving the LOVE that these people had made me appreciate their care--but he didn't take a single dose of anything he was given by these great friends.
And faith did carry us through that rough, rough year.
Currently, there is no known/proven cure for dementia, or any drug that will reverse memory loss. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to dementia in some studies, but taking Vitamin D "after the fact" will probably not make a significant (if any) difference. However, if anyone is seeing any positive changes with the use of herbal remedies, it would be great to hear about it! I encourage everyone to share their results.
It's so important to keep an open mind - we're learning new science every day, and each individual will respond as such. I don't agree that there are no natural solutions or that self-medicating is "a crap-shoot" - we just don't know that! - but it's true that some herbal remedies are contraindicated with some prescription drugs, so experiment mindfully or with the help of a physician who understands herbal remedies, if you can find one.
@Midkid58 - Glad to hear your husband beat cancer. :) To me, you can use both western and natural remedies within the guidance of your physician.
Having said that our society is drug crazed as we take pills for everything. Countless people die daily from pharmaceutical prescriptions as we have seen recently with musician Prince just a few days ago. Lets not forget the illegal drugs within our schools killing the young. There was a news story a few weeks ago... Texas Hospice Told Nurses To Speed Up Deaths and they essentially give them an overdose of morphine to open up space ($$). The FBI said they sent text messages like." You need to make this patient go bye-bye.” Sadly Im afraid this story is just the tip of the iceberg as I believe this happens more than we think.
@tacy022 - The medication Prince was on was highly addictive. As difficult as this may be for you drugs are the focal point of the death of many athletes, wrestlers, actors, and musicians. If you read my posts, I am not anti-pharmaceutical. Im not sure why this theme keeps coming up. I will say however, that the United States is 5% of the world population and we consume 75% of the worlds drugs.. and we have the highest rate for suicide. Lets talk about breast cancer... we are now seeing studies that show if you take birth control.. it could lead to breast and ovarian cancer and lets not forget stroke. The truth is, they push birth control like tic tacs at younger and younger ages and we wonder why this is now common with millenials? 10 years ago, Boniva and Fosamax were all the rage for bone density and now we see commercials for their law suits. It goes both ways.
I wouldn't think people in biblical times lived long enough to develop dementia. Their food wasn't laden with preservatives and artificial sugars, all sorts of chemicals as ours is to extend shelf time.
Tried a few herbal remedies and essential oils, coconut oil. Mostly not too helpful. YlangYlang was actually noted to be harmful! Warnings-there are red flag warnings, don't go overboard.
If there was a miracle cure, it would be a miracle, and miracles should not be expensive, imo. It would also not be a secret!
Because I research and try to understand, my essential oils do help me with pain, and decrease the need for pain medication. What people don't understand is that the treatments are just like medicine, not a beauty product that you can generously slather on or use more than a drop!
Take a careful look at the definition of what "restore memory" means, at least to you. There have been prescription drugs which can temporarily allow an alzheimer's patient (or one with dementia) to recognize a loved one, (for example), but this is for a time and there are side effects to be weighed. The herbal remedies, not being a cure, can, if used properly, temporarily restore some brain function, imo. Then, there is brain research into the possibility that the brain can generate new neural pathways to restore the brain's function. Learn more, learn all you can.
tacy022 The catholic church (since the second or third centuries) has denied that the bible is enough to lead a person to God. I suppose they had their reasons but they have accidently positioned themselves standing between God and man and that was not the message of Jesus. Before you give up, take some time to be alone with the new testiment and let God speak to you.
The problem with dementia is that it is not a reversible pathology. You can improve memory via diet and supplements but restoring lost memory, I believe, is not possible. A lot of memory issues are caused by toxins not filtering through the body system adequately. Before starting any supplements and further exacerbating the issue, a flushing of the liver and kidneys could be beneficial. Try looking for a naturopath in your area about this. She may start with EDTA cheating agents (to cleanse and detox) and then start supplements to improve memory status. You can help memory issues by eating less animal protein and drinking lots of pure fluids. Good luck.
Actually I know a lady who lives alone, who takes NOTHING BUT SUPPLEMENTS, no prescription medications. Thing is she turned 101 YEARS OLD on February 27, 2017! She has to be doing something right.
To answer your question about pharmaceuticals... did you know many of our medications today are essentially emulations of herbs and essential oils? Yes, they are gifts.
You see, herbs and essential oils by and large have been pushed aside, emulated but pushed aside. Coconut oil for example was given to patients with dementia 80+ years ago but when the AMA realized you can't patent something natural then you can see how things have evolved from there. I think if it brings some small bit of relief to a loved one ...why not? I hope that helps.
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the LORD who does all these.
Calamity:
an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster.
The bible talks about Aloes, Anise, Balm, Bitter herbs, Cassia, Mustard, Myrrh and Saffron all of which have healing properties. This is not to say this is the route for everyone, but I merely was making the point these are God given gift for us to explore and use.
Suffering has always been a mystery, and while we run away from it, it does have redemptive value. Wishing you the best to you and yours.
When we suffer, we have two choices. We make something good from it, we redeem it, or we make something bad, we become angry or bitter.
IMHO, God made all the things--and He made scientists too. I don't make light of other's beliefs, but I use western medicine for healing and a very few oils for "comfort". Oddly enough, the oils my daughter uses (along with her meds) to alleviate her migraines, GIVE me migraines.
Simon, I believe it was the man's faith, not the spittle and the mud that cured him. That parable is about faith, not medicine. But I respect your right to believe what you choose to believe.
Oils are all the rage now. My 86 yo mother shakes her head and says "It used to be belladonna and laudanum". (Actually, those had opium in them, so they were good for something!) You DO have to be careful with those. Seriously-not FDA approved for human consumption. If the smell nice and add to the comfortable feeling in a home--go for it.
The mud and spittle was simply to point out Jesus used things of the earth and even in those days was outside the normal mindset. This isn't to say there was power in those things and I do understand that. Many of the medications we use as I've said copy herbs and EOs. There are wonderful testimonies of this.
People tend to think if you're pro-herbs then you're anti-medicine and that simply isn't the case with me. Under the watchful eye of your doctor I believe you can have both. To your point its about faith. :)
I respect your and anyone else's right to choose their path to wellness.
I do, however, remember this: When my husband was dxed with Primary Liver Cancer, his drs were adamant: He stay the course with "traditional Western Medicine" or they wouldn't allow him to be listed for a transplant. Not a problem, but wow, we were inundated with well meaning folks who dropped of boxes of oils, crystals, magnets, healing wands, juices....the list was endless. Loving the LOVE that these people had made me appreciate their care--but he didn't take a single dose of anything he was given by these great friends.
And faith did carry us through that rough, rough year.
BTW, I grow a huge herb garden. :)
It's so important to keep an open mind - we're learning new science every day, and each individual will respond as such. I don't agree that there are no natural solutions or that self-medicating is "a crap-shoot" - we just don't know that! - but it's true that some herbal remedies are contraindicated with some prescription drugs, so experiment mindfully or with the help of a physician who understands herbal remedies, if you can find one.
Having said that our society is drug crazed as we take pills for everything. Countless people die daily from pharmaceutical prescriptions as we have seen recently with musician Prince just a few days ago. Lets not forget the illegal drugs within our schools killing the young. There was a news story a few weeks ago... Texas Hospice Told Nurses To Speed Up Deaths and they essentially give them an overdose of morphine to open up space ($$). The FBI said they sent text messages like." You need to make this patient go bye-bye.” Sadly Im afraid this story is just the tip of the iceberg as I believe this happens more than we think.
If you read my posts, I am not anti-pharmaceutical. Im not sure why this theme keeps coming up. I will say however, that the United States is 5% of the world population and we consume 75% of the worlds drugs.. and we have the highest rate for suicide. Lets talk about breast cancer... we are now seeing studies that show if you take birth control.. it could lead to breast and ovarian cancer and lets not forget stroke. The truth is, they push birth control like tic tacs at younger and younger ages and we wonder why this is now common with millenials? 10 years ago, Boniva and Fosamax were all the rage for bone density and now we see commercials for their law suits. It goes both ways.
YlangYlang was actually noted to be harmful!
Warnings-there are red flag warnings, don't go overboard.
If there was a miracle cure, it would be a miracle, and miracles should not be expensive, imo. It would also not be a secret!
The herbal remedies, not being a cure, can, if used properly, temporarily restore some brain function, imo.
Then, there is brain research into the possibility that the brain can generate new neural pathways to restore the brain's function.
Learn more, learn all you can.
Individual cases don't really prove anything.