Your Homeopathic Treatment Program

What happens during the initial consultation?
Your homeopathic treatment program begins with a detailed, often wide ranging interview to elicit your individual total symptom picture. All the particular symptoms of your condition(s) that are of primary concern(s) are discussed and examined in detail as well as your mental and emotional make up.

Understanding your total symptom picture

Illnesses arise in the context of stresses imposed by life situations, and how you react to these stresses is essential to understand, as your reactions affect you individually. The owner of the illness has to be understood even more than the particular illness itself. Of great interest are the unusual symptoms that are often characterized as “weird” or “silly”. Everybody has these. For example, a headache may start predictably at a specific time of the day, a pain may be described as “though a string is pulling the affected part”, or a situation elicits the feeling: “as if my head belonged to someone else”. These symptoms really individualize your case and are of great importance to homeopathic prescribing. It is essentially my job to understand as deeply and clearly as possible, “what it is like to be you”, especially with respect to your experience of your illness on all levels. This total symptom picture is the basis of a homeopathic prescription.

How do you know what remedy to administer?
A hallmark of homeopathic treatment is the highly individual nature of every case. Treatment success is primarily dependent on a precisely accurate individual prescription. This involves complex and subtle analysis-- and requires years of experience and study to achieve proficiency. It can take several attempts to get the correct remedy. Although no one can ever guarantee a result, I can, however, guarantee a sincere effort. Overall, I am pleased to say that I have been able to help the great majority of my patients.

What can I expect to experience after getting a remedy?
Some patients experience noticeable effects of homeopathic treatment within a few hours or a few days. However, in many cases, the effect of an accurately prescribed remedy should be noticeable within at least two to three weeks. The response for each person may be variable. Which symptoms improve and at what rate is under the control of your own healing capacity. Your individual response will be fully evaluated at a follow up appointment about a month after the initial visit, and as needed, by email or by phone in the interim.

At times, the response in the early stage of treatment may be an aggravation of the initial symptoms. This is more likely to happen when symptoms have been suppressed by strong medication taken for a prolonged period of time. For example, chronic skin rashes that have been treated with steroid creams for a long time can flare up significantly in the early phases of homeopathic treatment. Any initial aggravation of symptoms can usually be minimized by adjusting the potency of the remedy. Patients who find themselves in this category must realize that the resolution of their presenting problem will take a strong commitment from me and from them. This kind of situation is usually predictable, and will be discussed thoroughly prior to beginning treatment. A short aggravation lasting a few hours or days is fairly common and is generally very well tolerated.

What illnesses can you treat with homeopathy?
Homeopathic treatment is suitable for a wide range of conditions in every age group. In my practice, I have treated thousands of patients over a period of sixteen years with a high degree of satisfaction. This approach is a viable option for many common conditions, such as allergies, asthma, gastric and digestive conditions, skin disorders, sinusitis, menstrual disorders and fertility issues, headaches, anxiety disorders and other mental/emotional problems, to name some. Conditions that respond incompletely, or not at all, include those where an illness is truly dependent on conventional medicine (especially oral steroids or other immunosuppressive drugs and antibiotics), where there has been permanent structural damage to the tissues, where the patient has been seriously and chronically weakened by an illness, or when the illness is terminal. These are not, however, rigidly fixed criteria, and you are encouraged to email or call with any questions about your case.

Can homeopathy treat infertility?
I have treated a significant number of women with infertility problems with success homeopathically. The best results have occurred in women who have no significant reproductive organ disease present (such as endometriosis or physically blocked fallopian tubes). Homeopathy can successfully treat problems which might appear at first glance to be caused by significant reproductive organ disease; it can be especially effective, for example, in treating women who have anovulatory cycles in association with a history of prolonged use of birth control pills.

Is it true that I can’t have coffee or any mint after taking a remedy?
The action of homeopathic remedies can be antidoted, i.e., undone, by exposure to certain substances. They include coffee (including decaf), mint in any form (gum, toothpaste, lozenges, mint leaves, tea, etc.), and strongly aromatic substances like camphor, Vick’s Vaporub,TM , tea tree oil, eucalyptus, lavender and mothball crystals. Dental work can also interfere with homeopathic remedy effectiveness. These things have to be strictly avoided for at least two to three months after treatment begins. I don’t know how or why there is this kind of interference, but it definitely exists, in my experience. If there is an inadvertent exposure to any antidote which results in a relapse of your symptoms, you should wait for a few days before repeating a dose of your homeopathic remedy. This is to see if a spontaneous recovery occurs, or if the remedy needs to be repeated. You should discuss this with me prior to repeating the remedy, because the potency of any particular remedy which is needed after an antidote situation may change.

Do you order diagnostic tests?
When it is indicated, I will order lab work and imaging studies from various reliable diagnostic labs. The results will be mailed to you upon receipt, and I will be happy to go over any/all questions about the studies with you at that time. Usually this appointment is a telephone consult and takes about fifteen minutes. The receptionist will be happy to schedule a convenient time for you.

How do I schedule an appointment with you and how long do I have to wait?
Appointments may be scheduled by calling the main office number: 610-701-5702. Advance scheduling is requested. However, since homeopathic treatment is effective for many acute illnesses such as colds, flus, sinus and other infections, I allow space in my schedule for patients to be seen on short notice. Phone consultations are also available during regular office hours when it is logistically difficult or impossible for you to come to the office.

What do you offer in terms of patient follow-up?
Once you become an established patient (i.e., after your initial one-hour consultation), you may follow-up with me via my personal email account for a period of six weeks after any appointment. There is no charge for this, as I encourage all my patients to maintain ongoing contact with me during the first month of taking a remedy-- to ensure optimal treatment.

I also have a “call-in hour” between 9 am -10 am, Wednesday through Saturday inclusive, during which I answer the phone directly for established patients on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is also no charge for this. The number to call is 610-701-5703. That line is only answered during those hours. To accommodate as many patients as possible during this time, I recommend preparing your questions in advance to assist in keeping these calls to less than five minutes. Any discussions which might last over five minutes may require you to schedule a future appointment.

How should prospective patients contact you?
For general information, or to find out if a condition is appropriate for homeopathic treatment, prospective patients may e-mail questions to AskDrP@verizon.net, or call the main office number at 610-701-5702. We will make every effort to respond to you within one to two business days.

Should I still see my primary care Western allopathic doctor?
I encourage my patients to maintain a relationship with all their previous health care providers. There are some services I do not provide that other healthcare professionals do provide. Among the medical services I do not provide are:

1) Routine physical examinations and screening procedures.
2) Typical well baby visits (height/weight measurements, etc).
3) Vaccinations of any type.
4) Prescriptions for regular medicines/drugs unless they need to be renewed out of necessity, or are required in an acute situation, like an infection. In the latter case, you may be offered homeopathic treatment, which can often be effective, and given a script for an antibiotic as a backup. I will not initiate new treatment with a prescription drug.
5) Emergency medical services.
6) Specialty services such as ob/gyn examinations, heart monitoring, etc.

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