Living with HIV & AIDS

Hi, i'm sorry to bring an old topic back to life but i have just found this board and felt that i wanted to reply and hopefully offer some insight.

I am a medical herbalist practicing in the UK (here it is a 4 year full time degree, the first 2 years equivalent to a Dr). It is very thorough degree and based very much on a biomedical model. For the past 2 years i have been working with people living with HIV & AIDS. Firstly the herbalist must know their herbs, what constituents are in them and how to use them effectively taking into account any other issues the person may have including lifestyle & diet. For those with a good CD4 & low viral load the aim of herbal tratment is to try and keep these figures stable. There are many herbs that have been shown to inhibit HIV-1 in clinical trials. For those on ARV's herbs can be used with great effect to help combat common side effects such diarrhoea and nausea - i have seen these work time and time again. Also there are some herbs which should be avoided if on ARV's as they can decrease the efficacy of the ARV's. That is not to say that it works for everyone. The idea of herbal meds for those not on ARV's is to hopefully extend the time before needing to begin HAART. I would be the first one to suggest that my patient talks to their HIV consultant if their counts start dropping. I do not believe herbs are in any way a replacement for ARV's.

I am also qualifed in massage which i find helps inordinately- i can't remember which doctor said that stress has a huge impact on the immune system but a multidisciplinary approach is the right path for some. I have always felt that i should work in conjunction with the orthodox medical profession towards the interests of the person. In fact some consultants readily accept that their patients see a herbalist. If someone is unsure what to take i would sugest that they visit a herbalist, particularly as some herbs can be inappropriate.

The issue of herbal medicine is in part that it is not a stringently quality controlled as pharmaceuticals, although if you buy from a reputable company they will offer certificates with each order confirming that they have been tested and contain the appropriate level of active constituents.

I hope this makes for interesting reading and as i said i appologise for resurecting an old thread!

Best wishes
Dat.x.

Greetings and Welcome Dat.x!

Thanks!

No Problem! That is one of the reasons old threads can be accessed- so that new posts and information can be added to a thread.  And with the find messages about research box members can research something that has been talked about no matter when.

If you have more to please do. For example what "are some herbs which should be avoided if on ARV's as they can decrease the efficacy of the ARV's " and what are some that can be used to combat common side effects such diarrhoea and nausea.

How does one go about finding a medical herbalist?  Are there many in the U.S.?

Hi Milady & thank you for your welcome!

There are herbalists in the US although they are not degree qualified as it is not officially a recognised profession there,as far as i'm aware (i looked into moving to the US but if i wanted to work with HIV i would most likely be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a licence!).

Anyone who is interested should contact The American Herbalists Guild -www.americanherbalistsguild.com . They have fairly stringent requirements as to what level people should be trained and will be able to give a list of herblists in your area. Bear in mind that there are many types of herbalist and not that many in the US. I am a Western Medical Herbalist, but there is also Traditional Chinese Medicine etc. Always be aware of the modality the herblist practices and their level of training. As awful as this is please also be aware of who you go to see, along with the commited professionals there can be many fraudlent people out for themselves. Not that i'm cynical or anything...

I am more than happy to provide more information, however i'm at work at the moment and can't take up too much time on their computer (yes...i have 2 jobs). I will post after the new year on herbs that can interact with ARV's and helpful herbs that can help with side effects - will also provide references so that people can do more research into it if they want to. Similarly i am happy to answer any questions if they arise.

Sorry it's not as in depth as i would like at the moment & i will post...i promise!

dat.x.

Thanks dat.x, we look forward to reading more!

You already the members good information.

Happy New Year!