1 Acupuncture! Now that's a great move for you. IMO. Congratulations. I've had it 3 times now. Being perimenopausal, my periods come and go. (Naturally, this started just after I bought a big giant deep-discount box of tampons.) The only time I actually get my period again is after an acupuncture visit. The cramps are noticeably less, too. Another thing acupuncture cleared up was that chronic mild lung ache. It finally returned again - but only after breathing a bunch of particulates during rehab work. (Sound familiar?!) I know it wasn't a placebo effect, because I deliberately avoided learning about it before I went, and outside of general info., didn't tell the acupuncturist what to focus on. She didn't know about the period thing or the lung thing, either one, although she did know about the asthma. I actually had to call and ask her if those improvements were because of the acupuncture. Yup. And kdad, an MD, bioscientist, and real skeptic, says the acupuncture is proven to work, and it works by that endorphin effect. Herbs are drugs, just less refined. Morphine comes from opium poppies - yada yada. To trade one drug for another isn't necessarily a bad idea, of course. But herbs are much less tested than commercial meds, and because they are less refined, the active dose varies wildly. And just because they're "natural" doesn't mean they're harmless. Every year, several babies in America die because their parent(s) gave them eucalyptus oil for a cold. It's toxic to babies. So is honey. Eat too much honey, adults die too. Cyanide is natural; bitter almonds and apple seeds contain cyanide. Dog poop is natural too. Doesn't mean it's good to eat it. BTW - Good Morning America was on my TV just now, and had a piece on the therapy produced by blogging. OK. Enough health lecture for today. Except - welcome to the Wonderful World of the War on LEGAL drugs!

2 L-Tryptophan! Versus sleeping pills, melatonin or it's precursor l-tryptophan is far preferable. Melatonin is what your body makes all on it's own to sleep when your systems are all balanced. And l-tryptophan is converted by your body into serotonin (which is what the Prozac is trying to increase) or melatonin, depending upon what your body needs at the moment. L-Tryptophan is found in abundance in turkey, kefir, and a few other foods, but it is available again in capsule form at some health food stores. I take it as needed, both for my mild depression and occasional insomnia. It's not an "herb" but it *is* a food extract.

3 Oh! DC, I would LOVE to hear your take on one of K's Favorite Queries: Define...Drug. Is it any substance that changes body chemistry? But that would include all food, drink, breath, or any other absorbed material. And what about the melatonin, hormones, etc. our own bodies produce? We can create our own testosterone, or inject it. Are they both drugs, then? Or neither, or only one? Are they only "drugs" if isolated, altered. or dried and rehydrated by humans? L-Tryptophan is way high on my List of Stuff to Explore. What a classic example of the What's a Drug conumdrum. And indeed not an herb - but it is ingested, and it plays such a role in that body chemistry chain. So - is it or isn't it a drug? I have absolutely nothing against herbs, of course. I just hope people get educated about what they are and do before ingesting them, that's all. (Or before feeding little babies eucalyptus oil.) See, you check things out first, and thoroughly. But many people actually find that offensive; it violates their code of Faith under their belief system to look at the mainstream medical information. All they want to read or hear are the anecdotes, and even then, some will only hear the positive ones, and turn away from any negative or simply cautionary ones. I hope you can answer back. Me, it's way past my bedtime again, and I already put my anti-MRSA bandaids on my fingertips, so I'm smearing Silvadene all over the keyboard. I'll have to check for replies when I wake up. Rubbing alcohol safely cleans laptop screen & keyboards both. According to HP, that is. g'nite, all!

4 I've got a better question for both of you. You're part of the clinical trial for a drug, and it helps with your condition, but it turns out that you got the sugar pill, so in reality what you experienced was the "placebo effect." Did you take a drug? I have to say that I see the appeal of herbal medicines, and even have a halfway-open mind about them, but people have been pushing a lot of things my way for a lot of years, telling me it would help with my insomnia. "It helped me," they'd say. "But you're not a night owl, are you?" I always wanted to reply. And don't even get me started on the local natural family planning coach who became concerned about my infertility. She kept calling me with suggestions about herbs and supplements I could take. It finally became too painful, and I had to tell her than unless she had real scientific studies to back up her suggestions, I didn't want to hear them any more. (And, of course, it turned out there was a mechanical reason for my infertility, and all the herbs in the world wouldn't have done a thing.) That said, I think L-Tryptophan might help, but only in tandem with mental discipline and good "sleep hygeine" (the term for making sure one's habits and environment are helpful for sleep).

5 I don't think "drug" is so easy to define, because with any cut-and-dried definition, there is a glaring exception (or three, or twelve), as you've noted. I see a continuum from the usual food substances through phytonutrients, "nutraceuticals", etc. to completely synthetic chemicals. Personally for therapeutic purposes I favor the use of substances that either closely mimic, or gently enhance the body's own natural processes. At least as a starting point. Because *generally* speaking, the risk of side effects is usually lower. But I am not at all averse to using a purely synthetic molecule, if the risk/reward ratio is right. Re the placebo effect. I'm convinced it is very real, and I am always on the lookout for it when I am evaluating some new therapy. I listen closely to my body to discern wishful thinking from actual effects. For example, there are a few herbs available that purport to help with the common cold. I have found none that give more than marginal symptom relief. Then I found colloidal silver and the effect is dramatic and undeniable. So I've been "preaching" it to all who'll listen ever since. So how about colloidal silver? It's an effective therapy (in my experience), but is it a drug? You won't find a whole lot in the way of rigorous scientific studies conducted in this country. The pharmaceutical giants seem to have a pretty solid lock on the minds and hearts of MD's and research money. But there has been a tremendous amount of solid research conducted in Germany to determine the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of a wide range of "natural" remedies. And of course Chinese medicine takes a very different approach to wellness than does western medicine. I feel tremendously blessed to have an integrative medicine MD as my PCP. In addition to the usual MD repertoire, he is an acupuncturist and is certified to perform spinal manipulations. That means backaches cured for the cost of a copay!

6 Such a yummy, yummy question. Thank you Miss Attila! My response is written in my mind - and I do believe it's not only appropriate, but necessary, to remember other issues even in the face of the horrible events of this day. At least, it is for me. However: while not much could keep me from putting it down, this post must make way for hurricane preps just now. so...rain check?

7 Deal.