Hi, has anyone tried any alternative treatments for ITP? I'd be interested to know, particularly if they help in anyway.

[Hellodave]

I've tried Chinese Herbs (did nothing), acupuncture (did nothing but I think it was good for general health) and homeopathy (nothing for ITP but I felt very healthy whilst taking the medication).

[AnthonyHeard Administrator ITP Support Association]

Hellodave

I have not tried any alternative treatments or remedies for ITP. My specialist advised me that there is nothing that would help apart from following a common sense balanced diet. Obviously there are a number of things to avoid with ITP such as Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Quinine, Echinacea, Ginseng Biloba.

I have asked a number of specialists if they would suggest any alternative treatments, herbal remedies etc for ITP and they have all said that they should be avoided. I would certainly suggest that ITP sufferers do not take anything of this nature before discussing it in full with.

Regards

Anthony

[sailor]

Anthony is correct. I am sure the medical profession would have latched onto any that worked and promoted them instead of some of the medication they currently have in their armoury. That does not mean to say that at some time, one will not be found that works. I started to eat porridge to assist with cholesterol levels, which it did, and for some reason my platelet count also started to rise and fall instead of being around a consistant 10. Coincidence, I do not know.

On a personal flipant note, being a gin drinker, I am not giving up my tonic with Quinine, without a real fight!

Regards,

Sailor.

[armandobass in reply to sailor]

Sailor, Don't be so naive as to believe that the medical community is interested in cures.... They are interested in treatments and continued visits, otherwise if they cured everyone they would be out of business, on top of that the pharmaceutical companies would be out of business and if they had nobody to peddle their drugs to.

[Hidden in reply to armandobass]

Rubbish! Doctors working for the NHS would prefer to have fewer patients. They'd get the same pay for less work. Your comment may work in the US but not in the UK and after all this is a UK discussion board.

[Tikamak in reply to Hidden]

Capitalism is everywhere my friend, don't be so naive. A poor capitalist in the US is a poor capitalist in the UK. money is the same in the US and in the UK

[Chris_S]

When I was diagnosed 9 years ago I tried chinese herbal remedies for 9 months, they tasted awful, cost a lot...and didnt make any difference to my platelet count., I would advise against wasting your money, and always check with you doctor/

[AnthonyHeard Administrator ITP Support Association]

I have seen on an ITP Facebook Group (not, the ITP Support Association one) that a number of ITP sufferers have suggested taking Echinacea but just to reiterate that this is absolutely NOT to be taken by ITP sufferers. Talk to your specialist before taking any herbal, alternative or so called miracle cures or potions. Echinacea is certainly to be avoided.

[dmyslins]

We have actually done many different energy remedies, ie. NAET's and Reiki and they all HAVE raised my sons count. We also go to a medical doctor that uses alternative herbal/homeopathic to either treat allergies/food issues/and other chronic illnesses and since last may when we started, his count has steadily rose. He was at 15k-26k for two years and he has been at about 40k since may and after our last visit to the doctor at the end of novemeber his count rose to 86k in our december check. We know its not a coincidence because his overall health is improving. We see that as the key. Something in the body is confused or awry and if we can fix that, we believe the ITP will fix itself. So we are working at that thru diet and supplements. Also if we do a good NAET through the chiropractor who knows my son's history and/or reiki his count usually jumps. The problem is it is all expensive so right now we are just doing our alternative MD visits every two months. The MD practices western and eastern techniques.

[Nasar in reply to dmyslins]

Rightly said, It is better to try some other alternative medicine than to believe only on allopathic where no cure for ITP accepted by all the specialist, only you can manage all the year by taking steroid which itself have serious side effects even for lasting some days, So why people wonder for trying alternate therapy.?

[bjcavite]

Hi,

I would like to share some thoughts regarding possible reversal of autoimmune disease, which ITP is also considered being part of. I tried embracing the idea of dealing with this leaky gut thing through avoidance of animal proteins in my diet.

Try going through this url, which I guess is a helpful tip for us ITP identified individuals.

drbenkim.com/autoimmune-ill...

[sharroN42 in reply to bjcavite]

Thanks for this.