A Brief Introduction | More Details on Homeopathy | View All

1. What homeopathy is not
2. What is homeopathy?
3. How does homeopathy work?
4. What is a homeopathic remedy?
5. Is there any research that shows homeopathy to be effective?
6. What happens during the initial visit to a homeopathic physician?
7. Can I continue taking prescription drugs while under homeopathic treatment?
8. Which diseases can be treated with homeopathy?
9. Can a pregnant woman or a newborn baby benefit from homeopathy?
10. How does homeopathy deal with patients affected with problems resulting from emotional trauma, severe grief or the consequence of mood disorders such as anger, depression or anxiety?
11. How does homeopathy address patients with infections diseases?
12. Which conditions are outside the scope of homeopathy?
13. Homeopathy: past, present, and future

6. What happens during the initial visit to a homeopathic physician?
The person who is afflicted with an acute or chronic disease, whether it is due to an infection, a physical or emotional trauma, or some other factor, is in a state of imbalance that is unique to that person. It is important to understand that there is no such thing in homeopathy as one single remedy that is specifically indicated for a particular disease or diagnosis. Remember that the patient, not the disease, is being treated. Therefore, there is no one single "low back pain remedy", or "arthritis remedy". The fact of the matter is that there are typically dozens or even hundreds of remedies that may be indicated to treat a patient with any single disease or diagnosis. This is because the experience of one individual suffering with low back pain, for instance, may be very different from another's. For example, one person may feel more pain in the morning, from sitting, and during cold weather, but better from walking, and have a strong craving for salty food. Another person may feel better during any type of rest, only has pain while walking, and perspires every night during sleep. These two people would be prescribed very different remedies even if they both had disc herniations causing severe right-sided back pain which radiates down the leg to the knee. Another example would be in the case of asthma. Two patients may experience the same type of chest pain and difficulty breathing, but one may be a timid person, worse in cold, dry weather and want icy cold drinks, while the other may be an extrovert, worse in the summer, and thirstless and anxious during an attack. So, the role of the homeopathic physician is to fully understand the totality of all the unique symptoms in the context of the general state of the patient, in order to find the remedy that will be the most specific for this individual in this particular state.

During the first visit, patients are asked to describe all of their symptoms in great detail, as well as a complete description of everything that characterizes them as unique individuals, including: emotions, moods, habits, dreams, thoughts, fears, likes, dislikes, sensations, sensitivities, energy level, body temperature, sleep, appetite, food cravings, digestion, and more. The homeopathic physician will complete this study with a physical examination. This thorough interview requires approximately two to three hours. The better the homeopathic physician understands the patient and the unique pattern of his or her problems, the easier it will be for the doctor to reliably identify the most specific and most similar remedy for the patient's unique condition.

Unlike conventional medicine where one drug is typically prescribed for each symptom or disease, in homeopathy only one specific remedy (prepared from one single substance) will be prescribed to address the totality of the patient's symptoms. This remedy is often administered in a single dose, only once, until the next follow-up visit. Sometimes, however, the patient will be instructed to take the remedy daily for a period of a few weeks. During the follow-up visit, which generally takes place two to six weeks after the original consultation for chronic cases (earlier in acute cases), the homeopathic physician will review all the changes that have occurred since the initial homeopathic remedy was taken. A follow-up visit lasts 20 to 30 minutes on average, but it can last up to 60 minutes in some cases.

If the patient does not see a significant change within the first 3-6 weeks, the doctor will usually prescribe a different remedy, and again assess the patient’s response during the next follow up visit. Sometimes, 2-3 remedies need to be tried before the best remedy is found, but it is a very rare and complicated case in which more than 4-5 remedies would need to be tried before finding the best one for the patient. Still, true cure, compared to symptom relief or suppression, takes time. For these reasons, it is recommended that a patient considering homeopathy should be willing to give the doctor at least 6 months to find the right remedy that will best trigger the healing reaction.

In this office, most patients do receive the right remedy (the most similar, or most homeopathic) on the first visit. Assuming this is the case, it is typical to experience a significant (25-50%) improvement within the first 3 to 6 weeks. Depending upon the patient's reaction, Dr. Ezgur will determine during the follow-up visit how often the patient should continue to take the remedy, and when the next follow-up visit should be scheduled. The patient will usually continue to schedule follow-up visits (either in the office or over the telephone) every 1 to 3 months, depending on their response to the remedy. These follow-up visits are very important, because as the patient’s pattern of symptoms improve, they also typically change in many different ways. These changes need to be periodically monitored and evaluated in order to achieve continued improvement and eventual cure. Often, the doctor will need to make changes to the remedy’s potency and frequency of use. Also, it is not uncommon for a patient to require several different remedies over a period of time before they are completely cured. Depending on the specifics of the condition including how long the problem has persisted, cure is often seen within hours or days in acute cases, and within weeks to months in chronic cases. A very general rule of thumb is often fairly accurate: in order to reach cure, it takes one month of treatment for every year that the symptoms had been present.