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COPYRIGHT 2004 International Medical News Group
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. -- Sharon L. Kolasinski, M.D., recently asked a new patient what vitamins and supplements she was taking in addition to prescribed medications for osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia.
The 59-year-old clerical worker pulled from her purse six handwritten sheets containing the names and dosages of 83 products she was taking each day, including bilberry, kelp, boron, cider vinegar, chromium, royal jelly, taurine, whey protein, and nine vitamins, among other herbs, supplements, and potions.
"Our patients are using a stunning array of products," Dr. Kolasinski said at a symposium sponsored by the American College of Rheumatology. One study conducted among rural patients in North Carolina, for example, elicited a list of osteoarthritis remedies that included turpentine, WD-40, mothballs, kerosene, and whiskey, as well as exercise, rest, and prayer.
Pain drives the vast majority of patients to use alternative medicines for rheumatic conditions, according to a study of university and private practice patients by researchers at Indiana University (Ann. Int. Med. 1999;131:409-16).
"This speaks, perhaps, to inadequate pain control using their standard medications, as well as having something under their control to modulate their pain," said Dr....
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