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> "I have had rheumatoid arthritis since a fairly young age. I get > acupuncture treatments from a neurologist, and they are helpful. The > neurologist took up the study of acupuncture because he found important > areas of treatment not addressed by his western-medicine training. I am also in complete accord with the statements made by Dr. Bernard Barber on alternative medicine. As a former research chemist with the FDA working closely with industry and the USP, the scientific method was the only one that could be used to validate compendial procedures. When medical problems of all sorts plagued my wife and me, we sought a more holistic approach to therapy. We are proud to claim that we financially support the medical establishment (quick count listed about 11 Drs.), not because we wanted to so but rather because we had to because of our health. Yet, when arthritis began to bother me seriously and the rheumatologist prescribed a huge dose of ibuprofen and failed to monitor my liver function that rose to an alarming level, I quit the normal medical procedure and began a treatment of acupuncture with a Chinese trained Korean professional. Within a few weeks she was able to eliminate my need for a second carpal tunnel operation, and my arthritic pains subsided and remained practically unnoticed for well over ten years. Within that time I noted that acupuncture was being evaluated by the FDA and NIH and though it had not been officially 'approved', the medical establishment did show that acupuncture released opiate like chemicals (my senior moments gave me a lapse to relate just which ones at this time) in the body that alleviated pain. Modern Western medicine does not have answers for everything, but I am not willing to allow my body to become an experimetal tool for quacks and charlatans and snake charmers purveyors of snake oil and other such deceivers that abound and are ready to pounce on you for every penny we are willing to pay for a 'cure'. Michel Margosis 'Carpe Diem'