Herb/natural supplements stories???

[annaedRN, RN]

Hi all! I am working on a presentation for work on natural supplements/herbs/OTC and the interactions with meds, effects (good and bad) on the disease process, as well as general uses. I thought it would be interesting to start off with some stories or examples of patients who have used some and their outcomes...whether they experienced relief from symptoms or had an adverse reaction/event. Would love to hear from you! Thanks

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I know of someone who developed type I diabetes after taking the advice of an herbal store clerk who suggested melatonin to achieve a more sound sleep. This person had absolutely no family history of IDDM or any other autoimmune diseases, and was diagnosed within 2 weeks of faithfully taking the melatonin every night.

The melatonin was intended to address insomnia.

[guest239592]

This past summer I had a pt in fuliment liver failure caused by a herbal tea she had been drinking for two weeks. We didn't know what herb it was as it was being analyzed in our labs when my summer internship ended, but I do know it was some kind of root that was boiled in water to produce the tea, and a Hmong medicine. She ended up almost dying and needed a liver transplant and somehow survived.

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

We had a patient admitted about a year ago with elevated liver enzymes. She had been taking Lipitor or atorvastatin, for her cholesterol. A well-meaning relative recommended red rice yeast and patient was taking both. Cardiologist caught this--did you know that atorvastatin, is found naturally in .... red rice yeast!

From personal experience, flax seed oil inhibits platelet aggregation. When I donate blood, it takes longer for hemostasis that to donate a pint!

[michael79]

I have a resident that takes Cinnamon for blood sugar control. She also takes Oregano, but I'm not sure what that is for....

[queenjean]

Our cardiologists put every pt on Fish Oil or some sort of Omega fatty acid.

When I worked in a Women's Health Care office, many of our pts chose to take red rice yeast to help lower their cholesterol, most found it helpful. We also had a lot of people take Evening Primrose Oil and Red Raspberry Leaf tea starting at 36 weeks of pregnancy. Every pt with a sinus infection or a cold got instruction on how to do saline nasal irrigation; if they didn't want to do that, they were instructed to try a saline nasal spray. Every pt who was prescribed abx received instruction on adding probiotics and/or yogurt to their diet until 5 days or so post abx treatment. Most pts with skin conditions or cv risk factors received instruction on increasing omega fatty acids. For women with anemia, we supplemented with blackstrap molasses daily or BID, with GREAT results. For women with leg cramps, we checked for anemia, supplemented with molasses as appropriate, and also supplemented with a calcium and magnesium supplement, as well as encouraged certain exercises before bed, again with great results. Checked for mineral and electrolyte imbalances and did a dietary analysis for pts with pica and supplemented accordingly. No adverse reactions reported with any of these recommendations except for one girl who was itchy after taking the red raspberry leaf tea--resolved when she discontinued it. With the girl who wanted to smell and occasionally nibble on tires during her pregnancy, increasing her multimineral supplement decreased her cravings somewhat, though not entirely.

Our infectious disease doc (and FINALLY some of the other docs have caught on) prescribes probiotics for every GI pt he sees, as well as for every pt he puts on abx. A couple docs don't actually do that but will order yogurt with breakfast and supper.

I recently admitted a young man with pancreatitis. No risk factors, except he was a weight lifter and was using a powdered protein supplement several times a week. Not sure if that was the culprit or something else, but it seemed suspicious.

[suzy253, RN]

You should also stress that herbal products are not regulated by the FDA.

Herbal and homeopathic products and other similar remedies such as Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines etc., cannot be identified as to their content (no federal standards exist and adulteration and misbranding are concerns).

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11915.cfm

[nurseshepherd]

I work with several women on herbals but they are going to a local MD who was an internist until the stress of the hospital led him to partner with a local herbalist and they have a thriving alternative medicine practice. So far I haven't heard of any untoward outcomes.:wink2:

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Earlier this year, the NY Times had an article about a Hispanic woman from Dallas who took her 10-year-old daughter to a curandera (traditional healer) when the girl wouldn't eat. The girl ended up with lead poisoning. Turns out the cure the curandera gave the mother, a bright orange powder, was 90% lead.

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

I used fenugreek to keep up milk supply when I went back to work full time...it seemed to help. But I read up on interactions/warnings first. I was able breastfeed exclusively until he was 9 months old, and didn't wean him until he was 15 months old, despite working 60 hrs/week and often not getting time to pump.

As a side note, fenugreek is often found in those herbal supplements that are supposed to make breasts larger.

[Eirene, ASN, RN]

My son suffers from awful constipation due to contraction of his tiny body. Every summer I pick dandelions and feed him the root three times a day to allieviate constipation. I have a gallon-sized baggie worth of roots in my freezer right now that I boil in hot water with peppermint and green tea in the winter months.

I've always drank cranberry (not the sweet kind) every morning to help prevent UTIs. 6 ounces keeps my bladder healthy. Cranberry prevents E. Coli from adhering to the bladder walls.

My teenager and I take horshradish root (1 tsp) to help alleviate cold symptoms. I've also used it topically for a knee injury.

I don't trust 'health food' store pre-packaged bottles of herbs. I prefer to use what I have at home or a natural plant that I can grind at home.

[annaedRN, RN]

Thanks for all the replies! I work in home health and I cannot count how many people when I ask them to see their meds to verify what the MD has ordered have some kind of herb or supplement in the cabinet! Most of then say "those don't really count" or something along that line. I want to know more about them so thought that an inservice with hand-outs, etc would be helpful to all my colleagues as well. I will try to tie in some of the stories/examples you have all shared with me. Thanks again