Dear BWV,

Speaking strictly naturopathically, I have no problem with the idea of working on many fronts at the same time:
changing the diet, coming off the drugs, adding some herbal supplements and some vitamin C, vit. E and B-complex, trying some yoga or tai chi....
It all seems like a good idea.

With homeopathy though, you know the right remedy is going to have a profound effect regardless of the drugs and the diet and the food he's eating.
All you want to know is, Did I get the right remedy?

What many homeopaths tell their patients is, "Stop your coffee!" while still others say,
"No way! We need to see clearly what's going on
after the remedy is given. If he goes into coffee withdrawl, what's that gonna tell us about how our remedy is working?

What my teacher, Robin Murphy always says is, if you give the remedy and he starts to feel better, now you've got his respect. Now if you say to him, "Your remedy will work even better without the coffee," he may actually listen to you. First show him what homeopathy can do, before coming down on him like a ton of bricks with our "list of demands": No coffee, no aroma therapy, no mint toothpaste..... And then Miranda Castro, another famous homeopath, told once in an article, how she found out her patients were actually lying to her about stopping coffee!

So, we prefer to give the remedy first and win the patient's cooperation.

Snoopy