The short answer: The list exists to make money for lawyers. Lots of drugs on it are effective for a variety of indications, but may have side effects that can be exploited in lawsuits (which mostly benefit attorneys). Of course, this is an herbalism forum and neither I nor anyone else has suggested that posters take prescription drugs for bladder infections. What's been pointed out is that ACV has no demonstrated effectiveness (or any mechanism by which one could imagine it being effective) against such infections. Cranberry juice, on the other hand, does have some evidence in its corner. "I have noted that tests for natural medicines printed in the peer reviewed journals use doses clearly below the theraputic dose recognized by the majority of herbalists for their studies. I noted this in tests printed in the New England Journal of Medicine, no less. This crap must stop. That it goes on at all is WHY there is a growing number of people using herbal methods. I have also noted that herbs that are usually used in a mixture with other herbs are tested alone, in a way they are not used. This happens with tests of Chinese herbs." This would be an interesting subject for a separate discussion, to include any examples of studies supposedly using suboptimal doses of herbal drugs. As to mixtures, there are in fact numerous studies looking at them. What can be problematic is when a mixture contains one herb believed to be the effective agent and the rest may or may not be filler. The only way to know if the purported effective component works is to test it separately (it could be, for example, that one or more other components of the mixture actually interfere with the active herb which might work better on its own). One old-time example is the folk remedy for heart failure that an 18th century British physician, William Withering studied, and discovered that while multiple elements in the herbal mix were unrelated to its actions on the heart, one herb (digitalis) was responsible for increasing heart contractility. That discovery paved the way for digitalis' use in general medicine (at a standardized, safer and more effective dose than one could count on in a home remedy). Chinese herbal mixtures are notorious for containing elements not listed on the label. "Contamination" (apparently deliberate) has included powerful prescription drugs (such as indomethacin and steroids) or toxic herbs like aristolochia, so that would be a major reason for being careful about using such mixtures. To get back to the cry of "They don't want you to know" (about supposedly cheap and effective home remedies): this hits close to home for me and many other health professionals who have experienced serious illness in ourselves or close family and friends. My mother (a physician) died of colon cancer. Does anyone doubt that she would have been willing to use a cheap home cure and enthusiastically promoted it to others if one existed?

So Kimmsr, you think if you say the same thing over and over everyone will start to belive it. Are you preparing to run for political office?Mycorrhizal describes a characteric of certain fungi. Just because you cannot find it in the taxonomy of living things does not make it less relevant. The importance of mycorrhizal fungi was not even mentioned during my undergraduate studies in Plant and Soil Science. This has the potential to take agriculture to a new level in productivity. It also has the potential to impact the home owner. In San Antonio, we have to be cognizant about water restrictions. Increasing the reach of the roots by 10, 100, even 1000 times is an exciting prospect. When you look on the label, the mycorrhizal fungi innoculants contain a wide variety of spores. Does the list include the species I need? I do not know. But I am keeping an open mind and continuing my research. I have a fairly new yard (4.5 years), and it was covered by fill dirt before the sod was laid. I do not believe I gained many fungal spores from this dirt (and rocks, so many rocks). I agree with Kimmsr to a point. This is not a cure all to take place of any tried and true organic methods. But I do not agree that it is a waste of time and money. And I do not agree that just increasing the organic matter is all I need to do. Soybean growers do not hesitate to innoculate the seed with nitrogen fixing bacteria. These bacteria are capable of living in the soil on their own. I have not read about the life cycle of the beneficial fungi with the mycorrhizal characteristic. Can it live on its own or does it require the host plant to live and reproduce? Questions that need answers.

lkplatow I too am a firm believer in HRT. I had a hysterectomy in my mid 40's. I kept my ovaries. They worked just fine for 2 yrs. At that point they completely stopped and I was in the midst of a meltdown ! Literally looked like I was showering with a hose many times a day. I put up with it for 2 weeks LOL. I called my OB/Gyn and got immediate relief by taking Estratest. All the symptoms I had been having...sleeplessness, anxiety attacks while at work, nightmares , absent libido drenching sweats ...all disappeared within 2 weeks of starting therapy. I am now almost 63 and have never stopped the med ...not for more than a day or two. Due to having had a hysterectomy I would not have been prescribed Premarin. I agree it is not a safe drug. The benefits of my HRT so so so far outweigh any possible side effects that my Dr and I agree it is the best treatment for me. I have regular checkups and mammograms. When I just had my second bone density scan they were amazed once again at my bones. With 100% being the highest I was 130% !! As to the bladder surgery for stress incontinence there is absolutely nothing negative about it if you have a good surgeon. I had it done when I had my hysterectomy. I have never leaked another drop of urine when coughing etc. I had had three 9 1/2 # babies vaginal births with precipitous delivery in two cases....my bladder was SO low it actually had pushed into/through the va&*()$ wall and was hanging down...sorry to be so graphic but that is what happens. The surgery is much better than wearing a pessary. Annie is completely correct in her definitions. The problem with the Kegel , and they are the only thing that works that is non-surgical, is if it has gotten as bad as mine was through the birth process, then surgery is the only way to correct it. A good exam by a competent MD can tell you the state of your bladder etc. There is no cream that will correct this problem . The creams are wonderful for many cases...everyone has to be evaluated and then make a very well considered decision with the assistance of a competent MD. c

Nancy, it's going OK. I didn't get around to post an update because we spend all weekend at a soccer tournament. Spot is settling into the routine of just being allowed out to do his business and coming right back. We went to the vet Sat. morning and he had another acupuncture treatment. We discussed surgery options and decided to try a brace first. It will be custom made and support the joint and give the muscles time to strengthen around the joint. It is kind of hard to describe, but I will post pictures after we get it. It will be probably a little over a week. It is designed by a "human" orthopedic surgeon who had a blown acl on his dog and was less than thrilled with the surgery result. I was asking the vet about TPLO and the other surgery and he recommended not doing the TPLO. He said that it has been advertised as the best thing to prevent arthritis later on, but people are finding out that the first dogs with it are getting arthritis now (6-7 years later) anyway. The vet tech told me that the had the ligament connecting surgery done on a couple of her dogs and they are doing just as well as dogs she knows with the TPLO. But we are not at that point at the moment and are taking a more conservative approach. I'm having a hard time to convince my husband to even do anything less alone surgery. He thinks it is just a dog and when he grew up they just put them down when something like that happened. Over my dead body, is all I can say. Here is Spot sharing his new pillow with one of the cats. A few minutes before both cats had been laying with him. And he is not overweight, he just looks like it in this picture. Katharina