I have tried many pharma drugs and herbs by now unfortunately. On the whole the mainstream drugs were more effective by a long way. Side effects about even. That's just my personal experience.

There is a fine line between what you call natural and non natural, I mean codeine comes from poppies. I think purity and strength being a problem with drugs is often over sold by natural product enthusiasts, I mean it is nice to know what exactly your taking instead of just a mixture of many non rigorously tested compounds, it also makes it more potent. Yes side effects will often be stronger too than just eating poppy seeds, but life is always a balance.

I've my best results from lyrica, which improves sleep a lot, and pain a little, despite reading horror stories online about the side effects, for me at least they are mild. That's just me anyway, clearly you've got a different way of doing things and all the best to you.