Marlene, it sounds like you have found someone you can trust who has helped, and that is great. But as a general rule, I think that people need to be extremely cautious. Herbs are drugs. They are unregulated drugs. This means that contamination can be a problem, but also dosages are not always standardised and can vary widely. They can also interact with other things we might be taking. And often, there are not good research studies to demonstrate their efficacy or side effects or dangers. Gee, I sound like an alarmist, but I do believe that (for all it's huge faults!), the medical model we have today is the best so far in history for the safe use and regulation of drugs. It will certainly be nice when some of the herbs and oriental medicine philosophy are studied more and brought in to the mainstream so that we can all benefit from that wisdom. But for now, I feel that I cannot safely evaluate the care I might get from herbal treatments or from some "doctors" who are not licensed. That is not to say that they might not have something to offer, but the opportunity for harm or unscrupulous practice is out there. I would just advise folks to keep this in mind as they make their medical decisions. I would hate for any of us to get hurt more than we are. This is just my bent -- don't mean to offend anyone.