Oh, I'm not saying herbs don't work. I just don't feel comfortable in using them for myself. What I am really trying to say is that *everything* can have scary side effects, and just because something is herbal, doesn't mean it won't have side effects. And I also understand that Chinese medicine has been used for years and western medicine has shunned it. There needs to be a happy medium. I just get worried when people say they will only consider "natural" treatments and don't see herbals as medicines that can have side effects.
I think you are right, Oak, about acupuncture physicians from US trained schools. I went to one who helped me tremendously. Like yours, he was headed to med school, when a friend he had dissuaded him. Instead, he went to acupuncture school. Now, he trains doctors at Harvard Med School, in addition to his practice. He was even a former cyclist, who happened to race on the same team that my son was on.
Most people don't really evaluate whatever medicines they are taking. I tend toward the opposite, to the point of making myself not read too much now, or I would not ever take anything. I am just too psychosomatic. However, I did take Attivan without "thinking" and it really helped me. I was quite motivated not to misuse it, and the prescribing psych. was pretty adamant in telling me that she didn't see me as someone who had an addictive personality. However, she did try me on Celexa and Prozac, both of which made me feel worse. That's when I started the acupuncture. I am not sure if it was strictly the acupuncture that "cured" my anxiety, as I was also doing the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class, yoga, and therapy. Professionally, I really think it is often a mixture of things that help people and what is good for one person may do nothing for another.