Just let it go as long as its not life threatening and she can afford it (what other people said). Try not to polarize the situation and keep communicating, hating on them will not solve the situation. It will probably even just make it worse which means you'll have less options when there is something life threatening and she is still interested in alternative "medicine". Even though her methods are most likely to be a bunch of BS, it could actually work better then regular/science based medicine, I hope for you that it doesn't tbh because then she will most likely feel like its all because of the homeopath.

This so much.

OP, don't be dumb let your mom do whatever she feels might help her. Especially since normal conservative medicine didn't help. It is so incredibly childish to stomp your feet "That is a con that is a con that is a con. It doesn't help. Homeopathy is moronic.". Let your mom do what ever makes her feel better. Especially if it doesn't do any objective harm to her health, she doesn't reject normal treatment, she doesn't take anything harmful and the amount of money it costs is lower than a psychotherapy would cost.

You really don't have to be a prick all the time, do you?

Well said. +1

Hi all. Thanks for your feedback.

I'm 90% certain I have identified the "homeopathist". Didn't find any incriminating evidence. I found a post by her on a homeopathy forum from 2009. She might well believe in the power of homeopathy.

I'm not sure how mum found this homeopathist but I bet it came via recommendation from a friend (lol). She told my mum to stop eating gluten, advice I'm sure was absolutely specifically tailored to my mum and absolutely not something the quack tells every client. Now mum is all excited because she thinks this will help her lose weight.

My parents eat a *lot* of bread and I've told them to eat less for years only to be told how healthy a simple cheese sandwich is. They know pizza is unhealthy & never go for pizza because my dad says it's the same as a grilled cheese sandwich which he can make at home. But a cheese sandwich is also healthy even though a pizza isn't. Unless someone who isn't me or my brother says bread isn't healthy, in which case OK maybe bread isn't healthy. Sigh.

Now I have to worry that she'll lose via weight and attribute this to the quack's genius rather than, like, substituting two loafs of bread per week for vegetables and fruit. Which will of course mean the homeopath actually knows what she's talking about and is worth some more sessions and water pills.

Realistically there's nothing I can do to stop this woman scamming my mum out of more money. But I think a full court press from my brother and I can increase the chances she decides to stop seeing the quack in six weeks. Pride is very, very important for my mum. She won't want to admit she's getting played by the homeopath. Best case scenario is she finds the treatment doesn't work, tells me "what harm was done by trying?" in six weeks and I smile and nod.

So much for that prediction.

It sounds like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree .

But seriously, if this practitioner can get your mom to cut back on bread and lose weight, then the 300-500 pounds she spends for her "treatment" will be money well spent!

I guess there's different levels of it. From selling a bs product or treatment to outright stealing. Some will get account #s.

Grunch: Call the police.

My mum's barely overweight tbh. Now if she managed to parlay weight loss into getting my dad to cut back on bread...

Also, file a police report against politicians who lie and lawyers. And chiropractors.

Maybe because there isn't anything inherently unhealthy about bread?

I think they prefer to be called gay these days.

You're right but my parents eat a loooooooot of bread, often with cheese & they'd (especially my dad) be better off swapping some of that for fresh veggies, brown rice etc.

What is the advantage of brown rice over bread?

He heard it from some homeopath. Must be true.

There are people ready to take advantage of anyone who is looking for help.

Not to derail but I remember when my brother passed away my mum told me she had been speaking to a medium and blown a stupid amount of cash, my dad was still in grief and said "if it brings her any peace its fine with me". I was raging though and wanted to know who this person was praying on her.

Similar feeling im guessing knowing the people you love are getting screwed.

Sorry to hear about that Kenny. That sounds awful. It sounds like the family dynamic and my/your feelings are indeed similar but your situation was way more serious. Does your mum still see the medium and if not why not? Mediums are absolutely disgusting. They have specific techniques ("cold reading") to maximise the chances of performing apparent miracles. If anything happened to me or my brother my mum would be so desperate/distraught that I could absolutely see her going to see a medium and getting rinsed. Mediums are a whole other level of filth to homeopaths, many of whom I sense genuinely believe their own bull****.

I think my mum is prooooooobably sensible enough not to get absolutely rinsed by the homeopath as long as my dad is around (because she'd consult with him first?), but I do worry about how open to exploitation she is. She's unable to identify expertise/good sources of information & has a specific strong aversion to taking advice from her children (both of whom have her best interests at heart and are smart/well informed). My dad is less likely to believe b.s, and also often asks his childrens' advice on stuff.

The low Vitamin D is a great parlor trick.

Doesn’t sound like this is doing a ton of harm. Seeing a “western” doc can have terrible outcomes too.

The thing is some people will use alternative medicine for minor ailments that most likely just fix them self over time and preach about it, but I guarantee that when these same people get seriously ill 90% of them are going to a western doctor for treatment.

I heard Steve Jobs would have been alive today if he didn’t decide to go alternative.

Acupuncture is one of those things that actually works...if you believe it works.

That's the beauty of the scam. You could diagnose everyone with low vitamin D & tell them to counter with sunshine, exercise & fresh vegetables and often they'll feel better. For an advanced hustle, tell your mark to cure their "low vitamin D" level with "This inexpensive pill, combined with sunshine and exercise".

Western docs are exactly the same. They make more money with a lab test and sell the vitamins too.

It was over 10 years ago mate and thankfully my mum has been able to move on through her faith and as far as i know doesn't see mediums any more.

I remember having to confront her about it because the medium told my mum that my brother was messing with the electric in her house, every time the bimetallic strip in the kettle or thermostat clicked my mum thought it was my brother, it was almost like a OCD thing she would be constantly checking for these things. I told my mum that she was being irrational but it took years for her to stop looking for these things.

I think when I said to her that i bet the medium said things like "Im sensing this person cant breath" what happens when everyone dies they stop breathing! she started to question it or maybe it was just a process.

Way less true with the NHS than the U.S system. Both in theory, in anecdotal evidence (I have experience with both) and in empirical data (U.S doctors prescribe a lot more).