Dealing With Dosage

The dosage of medications and supplements are put into place in order to keep the patient safe while also creating a therapeutic effect, however, there are times when a different dosage is provided by your medical practitioner and this article will explain why.

When it comes to Chinese Herbal Medicine a practitioner may choose to increase the dosage beyond the recommended allowance for a very simple reason – the dosage provided on the label is printed as a precaution for any medication that is purchased without prescription. Similar to how anyone can purchase specific pain medication over the counter, some stores sell Chinese Herbal Medicine over the counter without prescription so what you take would be within the safe range with minimal therapeutic benefit. Seeing a trained herbalist means that they can apply their knowledge and clinical experience to provide the most suitable dosage for your concerns.

There are caveats to this which include very strong formulas fitting perfectly into the recommended dose or patients with a sensitive constitution being instructed to take lower dosages than listed. The best and safest way to know is to see a registered practitioner for a prescription before purchase and use.

In terms of supplements, the dosage listed is usually the correct one but the pricing can be widely variable. In this situation we are exploring consumer grade versus practitioner/medical grade. What you purchase over the counter at the chemist is generally consumer grade which means that it may have enough of a particular substance to create a therapeutic effect but it takes much longer (sometimes months) to take effect whereas something that is prescribed is more expensive because it is much more potent/concentrated which means the effects of the supplement occur much faster; the cost reflects the potency.

The easiest way to tell which one you are purchasing is whether or not the packaging states “Practitioner Only”, this should be a non-point as generally seeing any kind of practitioner and receiving herbs/supplements or being given a script would automatically fulfill this criteria however some places online are now selling products that ought to be prescribed.

Both Chinese Herbal Medicine and Western Supplements play an important part in assisting with illness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle but both should still be used with careful consideration. Always seek out a qualified practitioner if you are unsure of what you need as this will ensure the best and safest outcome.

Questions? Contact us.