Good topic thanks!
I grew up in Germany -the origin of homeopathic medicine. I have to say I can't get to excited about it but some of my German friends swear by it and take "medicines" every day. The only thing I could come up with in relation to COPD was vegetable charcoal ( Carbo vegetabilis). It's used to control and treat cough.
I like the idea of naturopathy. It only makes sense to treat the whole person instead of running from one specialist to another -who then only treat one specific area or body system. I also like the idea of treating the cause of the disease instead of the symptom. I have never been to a naturopath but would be interested in hearing about your experience.
My thing is diet-many diseases can be avoided by eating healthy and non processed food. I have only been able to turn a few people on to it because of the effort involved. I have been able to control by GERD through diet and lifestyle changes and I'm happy about that. My arthritis pain also went away.
I hope others have some insight into these things.

I have personally not tried any alternatives , but I am following a few on FB in a copd group that sound interesting. I do not have a lot of time left, but a lot of folks in this group are young enough to benefit from new things. If you find something good that in your opinion is not snake oil , let us know. I do not see a problem as long as it does not hurt you.
If it helps, that is an added bonus...

BJ

I sure will stay tuned. I am suspicious of medications for me and take them reluctantly as seldom as comfortable.

I am looking, reading and searching for anything that sounds remotely capable of making my life easier....I am very interested in alternative methods inspite of coping a rubbishing along the way by people who have little or no experience yet are too eager to dismiss an idea....

I don't mind sharing stuff I find that via other support groups if its ok....

While it is not a medication I read good things about doing Yoga with COPD. Can't say I have tried it yet.

Thank you for beginning this very pertinent discussion. I was prescribed Dulera over a year ago and had a bad reaction to it. After discussing two herbal "meds" with him he said no harm in trying so I did and they have worked for me. One is Asthma Clear for when wheezing or SOB and the other is called Clear Lung for when phlegm is the issue. Both are made by Ridgecrest Herbals. I am down to one pill of each daily although I may not be symptomatic, I wish to stay that way. BTW I was diagnosed with moderate COPD with an Asthma component and my FEV1 was 0.95 and 37%. I hope this helps add to your research:)

Sorry, the him I wrote about was my family doctor... obviously the herbs haven't helped my typing skills:) LOL

Personally, I would be very interested in what a natureopath thinks about vinpocetine as a treatment for COPD. Vinpocetine has been used for years in the treatment of memory loss, but at least one scientific study showed (in mouse models) that it helped decrease lung inflammation.

http://www.lef.org/Newsletter/2010/5/Vinpocetine-Shows-Promise-For-Chronic-Inflammation/Page-01

I showed the original research article to my pulmonologist who thought vinpocetine was "promising," but without more research he could not recommend it.

I tried vinpocetine on my own, but had to stop taking it. Vinpocetine increases the risk of bleeding. I nicked myself and I thought that sucker was never going to stop bleeding! (It kind of scared me.)

Anyway, I think this is an interesting topic and I will be closely following it. My state does not license naturopathic physicians, so I don't know much about them. However, from what I read online about naturopath medicine, I like the idea. Thanks, gro100!

Susan

I have no experience with that but I believe just about anything is worth a try! I don't know much about it but it looks like some of the comments might help me understand it.
Thanks....I am glad to see a COPD related subject for a change!!

Scott

Charley61...They discussed a little about using Yoga on Dr Noah Greenspan's Webinar last night and how it benefits breathing!! I am sure will show it here also:

http://www.pulmonarywellness.com/

Scott

Yoga is supposed to help with breathing and anxiety. Here's a study that shows that people who practice yoga also have better diffusion capacity:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410191/

Abstract
Background:

Patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at high risk for depression and anxiety. Yoga techniques are suited for promoting relaxation, psycho-emotional stability and exercise tolerance. Studies showing the effect of yoga in diffusion capacity are not available; hence this study was planned.
Materials and Methods:

The study was conducted on 60 diagnosed stable mild-to-moderate COPD patients in the age group of 30-60 years, of either sex, in the department of physiology. Patients were taken from Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Delhi and divided into two groups: Control and the yoga group. Both the groups were on conventional drug therapy. Subjects from the Yoga group was called to cardiopulmonary laboratory daily for 21 days and then weekly for the compliance. Yoga instructor taught them the technique of pranayama and various postures every day. They practiced yoga at home for 2 months for 45 min in the mornings. Diffusion capacity was recorded by using computerized Medisoft instrument (HYPAIR compact), in both the groups before and after 2 months.
Results:

Statistical analysis showed significant improvement in TLCO of the yoga group. Transfer factor of lung for carbon monoxide i.e. TLCO in mild COPD increased from 17.61 4.55 to 19.08 5.09 ml/mmHg/min, and in moderate COPD it increased from 14.99 4.02 to17.35 3.97 ml/mmHg/min.
Conclusion:

It was concluded that yogic breathing exercises improve diffusion capacity. They are beneficial to COPD patients and they can be used as an adjunct therapy with the conventional medical therapy.

Here is one of the Yoga exercise for SOB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGO5EVFWsJ8

Then I found this interesting podcast ( 25 minutes) in which naturopaths discuss alternative treatments.
http://www.naturecuresclinic.com/podcasts/copd.mp3
among others-
ACUPUNCTURE- corrects imbalances within individuals
CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS-they mention that if the nerves in the spine are not aligned right it can cause breathing problems. Claim some asthma patients are cured of asthma or at least improved a lot.
DIET and LIFESTYLE changes
use of ANTIOXIDANTS which stop the damage to the lungs
HYDROGEN PEROXIDE treatment -IV use-so don't try this yourself!! They are talking about a pharmacy grade peroxide not what we find in the store.-This treatment brings more oxygen into the body and the lungs.
use of ChINESE MEDICINE-These practitioners claim that each organ corresponds to a certain emotion. Their experience shows that intense grief is often precipitating a diagnosis of emphysema. Those feelings should be addressed.
There are others but since I have the attention span of a fruit fly you'd better listen to it yourself.:)

The Vet Hospital where my dog goes treats animals with a combination of conventional medicine and alternative medicine/methods. It certainly has aroused my curiosity. I know some Medical schools are now including alternative methods in their curriculum. This would interest me i.e. not totally replacing one with the other.

I saw the naturopath today. She spent about 2 hours with me talking about my health issues, reviewing my medical records, and coming up with a plan. I was impressed with how thorough she was.

She had many good suggestions. I am starting with a diet designed to address my allergy issues as well as inflammation issues. I will be on this diet for 3 weeks then evaluate how I am feeling.

She also addressed environmental issues, as well as stress and anxiety issues.

The philosophy here is that your body has remarkable capabilities for healing itself if everything is in balance. It makes sense to me. If you body is fighting allergies, asthma, stress, poor nutritional intake, and carcinogens from the environment, it is not likely to have anything left over to fight off disease.

I bought a nutribullet rx today after leaving her office and hopefully that will help with my new diet.

Google "Fat sick and nearly dead". I watched the movie a while back it was enlightening.