My first visit with the Naturopath Doctor was exciting.
In a 1-hour consultation, I felt like we made more progress with my health issues than the past few years with my regular family physician.
My regular family physician tends to dismiss everything I tell him and I feel like I’ve had no resolve for any of my digestive and reproductive issues. [I’m not saying that all family physicians are like this. I know there are great doctors out there.] I’m looking for a new doctor, but no one seems to be taking on new patients right now, especially because I already have a physician. I would have to first terminate my relationship with my current doctor and go on a wait list, which of course is a big risk when I’m not guaranteed to find a doctor right away. So I’m still on the hunt.
This is partly what made me seek out a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. Because it’s a private health care service, finding a doctor is easy and quick. The only downside is the cost. My insurance covers $15 per appointment, so most of the expense is coming out of my pocket. I’ve heard so many great things about ND’s, so I feel like the benefit will outweigh the cost.
I arrived about 15 minutes early and was greeted by the ND himself. He gives me a warm smile with kind eyes, while shaking my hand with what I think is the gentlest handshake I’ve ever felt. I feel like I’m crushing his hand and I quickly loosen my grip. I’m given a few forms to fill out which are mainly about my health history and present concerns that I would like to address. After filling out about 4 pages, we head into his exam room for the consultation.
The next hour was life changing.
After a brief chat, the doctor told me about his training and background. Impressive to say the least.
“What do you know about Naturopathy?”
Oh shit.
I mumbled something about treating the whole person and made wild gestures with my hands.
He smiled and nodded in a way that made me feel like a genius. I like him already.
I learned that Naturopathy is based on a holistic approach to health. In other words, it looks at the person as a whole. All of the psychological, physical, and social issues that make us who we are today are taken into account. You cannot treat an illness until you find and address the root cause of the illness. The goal is to help the body heal itself rather than using medication (unless necessary, of course).
The doctor told me that his main areas of clinical interest are gastrointestinal health, detoxification, and treatment of anxiety and stress related disorders.
The next hour was filled with relief. He listened to me as if what I was saying was the most important thing in the world. He didn’t dismiss anything I said. He was empathetic.
He even cracked jokes when he sensed that I was starting to squirm when talking about my poop.
That’s a good doctor.
I’ve always been really interested in natural medicine and healing, so I’m really looking forward to reading more about your visit! I’m glad the doctor was so pleasant and comforting!
Angela,
We started our journey with a Naturopath 4 years ago, it has been a life changing and amazing journey and I haven’t looked back. We’ve stopped going to our regular physician altogether as I haven’t come up with anything that my Naturopath couldn’t help us to correct. I am excited for you, and with you. I wish you the best of luck in your journey and hope that you can find the same level of health we have come to know and love!
~Jenni
Thank you so much for sharing this, Angela! Looking forward to part 2 very much!
HAHA! That IS a good doctor!!
So many people have all the same issues, I’m really looking forward to part 2 and hearing about your progress!
this is so exciting, angela! i don’t have any experience with naturopathy, but i have been frustrated (to say the least) with western medicine recently. to me it’s a catch 22. so many options with all of the medical advances today, but at what point does treatment just become a band aid that covers up the real problem?
After my daughter was born I had to see a ND to sort out some of my stomach problems (and her s) and haven’t looked back!! We too have had such a hard time finding a MD and since moving to Prince George there isn’t any taking new patients. It can be so frustrating but after seeing a ND I don’t care as much that we don’t have a MD. So many MDs dismiss stomach related issues (esp. food intolerances) and finding one that doesn’t is close to impossible! My ND connected several seemingly unrelated symptoms and I’ve felt soo much better since! I think you had mentioned you might be having a food intolerance test?? I’m prego so I could be off. I’ve taken 2 food intolerance tests and wanted to suggest the ALCAT as it’s much more accurate. It’s a blood test and expensive, but completely worth it! I could’ve tried the elimination diet but it’s time consuming and more difficult. Hope you’re able to find some relief!!
Thank you Christina. Congrats on your pregnancy too!
yes I will be getting food sensitivity testing in a couple weeks. Should be interesting. I will ask him about the different methods available.
I’ve had the blood test for food allergies done before. I don’t know if it also tested for sensitivities or just allergies? Maybe I can get my doc to dig that test up…
Do ask about food sensitivity – I don’t have food allergies but am sensitive to lots of food. The ALCAT tests for those and puts it into 3 different categories – foods you should completely avoid, foods to avoid on a reg. basis (they still recommend cutting those out for 3-6 months then eating it and seeing how your body reacts to it), and foods that are ok. The ALCAT also tests for gluten, casin, whey & candida sensitivities which some food tests don’t. On mine it ended up I have a sensitivity to candida and need to watch my sugar & gluten intake. It’s made all the difference in our worlds … at least when we follow our diets! Not the easiest thing to do for a foodie like me and a toddler!! Good luck!!
I highly recommend doing the elimination diet! I personally think it’s most accurate. But you’re right, it’s incredibly time consuming. But very worth it to have good health! :)
I LOVE naturopaths, though it can get expensive. What I was lucky enough to find was a medical doctor who really believes in naturopaths and is willing to work with the fact that I have one. My medical doctor believes traditional medicine is best for acute issues (i.e. getting stabbed with a knife) but that naturopathic doctors are better for chronic conditions (chronic digestive issues, muscle pain, yada yada).
Also because naturopathy is expensive, my medical doctor allows me to do the diagnostic tests – sometimes the most expensive part of naturopathy – through him and then go for treatment to my naturopath before trying drugs. I think there’s a really good balance to be had between the two!
wow that sounds absolutely perfect! what a great approach.
I really look forward to hearing the rest of the story. I’m getting to the age now where I will stop being under my parent’s health insurance and should start looking for my own doctor, so all this information is really interesting and helpful to hear. I have already decided I’d like to looks more into holistic healthcare as opposed to conventional healthcare.
I’m so glad it is working out well for you! I know a lot of people who have had great success with Naturopaths but have never gone to one myself. I’m definitely interested in it so I look forward to reading more about your experience.
Awesome you are seeing a ND! These people are the true healers. Doctors jobs require treating symptoms and prescribing medicine, which only make things worse. ND’s and other such healers actually deal with finding the root cause of the symptoms and treat the condition naturally and holistically through diet and lifestyle. HUGE difference. Definitely worth the extra cost. So glad you will be finding answers soon and healing! It’s amazing how fantastic you will feel in such a short amount of time once changes are implemented, and you’ll be shocked to realize how sick you’ve been this whole time, you never really know until you feel great! Oh, I’m so excited for you!! :)
I find your comment quite rude Tiina. I didn’t bust my butt to be top of my class and volunteer all of my time get into a competitive medical school only to be totally undermined. I’ve had bad experiences with doctors as well, but they’re people too: there are good ones and bad ones. MDs are medical experts, not NDs. Moreover, their recommendations are based on solid medical evidence, which are reviewed yearly by other experts. They won’t recommend you cut out white sugar, dairy or gluten because there are no studies that prove they benefit patients. I have IBS myself and the medications that my doctor prescribed have changed my life. If you are having any gastrointestinal concerns, I highly suggest visiting an MD – only they can rule out malignancies or inflammatory bowel diseases (which require immune-modulating medications – not diet modification).
I’m so so sorry Anna! I did not mean to offend you or anyone with my comment! Now that I’m re-reading it, it does come across as very rude. Thanks for calling me out on it. I will attempt to reword my thoughts. I am definitely very grateful to MD’s for what they do, they are definitely very necessary and I’ve needed their help on several occasions and thank God I had the choice. There’s definitely a place for them. But there is definitely a strong need for a connection between the medical world and the alternative healing world.
I actually don’t have anymore digestive disorders or “incurable” autoimmune diseases because I finally got sick of doctors not being able to help me and decided to take matters into my own hands. I healed myself in no time through diet and lifestyle once I started looking into my issues and what was causing all the strife. And I’ve always been very active and I’ve never been on the Standard American Diet. I’ve actually liked all my millions of doctors, they just weren’t able to help me over the past 14 years. So yes, I’ve been very frustrated in the past, and rightfully so I believe.
And the way the system is set up, it’s not really possible for doctors to be able to help with these kinds of issues, which happen to be the root of all diseases (there may not be many studies done to prove it but there are gazillions of people finding answers regardless, and that’s more accurate than anything, it’s priceless to have your health and life back!). Doctors spend a couple minutes talking to you and barely hearing a word you say. Then they prescribe medicine and tell you to come back if it doesn’t work, which it never did for me, or anyone else I know. I just kept going back for more drugs, while my conditions worsened. A lot of people have similar experiences, and I can’t ignore the facts. And it only makes sense to heal health issues naturally at first, and if nothing works, then medication may be necessary. There’s way too much prescribing of medication going on.
I know a lot of amazing people with great hearts that have become doctors for the right reasons, or are still in the process, but they all struggle with the same thing, which is the way the system is set up. It wasn’t my intention to attack doctors for the work they do (although that’s what I did) and will be more mindful of my wording next time. I hardly ever comment here and I didn’t post to start an argument, I really was just excited for Angela to find answers and find relief and got a bit carried away in my support for holistic healers. I’m very happy to hear you’ve been able to find medications that help your body function better. I hope I haven’t offended you further, I’m just trying to explain where I’m coming from and I’m hoping it makes a little bit more sense now.
I agree with you Tina in respect that we owe to the doctors the cure from many horrible diseases but we owe ourselves a good prevention of these diseases.
It’s fascinating that when I lived in Russia (or India which is even worse in regards to this issue), the doctor would just take a look at you and is ready to prescribe some kind of a drug. In India I was prescribed antibiotics over the phone (!) because I had a sore throat.
When I moved to New Zealand, I found that doctors here are VERY reluctant to prescribe you anything. My friend had to literally force the doctor to prescribe her some sort of a medicine when her symptoms persisted for 3 weeks.
Wow Olya! Such differences in all these different cultures! My only experience with doctors is in the past 14 years in the US (several different states) because I never went to doctors while growing up (in Bulgaria – I’m sure they have their own issues there too). And that’s shocking about prescribing antibiotics over the phone for a sore throat! Crazy. I thought it was bad here, lol! They better be handing out probiotics like candy in that case too! :)
On a slightly different note, I’ve been taking a lot of classes lately on Food Politics in the US and it’s absolutely fascinating. And incredibly aggravating. It’s made me question everything about the way the whole system is set up to promote more wealth for corrupt companies who market junk while the US population (and the world’s) is falling sicker and sicker every year. It’s so incredibly ridiculous that all of it is so easily preventable, but we never even think of the possibility that our own government is killing it’s own people for profit. As a result, I’m now even more of a huge proponent of critical thinking and standing up for what’s right, regardless of who might initially get upset with my opinions! I really believe in the work that I do, and have seen so many people find health through holistic means that I can’t ignore it’s value in today’s society. Sorry, reeaaally went off on a tangent there, but felt like it was important to share.
Thanks for your comment to my post! :)
I love my ND! They rock! Great post :)
glad you had a good experience! beware some NDs like to pretend that veganism causes tons of problems. stick to your guns if you know that’s the best diet for you.
Dear Angela,
I’ve been reading your blog daily for over a year now. I’ve commented every once and awhile, but not as regularly as I should. I’ve made SO many of your recipes, love your photography, and always enjoy reading your Road to Recovery and Career Happiness series.
Anywho, I felt like I should come out of hiding today more than any other day because I am studying naturopathic medicine to become a naturopathic doctor (ND)! I am studying at CCNM (http://www.ccnm.edu/), a school located in Toronto. I am in my second year of studies (it is a four year program on top of an undergraduate degree), and I must say the program and studies are fascinating .
I am so happy that you had a great experience with an ND. Our field of medicine has so much to offer so I am glad you are seeking help from us and are sharing your experience on your blog. If your experience goes well and you continue to share your journey on your blog, then maybe you’ll inspire more people to seek out the advice of an ND.
If you have any questions about our training, about CCNM, about the profession, or about naturopathic medicine as a whole, please feel free to contact me :)
Your blog has given me so much. I’m so happy that I can give back to you in the form of being apart of this profession (the profession that can hopefully improve your health)!
Hey Becca, Thank you so much for your comment!
How exciting that you are in training to become a ND. I wish you all the best with everything. I can imagine what a satisfying career it would be.
Thank you for this post! In so many ways I feel like you and I have lived parallel lives (i.e. eating disorder for years, vegan, tummy issues and reproductive challenges, blogger, visiting an ND, and the comparisons go on…). Heading to an ND can be a bit unnerving, especially if you have family members that seriously doubt your choice. Your post reminded me of some of the most basic reasons I continue to work with my ND. In the end, there is no price – monetary or otherwise – that outweighs one’s health.
Soul sistas :)
Wow. Good luck with your journey. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with seeing a naturopath.
I know reproductive/fertility issues can be especially frustrating, that was the main motivation behind all of the dietary changes I’ve made. And while I didn’t get the results I had hoped for, I’m still glad I made the switch.
I haven’t been to see a naturopath yet, but I really want to. I think the holistic approach that they take is great (or so I’ve heard) and very much needed after such a strong focus in the past of treatment of illnesses rather than prevention. Can’t wait to hear more about what you learn!
Wow, that sounds like an amazing experience and a completely different one than what I usually get at my doctor’s office. I usually have to deal with the long waits followed by the appointment that seems to last about a minute. All of a sudden I’ll find myself standing outside the office wondering what just happened. I don’t think I can afford a naturopath right now, but I think they would be able to provide me with a lot more answers!
Naturopaths are great. I was having digestive issues for years and the Dr.’s just kept saying oh its IBS, there is nothing we can do. Through a naturopath I found out my stomach issues were due to being in a state on constant inflammation due to taking a strong batch of antibiotics. I had to go through a 6 month elimination/anti inflammation diet but now I am back to eating what ever I like with no pain! Traditional Chinese Medicine has also done wonders for me.
For cost, see if there is a Naturopath school near you. They give treatments at a much lower rate and I find the treatments just as effective because EVERYTHING they do is signed off by a ND to make sure that they are doing what is best for you. Good luck with it!
I’m glad to hear you found relief!
Thanks for the tip…I will check that out :)
This post is so interesting – especially learning what you go through in terms of Canadian healthcare (versus the US). It’s so weird that you have to “break up” from your doctor and then you don’t know when you will get a new one. Here, it’s rare when doctors aren’t accepting new patients.
I hope everything turns out well! I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!