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.
That’s exactly how my first appointment with my naturopath went! Congratulations ! You’ll be healthy in no time : )
Oh my gosh I can’t wait to read the rest of this!!!
I dealt and am still dealing with stomach issues..alot has to do with stress..also all woman in my family deals with the same issues. Ever since I went vegan/glutenfree/soyfree with a bit of fish thrown in I’ve felt much better. Cleanses some times work too. Always better to get a REAL specialist like you did..once I went homeopathic I’m never going back. Totally excited to hear about your progress of finding what is causing your tiggers to feeling bad. :)
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An ND literally saved my life. I had a serious illness, but my GP was constantly dismissing all my symptoms. The naturopath diagnosed me in my first appointment. And no- it wasn’t a money grab. She told me that although there were natural remedies that could be used alongside traditional medicine, the illness I had needed the care of a doctor (MD) and prescription drugs to be treated effectively. I saw another doctor (at a drop-in clinic, since it is impossible to get on as a new patient with a GP here in Canada) who ran the correct tests and treated me. I think there are two issues: 1) Some doctors just want to prescribe pills without bothering to look for underlying causes (in my case, my GP was happy to give me painkillers, but nothing else) 2) Studies have shown that male doctors are significantly more likely to dismiss unusual or “invisible” (i.e. pain, fatigue) symptoms in women as being imagined. It sounds ridiculous, but find almost any woman with a chronic illness and they’ll have story after story of being ignored and dismissed
Wow Nicole…your story gave me chills. I’m so happy to hear that you got the proper care that you need.
I can relate to your feelings of being dismissed. I couldn’t get over how freeing it felt to just be HEARD by someone. That is half the battle.
Wishing you lots of good health in the future!
One of my nutrition professors told us once, “You haven’t lived until you’ve had to discuss bowel movements with a 16 year old boy”. 16 year old boy or not, talking sh*t(hehehe) can be uncomfortable with the health care provider too!
I’ve been having issues with bloating after every meal for almost 3 years now. I’m curious, what did the doctor suggest the problem was? I’ve been told I probably have IBS but doctors never gave me any ideas of how to treat it other than trying an elimination diet to see what foods bother me. It’s funny that they are the doctors, yet I’m the one who has to figure out what’s wrong. I always leave feeling more hopeless than before.
Really curious to see what kind of plan the new doc will put you on. I’ve considered my problem might be glutten, but the idea of going g-free is intimidating!
he’s not sure yet, but im getting food sensitivity testing second week of oct
is it Nurtrion Response Testing you are having? It was just suggested to me to have NRT which is also kinesiology?
I’m not sure what the testing is, but I will certainly blog about it when I find out :)
It’s great that you finally found a good doctor! Naturopath or a holistic nutritionist can change things tremendously if he/she is a good one :)
I know you don’t live right in Toronto, but if you have reason to come into the city often enough to make it worthwhile, there is a free clinic (Queen West Community Health Centre) that has Naturopaths on staff! I’ve been seeing one for a couple months and she’s great – educated, a great listener and so lovely – and everything is 100% free!
Wow, something in life is free? That’s great!
I dont get to Toronto often as it’s over an hour’s drive and we only have one car. I might have to tell Eric about it as he works in Toronto.
I want that doctor.
My doctor just dismisses everything I say :P there’s only been 1 doctor who actually seemed like she cared, but sadly, she isn’t my doctor.
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I actually received my MD last year and currently reviewing for my final step 3 of the USMLE. I do love both western and hollistic medicine and I plan to incorporate both in my practice later on. I’m interested in travel medicine and I know that when I go to underdeveloped countries to treat patients with malaria, HIV and TB, I will be able to do so with western medicine. But I also know that for more chronic diseases like HTN, DM etc, i would like to incorporate holistic approach as well. For that reason, I want to get my fellowship in Integrative Medicine (with Dr. Weil!!!). I truly believe in treating the person as a whole and not just the symptoms and that even includes a prescription of yoga class to the over stressed people!! :)
I love, love, love MD’s who take a holistic approach. I really would love to find one in my area! It sounds like you will have the best of both worlds and will be able to handle anything that comes your way. Good luck!
Oh and training with Dr Weil would be so exciting :)
I loved reading this because my career aspiration is to become a naturopath!
Hi Angela,
What a great post to read. I study Naturopathy in Barcelona – Spain and am in my second year now. You know something curious? It was you (among a few other people) who inspired me to study Naturopathy! Yes, you! I was quite lost about what I wanted to do in life (hate my office job) and got very inspired by reading your blog, your history of changing jobs and being your own boss now and do what you like. My own ND also motivated me, and then all of a sudden it hit me: I should become a ND too! Then I would be able to be my own boss (having my own practice) and do what I like most (helping other people being healthy and happy). So, thanks for inspiring me.
Love,
Sam
Hi Sam, That’s so amazing to hear. I’m excited for your new career! Even more excited now that I understand the profession a bit better. It seems like such a satisfying job. Good luck!
That’s great Angela! Can’t wait to read Part 2! BTW I still only seen the old banner on your site
:(
You can hit control + F5 and it should refresh your page. It might be cached…
no it didn’t work :(
That’s weird…What browser do you use?
I use Google Chrome. Tried it in Internet Explorer and it’s there. Quite striking! I like it!
Thanks :)
I wonder why it’s not showing in chrome? Hmm.
It didn’t show for me either until I cleared my cache – try that!
I have a holistic doctor who has been very helpful. His tests were more detailed than any traditional doctors. He found problems I have that thirteen traditional doctors over the past 20 years have not been even close to pinpointing. One suggestion: I am not a vegan, but for the most part meat and animal products gross me out- he found I have a severe B12 deficiency. This may not hurt to get checked out. From what I understand B12 shots are better absorbed by the body than supplements. Very good luck to you. Having complicated health issues is no fun and somewhat consuming. May you find ease and happiness in life, Amy
Thanks Amy. I’m glad that you found relief for your symptoms.
I had all my blood work (iron and b12, plus a bunch more) done in may which came back normal. I do hope to get my blood work done again soon. I have a suspicion that my iron is low as I’ve been super tired all the time. Best to get it checked out!
Just a quick thought – your body has to convert B12 from cyanocobalamin to methylcobalamin. Most vitamin forms of B12 comes as cyanocobalamin, because its cheaper. I was taking B12 for years until my Naturopath tested me and found that my body is unable to convert it. So I have to take the methylcobalamin form. (That was my best scientific explanation of a bodily function that I have zero comprehension of! Just ask your doc!)
angela! you have no idea what perfect timing this is for me right now. oh my god, ever since i returned from my study abroad in Europe [where I, no doubt, lost a ton of weight that i shouldn’t have from so much walking and not as much of my frequent, routine eating (which is both good and bad!) on my two month escapade] my stomach has been so out of whack. bloating and what not that just makes me feel gross and terrible and super self conscious! i am so interested in this path you are taking and I can’t wait to hear more. im seriously thinking about making an appointment with an nd now! keep me posted :]
Wow that’s awesome! Glad you found a good doctor. I’m looking for a general Physician and Gyno right now and I’m having a hard time, especially with costs. I have health insurance but I only get a discount. My Doctors appointments cost anywhere from $175- $375 a visit. How they changed the health care plans in the states is just horrible. If you get sick you don’t go to the doctors because it costs to much.
Very awesome. I hope the visit (and future visits) are as productive as they are enjoyable. :) Happy Friday
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you’re starting to make progress on this!
I have stomach issues, too (it’s constantly grumbling/talking but not in a “I’m hungry” kind-of-way). I’ve gone to allergist but I think I need to see a gastrointestinal doctor.
I was wondering if a nuropath doctor is really a doctor. In the Netherlands we have regular doctors and alternative ‘docters’ but they are not allowed to use that title if they are not medically trained. I’m well on my way in getting my MD so I’m a little bit pro-regular and anti-alternative. I do think that regular medicine is sometimes a little to busy practising ‘evidence based medicine’ instead of ‘patient based medicine’. But I also think that some of the negatives of regular medicine have nothing to do with the doctor, but with the system. To make good health care available to everyone it must be cost-effective and long private consults are very nice for patients but they do cost a lot of money and they are not that big a difference in outcome. That is why in the Netherlands the insurance company’s don’t allow GPs to see patients for longer than 10 minutes (unless absolutly necessary) while most doctors would like to take more time for their patients. Like you said, this ND takes the time and so, but you do have to pay a lot for it. That means it will only be available for those who can afford it which makes it an elite ‘doctor’. And of course I do think that if people can afford this and do have the interest in this practise, there is no problem. But I do think that if regular doctors would have more time and resources for their patients (also more time for psychological, physical and social aspects, which is also very important in regular medicine but it must be skipped a lot because of this time-limit) a lot of people that now seek help from alternative doctors are perfectly happy with their regular doctor. And in that case the medical care is much more regulated to guarantee quality and safety.
Glad you are promoting this type of healthcare. After seeing a Chinese Medicine doctor for many months, I knew more about poop that I ever thought possible! ;)