naturopathic doctor experiences

CountryLady47

Hi All, I just went to see a naturopaththic doctor for the first time to check it out, I was wondering if others have been and had good / bad experiences..

I was interested in her thoughts on weight loss, and ibs - a few issues I have. She recommended eating lower carb 50 -100 grams to help with both and I went for blood work for food sensitivity.. Not sure what I think of it but am certainly open minded to it, I have a follow up appt booked for when my blood work comes back.

I look forward to hearing about others experiences.

Hamsibian

I see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor for my Crohn's, and she also instructed me to go low carb as well as unprocessed cooked foods. After seeing a bunch of dieticians and other doctors who gave me vague directions, or said that diet wouldn't help, she's the best thing that ever happened to me lol. I still take western meds and see my Gi doctor frequently , but going low carb (I do best around 100g) improved my quality of life the most. I hope you find whatever works for you.

Btw, my tcm dr is certified under the board of medicine in my state and had excellent reviews. That's why I went to see her. Going low carb is a good thing to try, but don't be afraid to ask questions and do your own research if there is something that doesn't seem right or is confusing.

elphie754

Most naturopathic medicine is a scam and waste of money.

ninerbuff

The advice of going low carb isn't bad. Just don't buy into all the "remedies" with herbs they suggest.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

charlenekapf

I agree with this. I foolishly spent money on all these supplements and was given contradicting advise by two different "holistic" practitioners I saw. They aren't completely naturopathic but it seems they all have their own beliefs influenced by whatever "guru" they follow. Some like Hyman others like Kresser, Mercola, Weil. Find what foods feel best with you and take their advice with a grain of salt. if you adhere to regimens they prescribe only to find yourself miserable, it ain't worth it.

ninerbuff wrote: »

The advice of going low carb isn't bad. Just don't buy into all the "remedies" with herbs they suggest.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

savithny

IF she hands you two nails with wires that go into a laptop, laugh and run away.

Also: The "Food sensitivity" report is likely going to be hooey. Just know that. The blood tests they run won't detect real food sensitivities, and the "labs" that naturopaths use pretty much find whatever makes the naturopath money.

ronjsteele1

savithny wrote: »

Also: The "Food sensitivity" report is likely going to be hooey. Just know that. The blood tests they run won't detect real food sensitivities, and the "labs" that naturopaths use pretty much find whatever makes the naturopath money.

THIS is completely untrue. After 7yrs of medical doctors running whatever food allergy tests that they use (which apparently aren't very sensitive), we finally found a naturopath that ran an extensive ELISA food allergy test. The tests were run by the local hospital lab. We have never had a lab do what you are saying they do. After 7yrs we finally figured out what was wrong with our son a number of years ago. We removed the foods he tested allergic to and his eczema (that was bloody and covered his body) completely disappeared. His emotions stabilized completely. He stopped wetting himself all.day.long and not being able to feel when he was wet (at the age of 9). His (and our) entire life changed from that test. And yet those same food tests, not using the ELISA, run by many medical doctors found nothing (using the same hospital lab, but a different test). Unfortunately for us, by the time we finally did figure out what was wrong, his immune system was so damaged it flipped him into an autoimmune disease. Had the doctors found his allergies many years earlier we would not have found ourselves in that position (this was told to us by multiple doctors). At the time, we went to an ND out of desperation to help our son. We had never seen anyone like that before.

OP, I'll give you this piece of advice from many years of experience. A good naturopath is like a good doctor. They are few and far between. I would recommend interviewing someone extensively. The person I finally used was someone that was trained to be a family naturopath. Meaning he could order blood work, prescribe antibiotics if he really felt they were warranted over something more natural, advise diet changes as needed, etc. Our ND was trained at Bastyr in WA and one of things I particularly liked with that school over the one in the state we lived in, was they train their ND students to use lab tests, blood work, etc. for diagnosing vs. other means. I prefer that method as it gives me something concrete. I can measure improvements with those same tests done at a future date.

I think if you have done your research on the person and have good recommendations from people you know, or are comfortable with enough web reviews of the person, then you'll be happy. If you haven't done those things, you will likely be disappointed. When people run into a doctor they aren't happy with, they change doctors. ND's are no different. I have worked with several natural practitioners before I was able to finally pinpoint what I wanted and could find someone that met those criteria (not just ND's but other practitioners as well). This process was no different then the one I used to find a family doctor that I felt I could work with.

Best wishes.

Sued0nim

Is this an MD or someone who calls them self a "naturopath doctor"

If low carb suits you it's certainly a route to hit your calorie defecit

avoidance of dietary triggers for certain conditions certainly has its place in health and fitness management

duddysdad

Be careful if they talk about homeopathic medicine as they must now state that it does not work, by law. I know the two are different, but just be careful about things like that.

amusedmonkey

Low carb could be good for IBS, or could be the exact opposite. Same for weight loss. This "doctor" basically gave you a packaged solution for two of the most individualized issues. Find an eating pattern that feels easiest for you (could as well be low carb, but could be the exact opposite), and a real doctor to supervise you for an elimination diet to discover your IBS triggers.

The amount of carbs has nothing to do with IBS, the triggers are most likely specific types of foods, some of which you may end up eating on a low carb diet (like avocados). See a real doctor for IBS and just count your calories eating the way you find most comfortable for weight loss. No generic voodoo required.

ogtmama

duddysdad wrote: »

Be careful if they talk about homeopathic medicine as they must now state that it does not work, by law. I know the two are different, but just be careful about things like that.

Exactly. There is a difference between trying to stay as natural as possible and drinking shaken water for treatment.

Holistic/naturopathic -fine, do your own thing
Homeopathy-run for the hills

Orphia

katthouse499

I have autoimmune and severe food sensitivities.. After years and years of tests and meds....no more I listened and educated myself as to what works for my body and knowing the things that triggers or sets off my sensitivities I don't touch them at all! I've learned to have things and either alter them or stay clear of them. Because of this I'm healthier now than I've ever been. Cheers and all my best

katthouse499

@ronjsteele1 I completely understand and have been there. My hats off to you it's not easy at all!!

nutmegoreo

ogtmama wrote: »

duddysdad wrote: »

Be careful if they talk about homeopathic medicine as they must now state that it does not work, by law. I know the two are different, but just be careful about things like that.

Exactly. There is a difference between trying to stay as natural as possible and drinking shaken water for treatment.

Holistic/naturopathic -fine, do your own thing
Homeopathy-run for the hills

NEVER shake the water! :noway:

VeganFaceHole

Wow. All you people are so rude towards naturopathic doctors. Maybe the one OP saw had an MD.
And they weren't trying to sell OP anything, they just said to change her diet. Jeeze

AnvilHead

VeganFaceHole wrote: »

Wow. All you people are so rude towards naturopathic doctors. Maybe the one OP saw had an MD.
And they weren't trying to sell OP anything, they just said to change her diet. Jeeze

Being truthful =/= being "rude".

ronjsteele1

Sadly, it seems many do not know how to speak truth without being rude. There truly is a difference. I would agree with @VeganFaceHole. Most that express disagreement are rude. I include myself as having done this a few times as well. I realize there is no tone of voice in print media. A number of times people have said up front, "I'm trying not to sound rude" or something along those lines and it does help the reader to try and read in the spirit that something is said. It's not perfect but for sure the disagreements around here could be way more civil (myself included).

snickerscharlie

When a thread is entitled, "Naturopath doctor experiences" and openly solicits good/bad observations, that's pretty much what's going to occur.

Anyone is free to buy into whatever they think works for them, even if any benefit is mainly or entirely placebo-induced. But simply because many posts do not line up with Naturopathy being a viable practice does not in and of itself make them rude for saying so.

It does, however, make them honest.

The difference is in what side of the discussion the person reading those posts approaches it from. The issue often lies not in the content, but in the interpretation.

ronjsteele1

snickerscharlie wrote: »

When a thread is entitled, "Naturopath doctor experiences" and openly solicits good/bad observations, that's pretty much what's going to occur.

Anyone is free to buy into whatever they think works for them, even if any benefit is mainly or entirely placebo-induced. But simply because many posts do not line up with Naturopathy being a viable practice does not in and of itself make them rude for saying so.

It does, however, make them honest.

The difference is in what side of the discussion the person reading those posts approaches it from. The issue often lies not in the content, but in the interpretation.

I would say the issue is the "tone of voice" that things are said with. Disagreements will forever occur and no two people will ever believe exactly the same things. But there is no illusion that when people are saying what they believe (usually disagreeing with anything natural) that there is any amount of civility most of the time.

diannethegeek

VeganFaceHole wrote: »

Wow. All you people are so rude towards naturopathic doctors. Maybe the one OP saw had an MD.
And they weren't trying to sell OP anything, they just said to change her diet. Jeeze

It wouldn't be MFP without someone coming in and telling EVERYONE they were rude to the OP. Including, apparently, those who agreed with the OP, those who tried to lighten the mood, etc. Usually said with quite a bit of attitude and rudeness themselves. :drinker:

ETA: and with the added bonus of utterly derailing the thread, as 80% of responses will now be about the tone and word choice of responders instead of the OP's question.