Naturopath

risec10

Hi! I just have a couple questions for those of you that go to a Naturopath to treat your thyroid. It is definitely not covered with my insurance so I am wondering how much visits and consultations cost for you. Also, how often do you need to go. The closet one to me is about 60 miles away. Any advice is greatly appreciated

tecallahan

It's pretty expensive in my area -- but I had gone to so many endos and was getting nowhere fast. I am 60 years old and I figured I have one last shot to get fit and lose weight and so I invested in the Naturopath. The initial visit plus labwork was somewhere around $600. I go about once a month -- the costs now are running around $100-200.

What he did for me since December, 2011-
- I am off of Synthroid and happily on Armour Dessicated thyroid
- He found out that I had Reverse T3 and helped me to get rid of it - RT3 was blocking my weight loss.
- He found out I have Hashimoto Disease - and helped me to go gluten-free
- He found out I have Adrenal Fatigue (no cortisol) - and he is currently helping me to restore my adrenals
- I am now completely off of cholesterol medicine that I took for almost 20 years (Lipitor) - My cholesterol has gone from 348 down to 171 - cut in half. That's almost entirely due to the Armour.
- I am now taking 1/4 of the dose of high blood pressure medicine that I was taking -- and hopeful to be off of it completely this year.
- My insomnia is gone
- My constipation is gone
- I lost a total of 26 pounds (10 before MFP and 16 since MFP)


I still have chronic vertigo, dizziness and ringing in my ears, that he is convinced is hormonal - thyroid, adrenals, something -- so we are trying different protocols to get rid of that.

All total since December, I've probably spent about $2500 there -- but he is doing what no doctor has done for me in 20 years.

That said -- if you read Stopthehyroidmadness.com and educate yourself, you may be able to find a doctor that is covered by insurance that will do the correct lab work and treat your symptoms. I just couldn't find one in my area.

Terri

risec10

Thank you so much for responding! I have read stopthethyroidmadness.com and that's one of the main reasons I am trying to switch doctors. I am somewhat limited because I am on Tricare insurance (Military) so I have to use doctors that are chosen for me and if I want someone else it's a whole process of referrals. I have an appointment on the 23rd and I am going to ask about switching to Armour. I looked it up on the tricare website and it is on the list of medications they prescribe so I hope it goes well. I also have a list of labs I am going to ask for. I am wondering if my regular doctor agrees to prescribe Armour for me and runs the labs recommended in the book, if I could use her and the help of a Naturopath. Any thoughts on that? Thanks again for responding and your success with a naturopath is really inspiring!

debbylee22

Hi! I just have a couple questions for those of you that go to a Naturopath to treat your thyroid. It is definitely not covered with my insurance so I am wondering how much visits and consultations cost for you. Also, how often do you need to go. The closet one to me is about 60 miles away. Any advice is greatly appreciated

I just went to a Naturopath last week. It was quite fascinating. It cost $325 (including supplements), for the first visit, which was 1 1/2 hrs long. Future visits will be around $65. I go in in a month to see here again. Fortunately for me, I was already on most of the supplements & diet restrictions that she would of recommended!
I will be going to see my Dr again this week too, to get the blood-tests results. Not quite sure what I should be saying to him about all this. But I think he will just think my numbers are fine anyway.
Hope you can get results with your Dr, or find one that will treat your symptoms!

amersmanders

I love my naturopath. Even with that said, it took awhile to find the right one for me. The first one I saw was really critical of everything about me and was really unhelpful. When I told her I needed to switch because I didn't think it was working for me, she told me that I was doomed to fail in life. The naturopath I have now is about $110/visit, plus supplements ($10-35/3 mos for me) and bloodwork (around 200-300 every 3-6 months depending on where all of my levels are and what we're working on). Some supplements can be purchased for cheaper online or at a natural foods store (I am taking vitamin d supplements and they are about $5 cheaper per bottle at the natural food store and similar in quality to the ones my naturopath has, but not all of the supplements are available there). If possible, you might look into seeing if you can get an HSA or FSA through your insurance, or separate from your insurance to help pay for some of the supplements and bloodwork on a pre-tax basis.

debbylee22

Hi amersmanders,
Thanks for that, what are you being treated for? What are you taking?? Just curious. I'm taking dissicated adrenal & licorice root... had to stop the licorice root, as I'm getting a water retention & think that's what caused it. Just wondering if anyone else has taken either two of those.

Maymichelle

I completed a consultation with a Chiropractor/Naturopath close to me here in Ohio & his entire program was $8,000 upfront. This included all the testing, supplements, appointments, etc. I was depressed because although I recognize how important it was to get healthy I did not have that money to invest upfront! They did not take any payments. I did some more looking and found a chiropractor/Kinesiologist who bills my insurance so my appointments are only a little over $20 a visit. I do have to buy supplements & currently I am on a lot so each appointment actually averages about $60-$100 every 2 weeks, which is very affordable in comparison. I love the changes I am experiencing. I am still feeling a bit of fatigue, but we are still working on getting me well! I am very happy with this route I have chose to take & am no longer seeing my unsupportive endo!!

amersmanders

Hi amersmanders,
Thanks for that, what are you being treated for? What are you taking?? Just curious. I'm taking dissicated adrenal & licorice root... had to stop the licorice root, as I'm getting a water retention & think that's what caused it. Just wondering if anyone else has taken either two of those.

I have hypothyroidism, and was born without a thyroid. I am currently taking Levothyroxin. At one point I had looked into Armour, but it wasn't the best choice for me and I don't remember what the reason was. I'll have to ask my naturopath to look back through her notes. I take Glysen, Ovablend, Vitamin D, Aller-C, flax seeds, and probiotics.

nill4me

I have been thinking about looking for a Naturopath in my area (Charleston, SC). I've been struggling for so long, have been switched from synthroid to armour, back synthroid. I started taking additional supplements on my own, from reading i've done, but I would like for once to have a professional that i pay for actually care about how i feel.

tecallahan

There are so many threads going on right now -- I just wanted to remind people that if you tried Armour and "it didn't work" - that Synthroid won't work either. Armour is T3 + T4 - it works perfectly in the presence of good Ferritin/Iron levels and good adrenal function. If you don't have both of those going, then the T3 cannot get into your cells properly and you will still be hypothyroid.

jamala19

tecallahan-- I took Armour for years (1 grain) and then when there was a shortage took naturethroid, then my T3 went too high and I was having a lot of anxiety/hyper issues. My TSH was suppressed at one point. But, my naturopath reduced dosage to get my TSH between 1-2 to try and get pregnant (that hasn't happened yet). In Feb 2012, I changed to Levothyroxine (100, took generic), initially I lost about 8 lbs and then nothing-- but had surgery for endometriosis in May, so off my feet for a while. Late June and July, been kicking butt in the workout/diet department, but did not lose a pound. So, I went back to ND and they decided to switch me to Levoxyl (100) and Cytomel (5 to start, can move up to 10 if needed, taking generic).

I've only been on this new dosage for less than a week. I noticed you said that your ND fixed your reserve T3 issue. My last labs showed a TSH of 1.05, T4 mid range normal and T3 low normal (I don't have those numbers in front of me). But I remember the ND saying my RT3 was off and that could be making something else off? Talk about brain fog! I can't remember everything she said. What did your ND do to help you?

When my thyroid was suppressed I lost weight normally. But the NDs don't want me to be suppressed anymore for fertility/heart/bones reasons.

I have definitely been to STTM over the years. Thanks in advance!

jamala19

Oh and Im taking a supplement for adrenal support.