Naturopathic medicine

[kas baby]

Does anybody know a Naturopathic doctor? this branch of medicine is something I''m very very very interested in and thought maybe somebody might know of them.

 

[swimmer]

I do know one here in the Boston area. He went to med school and then went on to get training in homeopathy and other multisyllabic things. Man I am not being helpful to you.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I have spent some time with one. I went to an integrative medicine conference in medical school, and that was part of the learning. They are providers who specialize in natural/herbal therapies. There are some things about it I liked and some things I took issue with, but I have a different POV than most people.

I think if you use one, you need to approach them like any other person you are taking medical advice from. Have a clear understanding of the risks and benefits of the treatments you are receiving before you accept them. And if you are taking other medications, make sure there is no adverse interaction.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I''ve been to four naturopathic drs. and the first gave me tests for food allergies and determined I needed "therapy" instead and after two months of weekly visits, he handed me a bill for $2K (actually, I think it was over $3K). That was back when I was in my early twenties when I wasn''t insured and I guess easily taken advantage of. I refused to pay the bill and he dropped it after I brought up how crooked his practice appeared to be.

Another was a year ago and before seeing her, I made sure my insurance covered her. I went in there with specific needs. Basically (again) wanted testing for food allergies. She did the tests, went over the results with me, and that was the extent of it.

There were two others (in between the above mentioned ones) but I have to go pick up my son so I don''t have time to go into details right now. The other two scammed me. Yes, three out of four were a joke.

Also, I want to quickly add that just like most regular doctors who are visited by pharmaceutical companies, naturopathic drs. tend to push specific brands of vitamins/supplements depending upon who visits them and/or which school they attended and they (generally) are trained to think specific brands work better than others. You have to be careful to not end up leaving the office with $150 worth of random vitamins!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Indylady]

My mom takes homopathic medicines sometimes; is that the same thing?

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 8/11/2009 5:52:21 PM
Author: MC
I''ve been to four naturopathic drs. and the first gave me tests for food allergies and determined I needed ''therapy'' instead and after two months of weekly visits, he handed me a bill for $2K (actually, I think it was over $3K). That was back when I was in my early twenties when I wasn''t insured and I guess easily taken advantage of. I refused to pay the bill and he dropped it after I brought up how crooked his practice appeared to be.


Another was a year ago and before seeing her, I made sure my insurance covered her. I went in there with specific needs. Basically (again) wanted testing for food allergies. She did the tests, went over the results with me, and that was the extent of it.


There were two others (in between the above mentioned ones) but I have to go pick up my son so I don''t have time to go into details right now. The other two scammed me. Yes, three out of four were a joke.



Also, I want to quickly add that just like most regular doctors who are visited by pharmaceutical companies, naturopathic drs. tend to push specific brands of vitamins/supplements depending upon who visits them and/or which school they attended and they (generally) are trained to think specific brands work better than others. You have to be careful to not end up leaving the office with $150 worth of random vitamins!


If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

MC - your last paragraph is exactly what I had problems with. I have problems with the influence of the phram reps have in physician''s prescribing practices and found the same kind of thing going on in the naturalpath''s office. Pushing a particular product regardless if it is best for the patient or not is not good medicine.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 8/11/2009 6:03:27 PM
Author: szh07
My mom takes homopathic medicines sometimes; is that the same thing?

homopathy is a form of alternative medicine where a bioactive substance and diluted it down to very very low concentrations. The thinking is that these super low (almost non-detectable doses) still provide a therapeutic benefit. This is a very rough definition, someone might know better than me.

 

[Sharon101]

Date: 8/11/2009 7:25:47 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker

Date: 8/11/2009 6:03:27 PM
Author: szh07
My mom takes homopathic medicines sometimes; is that the same thing?

homopathy is a form of alternative medicine where a bioactive substance and diluted it down to very very low concentrations. The thinking is that these super low (almost non-detectable doses) still provide a therapeutic benefit. This is a very rough definition, someone might know better than me.

If you do a google search on homopathy fraud you will learn everything you need to know! The power of water according to them allows them to have diluted concentrations that rely on the waters memory for the active ingredient (because thats all there is of the active ingredient). There is a funny joke about how you only need one drop of the active ingredient to cure the whole world sort of thing. The logic behind homopathy is scarey.

 

[HopeDream]

Here''s what I know:

Homeopathic medicine is based on the belief that "like cures like" so remedies that would cause your specific symptoms are given in are give very very very dilute remedies. the remedies are diluted with water and shaken , and diluted and shaken etc, etc, and then drops are added to sugar pills.

It is thought that even though the substance has been diluted out, it is conspicuous in it''s absence, and leaves an imprint.
(like a footprint - something was there, then it was gone, but the change it made remains)
Amazingly - the more dilute a remedy, the more powerful it is considered to be.

In homeopathic treatment a patient''s case is considered holisticly there is one remedy that will adress all of your combined symptoms (ie. cold hands, dislike of salty foods, aching back afternoon headaches and dreams about elephants) and the homeopathic practitioner will do their best to find the apropriate remedy for you.
If you take more than one homeopathic remedy at a time, you''re doing it wrong.

I did seek treatment by a homeopath at one point, and I''m still undecided as to how effective it was. I expect it works mostly on the pacebo affect (amazingly well if you are lucky enough to experience that phenomenon)

The British Royal family uses homeopathic medicine. Homeopathic practitioners seem to belong to and are certified/governed by one of several professional organizations.

Naturopathic medicine seems to be an odd combination of traditional medicinal knowledge from Western and Eastern traditions combined with a "pick and choose" medical/scientific knowledge. At it''s best it employes a naturaly derived substitute for an effective western medicine (willow bark tea vs aspirin) and can make helpful recommendations for lifestyle changes. At it''s worst, it can be ineffective, or even downright dangerous if toxic levels of a natural medicine are perscribed, or malnutrition results from a too-strict course of exclusion diets.

It reminds me of Medicinal practice at the turn of the 20th century and before. Naturopathy seems largely unregulated. Natuopathic medicine seems expensive and must make a lot of money. I''ve had some friends find cures, but many other friends (my self included) just spend a lot of money.

Research remedies yourself, and makesure you know what the active ingredients are supposed to be, and in what quantities they are safe to ingest, and the minimum dose needed for a medicinal effect. (sometimes it turnes out that to get a medically effective dose of X you actualy need to ingest 5kg of (insert natural remedy here).

It is my personal opinion that both alternative medicine systems can be effective for treating those peculiar stress induced diseases with mild symptoms that are difficult to pin down.

It''s not so much the specific remedy but the fact that you are telling someone else about your problems, taking time to care for yourself and watching your diet and lifestyle etc. that acts as the curative.

Be safe and when in doubt consult a physician.

Cheers,
HD

 

[kas baby]

I''m looking at people who''ve gotten training frm accredited schools ONLY (there are only four in the US)... I know this doesn''t always make people good practitioners, but, figured it would be safer that way, a bit more regulated. In some states, people can just set themselves up somewhere and call it ''naturopathic medicine'' but not all of them. some have licensing programs.

I did some searching, found this website: http://www.naturopathic.org/content.asp?pl=16&contentid=16

just some more info in case anyon was wodering about it