Has anyone had experience with a Naturopath? - YouLookFab Forum

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Has anyone had experience with a Naturopath?

Anonymous

I had my first-ever appointment with a Naturopath (an ND) last Friday and could have sat and talked with her all day. Such a fascinating practice. I'm seeing her for myriad reasons, but the first line of attack is to get my allergies and dependence on antihistamines under control (before we can start a full-on food sensitivity testing program). Right now, I'm not to eat any dairy (easy), no sugar (tougher than I expected) ,no alcohol, no yeast, and nothing with mold (most coffee brands are in that category, as is anything peanut-related, among many other foods). I'm to amp up my VitD intake dramatically, and am taking a natural oregano-based supplement to attack the yeast in my body. Also got a B12 shot and wow to that! This carries on for 4 weeks, and then we'll see what happens next. I am secretly hoping to finally lose weight too - but that will be a side benefit if it happens.

Anyways - has anyone here had experience with working with a naturopath? Tell me about it!

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16 replies

Latest reply was from elpgal

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

YES. I saw a Naturopath who was into Homeopathy 28 years ago. I guess I was ahead of my time.

It was successful treatment - EVENTUALLY. You have to be very patient, disciplined, and stick with it. Your state of mind has to be positive too.

It took a long time to cure my extremely aching legs (which I've had since I was a child), but eventually she figured out it was the seashore climate that was the problem. (We were living by the water in Cape Town at the time, and in Hong Kong by the water before that).

She gave me so called natural remedies and powders for months, and told me not to eat and drink certain things - which was easy cause I didn't/don't eat and drink those things anyway (coffee, alcohol, mammals). I had to eat a lot of veg and fruit - again really easy because my diet was/is based on veg and fruit anyway. I amped up my Vitamin D. I'm osteoporotic so dairy is very good for my diet. Calcium tablets are not absorbed into the bloodstream, but calcium-rich food is apparently. I have zero problems with gluten.

My diet has been a way of life virtually since I was a child. I'm lucky to naturally prefer the things I should actually be eating, so I didn't have habits to break - which could have been hard! I don't deny myself sugar or carbs either. I believe in: real food, not too much, mostly plants, strike a balance that you can maintain, and cook it all from scratch.

It's definitely worth a try. I hope you have a good experience and positive results!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

AND, my very migraine-y late Mum saw the Naturopath too. She helped her quite a bit.

anchie

Veteran

Yes, and it was kind of accidental. I had some foot issues beginning of this year and went to a orthopedic dr, and she happened to also be a Naturopath. She put me on a diet - I got the whole list of what I should and should not be eating. Main thing being no gluten, no dairy and no red meat. If I must have diary then goat better than cow milk. She also gave me bunch of supplements to take - VitD, B12, Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium. My foot issue is now completely gone, my psoriasis completely cleared up and I lost 15kg. I feel better overall. About the same time I have also stopped drinking alcohol and I never eat much sugar because I just don’t like sweets. I can’t say that I am very strict with it though - I am just trying to make better choices and stick to it about 75% of time.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I will be very interested in the outcomes of this post.I am under the impression that this is very much a U.S and possibly German thing.l ve googled naturopaths near me before and got precisely zilch in the search.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Cardiff Girl, google Homeopath. Naturopath is a very American/Canadian term.

Style Fan

Veteran

I saw a Naturopath in my late 30s and early 40s. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in my early 30s and was on anti-inflammatories. My stomach was a mess. I was seeing a Rheumatologist who I liked but there was not much more they could do for me.
I went to a well-respected Naturopath and he did the food sensitivity testing. I stopped dairy, alcohol and sugar. I started taking flaxseed oil capsules. I did a food journal and wrote out information on it. I felt amazing after a month. I stopped taking the anti-inflammatories and my joints were fine. The Rheumatologist was impressed.
I have thought about going to another one for migraines.

Anonymous

Yes , here (Canada) , Naturopaths have a medical (traditional) education and are called Dr's. They can prescribe antibiotics and some other meds , and can perform small surgeries like mole removals etc. Again, utterly fascinating. I think this will be a very real turning point for me - and I'm thrilled.

The interesting thing with sugar, and this of course is not exactly new news to anyone, is that it is in everything ! Even my Bran Buds cereal has 8 g of sugar in a serving - so that's out. I have to read labels vigilantly . It's not about avoiding chocolate bars and cookies, it's getting the added sugars out of the picture. My hair stylist commented today that my face looked noticably different already - less puffy and fluid-y.

anchie

Veteran

Gluten is also everywhere and has been very difficult for me to eliminate it completely - it’s in a sauces, dressings and soups. I eat lunch in cafeteria at work and I can only choose less bad options. Every meal option has at least one thing from my forbidden list. Unfortunately I am not organized enough to bring my own lunch. Are you cooking all your meals?

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I've been to a few different naturopaths over the years. The most helpful one recognized my thyroid issue by just visual clues and was able to immediately help me (later confirmed with blood testing). They often give B12 shots and I got one as well but didn't want to keep doing that so I found a good sublingual methylcobalamin B12 instead. I then chose another one closer to me who was also an M.D. in addition to being an N.D. I saw him for several years until he went into joint practice and began pushing medical tests and procedures that I didn't want to get so it felt uncomfortable. Funny thing he was the same age and opted not to get similar tests (I always ask the doctor if they get the tests they are pushing and often they do not).

Now I have a different source for natural supplements and no longer am required to give 8 vials of my precious blood every year so they can "prove" I need a prescription - which never changed in dosage for 12 years. Anyway...doctors can be really helpful, to a point but sometimes it's good to move on and visit others and do plenty of personal research.

I learned a lot during all that time. I believe that a lot of our health is our own mental health - what we tell ourselves I mean.

For me gluten is a good source of fiber and iron and I seem to "need" it but others don't. I cannot eat nuts or many beans/legumes so I have to get iron where I can. I eat some meat but I don't love it.

Anonymous

Fortunately , gluten is not a problem. Yeast is. And mold. It's been less than a week, so so far I've just been eating a lot of egg, soy cheese ( I have to ask her about soy products as i'm not keen on them health-wise but I do love the cheese substitutes) and spinach in a wrap, and smoothies (with a pea protein powder she vetted) with frozen berries. Breakfast has been oatmeal w oat milk. Fortunately I don't care about food so much that I'm dying of boredom - yet. We don't all eat together as a family much either due to different work schedules, so it's worked ok so far. I did make a roasted tomato , onion and pepper soup too - but that's a standard in this house anyways. I can drink vodka, which is nice to know for emergencies - lol.

Sal

Veteran

I haven't but lots of friends have - and I did take my son as a preschooler. I think really good in the field you are targeting - allergies and intolerances. I also think that when you understand your triggers you can get to a point where you understand that X amount of dairy is ok eg parmeson on your risotto whereas Y is not eg a big bowl of icecream.

My son's allergies are environmental (pollen, grass seed) and we might go down the immunisation method but it is a big commitment for a 14 year old.

Gigi

Veteran

Yes, I've been to a naturopath, many times. I always go to a naturopath first, before seeing a doctor, because I have had such bad luck with doctors (they take all my money and don't find anything wrong--or if they do find something wrong, I can't tolerate the prescriptions).

I had really bad digestive problems for years, and my then naturopath wasn't able to fix them, so I went to an acupuncturist for a few years, who just kept the symptoms under control. I then tried a different naturopath, and he told me that I had yeast overgrowth and mercury poisoning. I could feel a difference within the first month of the special diet and supplements. It took a couple of years to get cleaned up, and my problems aren't completely gone (some are emotional), but boy, what a difference! I used to live in fear of eating the wrong food, one bite of which could leave me bloated for days. Now if I eat the wrong food, even a whole serving, I'm usually way less symptomatic within 24 hours.

Interesting that naturopaths seem to be more respected in Canada. In the US, it seems that a lot of people are led to believe they are quacks. I think that the pharmaceutical companies use their clout to spread doubt about natural remedies and practitioners.

Anonymous

I worked for one many years ago, as well as for acupuncturists! It's a very different mindset than western medicine, which historically goes to cure the symptom not the root causes. Naturopaths and other holistic practitioners aim is to bring the body into balance. The symptom is just the manifestation of the imbalance. Western medicine is great for short term and emergency conditions, not so much for chronic ones. NDs are better for managing long term issues.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have, yes. Some time ago. Back when I had fibroids and low iron was an issue. She was helpful in getting me a version of iron supplement that I could tolerate. I also took my kid to a naturopath and we tried various things...it wasn't helpful, but it didn't hurt, either. I would go again, to the right doc, for sure. Some are better than others, just as with any health care practitioner.

Elimination diets are difficult but extremely useful. You get a lot of information that way about what might be causing issues.

Marilyn

Veteran

The Bran Buds made me smile. Yes, loads of fibre but way too much sugar. I cut them out years ago. Most mornings I have oatmeal and I make my own cashew milk....nothing but water, cashews, and a pinch of xanthum gum so it doesn't separate. I have no tolerance for anything sweet anymore. People gasp when I eat a square of 90% dark chocolate. LOL Plain oatmeal with fresh fruit is sweet enough.

My only experience with a naturopath was for my daughter. She has had severe eczema since birth. People kept telling me horror stories about cortisone cream so I sought out something different. I was told the homeopathic cream would either help or do nothing. It did nothing...and it wasn't cheap. For a kid with eczema and cutaneous lupus, traditional medicine offered the only relief. She's 32 and has been using cortisone since she was a year old. So far, so good.

elpgal

Veteran

LisaP, high-five!!

I went to a integrative medicine doctor recently for the same issue (managing allergies without medication).

Dairy-free - check. The doc is not that concerned about sugar or gluten. He also wants me to avoid soy and peanuts and work on sleep and stress. That’s as far as we have gotten.

He also prescribed some homeopathic meds but I don't know what they are.

His big thing is sleep and waking up without an alarm clock.