Visit with a naturopath

AlaskaAngel · 06-02-2007, 06:58 AM

Probably the less said about my visit this week with the naturopath, the better. But in fairness to mainstream medicine I will post my impression. Perhaps I just expect too much from people with credentials. I am somewhat disheartened to find yet another dead end in terms of seeing people who are professionally qualified to treat us. I tried (just as I have with each oncologist I've seen) to entertain the benefit of the doubt... but... to summarize:The positive points:1.The senior naturopath is endorsed by the major cancer center where I have been treated.2.He had a book published in 1999 wherein he promotes complementary treatment.3.Even in a town as tiny as the one where I was visiting in the Lower 48 prior to going to the major cancer center, I found a copy of his book in the local library -- and no others on the topic.4.One of the HER2support members recently mentioned she does consultations from Texas with the senior naturopath.5.At the appointment I eventually was given the name and number of a person at the University nearby who is either a dietitian or trained in nutrition.The negative points:1.The naturopath's website is not kept current, which to me is not professional in this day and age.2.His very nice appointments clerk e-mailed me the preliminary forms to fill out, including a detailed history and information about my eating habits, etc. and the associate naturopath who saw me used a lot of my appointment time to repeat most of those questions, clearly indicating he never bothered to read the form prior to seeing me, even though I had called the day before to verify that they received it and had it in the file ready for him to see. I was the first patient of the day. 3. sent them a letter ahead of time specifically telling them I did not want a full evaluation and only wished to discuss the metabolism of sugars and fats and in particular the balancing of types of fats. I was told that would be fine. The associate naturopath kept trying to do a full evaluation and never did come close to adequately addressing my question, even though at one point I said straight out that I did not want to leave knowing that my primary question had not been dealt with. Any advice, folks?AlaskaAngel

CLTann · 06-03-2007, 05:29 PM

It appears to me that your so called natropath is a fake or an unqualified non-professional. A simple question about fatty acid balance, which has been thoroughly discussed here in this forum quite adequately, should not stymie any person with some knowledge of food and diet. Perhaps we should not totally write off complementary medication just because you have been unfortunately exposed to a fake.

suzan w · 06-04-2007, 10:12 AM

Hi Lois...your naturopath story reminds me of mine...in a "nut"shell...I went to see one (recommended by and affiliated with Swedish Hospital in Seattle where I get my treatment). He did not want to hear anything about my diet...or answer any dietary questions...told me I would have to see a dietician for that. Basically he turned out to be a high priced supplement salesman...trying to sell me his brand of supplements which had the same ingredients as ones I can get anywhere, only his cost twice as much. As a matter of fact, I have osteoporosis and he did not even want to know about that, or how I was treating it. His recommendation for my daily calcium was about half the amount I was taking. I left there very disillusioned. Perhaps I should have sought another naturopath for a second opinion, but I can't afford to do that!

AlaskaAngel · 06-04-2007, 08:16 PM

Thank you Susan -- I think we had the same problem, unfortunately. I even liked the person I had the appointment with (as an individual), despite the problems with the appointment.

CL, A single visit with a single accredited health care provider (whether naturopath or oncologist) doesn't cause me to write off all the rest of them. But I think it is helpful to talk about frustrating experiences here, both as a way of seeking alternative suggestions and also to show others that surviving cancer does mean being persistent in the face of frustration. I did everything I could think of on my end in advance of the appointment to make it successful, and it still did not address the concerns I had. As someone who has to pay for expensive plane tickets just to get to the major cancer center where the accredited health care provider is located -- as well as arrange for accommodations and other transportation -- I don't have the $$$ to set up or wait around for another appointment with another naturopath. Yet my guess is that this one will charge me and my insurance provider somewhere between $100 and $200 for the appointment that I had. I'm not giving up, but certainly for the near future, I won't have the chance or the $ to see a different naturopath.

I've posted in the past as well about the frustration of having been treated by an oncologist who never talked with me at all about the "(minor?) side effect" of loss of libido and painfulness of intercourse in advance of treatment when discussing chemo and tamoxifen, and who failed entirely to tell me at all that I was HER2 positive. I know each one of us has to do what we can to educate ourselves. However, I think something is seriously wrong with the credentialing process when it is up to us to be more knowledgeable most of the time than our health care providers are.

AlaskaAngel