What are your experiences with naturopaths?

May 22, 2007 8:42 AM

Naturopathy: What are your experiences with naturopaths?

I just saw a naturopath for chronic GI problems that an unholy multitude of doctors and tests have not been able to figure out. He seemed very knowledgeable and experienced, but he kind of spooked me out with the large amount of supplements he's recommending. What are your experiences with naturopaths, both good and bad?

posted by sdis to health & fitness (19 comments total)

Well, that's kind of what naturopaths do: try to fix your problems with natural things like vitamins. I'm not a big fan of them personally, but since it sounds like you've already exhausted the traditional medical community, you have little to lose. Remember, though: an ND is Not a Doctor; he himself is a supplement to your regular physician.
posted by ilsa at 9:08 AM on May 22, 2007

My mother had excellent luck with naturopathic medicine to control her wacky blood pressure. YMMV, I personally think it's all quackery and any success is attributable to the placebo effect.
posted by sid at 9:27 AM on May 22, 2007

I agree with sid. It is not evidence-based medicine.
posted by MrFongGoesToLunch at 9:36 AM on May 22, 2007

Lots of information at Naturowatch.
posted by grouse at 9:44 AM on May 22, 2007

Thanks for info, and would appreciate the rest of the discussion be about personal experiences.
posted by sdis at 9:50 AM on May 22, 2007

you have little to lose

Au contraire. Time, money, and your health are something to lose. Naturopathy is absolutely not evidence based medicine, and it would be if it could be. Those supplements your ND (and make sure at least that s/he has a real ND from a residential school like Bastyr, and not some mail order degree, which a LOT of NDs hang on the wall to claim authority) is prescribing have little or no proven value. They also have little or no research on side effects, drug interactions, or consequences of long-term usage. Just because they're "natural" means nothing. So is digitalis, and so is ricin. Lots of things are found in unregulated "natural supplements" that would curl your toes - mercury, lead, and pharmaceutical contamination are common.

Short answer, from someone who spent two years exhaustively investigating "natural medicine" when I was in a similar situation (a chronic serious condition regular MDs couldn't diagnose, let alone fix). I wasted a lot of time, though I figured out it was a scam pretty early. I got some small benefits from various things -- acupuncture stood out as interesting, though its theory of morbidity is absurd -- but nothing I experienced could not be explained as placebo effect or the good results of relaxation (I used to sleep well in acupuncture sections). The supplements racket was completely insane and full of very scary people making all kinds of claims for which they had NO evidence at all.

What eventually saved my ass was finding the right real doctor who listened to me, never gave up, and nailed a problem that could only be fixed with surgery, which I had. I've never had a recurrence of the problem, and while it wasn't a GI issue, I bet you just need to find the right real doctor. Don't give up.
posted by spitbull at 9:54 AM on May 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

I saw a chiropractor/naturopath for @ 6 weeks for chronic shoulder pain. He tried lots of woo-woo stuff. Then I went to an MD and got a cortisone injection, which worked immediately. The naturopath allowed me to be in pretty significant pain for 6 weeks. I found it to be unethical. As they say on ebay, Z--- would not use this service again. Evar.
posted by theora55 at 9:56 AM on May 22, 2007

I had ongoing immune system problems which my regular doctor couldn't help me with--nothing major, just constant colds and flus (despite the flu shot).

I found a wonderful naturopath (http://www.drzepp.com) and I'm much, much better. Life is no longer a struggle. I still get colds and flus, but much less frequently, and instead of being knocked out with them, I can carry on.

Yes, she recommends a lot of supplements, some of which she sells and some of which I buy at a local health food store. They work. They are a significant cost, but they're worth it.

I haven't had a bad experience with her. I've recommended her to 4 other people, and all of them have had marked improvement in their long-term conditions since going to see her.

The only caution I would give is that you check to make sure that your naturopath is licensed.

My insurance companies (both private and through work) cover visits to a licensed naturopath but not the supplements. I don't know how it works for you, but if you have insurance it's something to check out.
posted by Amy NM at 10:09 AM on May 22, 2007

During my youth, I was sent to a lot of naturopaths. I can't remember ever having any sort of benefit come out of those visits. I'm sure that they do have a few good treatments that may help some people (and traditional medicine tends to adopt those treatments relatively quickly), but those are mixed in with a whole lot of BS. I imagine that they rely on the placebo effect for the most part.

My personal experiences include a naturopath who claimed to test my compatibility with a given supplement by touching some sort of device to the pill bottle and my hand, one who tried to place me on a very restrictive diet based on my blood type, far too many kooky elimination diets to mention, and recommendations for vitamin supplements above the maximum daily intake.

Regarding the supplements: in my experience naturopaths tend to advise taking high doses of various vitamins, which isn't very useful and can be potentially dangerous. For water soluble substances, you are just wasting your money ingesting much more than your body can absorb, while for fat soluble ones, you run the risk of accumulating too much of the substance. These sorts of things are fairly easy to research: find out what the recommended daily intake is and find out what the maximum recommended dose is. Other supplements can be researched as well and you'll probably find the time spent well worth it.
posted by ssg at 10:15 AM on May 22, 2007

I really believe it has to do with how well-trained the naturopath is. Mine went to a four year college which was incredibly intensive (including cadaver work) and she was so well-trained that when she applied to medical school, she skipped the first two years of the program. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with my naturopath and she has rectified things that no MD could (skin problems, GI problems, chronic fatigue, ovulation issues). When she eventually is both an ND and MD, I'm not going to let anyone else touch me.
posted by meerkatty at 10:33 AM on May 22, 2007

I've had a very good experience with a Bastyr-trained ND over the last three years, but when I look at some of the experiences my friends have had, I can tell that she may be a little unusual. By which I mean that she actually reads and can intelligently discuss recent peer-reviewed literature on my most irritating condition. She doesn't recommend homeopathic remedies to me, nor does she hook me up to a box of blinkenlights to "prove" that I have ninety-five food allergies and must start living on distilled water and hay. I've never heard her talk about "alkaline" diets, and she's never encouraged me to go on a blood type diet. There's no ear candling. It is a surprisingly low-piffle practice.

She has recommended a boatload of supplements, mostly antioxidants, and they've worked well for me. (Which surprised the heck out of me, I can tell you.) Now that I'm much improved, she's encouraging me to taper off on them.

She's also recommended some herbal remedies for things such as chronic lousy circulation or a lingering sinus infection. Again and again, I keep thinking, "Okay, I will give this hippie crap a shot and then I am going to get real drugs from a real doctor," and again and again, the hippie crap seems to work.

And then there are her recommendations for things such as gentle yoga, eating more whole grains and vegetables -- all those down-to-earth things that everybody knows they should do and hardly anybody does. (Her diet recommendations pretty much follow those of the Harvard School of Public Health.) As far as referrals go, she's sent me to a physical therapist and an LMT, but not to an acupuncturist let alone a Reiki practitioner or anything along those lines.

So, I'd say that reasonable naturopaths do exist. But many, many unreasonable naturopaths also exist. I believe that naturopathy can be very good for difficult, chronic conditions, but you've got to choose your naturopath with a lot of care and a good dose of skepticism. You'll definitely want to research those supplements. I'd also find out if he has a strong working relationship with an MD, especially if you're looking for him to be your primary care provider. (If he waves his hands and snarks about the allopathic establishment? Bad sign. Back away.) And find out what happens if you do respond well to the supplements -- will you experiment with removing some of them from your regimen, or are you expected to keep taking all of them indefinitely? It's okay to press him hard; a good naturopath will know that many of his colleagues are quacks, and he will respect you for knowing it too.
posted by sculpin at 10:55 AM on May 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

I went to a homeopath for allergies. I thought they would use herbal remedies, but turns out they create pills and solutions from the plant "energy" - i.e. no molecules from the plant are in the solution. Yeah, kookey.

I realize a naturopath != homeopath, but I thought I would chime in to second the point made above – you do have a lot to lose. The alternative medicine route cost me time, money, and suffering. Since I stopped taking antihistimes, my allergies got worse. One night I ended up in the emergency room with a wicked asthma attack (never had asthma before) and I realized that while modern medicine couldn't cure my allergies, the drugs worked, and allowed me to function.
posted by kamelhoecker at 11:05 AM on May 22, 2007

In my experience, naturopaths actually listen and try to discover the source a problem, rather than just thoughtlessly medicating the symptoms. That in itself can be very helpful. My wife and I have been to dozens of doctors in five states, including the Mayo Clinic, and it's very rare to find an allopathic doctor who listens well and thinks systematically.

Having said that, the naturopath couldn't help us either.

< /bitter>
posted by futility closet at 11:26 AM on May 22, 2007

she was so well-trained that when she applied to medical school, she skipped the first two years of the program.

I'm not aware of any LCME-accredited allopathic medical school or AOA COCA-accredited osteopathic school in the United States that will let admit anyone into advance standing in M3 or M4 with coursework from any naturopathic school. They don't let physician assistants or nurse practitioners "skip" the first two didactic years - so why would they make an exception for naturopaths?

Get your ND to tell you which medical college this was, and which program.
posted by meehawl at 12:13 PM on May 22, 2007

Be very, very circumspect when it comes to taking any 'supplement' given to you by a naturopath. Here in OR, I routinely see patients given dessicated cow thyroid (Armour thyroid) and prednisone without any evidence of thyroid or adrenal insufficiency. Two patients have been hospitalized, one almost died before she confessed to using prednisone and we realized she had adrenal suppression. Unfortunately, the "Board of Naturopaths" consists of equally loony cohorts, who did not see the harm in this stupidity. Three people just died in Portland after being given IV colchicine for joint pain.

So go into it with your eyes wide open. And insist on an explanation for everything your are recommended to use.

As for you GI problems, many symptoms are not indicative of a disease. Seeking relief of a symptom should not be confused with receiving a diagnosis. The best practicioner may be the one that tells you hoestly that you do not have a defineable condition, rather than making up something comforting and handing you a bundle of patent remedies.
posted by docpops at 12:36 PM on May 22, 2007

Mine went to a four year college which was incredibly intensive (including cadaver work) and she was so well-trained that when she applied to medical school, she skipped the first two years of the program.

This is, almost certainly, complete horseshit.
posted by docpops at 12:37 PM on May 22, 2007

This is, almost certainly, complete horseshit.

I retract my statement - perhaps "skip" is an inappropriate term. However, she entered med school in January 2007 and will write her NBME Step 2 in January 2009. So perhaps she's on a fast track program and I misunderstood.
posted by meerkatty at 1:42 PM on May 22, 2007

Years ago, I saw a naturopath for help with nightmares and depression. The depression had started in the spring; my father had died several months later, of an unexpected accident. The naturopath thought my depression was because of the death of my father. I pointed out that the depression started before he died. She said that "sometimes your body knows..."
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:18 PM on May 22, 2007

Sounds like someone's naturopath is putting him/her on.
posted by spitbull at 6:49 AM on May 26, 2007