Naturopathic Medicine for Good Health

Imagine a medicine that takes into account modern scientific knowledge, traditional healing, and your own unique response to illness.

For most people, the naturopathic experience will be quite different than the conventional medical system to which they are accustomed. Your initial visit will include a consultation, detailed medical history, physical exam, and naturopathic assessments. Other lab tests* may be requested depending upon your specific presentation and concerns.

At your second visit, usually one or two weeks later, we will discuss your individualized treatment plan**. Treatment options include dietary and lifestyle changes, herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, IV therapy, or acupuncture. Treatment plans are always a collaborative work in progress. They change as your health improves and you get to know which treatment options work the best for you.

Subsequent visits are typically every 3 to 6 weeks, though may be more frequent if your health requires active treatments or close follow-up.

As a naturopathic doctor, I treat you as a whole person with an emphasis on the cause of your concerns, not just the symptoms. Treatment plans are gentle and non-invasive, working with the body’s inherent ability to heal itself.

Naturopathic medicine can be practiced along side of conventional medical treatments and drugs. An integrative approach is essential to making your health the best that it can be.

Conditions I Treat – Conditions commonly treated in our clinic include:

• Fatigue and low energy
• Mood: anxiety and depression
• Digestive concerns: IBS, IBD, chronic diarrhea or constipation, and bloating
• Skin conditions such as acne and eczema
• Hormonal problems such as PMS, menopause symptoms, infertility and low sex drive
• Frequent Colds, Flu, and other recurrent infections
• Allergies and Asthma
• Pre and Post Natal Care

Naturopathic Medicine and Children

Many parents are frustrated by their children’s health concerns but are uncomfortable giving them drugs that just cover up the symptoms and don’t address the underlying problem.  My young patients are very special to me. Having three children myself, I know that formulating a treatment plan for children requires special consideration. Children respond very well to Naturopathic Medicine and tend to show positive results quicker than adults. Childhood conditions that I treat include: eczema, nasal congestion and chronic colds, asthma, digestive complaints or ‘sore tummies’, allergies, attention deficit disorder and sleep issues.

*Testing

If your symptoms require further investigation, I use several accredited laboratories for the following tests:

Food allergy testing – IgG Delayed Onset Allergies

These types of food allergies develop anywhere from several hours to several days. Depending on which tissues the IgG immune complex affect, a variety of health concerns may arise:

• Vascular deposition: headaches, vasculitis or hypertension
• Respiratory tissue deposition: asthma and recurrent infections
• Skin deposition: eczema, unexplained rashes
• Joint deposition: joint pain
• Rhinitis and angioedema may occur as a result of histamine release by immune complexes
• Blood spot testing for IgG provides a simple and practical means for practitioners to uncover potential causes of allergic reactions and allergy-related disease.

Male and Female Hormone Assessments

Saliva hormone testing is most useful for uncovering hormone imbalances in both men and women. For example: discovering a woman has insufficient progesterone to balance high estradiol levels or; that high cortisol levels are interfering with the action of progesterone and testosterone. Once a hormone imbalance has been uncovered, nutritional or herbal therapy can be instituted.

Neurotransmitter Testing

Medical research has established a definite link between neurotransmitters and a number of conditions such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit disorder and insomnia. It has been concluded that deficient or excessive neurotransmitter levels may be at the root of many of these conditions. Therefore, the ability to assess the levels of various neurotransmitters offers healthcare providers a useful tool in addressing neurotransmitter-related conditions.

Fertility Profile

Infertility can be the result of a variety of causes both hormonal and structural. The fertility profile includes all hormones that most commonly contribute to infertility including; cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, testerone, sex hormone binding globulin(SHBG), thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH), free T3, free T4, follicle stimulating hormone(FSH), & leutinizig hormone(LH).

Blood Vitamin D Levels

Did you know there was a simple, convenient and accurate test for screening Vitamin D levels? And results are available in as little as two weeks? There is expanding research linking a variety of disease states and general wellness to Vitamin D levels.  Vitamin D deficiency (levels measured below 32 ng/ml) does not have obvious symptoms and can increase your risk for more serious diseases including flu, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis.  In addition, an increased risk for strokes, diabetes (types 1 and 2), depression, and breast and colon cancer are closely linked to low Vitamin D levels.

CardioMetabolic  Profile

This test helps you undertand your risk for cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes.  Proper management of CardioMetabolic risk factors and test results can provide effective tools for improved health and longevity. Test includes:

• High-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP, a marker of inflammation)
• Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c)
• Fasting Insulin
• Fasting Triglycerides
• Total cholesterol
• LDL cholesterol
• HDL cholesterol
• VLDL cholesterol

Thyroid Assessment

By some estimates, as many as 2 million Canadians could have undiagnosed thyroid disease. Thyroid disease refers to both hypo and hyperthyroidism, but hypothyroidism is by far the most common. Even mild hypothyroidism can have significant health consequences, so early detection is important.

Adrenal Assessment

The Adrenal Function Panel is one method for measuring ability to cope with stress. Basically, a stressor induces neuroendocrine cells to release corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which stimulates release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and triggers cortisol release. Prolonged exposure to stressors may result in what Dr. Hans Selye called General Adaptation Syndrome, which consists of three major stages of adaptation to stress.

**Treatment

Patients may receive a combination of the following therapies depending on their condition:

• Nutrition & Supplementation – Food can play a large role in how we feel and how disease progresses in our body. The right diet can help our body repair itself and makes all other therapies such as herbs, supplements and acupuncture work better and faster.
• Supplements – The use of supplements involves using the isolated constitutes of foods (vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, antioxidants, amino acids) in doses higher than it would be possible to obtain from food.
• Intravenous Therapy- IV therapy is a way to introduce vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other therapeutic agents directly into the bloodstream. The benefit of IV nutrition over oral administration is that it bypasses the digestive system, where many nutrients are partially or fully lost due to poor absorption and detoxification in the liver. Typical treatment protocols include:
  • Plaquex therapy for Cardiovascular Disease
  • High Dose Vitamin C for Cancer
  • Immune Booster IV
  • Fatigue Fighter IV
  • Herbal  Medicine – Botanical medicines are made from plants and taken in the form of teas, tinctures, capsules and topical applications for various therapeutic effects.
  • Acupuncture – Acupuncture can be used for a variety of conditions, however it is most commonly used for infertility and musculoskeletal pain.
  • Prolotherapy – Injection therapy for painful tendons and ligaments.

Next: Contact me now to discuss how Naturopathic Medicine can help you.