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Naturopathic medicine requires that you become an active participant in your own health-care. A visit to a naturopathic doctor, or N.D., will be longer in duration than a visit to your family medical doctor. Your first two visits will take approximately an hour. During this time, a very thorough health history is taken, including questions about your diet, lifestyle, stress, and environmental exposures. The appropriate physical examination will be performed, which may require laboratory tests. In addition to conventional tests, naturopathic doctors may use unique laboratory techniques to assess other aspects of your health including nutrient digestion and absorption.
The number and frequency of visits to your N.D. will depend on how long you have had a condition and its severity. Follow-up visits are scheduled from one to 3 weeks after treatment has begun. If a chronic illness is being addressed, you can expect to undergo at least one month of treatment for every year of illness.
My goal is not only to help you improve your health now, but to prevent future illness. It is more sensible and less expensive to keep your body healthy than to allow illness to take root and then work to eradicate it. Scheduling periodic preventive health care visits is a valuable way to stay well and prevent future disease.
On your first appointment please bring:
· The completed intake form
· A list of any current prescription or over-the-counter medications and dosages
· A list of any current supplements, dosages, and brands
· Copies of blood work and/or laboratory reports from the last 6 months (if available)
Your first two visits may include:
· A complete medical history, including a review of your intake form
· A review of any recent blood work or laboratory reports or referral for laboratory tests as determined by the N.D.
· A physical exam
· A review of any current prescription or over-the-counter medications
· A review of the prescribed treatment (supplements, homeopathy, herbal medicine acupuncture)
· Nutritional and lifestyle counseling
· Exercise prescription
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