"Are naturopathic doctors worth it?"

Here was an excellent question recently posed by someone from around Detroit, Michigan, and who stumbled onto my blog as a result. So...are naturopathic doctors worth it? Absolutely.

A popular view of naturopathic doctors is that the cost of seeing us is very high. Indeed, I have had a number of people call, ask me about what I do, then get excited about how I might be able to help them. Then they ask about my rates, and their enthusiasm often wanes. Then they say they're gonna shop around, and I usually don't hear from them again.

Let's look at what allopathic (or conventional) medical doctors charge, in comparison. A few years ago, I went to see my primary care physician (an MD) to get a prescription refill. I forgot my insurance card, so I was billed for my quick, 5 minute visit. How much? A whopping $89! Compare this with an initial visit with a naturopathic doctor, where the cost may be anywhere from $120-$250 for an initial visit, but you see the doctor for up to two hours. You may also be paying for research done outside the visit, so that you can get a thorough treatment plan. Taken in this perspective, naturopathic care is an excellent deal. (If we go by the scale of $89 for a 5-minute visit, a 2-hour visit would cost over $2000!)

Many people ask whether I take insurance. This is a legitimate question. But in a state like Colorado, where naturopathic doctors are not regulated, the question really should be "does insurance take you?" At this time, unfortunately, the answer is almost exclusively "no." Insurance offers reimbursement for services provided by a licensed practitioner, and as long as the practice of naturopathic medicine is not regulated in Colorado, insurance will not cover services provided by a naturopathic doctor. (Incidentally, I often tell patients that I do take insurance, but strictly for chiropractic services only.)

Here are some reasons why seeing a naturopathic doctor really is worth it.

First, naturopathic doctors aim to address the fundamental causes of disease. When you see a naturopathic doctor, most likely, you will not just be given a supplement or a drug that simply acts as a band-aid, covering up symptoms that warn us of potential major health issues. Rather, you will see a doctor who actively probes, researches, and questions exactly why you ended up with the health condition or malaise that you currently have - often outside of your visit as well as during your visit. Let's say you have insomnia. It could be caused by any number of things - a neurotransmitter imbalance, too much light in the room at night, drinking too much caffeine late in the day, or even an emotional trauma. Simply giving sleeping pills does not address the cause of your disease.

Second, naturopathic doctors often offer a wealth of information on preventive care. Notice that I did not say "a wealth of supplements for preventive care." There are some naturopathic doctors that do use a lot of supplements, and some get great results. And often, if you are dealing with a severe health condition, you may expect a fair number of supplements to jump-start you on the road to health again. But the best naturopathic doctors will also provide information for patients that will empower them to take charge of their own health. For example, I often provide handouts on simple hydrotherapy treatments that patients can do at home to help boost the immune system. I also provide information on ways to make eating organic food easier; this might include pamphlets on local farms that provide an abundance of organic produce in exchange for a relatively inexpensive share on the farm.

Third, naturopathic doctors take the edict to "first do no harm" very seriously. This entails two things. First, the best naturopathic doctors support the body's health and its innate tendency to heal itself when given the right conditions. With this strategy, it is difficult to do much harm; frequently, this results in no harm done at all. Second, naturopathic doctors will use the least invasive therapies first. Eliminating obstacles to cure, establishing a healthy daily regimen, and providing gentle treatments like homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and simple botanical medicines to support health can and regularly do work wonders. Often, this is all that needs to be done to help a person heal.

Fourth, visits with naturopathic doctors tend to be longer than with conventional physicians. You get more individualized care, with all attention devoted to you for the entire visit. Naturopathic doctors are interested not just in your disease. They want to get to know you as a person, how you got to the state of health you are at during your visit, and what makes you tick. What excites you? What irks you? What foods do you like? How's your sleep? You get the idea.

If this all sounds enticing, then by all means, naturopathic doctors are worth it.

However, you may not be a good candidate for naturopathic care. Here's some possible reasons:

• If you are looking only for quick fixes that provide symptomatic relief, naturopathic care might not be what you should look for. (Keep in mind that naturopathic doctors often do provide symptomatic relief, but that's not where they stop.)
• If you are only looking for a source for supplements without consulting a health care professional, naturopathic care may not be for you. (I once had a woman call me just to ask if I carried strontium to address her osteoporosis; she did not want to come in for a consult. To be blunt, this is what health food stores are for.)
• If you only want your disease treated, you may be better off seeing a disease specialist. Naturopathic doctors usually specialize in health, not disease. (There is a big difference between just getting your disease treated and actively becoming healthier.)
• If you are simply looking for an herbal or nutritional supplement that takes the place of a drug, you may want to reconsider your options. For example, naturopathic doctors may give St. John's wort or 5-HTP to address depression, but this is not merely to replace Prozac or Paxil. You can expect more out of naturopathic doctors.

To the reader in Detroit who originally posed this question...I hope you came back, and I hope you found this enlightening! To everyone reading this: best wishes for health and happiness!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

"Do you treat...?"

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

-- World Health Organization, 1948

Quite often, I get e-mails from potential patients asking me if I treat X condition. They are happy to have received a diagnosis, be it hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, diabetes, or whatever they have been labeled as having. At least these people know that what they are suffering has an official name, and thus a potential exact treatment, usually a drug of some sort. (Unfortunately, in many cases, these drugs are not effective, or have undesirable side effects.)

I also often get e-mails from patients who have a mysterious array of symptoms that are not easily pigeonholed into a diagnosis. They have run through a barrage of lab tests that indicate - at least on paper - that all their blood/urine levels are normal, or that there was nothing abnormal found on the imaging they received. These are the people who often come to me like Princess Leia, saying, "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

In either case, when working with patients, I generally adhere to a philosophy known as the naturopathic therapeutic order. It goes like this:

1. Remove obstacles to cure.
2. Instill a healthy regimen.
3. Support the body's natural healing process.
4. Support individual weakened or diseased organs or organ systems.
5. Address structural abnormalities.
6. Address the condition or pathology.
7. Suppress the condition or pathology.

Notice that in this therapeutic order, there is no emphasis on whatever condition a person has been labeled with until all other health-supporting priorities have been addressed. Often, an effective treatment protocol may include just the first three or four parts of this order, and the patient gets better. (Incidentally, treatment almost always includes patient education, so that not only does the patient get better, but he or she has tools they can use for the rest of their lives to help keep themselves healthy.)

This emphasis on creating health is often the rationale behind naturopathic doctors who say, "We don't treat conditions. We treat people (who happen to have these conditions)." This is not to say that naturopathic doctors do not understand these conditions; four years of excellent in-residence education with many classes in pathology, public health, and pharmacology (among others), ensures that they do. But patients are more than the labels of diseases they have been given. Addressing only these labels without addressing the fundamental causes of their diseases - the obstacles to cure, the less-than-optimal health regimens, the weakened organ systems - does a patient disservice. To address each patient wholly and to pursue the real cause of disease is the ultimate goal of a naturopathic doctor. Only by doing this can we achieve the true definition of health: complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

My Vision for Naturopathic Medicine

A year ago, I went to an open house at a clinic near my old office in south Denver. Among the attendees was a medical doctor who called himself a holistic doctor. He was telling an interested chiropractor about what he does for patients (his example: diabetes, working with insulin, but also with diet and lifestyle). The chiropractor immediately said, “That’s good to know. I’ve been looking for someone to refer patients to. I have some that are dealing with autoimmune conditions and some pain that I can’t really control, and…do you have a card?”

I had to leave the open house very shortly thereafter. I was thoroughly offended that he would not consider one of us, who are the original and real holistic doctors, as someone to refer to. (Check out my website for more information about naturopathic doctors and their educational standards.) I understand that this chiropractor was not educated as to who we are and what we do, but the disconnect between what I know and his complete ignorance about our medicine just shook me. For the rest of the night, I ended up very angry and jealous of medical doctors (and for a short while, even contemplated going to medical school to become an MD so “I could show them!”).

I drew upon this experience as a springboard for my vision…a world in which naturopathic doctors, above all other health care professionals, are considered first as holistic doctors. A world in which people know about naturopathic doctors as a matter of course. A world where we’re seen as experts in not just natural medicine, but health in general. A world where we can claim our role as primary care physicians, and where we can reconcile our education to that role. A world where we regularly order labs, perform physical exams, and work in tandem with other health care professionals for the ultimate benefit of the patient.

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Think of me as your primary care provider, the one you turn to first for whatever ailments you may have, just like the medical doctor you see right now.
Think of me as your primary care provider, the one who really gets to know you.
Now also think of me as your primary care provider, the one who uses powerful, effective, natural means that your body recognizes and needs, to promote your health with a minimum of side effects.

I am that primary care provider who may keep you away from short office visits that are impersonal and do not honor who you are.
I am that primary care provider who may keep you away from unnecessary, invasive surgery.
I am that primary care provider who may keep you away from drugs that help a symptom but miss the cause and ultimately make you sicker.

I am that primary care provider who will take what I know of the human body and how it works, and work with you with the materials that have nurtured us for thousands of years, from which we have grown and flourished to become the beautiful beings that we are.
I am that primary care provider who will ultimately provide you with the best knowledge and the best tools with which you can carve out the best health for yourself possible.

Think of me as your primary care provider.

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: Naturopathic Philosophy - First Do No Harm

My brother, who has a great sense of humor, gave me an excellent book for my birthday a few years ago. It was called Kill as Few Patients as Possible, by Oscar London. What a worthwhile goal! (Fortunately, most doctors, being intelligent, skilled, confident, and circumspect, manage to keep most of their patients alive.)

Here is a video on the basic tenets of naturopathic philosophy. The first principle is perhaps the most fundamental principle, not only for naturopathic medicine, but for health care of all sorts: first do no harm. Watch this video for an interesting spin on this principle you may not have considered before. And be well!

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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!

Video: How did I get into naturopathic medicine?

Part of my goal of being a naturopathic doctor is that I can help prevent stories like mine below. And my story is pretty far from tragic. But knowing now what I didn't know then, I could have made a huge difference in my health using the materials that, literally, have nurtured us for thousands of years. I could have done it without the use of drugs with unwanted side effects. I hope to make that difference in the lives of others. Maybe I could help you!

So here's a little video about my personal history, and how I ended up discovering naturopathic medicine. I hope you enjoy it. And, of course, if you're interested in any further information, check out my website at http://www.drscottisaacs.com/. Thanks, and be well!




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Do you have health issues that aren't being adequately addressed by conventional medicine? Naturopathic care may be the answer you're looking for. Visit my website for more information about naturopathic medicine, and begin your journey toward optimal health!