My First Naturopathic Medicine Experience

In case you're not from 'round here - in central Virginia, there isn't exactly much to choose from with regard to alternative living (whether it be food choices, medical treatment, etc.) So when I decided I wanted to see a naturopathic doctor, Richmond Natural Medicine was pretty much the only thing that came up. Their website looked good, phone conversations with the administrative staff were positive, so I booked an appointment with Dr. Courtney Paré. The following is a summary of my experience - but I'd be glad to share further should anyone have any questions!

First, why?

I really became better educated on prevention vs treatment and the body's ability to work with you and for you not against you when I was pregnant. I had educated myself on all the positive effects of a natural birth (on both baby and mom) and was set on having one so I pursued the resources that supported that (the Bradley method birth class, hiring a doula {love you, Alli!!}, etc.) This exposed me to more and more "alternatives" to traditional medicine, and since my experiences have been insanely positive and effective, I decided for my own personal primary care, I also wanted to go this route.

The Appointment

Prior to the appointment, I had to fill out a new patient packet. This wasn't the traditional medical forms I had completed in the past. Yes, it asked my current medications/supplements (keep reading to find out why, though!), but it focused on ME, as a complete human being. They wanted to know why I chose the clinic, what expectations I had both for the initial appointment and long term, the wellness wheel and how satisfied was I in those various areas, what did I do regularly that supported my health and what didn't, etc. Based on the paperwork alone, I knew I was off to an awesome start.

When I scheduled the appointment, the administrative staff informed me it would be 2 hours; and it was every bit of 2 hours, one on one, with Dr. Paré. There was no rushing; it was quiet, calm, engaging conversation. She didn't try to speak for me or interrupt me. We went over my paperwork together thoroughly - and while I didn't have any immediate/current health or medical concerns, we were still able to work together to create a healing plan. I also did opt for the Enzyme test in which they examine my blood to determine if I do have any food intolerances that I may not be aware of - I'll get those results in a couple weeks and meet with their staff nutritionist to go over it.

My healing plan was split into several sections: Lifestyle, Nutrition, and Supplemental Support. In sum, for me personally, I didn't need immediate management of any health concerns, but I could (and have) implemented the following:

• Trying to get more restful sleep
• Make it a point to do some mindfulness work daily
• Discontinue several supplements I was taking - she checked my Shakeology label and said it covered everything.....YEAH! 
• Take the botanical tincture she made for me on the spot to help me protect my adrenals. She was most concerned about potential for future burnout due to the physical and mental demands of having a full-time job, a toddler, owning a business and being a group fitness instructor.

 

• She also gave me some awesome ideas for allergy support, as I tend to have to rely on Zyrtek for months throughout the spring and summer! 

Before I left, she answered the various questions I had, even gave me a list of providers in the area that could serve as my PCP that supported patients who also sought naturopathic doctors. You see, in good ol' Virginia, naturopathic medicine is not recognized, thus they can't technically serve as your PCP because VA won't license them. This also impacts the cost of seeking naturopathic treatment - every cent is out of pocket and up front....which I know makes it practically impossible for most of us to do regularly. So upsetting but maybe time and activism will change the course.

I'll be following up with Dr. Paré in 6 weeks to see how my healing plan is working and also to make another nutritional plan based on the enzyme testing findings. I'm grateful for this experience and I hope to continue with it! The information and guidance alone in the 1 session was worth its weight in gold! I highly recommend you seek out a naturopathic facility in your area. And of course, if you have any questions about my specific experience, just let me know!

In Health,

Lindsay
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Priorities, Baby!

We don't think it is a huge secret at this point - but for those who may not know....yes, we travel an hour to and an hour back to grocery shop at a certain store, once a week, always. It's really not a big deal to us....we are constantly bee-bopping all over creation anyways....but it never fails to surprise people when they first hear it. Weird, but okay.

On our most recent trek, we ran into some cohorts of Timothy's. Chit-chatting commenced: they perused our shopping cart, asked why we were here annnndddd when we explained we make this trip every week, the jokes about "must be nice to have all that money" started up.

Outside, we looked like this:

Inside, we looked like this:

 

  

We were discussing this afterward and found what we think to be the best way to explain it. We will try our best to utilize this explanation/disclaimer, in whole or parts, in all future encounters:

"WOW, thank you for insinuating that a couple in their mid-twenties with no history of monetary inheritance must be rich because they shop at Whole Foods. It certainly can't be because we work hard and budget accordingly, no, definitely not that. We are just Richy McRicherson"

Okay - maaayybbbee skip that part, unless we are just overwhelmed with sarcasm that day.
 

Maybe it should go more like this:

"Yep - high quality food is really important to us and we can't get that at our local stores. We find that you spend your money, time, and effort on things that you deem priorities. For us, our health is the #1 priority, so we delegate a lot of our time, money, and effort into preserving and improving our health."

Now - in our perfect world, the person(s) would follow up with something like "Jeez, you're right. I want to do this too. How can you help me?"

YES! YES! We can help. Easy challenge: For the next month, track your expenses. Keep note of when you go out to the bar for drinks, grab some fast food, get some snacks from the vending machine, order pizza, etc. We bet that you would be shocked if you add all that up! If you really want to make the change without seeing a huge change in your budget, put all or most of those funds toward grocery shopping. Crap out, goodness in, no change in your funds. 

We really mean no harm, and we are sorry if you find this post preachy. We are not perfect, but we do try to keep our priorities at the forefront of our minds 98.978346% of the time and just want people to know that they too can do the same, if they really want to. 

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In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy