Why did I choose to be a Naturopathic Doctor?
People often ask me why I got into Naturopathic Medicine.
The main issue which sparked my interest in Naturopathic Medicine involved my Grandmother. At age 60 my Grandmother had diabetes and began to suffer from liver failure. After frequent visits to her Family Doctor we became very frustrated because he would only attribute her liver issues to alcoholism. My Grandmother lived with us and we knew she never drank alcohol. He insisted that she was lying to us about an alcohol problem. Our family never knew where else to turn to get a second opinion. Eventually my Grandmother was hospitalized with cirrhosis of the liver and kidney failure. During her time at the hospital she was connected with a Liver Specialist who ran a couple of tests and determined that she had hemochromatosis, Hemochromatosis is a relatively common disorder where the body cannot metabolize iron properly so it stores in various tissues and affects the relative organ. Looking back on it, the triad of arthritis, diabetes and liver failure along with a simple ferritin (iron storage) blood test could have led to a much earlier diagnosis. Unfortunately the diagnosis came too late and the damage had been done. My Grandmother fell into a coma and passed away within a week of meeting with her liver specialist.
This experience disheartened my faith in the medical system. This negligence and lack of caring fueled my heart with passion but I didn't know where to direct this passion. The medical system is 100% necessary and appreciated but I had this bug which made me feel like there has to be something else out there that we can use as an adjunct to our Medical Doctors. A gap needed to be filled.
After a few frustrating visits and feeling like it was a waste to take time off of school to see my Doctor, that gap was becoming larger and larger. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was when my Mother went to the Doctor and he had plugged his ears with his fingers and said "Lalalala" to imply that he was no longer listening to her. My Mother's blood sugar was at a prediabetic level so he prescribed her insulin and sent her on her way. At this point our family was at wits' end.
My Mother decided to go to a Naturopathic Doctor and after a thorough intake and family history her ND ran some blood tests and saw that my Mother's ferritin was high as well. If ferritin is too high it will store in your organs (particularly the pancreas, liver and joints) and oxidize. This process destroys the cells in the pancreas which disables the pancreas' ability to secrete insulin leading to a diabetic state. The treatment...blood letting, my Mother had to donate blood and her ferritin started coming down. This along with educating my Mother about proper diet and exercise prevented my Mother from having to be on insulin for the rest of her life.
In my mind, the gap had been filled. At this point I had been at Brock University for a year with the intentions of being a Gym teacher. I started researching Naturopathic Medicine and fell in love with it. I went to an ND myself to make sure it was what I wanted to get into and sure enough it was exactly what I was looking for.
While attending the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine I ended up getting terrible fatigue and joint pain which I struggled with for a couple of months until an Uncle told me he couldn't run marathons unless his ferritin was at a certain level due to joint pain and fatigue. I immediately asked my intern at CCNM to test my ferritin levels and sure enough they were about 6 times higher than they should be. I went to my GP who referred me to a hematologist to be tested for hereditary hemochromatosis and the genetic test came back positive. I went for ~12 therapeutic phlebotomies at the hospital which brought my ferritin down to a normal level and my fatigue and joint pain were gone! I couldn't believe it. Quite a few other symptoms resolved as well, including borderline high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Since I experienced such a dramatic effect from getting a proper diagnosis and such a simple treatment I'm now sure to find the root cause of what is going on rather than treating a patients' symptoms.
The main issue which sparked my interest in Naturopathic Medicine involved my Grandmother. At age 60 my Grandmother had diabetes and began to suffer from liver failure. After frequent visits to her Family Doctor we became very frustrated because he would only attribute her liver issues to alcoholism. My Grandmother lived with us and we knew she never drank alcohol. He insisted that she was lying to us about an alcohol problem. Our family never knew where else to turn to get a second opinion. Eventually my Grandmother was hospitalized with cirrhosis of the liver and kidney failure. During her time at the hospital she was connected with a Liver Specialist who ran a couple of tests and determined that she had hemochromatosis, Hemochromatosis is a relatively common disorder where the body cannot metabolize iron properly so it stores in various tissues and affects the relative organ. Looking back on it, the triad of arthritis, diabetes and liver failure along with a simple ferritin (iron storage) blood test could have led to a much earlier diagnosis. Unfortunately the diagnosis came too late and the damage had been done. My Grandmother fell into a coma and passed away within a week of meeting with her liver specialist.
This experience disheartened my faith in the medical system. This negligence and lack of caring fueled my heart with passion but I didn't know where to direct this passion. The medical system is 100% necessary and appreciated but I had this bug which made me feel like there has to be something else out there that we can use as an adjunct to our Medical Doctors. A gap needed to be filled.
After a few frustrating visits and feeling like it was a waste to take time off of school to see my Doctor, that gap was becoming larger and larger. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was when my Mother went to the Doctor and he had plugged his ears with his fingers and said "Lalalala" to imply that he was no longer listening to her. My Mother's blood sugar was at a prediabetic level so he prescribed her insulin and sent her on her way. At this point our family was at wits' end.
My Mother decided to go to a Naturopathic Doctor and after a thorough intake and family history her ND ran some blood tests and saw that my Mother's ferritin was high as well. If ferritin is too high it will store in your organs (particularly the pancreas, liver and joints) and oxidize. This process destroys the cells in the pancreas which disables the pancreas' ability to secrete insulin leading to a diabetic state. The treatment...blood letting, my Mother had to donate blood and her ferritin started coming down. This along with educating my Mother about proper diet and exercise prevented my Mother from having to be on insulin for the rest of her life.
In my mind, the gap had been filled. At this point I had been at Brock University for a year with the intentions of being a Gym teacher. I started researching Naturopathic Medicine and fell in love with it. I went to an ND myself to make sure it was what I wanted to get into and sure enough it was exactly what I was looking for.
While attending the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine I ended up getting terrible fatigue and joint pain which I struggled with for a couple of months until an Uncle told me he couldn't run marathons unless his ferritin was at a certain level due to joint pain and fatigue. I immediately asked my intern at CCNM to test my ferritin levels and sure enough they were about 6 times higher than they should be. I went to my GP who referred me to a hematologist to be tested for hereditary hemochromatosis and the genetic test came back positive. I went for ~12 therapeutic phlebotomies at the hospital which brought my ferritin down to a normal level and my fatigue and joint pain were gone! I couldn't believe it. Quite a few other symptoms resolved as well, including borderline high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Since I experienced such a dramatic effect from getting a proper diagnosis and such a simple treatment I'm now sure to find the root cause of what is going on rather than treating a patients' symptoms.