Naturopath for testing ?

[Emmarose47]

Hi thank you for the mini road map ...
I'm new at all this and wondering about getting some lab tests ..
I can only assume that they are difficult to interpret the results ..
Who do I get to run test for me ?
I've heard of functional doctors but they are expensive and the one I looked at is so full the waiting list is full ...
Could a naturopath interpret results ?

When I had bloods done at my regular gp it showed I've had Epstein Barr in the past. If this is the case then it wouldn't be current I assume ?

All help in simple terms highly appreciated ..
Thanks in advance

 

[gbells]

When I had bloods done at my regular gp it showed I've had Epstein Barr in the past. If this is the case then it wouldn't be current I assume ?

Once you have Epstein Barr virus you have it for life (it becomes part of the DNA of infected cells). If you go with a MD you'll have more treatment options available and they are needed for disability claims. Naturopaths don't have any magic cures for ME and can't prescribe drugs in most states. Any nutritional supplements and herbs a naturopath could prescribe you can get yourself. I like their knowledge of supplements but don't like them pushing everyone into the naturopathic generic shotgun treatment system with a lot of ineffective treatments.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Could a naturopath interpret results ?

Yes, a good Bastyr-trained naturopath would be a valuable asset.

Unfortunately, as they've become a more and more popular alternative, their prices have spiked considerably, and their methods and attitudes are creeping closer and closer to standard Western Allopathic, and supplement brands that they prescribe and sell themselves out of their offices, at least in some parts of the US.

An alternative might be a really well-trained osteopath, even tho at first glance their discipline seems somewhat removed (bone, muscle, and skull adjustments is where osteopathy began). But they undergo the same rigorous training as Drs, and can perform surgery and prescribe medications. Many go into sub-specialties like neurology, psychiatry, family medicine, etc.....

If you can find a good naturopath or osteopath, you'll probably get better input, tho these days it's hard to say.

Good luck, and please report back, yes? We all know what a long, twisty, tanglEd, hard hard hard road this is, and we're all pulling for you !!!!

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

@Emmarose47
@gbells is right. Epstein Barr is with you, like, forever, and is often the precursor for everything from ME, to CFS (assuming there's any difference between them anymore), fibromyalgia, and lymphoma.

So if your tests show that you "had" it, and the Dr didn't bother telling you that that means that you still have it, it's just inactive but doing its damage quietly in the background, you really need another Dr ....

 

[gbells]

I think a problem with providers is the lack of standardization. Everyone is a lone gun throwing spaghetti treatments at the wall to see if anything sticks. That's a lot of spaghetti and if it isn't being paid for by insurance you're paying the bill.

 

[gbells]

ME, to CFS assuming there's any difference between them anymore)

Same condition, ME is just the best name. I don't use CFS or SEIDs anymore.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

I think a problem with providers is the lack of standardization

Standardization of which? Not sure I understand ..... most licensing of what we'll call 'medical professionals' is pretty standardizd, which is why I know I'm not understanding your post ...

But then, it's that kind of day ....

 

[gbells]

Standardization of which? Not sure I understand ..... most licensing of what we'll call 'medical professionals' is pretty standardizd, which is why I know I'm not understanding your post ...

But then, it's that kind of day ....

All of them around science based principles (which will never happen with naturopaths). You don't want providers retrying things that been proven ineffective but currently both ineffective and untested treatments are lumped together so that is exactly what happens.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Same condition, ME is just the best name. I don't use CFS or SEIDs anymore.

I've had my doubts about that for a while now.

ME an CFS were separate conditions until the 2003 Canadian Clinical ME/CFS case definition, when they were lumped together as the same illness, probably because Drs may have seen an opportunity to combine two irritants into just the one.

I still have my doubts ......

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

All of them around science based principles (which will never happen with naturopaths).

Wow. Tsk tsk. Naturopaths undergo the same rigorous training that 'regular' allopathic Drs do, and even more, since they're also trained in the use of substances not created and provided by BigPharm.

Naturopathic doctors are licensed to diagnose and treat disease, and can perform or order diagnostic exams and tests, as well as the prescribing of all pharmaceuticals needed in a primary care practice, except for heavy schedule drugs. They can also prscribe alternative treatments like herbs and supps, what are referred to as the 'natural therapeutics', that offer patients additional options with which to address their medical issues.

You don't want providers retrying things that been proven ineffective but currently both ineffective and untested treatments are lumped together so that is exactly what happens.

I'm not sure just what has been 'proven ieffective' against an illness that has nothing in terms of treatment beyond an official description of what it is.

Different things help different ME patients, but there's hardly any one thing I can think of that's helped us all, or this site would be defunct .

So a vast amount of experimentation is required, and almost everyone in these threads has gone thru endless trialing and erroring .... many of us have come to the conclusion that we'd rather make our own mistakes than let Drs, who are generally clueless about this illness or come in with pre-packaged prejudices, use us as lab rats and limitless funding for their own 'tests'.....

 

[gbells]

Here's what Consumer Reports says:

‘Natural’ doctors face skepticism from practitioners of conventional medicine

But critics say that many keystones of naturopathic care, such as homeopathy and intravenous vitamin treatment, haven’t been scientifically proved.

But critics — including the American Academy of Family Physicians, or AAFP, which represents many primary-care doctors — worry that granting NDs the same rights and privileges as MDs and DOs could harm consumers. They say that NDs aren’t as rigorously trained as medical doctors and that many naturopathic treatments are ineffective and potentially dangerous.

Timothy Caulfield, a professor of health law at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and a longtime skeptic of alternative medicine, says he understands why naturopathic medicine appeals to some consumers: NDs are attentive, and treatment plans are personalized.

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The problem, Caulfield says, is that many of their treatments aren’t evidence-based. Homeopathy, for example, is based on the notion that tiny doses of a toxin can cure certain medical conditions — drinking small doses of pollen dissolved in large quantities of water to cure a pollen allergy, for example. But a large and growing body of research has found that homeopathy doesn’t work any better than a placebo.

Some critics say that even less contentious parts of naturopathy tend to be steeped in pseudoscience. “No one disagrees that diet and lifestyle are important,” says Michael Munger, president of the AAFP. “But a lot of the specifics naturopathy offers are bogus.”

For example, NDs sometimes base dietary advice on a patient’s blood type. But a 2013 review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that there was no scientific evidence to back that approach.

First, MDs are also trained to focus on doing the least harm and to avoid riskier treatments until safer ones have been exhausted. “Naturopaths like to say that they focus on health, while we just treat illness,” Munger says. “But that’s not true. Preventive health care is a staple of primary medicine.”

Second, many treatments that NDs offer aren’t, in fact, natural. “There is nothing natural about infusing massive doses of herbs or vitamins into your bloodstream,” says Pieter Cohen, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School who studies the dietary-supplement industry.

And last, while standard medical care can harm patients, so can naturopathic care. There’s no reliable information on how often such harm occurs, but there are some documented cases.

For example, the Food and Drug Administration reported last year that a 30-year-old woman died after receiving an intravenous infusion of curcumin (an ingredient in the spice turmeric) from a naturopathic practitioner to treat eczema, a relatively benign skin condition that’s usually treated with steroids. According to the FDA, medical authorities concluded that the curcumin — which was deemed ineffective by a comprehensive 2017 scientific review — caused her death.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Here's what Consumer Reports says:

Consumer Reports, for all my respect for some of what they do, is so deeply in BigPharm and Western Allopathic medicine's pocket as to be indistinguishable from its trouser lining.

They're also deeply alarmed, or at least their bottom lines and wallets are, by the increasing numbers of patients they're losing to other forms of medical practice, including naturopathic, osteopathic, Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine, basic herbal medicine (which I;ve had a fair amount of success with, as have a few others in these threads), orthomolecular disciplines, and even homeopathy.

Logic would indicate that if mainstream Western med's treatments were successful, or even concerned and humane, the patient flow would be going in the other direction.

Given the time and energy, it's possible to google any number of studies supporting our particular prejudices, particularly in light of the absolute explosion of predatory pay-for-play 'journals', and even the sneaking tide of junk science appearing intermittently now in PubMed and the NIH.

And yes, there are quacks and idiots in all professions, and I have to believe that intravenous curcumin certainly falls directly into that category, given the lack of any existence of supporting evidence, or even anecdotal experience, in that particularly ill-considered treatment.

Which is why we ALL have to be the alert, involved sentinels of our own medical treatment.

It's probably a good thing for us to accept that it takes all kinds, and let it go at that, yes? This is a discussion that could get deep, wide, and moderate-able pretty quickly .....

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

@Emmarose47
Don't be put off by this back and forth.

There are good Drs, tho they're hard to find, just as there are not-so-good alternative practitioners.

Just do your homework, follow your gut, choose what feels right, and remember that when you make a mistake, you learn from it. When someone else makes a mistake in your treatment protocol, all you learn is disappointment, paranoia and fear.

Oh ..... and you get to pay for the privilege .... whooooo HOOO !!!!

 

[Emmarose47]

Once you have Epstein Barr virus you have it for life (it becomes part of the DNA of infected cells). If you go with a MD you'll have more treatment options available and they are needed for disability claims. Naturopaths don't have any magic cures for ME and can't prescribe drugs in most states. Any nutritional supplements and herbs a naturopath could prescribe you can get yourself. I like their knowledge of supplements but don't like them pushing everyone into the naturopathic generic shotgun treatment system with a lot of ineffective treatments.

Thanks what's an MD ...I'm in the UK

 

[Emmarose47]

@Emmarose47
Don't be put off by this back and forth.

There are good Drs, tho they're hard to find, just as there are not-so-good alternative practitioners.

Just do your homework, follow your gut, choose what feels right, and remember that when you make a mistake, you learn from it. When someone else makes a mistake in your treatment protocol, all you learn is disappointment, paranoia and fear.

Oh ..... and you get to pay for the privilege .... whooooo HOOO !!!!

Thank you

 

[andyguitar]

Thanks what's an MD ...I'm in the UK

It means Medical Doctor.

 

[Emmarose47]

Ah ok ...in the UK we have gp ( general practitioner ... I then got sent to hospital under CFS service ...they don't have any medics ..
Gp not interested when under CFS service

 

[gbells]

Thanks what's an MD ...I'm in the UK

Medical doctor. In the UK you call them consultants.

Consumer Reports, for all my respect for some of what they do, is so deeply in BigPharm and Western Allopathic medicine's pocket as to be indistinguishable from its trouser lining.

I agree there is a lot of influence over the treatment guidelines but that doesn't apply to the education. Also, it doesn't show that the naturopaths are safe. The article is accurate.

 

[Emmarose47]

Medical doctor. In the UK you call them consultants.



I agree there is a lot of influence over the treatment guidelines but that doesn't apply to the education. Also, it doesn't show that the naturopaths are safe. The article is accurate.[/QUO

 

[Emmarose47]

Ah ok I don't have access to a consultant as the CFS service I am under at the hospital no longer has any medical intervention ...
In fact as I write this I would be wise to do some research on this and if I am unfortunate due to my postcode ...