What we learned from the Naturopathic Doctor (part 1 of 2)
As I promised in my first post, I would continue the discussion of what my family and I learned when we went to a Naturopathic Doctor (N.D.). The doctor we saw used a unique holistic approach, incorporating nutrition, muscle response testing, chiropractic, wellness, detoxification programs, weight loss programs, herbs, homeopathy and "live" ionized alkaline water to balance the body naturally. The doctor's purpose was to help as many people as possible without harmful drugs or needless surgery.
During the first consultation, my husband and I had two non-invasive tests to determine our ability to handle stress, fitness level, nutritional status, and heart rate. After a thorough review of those tests and our health history, the doctor came up with an individual plan for each of us. As I said before, our two children also went to the N.D. but did not have any of these tests done on them.
After the initial consultation, I saw the doctor for several months. She did muscle response testing (MRT) which is a form of kinesiology testing. MRT is a way of determining the nutritional needs of the body. Based on the concept that your body does not lie, this non-invasive test is used to evaluate specific reflexes and organs in a body. Muscle Reflex Testing works by the physician applying a small amount of force to a specific muscle and having the patient resist that force. When a patient is unable to resist the force, the muscle is considered to be in a weakened state. In this state the reflex is considered to indicate a need for nutritional support or help.
During my first few MRT sessions, the doctor found out that I had a wheat and dairy intolerance. I already knew about the wheat intolerance as I was diagnosed with this in 2002, about 3 months before my wedding, by a different Naturopathic Doctor. By the way, when I had an allergy skin test done at the allergist's office, it showed that I had no allergies at all. Even the wheat/gluten patch did not react. I told the allergist that I do indeed have a wheat intolerance and he said "no you don't." I knew I did because of what happened/happens to my body when I eat wheat.
Shortly after eating wheat (typically 20 to 30 minutes afterward), my stomach starts to hurt. Then it will start doing what I call "flip flops" which just feels like my stomach is churning. About 10 to 15 minutes after this, I usually find myself on the toilet with diarrhea along with sharp pains in my stomach.
Before going to the first Naturopathic Doctor, I went to an M.D. He wanted me to go through a battery of tests and said it sounded like "IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome." We never discussed nutrition when we talked about how I was feeling. I am so thankful I chose not to go through with all of the tests before going the holistic route.
During the time when my wheat intolerance was really coming to surface, my husband, then boyfriend, and I were just starting to realize how serious we were about each other. So, you can only imagine, when we went on a date and had dinner and a movie planned and after dinner had to head back to my apartment because my stomach was acting up, how embarrassed I was. It was just awful! We would go back to my place, I would be in the bathroom for a while and then we could not leave and go anywhere else because I felt terrible. Oh joy! What a great way to impress my main guy who I was falling head over heels in love with!! LOL!!
I was so used to not eating wheat but was now told about the dairy issue. So, I tried a few days without dairy and felt better. Then, thinking maybe the N.D. was wrong, I decided to go ahead and try a little cheese on a twice baked potato. Well, guess what folks? The N.D. did know what she was talking about and I felt terrible after eating cheese! Not only did I feel terrible, but the entire next day was shot because then I felt like I had the flu! Yes, I did! I went back to see the N.D. and she said, "what did you eat?" I had to confess to her what I ate and she said my body was in chaos. So, I do not eat dairy at all anymore. I will post another time on what I eat instead of things with dairy and wheat and where I buy them.
During the first few visits, the Naturopathic Doctor also found out through muscle response testing that my digestion was very messed up. Imagine that since I just talked about being intolerant to dairy! She also found out that my thyroid is not functioning well, I have really low energy due to my adrenals not working well, there was chlorine in my system from our tap water, my body was reacting to air pollutants, my hormones are very imbalanced (hence me having post partum depression and pre menstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD) and she found out that my lungs were not functioning well. I have ashtma, which did not surprise her at all. She said that at some point I was around a lot of smoke. I told her when I was one and my parents divorced, my mom and I moved in with my grandparents. My grandpa, at that time, smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day. She said that is why I now have asthma and problems breathing (along with other pollutants, chemicals in cleaning products, burning snythetic candles).
The doctor had me start taking nutritional supplements for each of my imbalances plus I started drinking alkalized, ionized water. The next post talks about what the N.D. found out about my children and husband.
To YOUR Health!
Jen
The information presented on this blog is not intended to take the place of your personal physician’s advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. It is for informational purposes only.
