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When Should You See a Naturopathic Doctor?

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If you’ve considered seeing a naturopathic doctor (ND), you might have questions about which conditions they treat, what to expect at the first visit, and when to see an ND or seek conventional medical care. We tackle these questions below. When you’re ready to make the decision, try our Find an ND tool for a doctor near you.

Six Reasons to See a Naturopathic Doctor

Most naturopathic doctors spend 1 to 2 hours with patients at the initial appointment and 30 to 60 minutes at follow-ups. Visits typically start with a health history, including a discussion on diet, nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental factors that can prevent optimal health. A licensed ND will also review your prescription and supplement history and may conduct a physical exam or order diagnostic tests. NDs offer individualized, evidence-informed therapies to help you restore and maintain optimal health.

  1. You want a doctor who will treat all of you, not just your illness. Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained to treat the whole person. This requires taking the time to listen and understand the genetic, environmental, and behavioral/lifestyle factors that can affect your health. At your initial appointment, you’ll spend an hour or more talking with your ND.
  2. You want personalized treatment. NDs understand there is no one-size-fits-all treatment that works for everybody. After your visit with an ND, you’ll leave the doctor’s office with a treatment plan uniquely tailored to you, your health status, your health goals, and your lifestyle.
  3. You want to treat the root cause of an illness, not just the symptoms. Sometimes having trouble sleeping, aches and pains, strange or hard-to-treat skin rashes, and indigestion or stomach discomfort are symptoms of an underlying illness. While these symptoms can be managed, it’s more important to understand and treat the root cause—which is the focus of naturopathic medicine.
  4. You want to actively participate in managing your own health. An ND will help you learn what your body needs to get well and stay healthy. Patients have the opportunity to feel empowered and hopeful when they understand and are actively engaged in managing their own health.
  5. You have chronic pain and don’t want to use pharmaceutical drugs such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or highly addictive opioids to manage it forever. Pain that lasts six months or more is more complex than acute pain and requires a holistic, long-term approach. NDs are trained to work with you to determine which combination of therapies will work best for you to heal or manage your pain safely so that you can resume daily activities.
  6. You have tried all conventional medical options for diagnosing and treating a health condition. Certain chronic health conditions that have symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, or gastrointestinal distress can be difficult to diagnose and treat and can benefit from a holistic approach. NDs use diagnostic tools common in conventional medicine, such as detailed health, disease, and prescription drug histories, physical exams, and targeted laboratory testing and imaging. NDs also consider detailed diet history, lifestyle habits and choices, exercise history, and social/emotional factors to assess patients’ needs. These approaches can open doors to new treatment pathways and options.

What Naturopathic Doctors Do

Licensed naturopathic doctors combine knowledge of the body’s natural healing properties with the rigors of modern science to focus on holistic, proactive prevention and comprehensive diagnosis and treatment. By using protocols that minimize the risk of harm, naturopathic physicians help facilitate the body’s inherent ability to restore and maintain optimal health.

NDs treat all medical conditions and can provide both individual and family health care. They can work as primary care providers and as part of an integrated healthcare team. Among the most common ailments they treat are allergies, chronic pain, digestive issues, hormonal imbalances, obesity, respiratory conditions, heart disease, fertility problems, menopause, adrenal fatigue, cancer, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Experience the benefits of personalized natural healthcare with a trusted, licensed naturopathic doctor in your area.
Find a Naturopathic Doctor
Experience the benefits of personalized natural healthcare with a trusted, licensed naturopathic doctor in your area.
Find an ND

Licensed Naturopathic Doctors and Their Scope of Practice

Naturopathic doctors can perform minor surgeries, such as removing cysts or stitching up superficial wounds; however, they do not practice major surgery. NDs are also trained to prescribe certain medications, although they emphasize less toxic substances that promote natural healing first, following the Therapeutic Order to provide the greatest benefit with the least possible damage.

NDs can order all blood reference ranges and diagnostic imaging tests. They can also order individualized specialty functional medicine labs, such as those for assessing digestive impairment, hormone imbalances, heavy metal and/or environmental toxin exposure, nutritional deficiencies, and adrenal dysregulation. They will evaluate your lab results in combination with your clinical presentation, your health history, and lifestyle and environmental factors that might be preventing you from having optimal health.

Who Goes to See a Naturopathic Doctor?

Choose Your ND Wisely

When seeking medical care from a naturopathic doctor, it is important to select a certified or licensed doctor with a naturopathic medical degree from an accredited four-year, in-residence, medical college. Want to know more about naturopathic medicine? We thought so! Check out our Find an ND tool.

This article is provided by

The Institute for Natural Medicine, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. INM’s mission is to transform health care in the United States by increasing public awareness of natural medicine and access to naturopathic doctors. Naturopathic medicine, with its person-centered principles and practices, has the potential to reverse the tide of chronic illness overwhelming healthcare systems and to empower people to achieve and maintain optimal lifelong health. INM strives to fulfil this mission through the following initiatives:

  • Education – Reveal the unique benefits and outcomes of evidence-based natural medicine
  • Access – Connect patients to licensed naturopathic doctors
  • Research – Expand quality research on this complex and comprehensive system of medicine

About The Author(s)

Author

Institute for Natural Medicine Staff

Our dedicated content team of professional staff writers represents decades of experience covering essential natural health topics in an accessible, evidence-based, and engaging way. Guided by a shared passion for holistic well-being, each and every one of our writers strives to empower our readers to take charge of their health.

Supported by a rigorous fact-checking and medical editing process from licensed naturopathic doctors that examines the latest in peer-reviewed research, our team brings their in-depth knowledge of natural health practices into every piece of content we produce. We strive to be the gold standard for evidence-based natural medicine, providing trustworthy information and inspiring narratives to help you live your best health, naturally.

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