How To Get The Most Out of Your Time As a Patient
Every few months, I run into someone who shares a story with me about how they saw a naturopathic doctor or acupuncturist or healer. They explain how they have “tried” alternative medicine and “it didn’t work” or “that doctor didn’t help me”. So often, when I begin to ask questions, it turns out that they “went one time”, “it didn’t work”, and “it was expensive so (they) didn’t go back”. They told a story that the physician or practitioner didn’t know what they were talking about after one or two visits. Or they were given something that made them feel worse and they “didn’t go back.”
I recently spent two weeks in the hospital with my father, who was in the ICU. He was surrounded by loving, caring, well-intentioned nurses and doctors. And, he was receiving extremely poor care. Why? Because the doctors and nurses have dozens of patients to provide care for, they were only addressing the most surface, obvious needs, probably because he was unable to tell them what he wanted. And so, he did what people of his generation often do… he trusted that “they are the doctors and they know what they are doing.”
It was only after our family made it clear to the medical staff that my father is not your typical 88 year old man, that they altered their strategy. Two months earlier, he had been running up and down stairs for fun, hiking 2-3 miles several times a week, taking care of his partner with dementia, and joyfully, loudly arguing about politics with anyone who would engage. This time, we had to be his voice until he was able to think and speak for himself. But we made it clear that “palliative care” was not where we were going to begin the conversation.
This was the beginning of an ongoing teamwork health journey. Contrary to what one would expect, all five of the medical doctors who I have been in near daily contact with for the past eight weeks have been delighted to have someone asking questions and reminding them of our goals and intentions. I have tracked the labs along with them, noted what is beneficial and what is not, requested further investigation, and pushed for a change in course of action when things were not working.
This lengthy intro is an invitation to you as a patient.
Society has been trained to hand over our power to “the doctor”. It is true that a person sitting in front of you wearing the proverbial white coat has thousands of hours of training and experience and knows a lot of stuff. It is also true, that you are a not the same as every other person who has walked through the door with a similar set of symptoms. You have a unique physical, emotional and spiritual make-up. You have a unique set of life circumstances, environmental stressors, and psychological traumas and experiences. Your body will not react in the same way to a treatment as the next person.
We, your healthcare team at ANM, are smart, caring, well-intentioned… AND, we cannot read minds. Every time you try some thing and it doesn’t work, we gain valuable information about what works for your system. We can then check things off the list in our differential diagnosis (the working list of probable causes of a symptom that is what we as physicians are working from when we request labs and make treatment plans).
Here are a few things that you can do to get the most out of your time with your naturopathic physician or healthcare practitioner:
Come in with clear intentions about your healthcare goals. Make a list in order of priority.
Ask questions. There are no dumb questions. We will not always know the answers but we often know where to find the answers quickly.
Make note of reactions to treatments, both positive and negative. Keep a journal or notes to help you and us to track. Share the important reactions and awarenesses with your practitioner.
If you aren’t able to complete a course of treatment for any reason, let your healthcare practitioner know, so that we can find a plan that does work for you.
Make notes in your calendar about when you are scheduled to repeat labs and let us know when that time comes.
Make a follow-up appointment at the end of your office visit to demonstrate your commitment to your health.
Think of us as an intrinsic part of your support team. You are the primary member and director of your healthcare journey. We are here to support you, rejoice in your successes, and learn from your setbacks. We have hundreds of people whom we are supporting - You get our undivided attention when you are sitting in the chair or on the phone with us. If you feel it is time to revisit your treatment plan or if something of concern comes up, please make an appointment so that we can address it and help you stay on track towards meeting your health goals.
For those of you who have a tendency to stop your treatment plan after one or two weeks because “it isn’t working”… A reminder that natural medicine is a lot like nature. It takes time to heal something at the root level. The roots of a tree take in nutrients and water during the fall season. We don’t see the results of that until the following spring when the leaves emerge green and vibrant.
With love and in good health,
Dr Ajana Miki