I recently had a wonderful experience with a patient – “SG” – who agreed to an interview. Here is her story:
SG came to me in 1999 and at that time I got her on a regime to help her sluggish liver and I also put her on my candida program. In a few months after following my program very precisely, she was feeling much better and had lost 30 pounds doing the food combining I had outlined for her at that time. For the next 13 years she has been recommending her friends to seek out naturopathic physicians to be part of their health care team. Encouraging them with “if you keep on doing what you are doing, you will keep on getting what you are getting!”
Well a few months ago SG sought out my help again. This time she had to be reminded by her daughter.
“Mom, if Dr. Pincott helped you so much 13 years ago why don’t you go back to her?”
SG had contracted shingles again on March 5, 2013 and had been suffering since then with post herpetic neuralgia that was excruciatingly painful. The pain left her incapacitated to work and to function on a day to day basis. SG allowed herself to get too run down, and when people are too sick they often can’t think of their own solutions.
Here are some questions I asked of her:
Dr. P: What made you think about seeing an naturopathic doctor (ND) this time?
SG: I was too sick to think of this for myself this time. It was my daughter who reminded me how much you had helped me years ago.
I had exhausted the medical profession (the bandaid) to treat my chief complaint of shingles and it wasn’t working.
I was so exhausted and in so much pain laying on the couch gaining 30 pounds until I was reminded that there are solutions other than just bandaids.
I was too busy helping others that I could not think of how to help myself. I forgot to put myself on my own “to do list!”
Dr. P: What do you say to people who complain: “Oh ND’s are too expensive.”
SG: I remind them that their “health is their wealth”.
I ask them how much do they spend on their boat, or their homes or on their holidays or pets. Most of these people have the means, they just don’t see it as a priority until perhaps they are desperate like I was.
I tell my friends you sleep 1/3 of your life, why would you not invest in the best bed! Your bed should be your oasis, your best place of rest, the most important thing on the top of the list for long term healing.
Dr. P: What are you looking for when you seek out an MD or ND?
SG: I am looking for long term solutions and not for a temporary bandaid solution.
I am looking for an MD and ND to work together for ME to help me get to the cause of my problem and then help me DO something about it.
MD’s don’t know about arginine and lysine for the treatment and prevention of shingles. ND’s do. MD’s don’t know about B12 injections for the treatment of neuralgias. ND’s do. When I talk to my MD I tell her “look this is working, so just give me the B12 injection, in spite of what the serum B12 says!”
I am no longer living in fear when for long term health solutions, seeing the results and having the choice to NOT keep doing what I have always done.
In the last few months I have lost 30 pounds just doing food combining and avoiding the foods that came up on my EDS food sensitivity testing. No MD will tell you that!
Dr. P: How do you keep going with the changes you have made in your health? Some find it hard to stay committed.
SG:I concentrate on what I can do, not what I can’t do. I don’t argue with the results. I just say “look at me! I’ve lost 30 pounds, my pain is greatly reduced and I am sleeping so much better. My energy improves on a daily basis.
Dr. P: Do people just want to copy what you are doing without seeing the ND themselves?
SG: Yes it is all about the money for some, so they will try it on their own. I always say that my program is individualized for me, so it is best to see a naturopathic physician for their personalized care program.
Dr. P: How well is your medical doctor working with you on your current care plan?
SG: Well I have made it very clear to my MD that I need both, her and you. She is very interested in what we are doing together and wants to learn more. I am so excited about life now! I was so sick for so long so now I am hopeful that I will make a full recovery and I will be continuing your maintenance program for me for the rest of my life!
My husband is very excited now that I am able to get back to my walking routine and to see my progress so we are on this path together. This is my new and improved lifestyle. I’m not going back! I don’t need to re-learn this lesson!
Dr. Ingrid Pincott, naturopathic physician, has been practicing since 1985 and can be reached at 250-286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com