First Naturopath appointment tomorrow!!! :)

be ready to open your wallet...HUUUUGEE...

my first appointment, I think I left close to 400$ lighter..

I'm glad you are excited about it but I really think these people are a bunch of quacks. They tell you what you want to hear and they tell everyone the exact same thing whether you have the hickups, cancer, or UC. I hope it works out for you.

i'd have to agree with somedude, i spent a ridiculous amount of money and ended up in the hospital. i think you can basically be a naturopath yourself if you like reading and doing internet research. that's what they do- just guess which natural remedies could work and hope for the best. i worked for a naturopath so i've seen a lot. most of the patients were treated with the same supplements- just different amounts.

md or nd, you're still gonna take it in the hooter !

hope you find some help tho -

have got to agree unfortunately 3 plus years and many many thousands of dollars later...

blonde, that is a very good deal from a naturopath!! i've never spent less than 300 at an appointment. the most i spent was 450. what kind of things did you get?

I ALMOST went to a local new age quackster during my last flare...but the psycho look on his eyes on his website led me to believe he was either smoking dope or a nut...

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't responded quicker. Settled in on a train to NYC so I have some time to type (let's pray my cab doesn't get stuck in traffic on a Thursday LOL).

Anyway, in PA technically NDs are not recognized but mine did have a license. Initial appointment was $185 and follow up is $85 (90 minutes and 45 minutes accordingly). We discussed alot of options as it isn't feasible for me to do a sensitivity screen ($499) or a stool sample for enzymes, etc ($365) so we discussed starting on an elimination diet. I won't be able to commit to this until march but I think it is a great place to start.

3 things she wanted me to start on:
Multivitamin ($35 for 30 days). Explained that my eating habits (occasionally skipping dinner when I work job 2 and my not adventurous eating habits when it comes to meat) that I need to start out with a better base. Wanted me to take 6 a day...

Fish oil ($40 for 35 days). Currently taking flaxseed oil and she explained this 20 carbon anti inflammatory has 2 extra key carbon compounds vs the flaxseed oil. Makes sense. Wants me on 2 a day...

GI Revive ($53 for 45 days). Really tried to sell me on this one. Explained the importance of L-glutamine and slippery elm which I have heard alot about... Wanted me to take 2 tbs.

Thoughts? I'm going to google the companies as that makes me nervous. The ND did keep emphasizing on the point of we know what are in these and these are the right forms you need to be taking And I GET THAT! But I also want to see if Walmart gets that too...

So I didn't buy anything, and I'm just waiting for my schedule to free up a bit to start the eliminiation diet in April or so...

That's my story! Thanks for listening and PLeASE!!! Please let me know what your thoughts are!

l.mao walmart

don't buy supplements from walmart.Actually, let me rephrase. If you find let's say for example VSL 3 at walmart, by all means, buy it.

Basically, you won't find quality stuff there.

Second, don't wait until march to do something. Your immune system won't wait until march to keep ulcerating lol

Third, I told you you're going to pay through the nose. They'll send you to the poor house in tests they can have you take.

Slippery elm has a lot of benefits for those with UC, BUT, it does block the absorption of medications you are taking because it coats your insides. When I was taking it my Asacols were slipping right through totally unused. Not only do I need this med but it is expensive as heck, plus I also take other important meds. They say you should space out taking medications by about 2 to 3 hours from taking slippery elm but this doesn't make sense to me because that indicates the slippery elm is not working anymore at that time. You would have to take slippery elm about every 3 hours to keep your insides coated where it would be doing it's job all day long but then you wouldn't ever be able to take any meds at all. This just seems like a total contradiction to me and unworkable. I tried slippery elm for a while. Seems like it made me better at first but then it's benefits just seemed to shortly disappear.

I'm surprised you haven't done some sort of an elimination diet already after all this time. I wouldn't necessarily badmouth anything that comes from Walmart. Maybe you can look up the particular name brands that Walmart sells for reviews. It seems to me they would have at least some brands that are reputable. You can't be doing too horribly bad right now if you can wait until March or April to start an elimination diet. I'm doing better than a lot of people here but I have got to say that I would be absolutely terrified of a New York city cab ride, especially traffic wise. They would have to have a portapotty in the cab! Bananagirl said she worked for a naturopath before so I trust her insight.

Read the directions on the slippery elm. It should have a warning. I have capsules and there was a warning on my bottle. It definetly caused my Asacol's to just slip right through.

BTW, Somedude says "be ready to open your wallet...HUUUUGEE..." with ND's. It's the same with medical doctors, especially if you don't have good insurance. We dropped ours for a time and unfortunately my husband was suffering with neurological problems and had to see a neurologist. Our of pocket ran in the thousands. Even with insurance you feel like you are being robbed blind.