06/27/2024
From Dr. Melissa Koehl PT .melissakoehl.pt
I’m so trilled to collaborate on this post with .susanc because one of the things that has been significantly helpful in my health journey is working with a good Naturopathic Doctor.
The Ehlers Danlos Syndromes (hEDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD) affects connective tissue that can be found pretty much everywhere in the body (skin, bone, cartilage: tendons, ligaments, fascia and more).
It’s a whole body systemic issue that the current medical system that is highly focused on specialties, is sometimes not well suited to address.
Many of us, myself included, go to providers for years and struggle to find answers to fatigue, brain fog, GI issue, dizziness, and more.
Adding an ND onto my care team was something I was reluctant to do at first because I had the (incorrect) perception that the only advice I might get would be to “eat healthy” and “hydrate” or to be sold a bunch of expensive supplements I don’t need.
It can feel a little bit like stepping out into the wild west when looking for some help outside of the standard medical model of health care. And you are right to be cautious and do your research here!
But, when working with someone reputable, you’ll see the approach is tailored to your needs, which while may involve supplements, I found this ultimately saved me $ in the long run because I was only buying high quality supplements that based on testing, were what I actually needed, instead of just randomly throwing supplements at my health issues and seeing what worked.
Another thing that can give you more confidence in working with a Naturopathic Doctor is understanding the extraordinarily high level of education they have, especially in regards to treating the body as a whole, and understanding the role of lifestyle, diet, nutrition and more.
Have you worked with a ND? Share your experience in the comments!
