What do you do for…?

Posted by Dr. Della Parker     on October 2, 2017

When you meet someone new and they know you are a doctor the conversation always seems to go to the same place. If I’m on an airplane, at a party, or waiting in line at the grocery store, it doesn’t matter. Once people find out that I am a doctor, especially a Naturopath, they start spilling their medical history. First, they start by telling me about that one time conventional medicine screwed them. Then they go on to ask the question… The question that I always know is coming and that I always dread. “So, what do you do for X? What do you do for diabetes? Gout? High blood pressure? Cancer? I know people aren’t intending to solicit free medical advice, they are just making conversation. I am sure I do the same thing. If I met a flight attendant I would ask them where they like to travel. But the problem is, no matter the condition they are asking about, my answer is always the same. I thought I would lay it out for you in case you too were wondering what I might do to treat your condition, or your Grandmother’s for that matter.

As a Naturopath I don’t believe in protocols. Medical doctors treat disease. They are damn good at it. You’ve got diabetes? No matter who you are, you are prescribed the same list of medications designated to that condition. My job as a Naturopath is to treat people. Holistic medicine means to treat the whole person. Many people have the same disease for different reasons. I don’t treat disease, I treat the person with the disease. When the whole person is addressed, many times disease disappears. If I provided the same treatment plan to every patient with hypothyroidism or hypertension that would mean I am treating conditions not people. Every patient with a particular condition has it for their very own reason. Take 10 people with hypertension and I will find that they all have it for different reasons and therefore all require a different treatment plan. Why do you think that medications are not 100% effective? Because not everyone has the disease for the reason that is targeted by the medication.

I look at patients as individuals. Each patient has their very own fingerprint of symptoms and experiences that contribute to their illness. Sure, when a patient comes in complaining of a migraine headache, I always first think about black current seed oil, something I have found to have great success in treating this condition. But not every patient fits the bill. We need to stop thinking that our illnesses define us. You are not a migraine headache. You are a person with a migraine headache. We shouldn’t stand for being ignored as people as our illnesses get all the treatment. So next time someone tells me, “Oh, my dad has Parkinson’s, what do you do for that?” Oftentimes not asking out of true curiosity, but asking as if a Naturopath couldn’t possibly be able to treat a major medical condition. I will answer with my cut and paste answer. I treat people not diseases. Once a person’s body has been balanced, deficiencies corrected, stressed organs supported, the body can heal itself. It’s amazing how a cut on our hand requires no attention from us to heal. If your immune system is functioning correctly it heals itself. Same goes for any other condition. Our body can heal itself. Crazy to think about, I know. My job is only to restore balance and make sure that your system has all the tools it needs to function properly. Sounds kinda woo woo I know, but it’s true!

How do you do that, you ask? I use muscle testing! Nutrition Response Testing to be exact. It is the most super cool, amazing thing in the world. It allows me to talk to your body, figure out where help is needed and provide just the right tools for your body to fix itself. To sum it up, I treat people not illness, so there’s your answer!

For more questions visit us at Drdellaparker.com.