…continued
Now that you have an idea of what to look out for, it is time to talk just a little about how you work with your regular doctor and at the same time another practitioner of alternative therapy. The statistics are high (about two-thirds) for the number of people who use alternative therapy and do not report it to their doctors. The main reason they don’t report it is they believe there regular physician will disapprove or even stop treating them. To some degree the patient is right; not all Western physicians believe in or want to work with complimentary medicine. The fact remains, it is in the patient’s best interest to disclose all information to all doctors who are treating them. If you are having difficulty communicating with your health-care providers, whether they are complimentary practitioners or Western medical doctors, here are some tips that might get you started in the right direction.
It doesn’t matter what kind of doctor you are seeing, always tell them everything you are taking, including over-the-counter vitamins, herbs, mineral and nutritional supplements.
If you have been seeing a doctor over a period of time, then discuss with him/her your desire to seek out the advise of a complementary medicine practitioner. Try to stay neutral and don’t assume your doctor will automatically be against the idea. Sometimes they will welcome the opportunity and actually have some names of good practitioners in the area.
If you are considering a new medical therapy, take the information you have to your doctor and listen to what he has to say about it before making your final decision.
If you decide to go to both your regular doctor and seek the help of a complimentary practitioner, you should expect the same cooperation from the complimentary practitioners as you would your regular doctor. They both must work together and with you to develop the best treatment program.
This should give you some ideas about how to work with a complimentary practitioner as well as your regular doctor. Hopefully you now have a better understanding of the different kind of practitioners and what they do. Open up the lines of communication with your own doctor and together explore all the possibilities for treatment. You might just find a magic combination that works for you.
