Comparing an Allopathic Doctor Visit Versus a Naturopathy Doctor Visit

Dr. Lisa Marie Portugal

Department of Health & Wellness, College of Education, USA

*Correspondence to: Dr. Lisa Marie Portugal, Department of Health & Wellness, College of Education, USA.

Copyright © 2018 Dr. Lisa Marie Portugal. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Introduction
This case study seeks to understand the effects of culture, social norms, beliefs, values, ideology, and practices influencing health behaviors. Furthermore, through these channels, health educators can gain insight into how to approach health education to influence health and wellness choices and motivating attitudes and behaviors toward change [1-7]. The following diversity interview briefly documents the interviewee’s allopathic and naturopathic experiences. The interview used a series of guided questions, was conducted inperson, and was electronically recorded on audio tape. The results were transcribed to ensure accuracy.

Guiding Diversity Interview Questions
1. Can you tell me an about your background/family history?

I am African American in mid 40s. I was raised eating foods that weren’t so healthy for me as most Americans are as well. I have started eating better and exercising. I am educated with an MBA and I research health and wellness quite a bit lately for myself and my family members.

Bouldering, lead climbing and speed climbing will be the sub-modalities of the first Olympic climbing competition scheduled to happen in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokio [4]. National climbing federations worldwide are supposed to figure out how to change training programs so they can prepare athletes to become potential Olympic gold medalists [4]. We can wait and see if there will be a change in injury pattern now that the athletes will have to practice all three sub-modalities or we can experiment adding prevention programs before damage is done.

2. Are there any health concerns that significantly affect your family members?

Yes, we have Diabetes, Lupus, and obesity in our family and many who don’t eat well or exercise. Heart condition issues, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure as well in some family members.

3. Are you aware of your culture influencing your exercise and eating habits in any way?

Yes, but I can’t say my culture is any different from other cultures in the USA. We have family members who seem to follow the same unhealthy eating and exercise habits of most Americans. Fast foods, snacks, treats, high sugar diets, sodas, low to no exercise.

4. What brought you to scheduling an office visit with your allopathic doctor?

I was having some symptoms and wanted to get checked out, see what was going on.

5. What was your medical concern that brought you to visit your allopathic doctor?

I’d rather not say, but as I mentioned, I was having some symptoms that were bothering me. I scheduled with my allopathic doctor.

6. Did you experience any issues with discrimination, prejudice, aggression, and oppression during the visit with the allopathic doctor?

Yes, I did. The doctor was very dismissive with me, treated me like an idiot, didn’t explain anything, never actually gave me an examination, and never tested me for anything. He merely threw some boxes with drugs in them at me and wrote me a prescription. He never examined me or even listened to me. He rather quickly threw the drug boxes at me and dismissed me. I felt not listened to, not examined for my specific health issues, and treated like an ignorant fool. He treated me as if I was an uneducated person. That really insulted me the most. He gave me very little time and didn’t respect me as a patient or client whatsoever. Throwing drug boxes at me without examining me, listening to me, doing blood work or other tests is not what I call medical treatment.

7. How did the experience make you feel?

I felt not listened too, brushed off, and not cared for whatsoever. He never addressed any of my concerns or needs in an individualized manner. He merely threw drug boxes at me believing my verbally described symptoms fit those boxes and the prescription he gave me. It was a very bad experience and I’m never going back to that doctor’s office again.

8. What made you think about getting another medical opinion?

I am an educated woman. I know what real service should look like. I know how a doctor should treat people and I was very offended by the service I received, or rather never received, at that office and by that doctor. I read the drug boxes he gave me and did my own Internet research on those drugs and the prescription he gave me. I didn’t like what I found and knew I had to find another type of medical service. That’s when I thought about naturopathy doctors. My Internet research pointed me in that direction. As I stated, I am an educated woman and I can’t be fooled or treated poorly without know it and being proactive in my own life.

Climbing is a relatively new sport, it appeared in Brazil in the early 1980s as an alternative of physical and technical training for mountaineers [18]. Since then, climbing has become an increasingly popular sport and according to the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) the approximate number of sports fans in the world reached 25 million in 2015 [19]. The number of climbers and climbing gyms increased in 50% from 2001 to 2010 [19]. Besides that, with climbing becoming an Olympic sport for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, the trend is that the sport will win even more fans. With this is expected an increase in the number of injuries related to climbing [19,20]. According to a study done with British climbers, the main sources of treatment or advice for climbers were firstly physical therapists (18%), secondly other climbers (14%) and thirdly doctors (11%) [9]. Therefore, reinforcing Physical Therapist’s acquaintance and knowledge of injury prevention and rehabilitation in climbing.

9. How did you go about researching where to find another medical opinion?

I did a variety of things. I researched the Internet and found the naturopathy clinic where you met me. I spoke to intelligent people I know as well. I did a lot of Internet research and reading. I also extensively researched my symptoms. I interviewed staff at the clinics that I called from my research. The naturopathy clinic where you met me is now my full time doctor and health service center for all my needs. I’m not going back to allopathic medicine or doctors ever again. I know the difference between good service and good health advice compared to bad service. Many people don’t know what bad health advice looks like when they get it. I knew something was wrong with how I was treated. A doctor cannot throw drug boxes at me and think I can be cured or healed that way. I just don’t believe it. And, I don’t think that allopathic doctor even cared to heal me.

10. What is it about your character or personality that you feel moved you to seek help elsewhere?

I’m a very proactive person. That’s why I obtained an MBA. I research things. If something doesn’t sound right or if I have a weird feeling about something, I have a sense to investigate, to look further. Many people don’t have that sense. I do. I have a sense when something is wrong or when something doesn’t sound right to me. I don’t naturally accept what authority figures tell me if I have a sense that something doesn’t sound right. That sense has protected me in the past and it certainly set me on the right path this time as well. I knew something was wrong when that doctor threw drug boxes and a prescription at me without examining me or testing further.

11. How was your health concern handled at the naturopathy clinic in comparison to the visit you experienced with the allopathic doctor? What was your experience(s) with the doctor and medical staff at the naturopathy clinic you found from your research?

The naturopathy doctor listened to all my concerns, Then, she went through a 90-minute interview and asked me all types of questions about my health, what I eat, what I put in my body, what my environment is like, stuff like that. She was so detailed in her questioning and she wanted me to be very descriptive and in-depth with my responses. She entered all my responses into her laptop. I’ve never had an allopathic doctor spend that much time with me, listening to me, questioning me with very directed questions. Oh, and she also does home visits. Have you ever heard of an allopathic doctor who does home visits for a reasonable price? Never! When I compare and contrast the allopathic doctor visit with the naturopathy doctor visit, the visits were complete night and day experiences. Throughout the entire 90-minute visit, she gave me a ton of new health information and education. Every time something came up regarding my symptoms or my diet, she had the most enlightening health education information to share with me. It was an amazing experience. I literally felt like I took a college level class with her in that 90-minute interview and left the office with new ways to heal my body. She gave me new health information that was so easy to understand and put into practice immediately. I never get that type of information when I visit allopathic doctors, never! In addition, she ordered various tests and blood work through my health insurance. She asked me to order natural, organic supplements from a place called www.npscript.com and told me to always order from organic sources. She never prescribed pharmaceutical drugs to me. Everything she prescribed was natural and healing, not toxic pharmaceutical drugs. I knew I had the right doctor who would heal me when I went through that first 90-minute visit with her. I knew it! There is so much more to tell you about my naturopathy experience in comparison to the allopathic experience, but for now, that sums it up. Since that first 90-minute visit with my new naturopathy doctor and clinic, there is so much more to say about all the other positive experiences I have had which led to my overall healing and better health. Working with a naturopathy doctor and clinic will put you on the path of lifelong healing AND they educate you as well. Every single time I visit with my naturopathy doctor, or staff at the clinic, I learn new health information that just blows my mind! Everyone who works at the clinic offers so much support, education, information, and are truly experts in their field. I’ve never met so many talented, experienced, educated, and helpful staff in allopathic offices. The difference in staff knowledge and helpfulness from allopathic and naturopathic is night and day as well. The amount of free health education I have learned from the staff and my new doctor is simply amazing. They saved my life, healed my body, and put me on a lifelong path of renewed health. I just can’t say enough about how they have changed my life for the better. I recommend naturopathy and Traditional Chinese medicine to anyone who is ready to heal and change their life. I have been able to help and heal many family members as well with the new health information I have learned. It really is amazing how naturopathy can heal! They saved my life!

12. What is your advice to others regarding what you learned throughout these experiences?

My advice to everyone is to advocate for yourself and research everything for yourself. Do not let doctors make you feel inferior, insecure, stupid, or bullied. Always get more than one doctor’s opinion. Don’t let allopathic doctors throw drugs, vaccines, pills, and prescriptions at you without researching them fully and extensively. There are many dangerous drugs allopathic doctors are prescribing to the public that cause serious damage and even death. You will never know that unless you do the research on your own. Never put anything in your body that you haven’t researched fully and extensively. Do the same with all vaccines, flu shots, or any type of injection they want to put in your body. People are being seriously damaged and dying from every type of injection, even so-called vitamin K injections, and dying. Get on the Internet and research. The facts are everywhere, but allopathic doctors, pharmaceutical companies, the CDC, and the government are hiding the facts from the public. Once I started researching, I was amazed at what I found that isn’t being told to the public. There is a lot to learn about and I suggest everyone becoming more proactive in their own health. You can actually find real healing and real healers in naturopathy and Traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, through these recent experiences, I learned that naturopathy and Traditional Chinese medicine is actually the real medicine and allopathic isn’t the real healing medicine whatsoever and it never was. I also learned that the Rockefeller family invented allopathic medicine, yet they only use naturopathy and Traditional Chinese medicine. All the facts can be easily found on the Internet, for now, unless the government starts removing the truth. That is already happening as well. I’ve looked for videos and websites that I used to frequent and Google has shut them down for speaking the truth. I’ve also been following how many naturopathy and Traditional Chinese medicine doctors are being murdered. Last time I checked, the count was around 100 murdered doctors. They are being killed for sharing their real healing knowledge with the public. Get on the Internet and do the research while we still have the opportunity to find it. My best advice is if something seems odd or off, it probably is and much worse than you might think. I saved my life from that allopathic doctor visit. I truly believe this now with all that I know and have learned about real medicine. I feel good about how I advocated for myself and how I came to find my new naturopathy doctor and clinic and all the amazing, talented, educated staff there. Once people learn the truth, the facts, and the real research that is hidden from the public, they will make better choices for their own health and their families as well. My last parting word is NEVER let allopathic doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, school administrators, and teachers bully you, pressure you, or make you feel stupid. Don’t let them back you into a corner believing their way is the only way. There are other alternatives and many other types of healers in naturopathy and Traditional Chinese medicine who will really heal you. Drugging and vaccines are not the answer. That merely masks symptoms and never heals the body’s original condition. Do the research on vaccines too? Many people are being killed and severely damaged with vaccines and injections. Read the labels, do the research, vaccines are full of heavy metals like mercury and aluminum causing autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Cancer, and Autoimmune Diseases.

Analysis of the Health Issue
What is interesting about this diversity interview was that the interviewee is an educated woman with an innate sense for recognizing when something does not sound or look right. She also has a high level of self-efficacy, self-advocacy, and the ability to self-inform and self-educate. In addition, she has the ability to research allopathic, pharmaceutical medical doctors and services in comparison to naturopathy doctors and services and compare and contrast her research and experiences. She can decipher between allopathic - pharmaceutical agents disseminating false healthcare information, drugging, and enabling dependency versus agents educating and healing in a naturopathy manner. The abilities she has are somewhat rare in Western populations since there is a high level of indoctrination throughout the life-span in education systems, media, government, the allopathic medical establishment, and the pharmaceutical drugging-profitover- people industry.

Although her allopathic medical experience is quite typical for most individuals in Western nations, her response to the experience was quite unusual. Most people will blindly accept whatever allopathic doctors do, say, and prescribe rather than self-advocating, questioning, researching, and seeking out real healing and healers. Most people in Western nations blindly accept being drugged, surgery, and prescribed allopathic death. This interviewee not only sensed something was wrong when she visited her allopathic doctor, she self-educated and researched real healing services, doctors, practices, and found a naturopathy solution to better health. Two questions arise from this case study: (1) How can health educators help foster selfefficacy, self-advocacy, and the ability to self-inform and self-educate regarding health issues? and (2) How can health educators educate more people regarding allopathic verses naturopathy & Chinese Traditional medicine practices and service providers?

Finally, the interviewee was able to compare and contrast her health experiences through the lens of discrimination, prejudice, aggression, and oppression. She was able to clearly view the differences in care, service, education, and healing as she compared and contrasted her allopathic experiences with her naturopathy experiences. Most people in Western nations never get to make those comparisons because they are blindly indoctrinated and locked-in the allopathic and pharmaceutical medical establishment and never learn about real healing through naturopathy & Chinese Traditional medicine. Most people in Western nations have been falsely indoctrinated to believe allopathic service is the only medical avenue available. In Western nations, culture, social norms, beliefs, values, ideology, and practices influence how people view health, eating habits, and medical providers. The culture fosters poor diet through the media and corporate, business avenues. Furthermore, the culture fosters poor medical advice through media, government, business, corporations, and allopathic – pharmaceutical indoctrination. For this interviewee, she explained that her: (1) ability to sense when something does not sound right, and her (2) ability to self-advocate and selfresearch influenced her health and wellness choices and motivated her attitude and behavior toward change.

Conclusion
This diversity interview questioned a mid-40’s, educated African American woman regarding how her culture, social norms, beliefs, values, ideology, and practices influenced her health issue. In addition, she discussed how discrimination, prejudice, aggression, and oppression influenced her health behaviors related to the health challenges she was experiencing. The case study sought to understand the effects of culture, social norms, beliefs, values, ideology, and practices influencing health behaviors. Finally, through these channels, health educators might gain insight into how to approach health education to influence health and wellness choices and motivating attitudes and behaviors toward change [1-7]. Further studies can address how health educators might: (1) promote health and wellness choices, and (2) motivate attitudes and behaviors toward change.

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