FAQ’s

Below are many questions Dr. Gallagher receives on a weekly basis.  After you read the information here and would love to share in a discussion with Dr. J, send your request here.  Nothing is off limits.  Topics and solutions can truly be ‘out of the box’ and you just never know.

 

Dr. Jeanette Gallagher NMD
Dr. Jeanette Gallagher NMD


I am taking a lot of medications and don’t really want to. Can you help me get off these?

The physician that prescribed your medications is the only physician that can discontinue that order. It is important to remember, the physician must have prescribed the drug to protect you from a negative outcome of a disease, so this drug must be important enough to have you take it. A prescription is given with the best knowledge obtained by the physician from you, and may also be based on medical testing that was performed. As your body learns to work better and is given the nutrients it needs, the need for a specific prescription may require an alteration by your physician. It would be very ill-advised for you to discontinue a drug without consistent care from your healthcare team.

I took a drug, it did the trick, now I am fine so I want to discontinue the drug. Can I?

When you are having medical testing, it is very important to note: the test is a picture, a moment in time, for that matter only a fraction of a picture of your overall health. A particular test is designed to check disease parameters or the efficacy of a drug or therapy path. A decrease in symptoms does not always mean that you are healing or improving, it may just mean the drug is working and continuing the mediation may or may not be necessary. Telling your physician the entire story of your condition will help to design a new path to take.

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic Physicians are trained in health and disease processes, along with traditional treatments. What makes them different from a traditional medical doctor, M.D., is the manner of treatment. M.D.’s are exclusive to drug and intervention treatment of surgery or therapy for the disease. Naturopathic physicians treat the individual, inclusively. The manner of treatment also addresses the emotional, physical, social, and environmental influences that determine the path of care.

Types of care utilized by Naturopaths:

  • nutritional changes to facilitate the needs of the body to eliminate a deficiency
  • botanical remedies to provide plant energy and nutrients that may help balance the body in addition to a therapeutic diet
  • homeopathy provides energy to the body system by using diluted substances that can balance the body

The most important aspect of Naturopathic care is the consistent listening to and supporting of the person in the place in life they are in and respect for the individual in choosing what would be best for themselves at the time, rather than doing what others may be doing or what would be required for a certain healing. An individual who respects themselves as a learning individual will continue to seek out new situations that provide another experience.

How can I benefit from Naturopathic theories?

When you request Naturopathic support, you will immediately learn how to stop and listen to your body and the signs it is sending. Communication and learning are the greatest benefits from this type of care. When you learn different paths of care and explore what is really important to you, then and only then can you choose what you will bring to yourself to experience and participate in. Again, what may be right for one individual may not be the choice of another. As human beings, we must respect each other for the choices they make and not allow ourselves to disrespect them for maintaining their individuality. What we can do for each other is communicate with and support each other. This will allow the flow of energy that heals a nation and the world by taking away fear, pain and destruction through experiencing caring and responsibility for the person in front of us.

So, what does that really mean, basically?

If we see someone and they are in pain, we can talk with them, support them for what is real for them. If we care for them, they feel cared for, then in return, in some, it can help to dissolve the feelings of pain or resentment for others, that may in some return a cycle of pain and hurt in generations. If we care, support, educate and communicate, the available pot of healing will be presented to the individual and the passage of messages of healing will perpetuate through the following generations. If we make a good choice, we tell others, if we make a bad choice, we hide it from others. So, if we do not put a label on the choice, we communicate and learn from that choice and heal faster. Our body is ready to respond, and nature is a process of healing every second of the day. Take time to tap into it.

Don’t I need medical testing to see what is wrong with me?

If you have a physician, they should be doing the medical testing and giving your disease a name along with prescribed treatment that is proven by other medical standards. Naturopaths believe in the power of nature and the power of the body to heal itself. If there is something out of sync, you have been given symptoms to know this. These symptoms lead you to the physician, usually when the symptoms have gotten too painful or uncomfortable to ignore.

Perhaps the common answer would be to get out of pain as the treatment, but what if we said “let us see what the pain is telling us.” That would be a new way to look at things, rather than drugging the pain or take out the bad spot of body. Let us see if we can get the body to say what is going on; we will listen and see if we can get it to work better today than yesterday.

When that process is complete, then we can decide if surgery or drug is needed. Chances are, they may, they may not, or the extent of that intervention may be different when you provide the body with the nutrition and caring it is craving. So, in regards to medical testing, see your physician for the spot in time answer, it can save your life also.

What is a Personal Health Care Advocate?

A time of illness is a stressful time for patients as well as for their families.  The best-laid plans can go awry, judgement is impaired, and, put simply; you are not at your best when you are sick.  Patients need someone who can look out for their best interests and help navigate the confusing healthcare system – in other words, an advocate. – National Patient Safety Foundation Dr. Jeanette Gallagher NMD Dr. Jeanette Gallagher is an expert advocate for supporting you and your loved ones in health and wellness through to End of Life. Read more