Naturopathic Doctors are licensed health care professionals who provide diagnoses and treatments. In several states and BC, ND’s are recognized as primary care physicians and can perform to their full scope of practice and education, including prescribing drugs where necessary and performing minor surgery.
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A degree in Naturopathic Medicine is four years of post graduate medical training. Fundamental medical education is the same as all medical schools, using the same texts books and exam formats. Additional education focuses on the chemistry, biochemistry and physiology of how the body repairs, and how to stimulate self healing, using nutrition and food, pharmacological doses of nutrients, detoxification of chemicals, phytonutrients, glandular extracts, chinese medicine, homeopathy and other techniques that treat the whole person and system.
After passing all medical school requirements, four days of international licensing examinations are written by students of all 6 certified naturopathic schools across North America. To remain licensed, all Naturopathic Doctors must accumulate yearly Continuing Education requirements in primary care and medical advancements in both conventional and naturopathic medicine.
The Oath
The Oath that unifies Naturopathic Doctors in a profession extremely dedicated to the health of our patients, and to the health of all ecology is:
First, Do No Harm
Cooperate with the Body’s Innate Healing Intelligence
Address the Fundamental Causes of Disease
Heal the Whole Person through Individualized treatment.
Teach the Principles of Healthy Living and Preventative Medicine
By precept, education and example, I will assist and encourage others to strengthen their health, reduce risks for disease, and preserve the health of our planet for ourselves and future generations.
Treatment
Your treatment is tailored to you: modern medical findings are integrated with functional testing where necessary (tests assessing how well or efficiently your body is processing, including assessing deficiencies) to provide you with an incredibly effective and well rounded approach that focuses on true healing and regeneration of health.
Before your first visit, you will need to complete a thorough health history form, available in the “Forms” section or emailed to you by our office. During your visit I spend time learning the important details of your concerns and experiences. An attentive physical examination will happen either on your first or second visit. Relevant conventional laboratory tests are also completed either by your medical doctor, myself or other clinic personnel. The clinic also offers some extremely helpful tests that are currently not available by our public healthcare system. Time is put into your case outside of the visit, where all the puzzle pieces of you are put together into a treatment plan that is just for you.
Treatment may involve the following…
Clinical Nutrition
Our bodies are recreated hourly, daily, monthly, yearly. What we put into our bodies creates our bodies. Food is both medicine and raw material necessary for body tissues and healthy biochemistry. Your diet may be assessed and suggestions made on how and what to eat based on your goals and health history. You will gain understanding of how specific foods impact your body and we will identify and monitor the appropriate vitamins and/or nutritional supplements required by your system. Much experience shows that sensitivities or, poor processing of certain foods can be the cause of many ill symptoms in the body – including headaches, fatigue, skin conditions, digestive issues, mood issues, inflammatory conditions, arthritis, weight gain and more. Depending on your complaints, food sensitivity testing may be recommended. Food matters. It’s your health’s base foundation.
Nutrient Supplementation
Different organs, tissues and biochemical processes in our bodies require specific nutrients to repair or “up-regulate”. Our bodies create, repair, detoxify and run themselves using biological materials, nutrients. We all have genetic variation in how much of a certain nutrient we require. And we all have varying stresses and exposures that cause us to require different amounts of nutrients. We know that different plants, crops and animals have very specific nutrient needs to maximize yield and weight gain. Of course we are no different, and yet, very little attention as been paid, medically to our bodies’ specifics. Nutrients matter! Treatment will likely include specific nutrients or glandular extracts to get you healing and recovering.
Botanical Medicine
Many of our most powerful medications are derived from plants eg. chemotherapeutic agents, aspirin and gout medication. Unlike drugs which are synthetic, concentrated isolates of particular plant chemicals, or phytonutrients, contain many various chemical compounds that act synergistically together to gently heal and regenerate the body. ND’s apply the knowledge gathered over thousands of years from European and Native use of plant medicines. We are well studied in botanical pharmacology; including any possible side effects or medication interactions. Clinical experience has demonstrated the profound therapeutic and in most cases, very safe properties of medicinal plants. With proper medical knowledge, medications and botanicals can be integrated safely and effectively.
IV Nutrient Therapy
Dr. Grime has advanced training in IV nutrient therapy.
Using nutrients intravenously is a very effective treatment tool for many conditions, and can significantly speed healing time. Oral routes of administration are limited by the health and ability of the digestive tract to effectively absorb nutrients, which in many people, is underlying factor in their disease. Achieving higher serum concentration than is possible via oral routes is also a very effective and safe way to treat disease. Your body knows nutrients, and knows how to eliminate them.
IV’s are formulated individually. They contain combinations of B complex, B5, B6, B12, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, trace minerals, vitamin C, amino acids and glutathione.
General repletion formulas are excellent treatment tools for: Fatigue, exhaustion, burnout, chronic fatigue, headaches, post partum depression or fatigue, nausea and fatigue in pregnancy, anxiety, dehydration, colds, flus, infections, preventing colds and flus, weak immunity, high stress periods, athletic performance and repletion, digestive issues that cause malabsorption including IBS, crohn’s, colitis, bowel resection, disease prevention.
Immune Boosting Formulas are excellent speeding recovery of: Nasty infections, lingering colds and flus, antibiotic resistant infections, cellulitis etc. Prevention of infections.
High Dose Vitamin C, 50 – 100g: Important treatment for cancer, autoimmune conditions, Lupus, infections.
Glutathione: Exceptional antioxidant, protects the body from free radical damage and chemical stress, excellent in Parkinson’s disease to prevent brain degenerative inflammation, progression and symptoms, used in liver disease, cancer, chronic fatigue, athletic recovery and detoxification.
Chelation: Cardiovascular disease. Heavy metal toxicity.
Mistletoe: A helpful tool for cancer.
Working With The Mind:
Counseling, Coaching, Gestalt Psychotherapy, EFT, Mindfulness Meditation
Dr. Grime has extra training in above techniques and has found them invaluable.
Clinical experience and modern science has shown us that how people think and feel impacts their health and physiology. Our individual psychology that evolved from our past experiences can often be a challenging obstacle in achieving optimal health, well being and happiness. Naturopathic Medicine is “whole person” healthcare. Part of your treatment may involve teaching you ways to manage stress or ways to help you implement the changes in your life that you want. Exploring your particular thinking patterns in order to resolve any non-supportive or negative thinking that may be limiting your ability to reach your potential may be part of facilitating your particular journey to achieving health at all levels. You, learning more about who you are, helps you grow and move past limits that aren’t actually yours.
Example: Person suffers from anxiety at work. Anxiety is about fear of failure or disappointing, in the task at hand. Anxiety is causing severe stomach pain, bloating, insomnia. Both are causing fatigue. And then depression. Solution: Relieve stomach pain, get sleep happening, calm down the nervous system using natural things that are un-harmful and will heal; but most effectively is to deal with and eliminate the fear – or else the symptoms and physiological harm will recur.
Gestalt Psychotherapy: Experiential work, that allows for quicker awareness and behavior change.
EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique: This is an exceptionally valuable and nifty technique that helps to re-wire the brain, eliminating negative thinking patterns and fears, and allows a release of old trauma that has effected how we view life and think about ourselves and situations we’re presented with.
Homeopathy
Dr. Grime, ND has advanced training in homeopathic systems.
Dr. Grime uses German Biological Medicine and complex homeopathy to detoxify and re-regulate cellular function and body terrain. Bach Flower Essences are very helpful for emotional disturbance. Singles may be used for acute conditions such as hives or injury etc. Homeopathy is a wonderful and gentle form of medicine that is very safe for babies, children, pregnant and nursing mothers, that doesn’t interact with medication, and is easy to administer. Dr. Grime does not use classical-style homeopathy.
Bowen
Bowen technique is used primarily to resolve pain in muscles or joints and to realign the body and promote healing of the body’s structure. It is innovative in its simplicity and gentle approach, and quickly alleviates a variety of pain symptoms without the need for frequent visits. Excellent for sciatica, herniated disks, shoulder injuries, knee and hip issues, headaches etc.
Bowen is not part of typical naturopathic medical education. Dr. Grime did extra training to incorporate it into her practice after having personal experience and success with the technique.
Meso Therapy
Meso Therapy combines homeopathy and acupuncture. Homeopathics are injected subcutaneously into acupuncture and local points of injury or trauma. This is an extremely safe and effective way to treat injury, old injury, arthritis and other pain related issues. Injectable homeopathies are safe and effective, they encourage healing and repair of tendon, muscle, cartilage and ligament, and they decrease pain and swelling. They have no toxic side effects. Meso therapy is a technique widely used in Europe, USA and western Canada by medical professionals.
Currently, the use of meso therapy by ND’s in Ontario (only) is on hold until certain regulatory processes are complete.
Certification in meso therapy is advanced training beyond core medical curriculum.
Acupuncture
Atoms, the tiniest unit composing all things in existence are made of mostly energy and space. Acupuncture works by balancing the energy conducting pathways of the body based on thousands of years of clinical use in China. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the proper term for this system of medicine that utilizes acupuncture, Chinese dietetics and Chinese herbs to heal and rebalance the body. While Dr. Grime uses many TCM botanicals, she is finding that bowen therapy and meso therapy achieve quicker and more effective results than acupuncture for her patients