Discussing Alternative Remedies with Your Primary Physician

It's very important to discuss any alternative remedies you may be considering or that you may be taking with your regular medical doctor. The problem is, how do you discuss something that most conventional physicians either scoff at, or don't know enough about to give you sound advice? I know first-hand how important it is to discuss alternative remedies with your physician before making any changes yourself- in 2001, I was on birth control pills after having my second oldest child- after hearing about how great St. John's Wort was for depression, I decided to try it. I didn't bother discussing it with my physician, and so missed the important fact that it makes birth control pills ineffective. I now have a beautiful 5 year old son who is only thirteen months younger than my second.

An important lesson learned!

If you wish to discuss alternative remedies with your doctor, make sure that your doctor is receptive to your questions and ideas. If you have a doctor with whom you can't communicate at all, or who is completely disinterested in you wanting to try alternative remedies, then you might need to consider finding another doctor- one who is more encouraging of his/her patients being more pro-active in their own health care.

If you want to try an alternative remedy, and want to discuss it with your doctor, there are a few things you can do to make it easier to discuss with him or her. It sometimes helps to make a list of things you would like to discuss with your doctor before you go to your appointment. If you feel uncomfortable bringing it up directly to your doctor, then you can discuss it with the nurse before your doctor sees you.

Always explain to your doctor why you're mentioning any alternative remedies you are wanting to know more about or that you are trying. Explaining ahead of time gives your doctor a chance to possibly warn you about potential side effects or interactions between any conventional medications you may be taking, dangerous side effects that could make an existing condition you have worse, and this gives him/her a chance to note in your chart that you are using an alternative remedy. In the event of dangerous interactions or side effects, this can be an important clue towards understanding what to change and what caused the interaction or side effect.

If you aren't sure whether or not your doctor knows about a particular alternative remedy you are considering, then by all means, feel free to take him/her a copy of an article or two which discusses the remedy in question. Give your doctor a chance to read it, don't give him an entire book to read , and then give him time to respond to your suggestions and questions in a reasonable amount of time.

If you absolutely feel you can't discuss alternative remedies with your doctor, then consider consulting a licensed alternative practitioner who is familiar with most aspects of conventional medicine and who regularly works with conventional doctors. They may be just as able to inform you of potential side affects, risks, etc of the alternative remedy you are considering and the interactions that can be caused by mixing the remedy with traditional medications or treatments.

Write a list of questions, discuss it with your conventional doctor, and if you still find yourself unable to discuss it with your doctor, then perhaps it's time to find a new physician. A good balance is a doctor who is easy to talk to, familiar with both traditional medicine and also with alternative health remedies, and who is open-minded enough to use both.