My Journey to Becoming a Naturopathic Doctor
I spent most of my high school and college career wondering what my future job would be. I knew I wanted to combine my passions for nutrition, health, and education, but I could never see a clear path for myself. Becoming a naturopathic doctor was never something I considered, even though looking back I see how clearly it checked all my “future career” boxes. Once I began researching naturopathic medical school and what the degree entailed, I felt like all the different puzzle pieces of my career interests finally fell into place. I grew up with naturopathic medicine as my main form of healthcare, so I was able to experience firsthand the power of natural medicine.
My first real experience with allopathic medicine was in my senior year of college when I developed a kidney infection. I was about to give my senior thesis presentation but was so sick that I spent the morning of my presentation in the ER. I had to receive high doses of antibiotics for the first time in my life. I asked the provider if I should be taking probiotics with the antibiotic medication, and her answer was no, because she didn’t think I should have anything else in my stomach. Out of fear, I listened to her and subsequently developed a c. difficile infection, which is a severe opportunistic bacterial infection from antibiotic use. Suddenly, my body had to fight off the kidney infection, the antibiotics for that, the c. difficile infection, the new antibiotics for that, and the yeast infections that followed as a result of all the antibiotics! All while finishing up college and preparing for graduation. My poor adrenal glands must have been working overtime to cope with all that stress!
After the kidney infection resolved, I dealt with lingering complications. My gut health was extremely altered after that whole experience and soon after, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune thyroid condition that can be closely linked with gut health. Receiving that diagnosis was disheartening, because it was explained to me as an autoimmune condition that I would have for the rest of my life. Instead of agreeing to take thyroid hormone medication to treat the symptoms, I was committed to healing my gut and thyroid naturally and learned a lot about the importance of finding the root cause of disease. It took several years of hard work with an ND to achieve complete remission for my Hashimoto’s, and although I have been symptom free for many years (even throughout pregnancy), it’s something I still closely monitor all these years later.
That experience really solidified my belief that natural and allopathic medicine each have a unique and important place in health care and can and should be used in combination with one another. Although I was unable to follow my own intuition as a patient, I still believe that both types of medicine not only complement each other but also enhance one another. I often wonder how different my health story would be if I had added more natural support throughout my kidney infection.
It took a few more years of career exploration before my puzzle pieces finally came together and I decided to apply to naturopathic medical school. Throughout my journey to committing to this career, I have learned to trust the timing and to allow things to unfold naturally. My own health journey also inspired me to help my future patients uncover their root causes of imbalance. It’s one thing to learn how to treat symptoms, but it is a much deeper and more complex journey to ask why a symptom is present in the first place. Throughout my medical school career and now in my practice I continue to be humbled by the idea that I can help walk such important health journeys with my future patients. I grew up with natural medicine, but I am also grateful for the allopathic medicine that has healed me as well. Sometimes we need probiotics, sometimes we need antibiotics, and sometimes we need both at the same time. I am lucky to have a wide toolbox to use with patients, and with myself. A recurring mantra of mine is “balance in all things”, and it’s something I carry with me into every patient visit.