Fidelity

I was asked by a naturopathic student about how I practiced medicine. She thought since I had a masters in oriental medicine I used primarily acupuncture and herbs. This made me think about the state of medicine and specifically naturopathic medicine.

There is the saying if you are a hammer the world looks like a nail. Doctors can fall into this trap. Allopaths (MD's) have historically used prescriptions regardless of effect or even need (ear infections case in point).

In naturopathic medicine it is no less common, in fact I feel it is rampant. Take for instance the naturopathic physician treating autism. I had a patient seeing a renown ($350 per visit) naturopath who strictly practiced homeopathy. She had been under care for several years and after some reading decided to look into possible heavy metal exposure.

I provided her with the material for a provoked urinary toxic metals test. This included a prescription for Chemet. Chemet is a medication that binds to heavy metals and once bound causes them to be excreted via bowel movement or urination. The fecal matter in this case is collected and sent to a lab for evaluation.

At the end of our consult the patient called her homeopathic naturopath. He instructed her not to give her child the medication as that it may "interfere" with the child's remedy. When I confronted the physician, his reply is that there is no proven link between autism and heavy metals.

I reviewed the child's chart note from the homeopathic naturopath. There was no standard of tracking the improvement set in the protocol. The child's wellness and advancement was not evaluated based upon andy standard used to evaluate autism, that means no ATEC and no psych eval. There were however over a year's worth of chart notes evaluating everything but the autism. Unfortunately for the child there was no improvement even by the homeopathic naturopath's metrics.

The reason the homeopathic naturopath requested that the patient forgo any other therapy while taking the remedy was based on his belief that any medication would interfere with the remedy he prescribed. This theory is not new; it was written by Sammuel Hahnaman 400 years ago. It is believed that homeopathy must be done without any interference. But is a broad based approach to care with several interventions considered interference?

Should we have allegiance to a 400-year-old theory, or the life of a child? Because this is what is in the balance. At what point are we trying to prove to the world some ancient system of healing is effective at the expense of the patient?

This is when I question the fidelity of the physician. Do they have a fidelity to the patient or in this case the homeopathic remedy? If this were an allopath using drugs there would be an uproar in the naturopathic community. Not this time.

In my opinion, when a family presents with an autistic child everything must be put on the table. Therapy must be based upon symptoms and history. Areas such as digestion, environmental toxicity, and brain chemistry must be evaluated.

I feel therapy must be broad and aggressive. This is a child, and a child deserves maximal effort. Therapies such as music, occupational and speech should be utilized alongside diet and nutrients. All therapies must be evaluated based upon a standard metric to assess for success. I utilize the ATEC, but there are others available. If a therapy shows no impact it should be replaced with another until there is some mark of improvement.

I am not trying to debunk homeopathy. I know many intelligent people who swear by its effectiveness. But as with any therapy, it is only a tool: the patient is the work of art. All too often this gets confused in medicine.

I am dedicated to the health of the patient and whatever therapy will restore him or her to health. I am not vested in a single therapy. I have no fidelity to anything but the patient. For disclosure, I have a 6-year-old son with autism.