Reasons why Canada’s healthcare system is inadequate at treating autoimmune disorders.
From someone who has personal experience in the matter.
If you have an autoimmune disorder, you’ve likely experienced frustration at some point in time with the public medical system. The Canadian medical system is currently very broken and what this means for patients with an autoimmune disorder is long wait times to see a specialist, minimal time spent with their doctor to address their concerns, and likely even misdiagnoses that prevent them from getting the care they deserve in an appropriate time frame.
While I think that medical doctors are extremely competent at what they do, I also think that the conventional medical system is not adequately equipped to handle patients with complex chronic disease. The doctor shortage is one of the biggest contributors because every family doctor and every specialist is stretched thin with their patient load, especially in big cities. This means that now more than ever, medical doctors don’t have the time needed to do a proper intake with their patients. Plastered on the walls of walk-in clinics are signs loudly requesting “one concern per appointment please.” And patients with autoimmune disorders don’t have just one concern. They have a myriad of perplexing symptoms that typically makes a medical doctor shrug and wave off as “just PMS”, “it’s in your head” or “you’re just overweight.” Autoimmune disorders are COMPLEX and require TIME for you to describe your entire medical history, precipitating events, the foods you eat, the type of lifestyle you have, etc. Medical doctors simply don’t have the time anymore.
The other aspect of the conventional medical system that prevents them from giving autoimmune patients the proper care is a lack of holistic training. MDs are very knowledgeable about physiology, anatomy, pathology, and pharmacology but that is the extent of their training. What about nutrition? Counseling? Preventative medicine? These topics are virtually non-existent in medical school’s curriculum. The conventional medical system has become “sick care” rather than “healthcare.” They can give you a drug to reduce your symptoms but they usually don’t tell you how to fix your lifestyle or your diet even though significant research has demonstrated these are key factors that can add to a patient’s inflammatory burden, or lower a patient’s inflammatory burden, if done correctly. Patients typically also need additional help making dietary changes like recipes, grocery lists or a meal plan. Making changes to your diet is HARD and saying things like “eat more vegetables” or “cut down on sweets” typically is not enough for people to actually do these things. Everyone knows they need to eat more vegetables and reduce their cookie consumption but what if you have a busy schedule? What if you have a big family and can’t afford organic vegetables for every meal? What if you struggle with binge eating after a stressful day at work? These things matter and you need a practitioner that will actually help you work through these challenges and make modifications based on your specific lifestyle or financial limitations. Naturopathic doctors are the pros of lifestyle and diet because our approach is always from the ground up, we understand what patients need for success, and we have the tools needed to implement meaningful changes in these areas.
Naturopathic doctors have the same level of medical training as medical doctors but we also have additional training in nutrition, herbal medicine, acupuncture and other holistic modalities. We also have the time needed to effectively help autoimmune patients because we are private health practitioners. Everything matters in elucidating the cause and triggers of your autoimmune disorder and most medical doctors don’t appreciate the effects of aspects such as mental and emotional state in overall health. While these aspects are important for all health concerns, they are deeply important in understanding a patient with an autoimmune disorder because they are likely the cause or the reason why an individual’s health is not improving.
Naturopathic doctors also have access to private laboratory testing, which means that we can test for things that medical doctors cannot because they are restricted by government standards. Have you ever tried to get your medical doctor to order a thyroid lab that isn’t T3? For example, T4, TSH or anti-TPO? They literally cannot. It’s not that they don’t want to or don’t think it’s helpful, they just can’t. Private laboratory testing is helpful for elucidating the cause of your autoimmune disorder, which is likely also the major player in your symptoms. Mold toxicity, food sensitivities, microbiome testing, and Lyme disease are just examples of predisposing factors that can trigger autoimmunity. We can test for these things, we can tell you what your results mean, and we can create a personalized treatment plan to address it.
I’m not just speaking from the perspective of a naturopathic doctor, which is likely a biased perspective. I’m also speaking from the perspective of a patient who experienced all of these things when I was struggling with my first autoimmune disorder. It was dehumanizing. It was isolating. It was frustrating. All I wanted was a doctor that would sit down with me and LISTEN for two seconds. I wanted someone that had the training to actually support me and educate me on my condition. I wanted to feel like my doctor CARED.
I pursued naturopathic medicine because of this experience. I felt there was an unmet need in the healthcare system and I wanted to fill that void. I knew that as a naturopathic doctor I could effectively help patients with autoimmune disorders reduce their symptom burden, improve their energy and support them during their journey. So now that I am finally in a position to help with the training necessary to do so, this is my mission. I want it to go beyond my brick and mortar clinic in Vancouver, BC too. I want to help people around the world because people are suffering from autoimmune disorders around the world. This is why I’ve created courses and blogs and why I am engaged in social media. I think that everyone with autoimmunity deserves the evidence-based, holistic and compassionate care that I can deliver. I’m here and it would be my pleasure to be your guide on your individual healing journey.
Dr. Aislynn Hunt, ND
