Asking about alternative treatment options could change your health. Here’s how.

Have you ever wondered why you so often finish a doctor’s appointment without really talking about what you went in there to discuss, but instead with a prescription for something you know nothing about?

Well, it has to do with informed consent. And if you don’t know why you have that prescription in your hand, what the risks and side effects of it are, and what would happen if you didn’t take it, you haven’t given full informed consent.

But there’s one other thing you should know before you agree to a treatment.

And that is:

Are there any other treatment options?

If there are, how effective, risky, and costly are they in comparison to the treatment you’re being offered?

Sometimes, a practitioner will not offer an alternative treatment. This is often because they have not been trained to treat your condition with any method other than the one they’re offering. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other practitioners who can treat it with other modalities. And there often are, which is why interprofessional collaboration is so important.

CAVEAT: in many cases, the “standard” treatment offered by your medical doctor genuinely is the most effective and least costly treatment there is for that condition. There’s a reason that we rely on casts for broken limbs, chemotherapy for cancer, and vaccines for rampant infectious diseases.

But in a lot of cases, there is another option, which is just as effective, or more effective, and has a different risk, cost, and side effect profile. This doesn’t automatically mean it’s better. Maybe it’s more effective, but it may also be more difficult to stick with. Maybe the side effects are less distressing, but it's more expensive. As long as you have reliable information about the benefits and risks of each option, it’s up to you to decide which one is best for you.

For example, if you have painful or irregular periods, you have likely been offered the oral contraceptive pill for your symptoms. And it’s possible that you’ve been told it’s the only option. I can assure you, it’s not the only option.

If you have IBS or other tummy problems, you may have been told to try TUMS and there’s not much else that can be done. I can assure you, there’s lots that can be done.

If you have depression or anxiety, you’ve probably been offered SSRIs, and maybe therapy (if you’re lucky). I assure you, there are tons of other strategies to help you feel better.

CAVEAT: Most “alternatives” can be used in conjunction with other treatments. A lot of the time, integrative treatment that addresses the symptoms that are limiting your day-to-day life, while working on addressing the root cause, is the best way to go. So you don’t have to go off the pill, throw away your TUMS, and quit your SSRI to explore additional ways of managing your symptoms.

So if you’re not convinced that a treatment that’s being offered to you is the right option for you, or you’re already on a treatment and you’re not satisfied with the results you’re getting or you’re experiencing side effects you can’t tolerate, there might be another strategy to consider. And maybe a naturopathic doctor like me is the person who can offer that to you. Find a naturopathic doctor in your state or province to help you out, or if you’re an Ontario resident, you’ve already found one.