New Naturopath in Brandon, eBrandon discussion (2025)

Tootyfruity
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 177

There is a new Naturopath Dr. in Brandon - Dr. Karly Brown of Golden Oak Naturopathic Clinic.
Has anybody been to see her and were you satisfied with her service?

hisluvmonkey
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1424

I attended an initial M&G and thought she seemed very knowledgeable and very nice. I couldn't make a follow up right away due to being broke and naturopaths aren't covered by MB Health, but I do intend to book an appointment in the future.

New Quack in town!!!!

“Cool!!! New Quack in town” Shots fired!!! haha

don brown
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4956

I'm sort of against people trying to cure major medical problems by naturopathic means, but one has to realize that a dietician tell you to maybe eat blueberries or saskatoons because they are high in antioxidants do we call them quacks, or what if a doctor tells you maybe you should increase the amount of fibre in you diet by eating something like oatmeal, do we call them quacks.
Maybe read up on something like willow bark tea, and you might find out that there are chemicals in it that work like Asprin for pain killers.
It's an interesting world out there, so sometimes don't close your mind to everything.

wonderment
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 392

Flutterby

Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1544

I will start by saying question everything.

There are very many quacks in the medical system. Some are discovered, but many more are still "practicing" on patients and are considered good doctors and experts in their field. This is being dismissed by some people on this thread. I consider that foolish to not acknowledge.

These doctors often expect to be followed as gods without questioning them in any way. Often their solutions are bandaid ones that treat symptoms and do not get to the source of the problem so that it can be truly fixed. Many of their "solutions" are downright dangerous, but those who loyally follow, like sheep, without questioning them seem to accept that everything is safe & the risks, if they are even aware of them, don''t apply to them. I have never had a doctor who went over risks of anything they prescribed for me. They are required by law...but yet they don''t do it. Many do not respect the patient, who are just a number. I am certainly far from the only one who holds these views.

I have met quite a few who are not much more than legal drug pushers, outright liars (in order to push you to follow their ideas), or just guess what you might have without much thought put into it...and either treat you incorrectly or not at all, or call you (or make you feel) crazy when there was actually a very real reason these things were happening. I have met many of these. Way too many. I also have friends who are suffering greatly because they followed doctors advice.

To take the heat off the Naturopaths, I figured out most of my issues on my own after much careful study. The doctors were of no help. I got myself off one lifetime drug (that caused me horrible, life changing problems) prescribed to me by many doctors...only going to a naturopath that one time for advice. The naturopath did actually help me cure that major issue with her guidance. I only went there once.

It is well known that doctors do not spend much time learning about nutritional deficiencies, & real food & spices & herbs as medicine. Not learning of their benefits is a mistake.

There are some well meaning doctors, and some not so much. There are also some good & knowledgeable doctors too...those who continue to learn on their own, and question, & are open to learning outside their canned training.

This said, not paying attention to old wisdom is stupid. NOT sifting through the old wisdom is also just as stupid, as there were some fake remedies that people relied on long ago and accepted as well without question. Keep in mind that often those things were prescribed by the modern medical system of the time, really not a whole lot different than today. On the other end, some good remedies were discovered by those who were in need & were adventurous (ack!) and learned through observation what certain plants could do. Sometimes the side effects were good, sometimes bad...but the knowledge is out there.

A person should question everything...no matter who is treating you. Be well informed and listen to what your body has to say. Go from there.

Edited by Flutterby, 2017-10-25 10:35:14

Its easy to say that they are "quacks" but in reality they aren't. they are more knowledgeable then regular doctors in my opinion. its easy for a regular doctor to prescribe you a drug that in the end a lot of the time doesn't solve the problem it just suppresses the symptoms. Naturopaths like Dr. Brown have to take the time to actually figure out what is going on exactly in your body and figure out why its happening. they don't just hand you a bottle of pills that you take everyday to make the symptoms go away. I have heard a lot about Dr.Brown and can honestly say shes legit.

No matter what your personal experience with regular doctors or naturopaths. No matter what you've experienced with some incompetent doctors.
All that is irrelevant to the fact that Naturopathy is not evidence based and is considered as a pseudoscience.
Is there a chance you could get relief from naturopathic methods, sure, but the probability is 50/50, if not lower. That's the problem with non-evidence based methods.

A chiropractor is also practicing pseudoscience however a chiropractor can fix your back and bone pain usually without all the pills. Is a chiropractor a quack? i think most people would say not. also MB health doesn't cover dentistry does that mean dentists are quacks? the thing that people don't understand is that deciding who you see depends on the problem. A Naturopathic doctor can help with a lot of problems so can a medicinal doctor or a chiropractor. A naturpathic doctor will send you to a medicinal doctor if they feel that is what needed however their ways of helping you have considerable less side effects and risks a the medicinal and not all medication works either. at the end of the day what you do to your body is your decision. if you want to fill it with chemicals you go ahead and do that but if you want to try naturally healing it Dr. Brown is the place to go!

hisluvmonkey
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1424

Think naturopaths, chiropractors, or any alternative health modality practitioners are quacks? Then don't go to one! The OP did not ask your opinion of these practices, she/he asked a specific question about a specific practitioner which I answered. Buh-bye

Ja-On Hillman
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 37

This is fantastic that a new Naturopathic Doctor has taken the step to open a new clinic in Brandon. There is a definite need for this care, and I look forward to booking an appointment for myself as well as referring clients to Dr. Brown!

Naturopaths are a great addition to our health care system, right up there with ALL other health care providers. If you have questions about what they do, take the time to speak to one of the caring doctors that are in this community.

peopleperson

Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 118

ignorance is Bliss

A naturopathic dr goes to school for 7 years: studies nutrition and how to heal the body with Natural Medicines which support the body not Give a bunch of side effects -
I almost died from side effects of Medication and my Naturopathic Dr. Helped heal my body so I could function again and not be an invalid

Get Educated! Some Insurance Companies Provide Cverage for Naturopathic Doctors. -

Edited by Counsellor, 2017-10-25 16:58:41

After reading some of the other comments on this thread, I thought I'd look more into naturopathic medicine in case I missed something. But, no, naturopathy still falls under pseudoscience with no evidence to back it up besides some placebo effects.

I'm all for trying everything once, and MAYBE even using some naturopathic medicine as a COMPLIMENTARY procedure. But when it comes to health care there needs to be a line drawn. Because people will want to believe anything. So when a naturopathic doctor tells you that they oppose vaccinations? Or they suggest a cancer patient to stop their chemo and try more holistic practices? That is an issue.

Here's an article about a naturopathic doctor that changed her mind about her profession: https://www.statnews.com/2016/10/20/naturopath-critic-britt-hermes/

Chiro isn’t evidence based either. If you look at the unbiased evidence, it’s effects are heavily placebo based as well. Your hip and back are not “out”, nor does a single person have the strength to physically move your joints back in to place with a minor “pop”. If your joints were truly “out” they would be dislocated. The “pop” can relax a muscle spasm occasionally but it’s not realigning you or putting your joint back in to place. Our body can easily subconsciously correct the flaw if told and shown the “problem area” before the treatment. Asymmetries are normal in the human body. Chiros origins are from witchcraft way back in the day.

don brown
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 4956

So you are speaking from experience when your talking of chiropractors. When you are talking of a placebo effec, I'm wondering, after spending 3 weeks in the hospital with part of it being in traction, with no results, and being told by a doctor that it would be something I would have to learn to live with, I went to a chiropractor and maybe didn't work a miracle in the first visit but made it so I didn't have to take antiinflamitory drugs or painkillers. You mention dislocation, and in my discussion with my doctor at the time oft visit in the hospital gave me the story of how all the vertebrae were kept in place by muscles and tendons and there was no way things would get out of line or adjustment. My question to him was "have you ever seen a dislocated finger or shoulder"?
I'm not sure how many bands of muscles are in the shoulder, but know that there are likely 8 if not more, and the muscles in the shoulder and chest are fairly large and strong muscles, and yet a shoulder can become dislocated, and put back into position by a doctor.
The nerve canals between vertebrae are fairly small and it doesn't take much pressure on the nerve to cause pain or numbness.
There are certain nerves that can be used to make this point of how little pressure is needed to cause a person great discomfort. The simplest one to find would be the one on your inner arm, at the back of the elbow joint, about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch up from the joint toward the armpit.
My life has involved doing thing which have caused a lot of physical stress on my lower back, and over thirty years of doing dumb things, since my episode of being in the hospital, has taught me what works for me to remedy a back problem, and it's a visit to a chiropractor.
Not telling anyone what to do or think, just relating what works for me.

Mb health covers me up to $350 for Naturopathic care. I'm really tired of people hearing the word Natural and assuming it's irrelevant. Do you not think the food you eat everyday affects your health? That's part of Naturopathic care. Ever taken a vitamin?? Naturopathic care. Doctors and modern medicine have their place but using Naturopathic care can be preventative to needing drugs or even surgery. I think it's great to have options in Brandon as this kind of care is becoming more and more in demand as people realize the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle.

Bebop1978
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 85

Stepped up to the plate after my GP refused to do the tests I needed. She really helped me. The more I learn the more I see how uneducated some of our doctors are !! Naturalpaths are the way to go if you can. I'm luck, my insurance covers the costs.

A placebo effect still means there is an effect. The results are just not happening the way you think they are. Everyone has anecdotes for why this or that worked. The placebo effect is real but that doesn’t mean the treatment as it’s described to you is doing exactly that. Scientific research backs that. Acupuncture is another one with a large placebo effect. Many things will work for people because they believe it to be true. Not because it is actually working the way the practitioner says it is. To each their own, but some people are paying for ludicrous treatments over and over again that they can’t really afford because heir practitioner is a good salesperson.

The back is a very different beast then a finger or shoulder. The bones is the back are fit together like puzzle pieces, so not so easily dislocated or “put out of place.” There isn’t much scientific research behind traction either, so I’m not surprised it didn’t work but what was your relationship like with you medical doctor? Did you trust him? If you didn’t it didn’t click well with him, this could have put doubt in mind making the placebo effect if traction less likely to occur. Some people swear by traction. But again, it’s anecdotal and the mind is a powerful thing if you believe something to be true despite unbiased scientific research disputing a treatments effectiveness.

Brenda..
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 9544

What do these sentences mean??
Listen to your body.
Your mind is strong.

What is a chemical? Can something be natural and a chemical?

Does the fact that your insurance covers it make it a scientific fact?

Is Naturopathy really just eating naturally occurring foods or is there more to it?

Are anecdotes, or the fact that someone has a degree, proof that the method is scientific?

Edited by LukeD, 2017-10-26 12:25:50

I’m happy to i:nclude a medical doctor, a chiropractor, a massage therapist, a physiotherapist, an optometrist, a dentist, and a naturopath in my wellness team. If I break my arm, I want my medical doctor there to set this acute injury. But if I’m having chronic issues, I look to my medical doctor and my naturopath to help me decipher what has led me to my current state. It was my naturopath who helped me discover my food sensitivities that made me feel like I was starting to get arthritis. Completely medical approaches usually i:nclude pres:criptions which can be fine for some but I encourage you to ask your doctor the following two questions if s/he prescribes you a drug:

1. How many patients would have to take this medicine before one person is helped? Call this number n.

2. Of the n people who take the medicine, how many will have side effects from the medicine?

Then use those answers to decide if the pres:cription is right for you.

And to answer the original question, Dr Brown is thorough, knowledgeable and lovely! If you are looking for a ND, I would highly recommend her. I just had an hour appointment with her today.