A trip to the naturopath...

Since being diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis last April, finding a good naturopath doctor has been on my list of things to do.  I'm not too trusting of most "regular" doctors and I don't really agree with a lot of medicine that is out there used to treat people for various reasons.  I don't even like to take Tylenol or ibuprofen.  It honestly just isn't good for your body.
My colitis has really been flaring for a week or so, although I have been in a mild but bearable flare for a few months now.  So I decided that it was finally time that I take a trip to the naturopath.  A few people my mom knows actually recommended this doctor to me.  Her father was a naturopath, she took over his clinic, and previously he had taken over the clinic from his mentor.  It's the oldest naturopath clinic in the United States, so I figured, why not?
The visit was interesting.  Some things were pretty typical to most doctors office visits.  Checking blood pressure, temperature and knee reflexes.  But that is where the similarities end.  I didn't even know that doctors check reflexes in your ankles.  A delayed reflex may mean that you have thyroid issues.  My ankles were good. :)  I also had my blood oxygen level tested, not sure how common that is.  Another test we did was Iridology.  I'm not 100% sure exactly what it is that she was looking for, but she was looking for some sort of irregularities in the fibers of my iris.  Different sections in the iris correspond to different areas of the body and a break in the fibers or some sort of other abnormality shows stress or inflammation in that area of the body.  Some areas in my body that show signs of stress are my liver, small intestine, lower colon, and lung (most likely due to the cold I have).   Also she noticed that I have what is almost a fluttering affect with my pupils when exposed to light.  Most people's pupils change rapidly when exposed to light and dark, mine sort of flutter back and forth.  This is a sign of adrenal fatigue which is most likely caused by stress.  Go figure.  Stress is a huge trigger for my Colitis symptoms as well.  We did a food intolerance test.  I learned that I have an intolerance to... potatoes!  Potatoes!!  Of all the things in the world.  I LOVE potatoes!  Baked potatoes, grilled potatoes, fried potatoes, french fries, mashed potatoes, roasted garlic potatoes, sweet potatoes, twice baked potatoes, veggie hungarian goulash from Old European... oh potatoes, how I will miss you!!!  I also have another intolerance, but it is only when these two are paired together... sugar and fruit.  So in a day, I can have one or the other, but not both.  This could be a tough one, but honestly it doesn't make me as sad as losing my beloved potatoes.  I am interested to see how cutting these things out will make a difference in my body though.
During the visit I also learned that I am possibly anemic, which really doesn't come as a surprise due to the amount of blood I've been losing.  I'm also vitamin D deficient, sodium deficient, and I need to really up my intake of omega 3's (funny...I just ordered some fish oil yesterday).  Going in for a blood draw tomorrow to confirm the anemia and vit D deficiency.
I go back for a follow up appointment in a couple of weeks to discuss all of the findings and set forth a plan of action to heal my body.  I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting this disease under control without the need for crazy medication.  I even got to check out the movie SICKO, from the doc office.  Cant wait to watch it.