How often should you see a naturopath?

It depends on you and your plan. There's no standard schedule. After your first visit, the naturopathic doctor (ND) suggests when to come back, and why. Follow-ups are 30 or 60 minutes. You pay per visit, with no packages, so you decide when to book. You can always ask the ND to explain the timing.

There's no set number of visits.

Nobody can give you a set number before a first visit. Two people with the same sentence ("I'm tired all the time") can need very different plans.

So the rhythm comes after the first visit, not before. The ND hears your history, reads your results, and agrees a first plan with you. Then they suggest when a follow-up makes sense. The first visit, step by step, shows where that happens. Each visit is priced on its own, on the fee schedule.

What decides the timing.

A few things usually shape when the next visit makes sense:

• What's in the plan. A change to how you eat or sleep needs a fair try before anyone reviews it.
• Tests, if any. If the ND suggested a lab test, a follow-up often waits for the results.
• What you're noticing. A change is worth raising at a follow-up. Anything new and worrying goes to your family doctor first.
• Your life. Work, family and budget count. The ND plans around them, not the other way round.

The ND tells you the reason for each suggested date. If it doesn't suit you, say so. It's your call.

Questions worth asking about any follow-up date:

• Why this date, and not sooner or later?
• What will we look at then?
• Is a 30 or 60 minute visit the right length?
• Could this wait until a test comes back?

30 minutes or 60 minutes?

Follow-ups here come in two lengths.

• 30 minutes is for reviewing what has changed and adjusting the plan.
• 60 minutes is for a fuller review. That might mean new results, a new concern, or several things at once.

The ND can suggest which length fits the next visit. Each length has its own fee.

Why there are no packages.

In Ontario, NDs can't charge block fees. A block fee is a flat fee for a set of services, or for unlimited services. The College of Naturopaths of Ontario's fees and billing standard rules it out.

So here, you pay per visit

• no packages
• no prepaying
• no memberships

Nothing is locked in. You book the next follow-up when you're ready.

What to bring to each follow-up.

Follow-ups are more useful with a little detail. Bring what you have:

• notes on sleep, your cycle or symptoms, if you keep them
• any new bloodwork or lab reports, even the normal ones
• changes to your medications or supplements
• what was hard to stick to, and what wasn't

A line or two in your phone is plenty. The ND reads it with you.

What if nothing seems to change?

Say so at your follow-up. The ND reviews the plan with you and adjusts it.

There's also a firm rule here. If you're not responding to the plan, and the ND's other options won't change that, the ND must refer you. That referral goes to a medical doctor or nurse practitioner. The same applies if your condition gets significantly worse.

If you feel suddenly unwell, see your family doctor. Not for emergencies. In an emergency, call 911.

When to stop.

Whenever you like. You pay per visit, so there's nothing to cancel except a booked appointment. The details are on the fee schedule.

How to start.

If you haven't had a first visit yet, start with the free call. Ten minutes, in clinic, by phone or by video. It's a conversation about fit, not a consultation. Read what happens at the first visit if you'd like the whole sequence first.

Questions people ask