A WORD FROM DR. CHATTIGRE’

Welcome to the naturopathic side of our hospital. Naturopathic care involves any therapy from natural sources. Other terms commonly applied to unconventional medicine include Holistic (any modality that views the patient as more than the sum of his/her parts), Alternative (any modality not included in the standard Western paradigm), and Complementary (any modality that complements other methods). Not all alternative care is holistic, and many conventional doctors take a very holistic approach to their patients.

My approach to alternative care is holistic, which means I strive to get to know every patient as their own unique being. Beyond their Western diagnosis, each one has a unique dis-ease pattern that can be more specifically addressed with holistic care. Treatment and monitoring are personalized and adjusted as the patient shifts, not just as their labwork or radiographs shift. There is no standard therapy. 

The modalities I offer include acupuncture, Chinese and Western herbs, homeopathy, sound therapy, veterinary orthopedic manipulation (similar to chiropractic), functional indirect osteopathy, reiki, and flower essences. My acupuncture practice is based on TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) rather than the newly popular anatomical cookbook approach, making it more flexible and personal. Effective prescribing of Chinese herbs requires a TCM approach as well. For detailed information on many of these therapies, please see my online book at www.tendingthewind.com, or for brief descriptions see the handouts on this website.

Alternative therapies are successfully applied alongside conventional ones, both to boost the effects and mitigate side effects of treatments like drugs, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. It’s also a wonderful way to help patients who can’t tolerate conventional methods, or for whom no conventional therapy is available. Alternative medicine is generally very gentle and augments the body’s own response to disease rather than just alleviating symptoms.

Because holistic care addresses the whole patient, it can be applied to any disease. Some issues require conventional care as well, and some are best handled that way; some can be addressed with holistic methods alone. A short list of issues I’ve treated with holistic medicine includes disc protrusion, arthritis, epilepsy, environmental and food allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, anxiety, feline hyperesthesia syndrome, partial cruciate tears, sciatica, pancreatitis, hepatitis, diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism, asthma, renal failure, urinary incontinence, and cystitis.

I look forward to helping your furry friends!