Toledo Naturopathic, Dr. Maleigha Watts

06/24/2026

Turk is recovering well from his surgery. A little d***y and groggy yesterday (and hopefully not in pain). Hungry and ready for food and smoothie this morning at his usual waking hour. He is less than pleased with his leg sleeve. 😏

Mama is putting her skills to use. Good ol' homeopathy for supporting the healing process. Arnica Montana is the #1 first aid remedy for any ouchie. Ledum Palustre for any puncture wound. Staphysagria for surgical incisions. 200C or 1M potencies for acute needs (I'm using what I have in hand in this case), whereas 30C potency for chronic issues. Ideally dosed a couple days before surgery, the day of, and days following. For Turk, I put the pellets in his drinking water and he knows no different. 🤗

Homeopathy gets a lot of flack. I was incredibly skeptical (heck we all were at one point!) until I did homeopathy rotations and saw a primary progressive MS patient (the ones that get sick quickly and decline quickly) maintain good health without progression of disease and her sole treatment was homeopathy.

It is a non-toxic form of healing, it stimulates the body to heal, it is low risk/side effects, and it will either work or do nothing. Plus, inexpensive at $8/tube.

Choosing the right remedy for the symptoms/picture presented is the hardest part, as there are hundreds of remedies and it often takes an interrogation to get it right. 😁

06/23/2026

1 year ago today was Benito's Eviction Day (my fibroid that was the size of a 6 month pregnancy).

It wasn't a procedure I wanted (but was one I very much needed). I felt *every* emotion leading up to it.

Given that, everything from pre-surgery, surgery, and recovery were as smooth as can be with a great outcome.

1 year out and: I'm lifting heavier weights than in high school, I no longer have bulk symptoms, and honestly not having a cycle is kind of awesome. In hindsight, I can't believe I tolerated it for as long as I did.

What a coincidence today, then, as I just dropped Turk off for a surgery of his own. A skin tag that has grown, needs removed, and hopefully hasn't turned cancerous. My baby.

June 23rd apparently is Annual Surgery Day at our house. 😅

Tomorrow will be Take Turk To Work Day, so Mama can keep an eye on him as he recovers. 🤗

06/22/2026

Building Progesterone levels saves lives.🫠

Hello, Perimenopause. Progesterone is one of the first hormones to go wonky in perimenopause--weird bleeding patterns, premenstrual symptoms, cyclical sleep changes, cyclical mood changes. A true joy, let me tell you.

There's various ways to support progesterone naturally like:

✅Chaste Tree/Vitex our most common women's herb that helps to regulate cycles and is favorable to progesterone production.

✅Adrenal support and adaptogenic herbs generally will couple along with Vitex nicely (such as Daytime HPA) because chronic, unrelenting stress will INEVITABLY drain your progesterone levels if you aren't careful. Also, boundaries, therapy, and no longer overextending yourself help treat the root cause.

✅FemRebalance has been my go-to herb formula when peri-menopause is in full swing and hormones are running rampant (has a blend to support estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone).

[Disclaimer: Please work with a provider, get some labs done, so you know what your body needs]

Is there more in our arsenal? Surely. Have I tried all of these myself and with patients? No doubt. Personally, having tried all of the things, and at the age of 42 it wasn't enough.

I started Progesterone therapy about 2 weeks ago (with the help of my Nurse Practitioner) and I KNOW it is working.

"How do you know?", might you ask.

"Well let me tell you."

Last week our home renovations were getting wrapped up. We have had the same crew in our home for 3 weeks and ya know, you get to know them decently when you're also trying to work from home. Our last day of hard work prompted me to ask the crew if we could buy them lunch.

"Anything!", I said.

"Burger King!!" they enthusiastically yapped.

So, off to Burger King drive-thru I went and it was *quite* busy.

Once I got to the drive-thru window the gal at the window mumbled something and took my card. After the fact I realized she had mumbled someone's name (Janelle) and a total amount--and it was not my name or total that she mumbled. I tried to flag her down but it was too late. She rang my card, I sheepishly had to tell her my name was in fact not Janelle. Needless to say, in the middle of a busy lunch rush, she was not pleased. I got a window slam, was called the b-word more times than I can count, and a manager changing out the transactions had her worker's back (while the worker continued to cuss me out in the background).

Annnnnyway.

2 weeks prior to that the unnecessary rage that filled me thanks to perimenopause, probably would have led me stomping into the dining room and flipping tables. What a great news headline. "Local Naturopathic Doctor goes on a rampage at Burger King dining room".

It was at that moment that I knew: Progesterone therapy saves lives. Maybe mine. Maybe someone else's. 🤪😅😂

Happy Monday!

06/21/2026

A couple months ago, my girlfriend Carrie stopped over for a visit and brought some goodies in tow. One of them was Co**se Reviver, a sparkling tea/electrolyte drink that she swears brought her to life.

We ended up liking it enough that we ordered straight from the company. I was pretty dang excited, then, to stumble past it at the Home Goods checkout line today!

Purple Co**se Reviver while I put away my Purple Glass. 🥰

The kitchen isn't quite presentable yet but here is a satisfying before and after of our living room. 😍

06/19/2026

It seems so far away but I am sure it will creep up on us quickly! Very pleased to be presenting for Zonta Club Defiance's Annual Luncheon in October!

Registration details to come 🤗

✨Save the Date!✨

Join us on Thursday, October 1st for this year's Annual Luncheon for Women's Health.

We are excited to announce this year's keynote speaker, Dr. Maleigha Watts.

Dr. Maleigha Watts is a Naturopathic Doctor that has been serving Northwest Ohio since 2011. She earned her Bachelor's at the University of Toledo and went on to complete Naturopathic Medical School at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (since renamed Sonoran University of Health Sciences) in Tempe, Arizona. Her practice is in Waterville, Ohio. She offers a spectrum of care: for those that are seeking preventative care, to those with more complex health histories that require more advanced holistic care. Dr. Watts believes in investigating and addressing the root cause(s) to health concerns, in empowering patients to be engaged in their health and healing, and advocating for her patients by serving as a bridge between the holistic and traditional models of medicine. She specializes in digestive disorders, women's health, and mold/mycotoxicity. Outside of the office, she can be found spending time with her husband (Kirk), and 2 pups (Turk and Ottie), walking the local metro parks, cooking up new delicious meals, or working on a creative project (particularly crochet or watercolor painting).

✨ Registration details coming soon!

06/18/2026

My dear friend recently gifted this beautiful window crystal, in memory of Lily. We get to see a radiant rainbow sprinkled in the office on a sunny afternoon.

Yesterday Sarah was talking to a new patient on the phone, giving them directions and describing our location. "A little blue house across from the Post Office", she said.

When she hung up I said, "So you think the office is blue, too?! Lily and I always jokingly squabbled over the house. She would say it is a gray house. I say it is blue."

"Well, in all fairness", Sarah said, "it's blue-gray."

🥰🥰🥰 She's right.

The memory of Lily made me smile. And the conversation with Sarah made me briefly reflect. Sarah and the women that have held her role previously include Lily and my Mama. All important women in my life. All women that left a mark on this office, practice, and its patients. All women that have changed my life for the better.

Gratitude doesn't quite cover it, but it is a start.

06/15/2026

In my personal life, I tend to practice what I call the Vampire Rule: I don't go where I am not invited. Meaning, I don't interject my thoughts on health or naturopathic care unless someone asks.

For the past 2 weeks we have had an excellent crew at the house working hard on our kitchen (and living room that we added at the last minute 😅). My supplement and herb stash is thrown about the house currently, so you can't really hide the fact that we're crunchy. Little by little they have been picking my brain on things they can try for health.

For a friend of a worker: Glutamine Powder swish and swallows to help mucositis from chemo and radiation treatments. Already improved appetite!

For another yesterday, Slippery Elm Gruel made on the spot which instantly knocked out some gnarly heartburn. Sent him home with a baggie of powder for his wife to try.

Another I sent home with Magnesium, electrolytes, and an order to increase water for restless legs, with the hopes they can treat the root cause instead of needing Ropinerole long term.

Naturopathic medicine, winning over 1 person at a time. 🙃

PS: No, the Diet Coke in the pic isn't mine. 😆

06/11/2026

This time a year ago I was losing sleep and incredibly anxious, about to undergo an abdominal hysterectomy (ovaries spared) to remove a fibroid the size of a 6 month pregnancy. All went well!

This week I moved into triple digits for strength training, squatting 102 lbs for the first time. 2 months ago I didn't have the grip strength to hold 25lb dumbbells and now I use them regularly.

2 nights ago I started a low dose of Bio-Identical Progesterone as recent levels were undetectable, despite my best efforts naturally. As my friend and NP said, "You fought the good fight for a long time and you did great. Want some help?"

Ladies, I see it all the time. Don't gaslight yourselves.

Some things we DO need to keep trying harder at because we can get better at something as a result (progressing with our habits, weight in this case). Some things we can try all we want but despite our efforts, we need an assist (mighty Progesterone in my case).

Using both sides of medicine intelligently. That is holistic care. 🤗

06/04/2026

"Thank you for not judging me and letting me be human."

Peeps, please listen.

No one knows what walking in your shoes is like. As providers, we should be doing our best to understand this, and to tailor plans to the patient (not squish the patient into a pre-made plan). But even if we try, we still don't live it, and are still making some assumptions on your daily capacity of what you can do/have energy/time/resources for.

And sometimes we are wrong.

If a plan isn't sustainable for you, you aren't failing. If a plan is too strict and causing you anxiety, it is time to ease up. Think of setting out for a destination across town. You might choose the most efficient route (as a provider might try). But we can all appreciate that there are 163,802 ways to get to that destination. Need a detour? A different approach? No shame in that. You still get to the same place, but maybe the timeline looks different.

But the only way you get redirected and back on track, is to have a moment of vulnerability and transparency with your provider. Tell them what works, what doesn't, and have a session together to brainstorm how to make it work better for you. Because that's right: we work for you!

PS: If they are a jerk about it, say Bye. No bullies in healthcare.

PPS: If you are ever given a plan that looks like an owner's manual to a car, an inch thick and told you better do everything perfectly or your body will not heal. Run. Health does not have to be this complicated. And healing shouldn't make you feel like a failure.

All the love to you peeps, today. If it ain't working for you, tweak it.

06/03/2026

Today (Wed June 3) the businesses of downtown Waterville are without electric. Which (as it is typically a black-hole for even a phone signal or data) means we have no charting software, payment software, or phone signal. 🙃

Sarah and I are each working from home and here if you need anything.

All patients on today's schedule will be contacted/notified that appointments will be held by phone or virtual. We hope to be physically back in office on Friday June 5. Thanks for understanding!