"I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired but my labs are all normal. What's wrong with me or is this just what getting old feels like?"
Do you ever think or feel like this?
Fatigue is one of the most common complaints in the primary care setting but can also be the most vague because there are so many contributing factors. In this blog, I will share what comes to mind first when talking to someone who feels exhausted.
Let's dive in:
Amanda, a 49 year old stay-at-home-mom, came in complaining mainly of fatigue. She was running a marathon when her body gave out. Somehow she was able to push through the finish line, which always feels amazing after an endurance race like that, but it can come at a great cost. Pushing the body through extreme fatigue and exhaustion will eventually cause hormonal disruptions and can break the body down, just not enough to show up on labs. In fact, she had gone to many doctors about her fatigue, just like many others have done, to find that her labs were all "normal" despite her hair falling out, feeling wired but tired, and her digestion being all off.
Amanda did not feel like herself and reached out to me.
We ended up doing a deeper dive into her hormones, micronutrient levels, and gut health through specialized test and discovered many imbalances.
The specialized tests helped us to see where we needed to focus our supplementation.
You see, we give supplements for the following reasons:
To prevent or replenish a deficiency
To support or strengthen a weakened system
To heal an injury or eliminate an infection
Slow down a disease process
Correct/Support Genetic issues
Testing can help us determine what supplements are right for you based on what is going on, what the tests reveal, and the goals of the client.
Hear what Amanda had to say:
“Dr. Lexi handed me a book to take home and read through to see if anything resonated. As I began reading individuals testimonials of their health challenges, I landed on one that was 100% my story. I began to cry. In that moment, I knew Dr. Lexi understood me on a level a PCP never would. I hadn't heard of Adrenal Fatigue but that ended up being the treatment path I needed. Dr. Lexi literally saved my life and I'm ever so grateful!!"
Along with Amanda's #adrenalfatigue or what we now call HPA dysfunction, she was also experiencing low T3. That means while her thyroid appeared to be working normally, the thyroid hormone, T4, wasn't converting into the most active form of thyroid hormone which is called "T3." This is why we must run a "complete thyroid panel."
So, to answer the question, "What are the first go-to labs Dr. Lexi would run when someone is struggling with fatigue?"
Micronutrients
Hormones
If you're struggling with fatigue and finding that your labs are all normal, let's have a conversation to see what labs might be right for you.
Energetically,
Dr. Lexi
#adrenalfunction #completethyroidtest #T3Syndrome #functionalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #testdontguess
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