If you’ve felt misheard or dismissed by providers when trying to address ongoing symptoms, you’re not alone. 3 years ago, when I went in to investigate my ongoing fatigue, my doctor ran a couple of common blood tests (a TSH, and hematocrit). When they returned within normal range, I was then offered sleep medication and an anti-depressant. It goes against my values to take prescriptions without evidence it’s needed and I believe doing so could cause more harm than good.

Low thyroid and iron-deficiency anemia are the most common causes for relentless fatigue, so these always need to be ruled out. However, a hematocrit and TSH level won’t show you the full picture of your iron status or thyroid health. Even if these two commonly ordered labs are within normal limits, you likely need more bloodwork to confirm.🩸

There’s a time and place for medications, but we have a nationwide overprescription problem and a shortage of providers trained to investigate the root-cause underlying symptoms. In the US medical system, there’s little-to-no emphasis on common issues like heavy metal toxicity, mold illness, mitochondrial dysfunction, hormonal imbalance, and nutritional deficiencies - all of which commonly produce symptoms of fatigue.

If being offered prescriptions over deeper investigation just doesn’t sit well with you, keep searching. You’ll find better success with a practitioner trained in functional medicine to help you using science-driven testing.

Having the proper bloodwork completed within 6 months of working with me is a prerequisite, so we can look to the other sources of fatigue. If you want to know the exact tests to ask your provider for, please send me a message and I would be happy to share the recommendation I give my clients.