I was raised to rush to the doctor for every little (or large) health problem. After all, doctors are experts in all things health, right?
Yet, as I got shunted from one doctor to another because no one had answers for my exhaustion, I began to question medicine’s role in my chronic fatigue recovery journey.
I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. When I was 15.
That doctor told me I’d have to learn to cope with it.
Everyone else looked at me like I was crazy.
Endless Lab Tests
My spirit is a fighter. I am fierce, I question everything that feels “off”, and I won’t quit until I get what I want.
So, year after year, I brought up my bone-crushing fatigue with every doctor I saw.
Year after year, I was poked, prodded, pricked and more.
Despite endless lab tests plus the medical testing procedures (I even had a colonoscopy once), everything kept coming back “normal”.
But I wasn’t going to take that sitting down!
So, I decided to take more responsibility for my own health and began my long road of research and information gathering.
The Cycle of Insanity
As I accumulated more and more information, trying desperately to piece it all together (without a lot of luck), I kept coming across the same things I’d already tried (repeatedly) – I got tested for iron, thyroid, B12; got my red blood cell count checked, do a full blood panel…
Sheesh! It was like I was stuck on a carousel and couldn’t get off!
One day, I decided I’d had enough of that BS.
Digging into the research and natural health studies, I discovered something very important:
Lab tests for chronic fatigue are very inaccurate.
Lab tests only check for a very tiny piece of your whole-body health puzzle.
The ranges for normal are suboptimal.
And they’re only helpful for ruling out problems, not telling you what’s causing your fatigue.
The Epstein Barr Virus Tests
You’ve probably heard of the EBV tests. Maybe you’ve had them run once or twice.
The problem is most doctors aren’t trained on this confusing health problem. And most, including functional doctors, will read them wrong.
You’ll get the wrong treatments as a result, and your fatigue continues to explode.
Here are the EBV tests and why you should question the results:
- VCA IgM will show positive for initial activation of EBV. Otherwise it’ll be negative. Ignore this one unless it’s your first activation.
- VCA IgG will always show up if you’ve had the initial activation, and it’ll always be high, no matter how you feel. This is because your immune system has the antibody.
- EBNA IgG will show up 2-12 weeks after initial activation and will remain high for life. It’s not a good indicator of reactivation either.
- Early Antigen (EA) IgG is the single most important test to have run as this will tell you if you’re activated or reactivated. Always test as soon as you suspect a reactivation, too, as this drops quickly.
- EBNA IgM can indicate active or reactivated EBV, so if you could get this test, ask for it.
Bottom Line: These tests are not always accurate and can be “normal” despite you feeling terrible.
The Truth About Lab Tests and Chronic Fatigue
80% of chronic health conditions like CFS are due to poor nutritional status. And the longer we neglect our nutrition, the worse this status becomes.
Blood, saliva and urine tests will NOT give you a full picture of whether or not hormones or inflammation are the cause of your fatigue.
Energy production happens at the cellular level.
And in order for energy to be produced, energy hormones (cortisol, thyroid, estrogen, for example) need to attach to receptors on the cell membranes. Plus, nutrients need to pass through the membrane walls to get inside and feed your energy production organelles (called the mitochondria).
The #1 reason why lab tests don’t tell us what’s causing your chronic fatigue is because there is no lab test that can tell you how well your cells are responding to your energy hormones.
Nor is there a test to tell you whether or not nutrients are getting into the cells.
And there is no test to indicate whether your cells are in Defense Mode (aka inflamed).
The Best Test for Chronic Fatigue
Instead, you need a full symptom assessment that will connect the dots between symptoms, hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, and toxicity to give you a very clear picture of what’s causing your chronic fatigue.
A symptom assessment will tell you exactly what root causes are behind your chronic fatigue. So you can focus on fixing the right problems.
For example, if you sleep through the night but wake up groggy and you rely on caffeine or sugar to get through the day, this ties back to adrenal exhaustion (burnout).
If you have chronic swollen lymph nodes and/or a sore throat, if you get achy when you’re tired, and you struggle with exercise, especially recovery, this tells me you’ve got a stealth infection.
If you’re battling hunger and cravings, belly fat, PMS, brain fog and you can’t fall asleep or stay asleep at night, we’re dealing with adrenal alarm, the precursor of adrenal fatigue.
Finding the Support Your Need
Medical experts are still the go-to health professionals for women with chronic fatigue.
And, unfortunately, they’re wasting so much money on tests and supplements and treatments they don’t need.
They’re wasting years of their life bouncing around from one doctor to the next. Always looking for the “next best option”.
Chronic Fatigue isn’t simple – it’s a very complex health problem that affects every single area of your health.
To rejuvenate your entire energy production system fully, sustainably and safely, you need to work with someone who, first, listens to you and understands how painful this exhaustion is.
Second, you need a proven, simplified solution that makes implementing the strategies so easy, you could (almost) do them in your sleep.
And third, you need a solution that is flexible to align with YOUR personal nutritional, lifestyle and feminine energetics.
You don’t need another cookie cutter one-size-fits-all protocol or program.
You need a solution that is designed with your unique health history, symptoms and goals. Otherwise, you’ll end up stuck in a cycle of medical treatments that make life miserable and frustrating.
If you’re curious to learn more about what a holistic nutrition & wellness solution looks, a solution that is designed with your unique health & hormonal needs in mind, click here.
