Fatigue is one of the most frequent complaint patients present to their healthcare providers. It can be an acute or chronic issue that can significantly affect quality of peoples’ lives. The causes are many and frequently there is more than one cause of someone’s fatigue: poor lifestyle, nutrient deficiencies, sleep disturbances, stress, anxiety, hormone imbalance, thyroid disease, anemia, bacterial and viral infections, diabetes, imbalanced gut microbiome and digestive issues, heart disease, autoimmunity, allergies, respiratory disease, renal and liver dysfunction or cancer. In addition, many medications may cause fatigue.
As with any health issue or symptom, comprehensive work up is necessary to identify the underlying cause. Blood work should be the first to look at. Other functional studies might be necessary to evaluate proper functioning of adrenal glands, reveal the presence of toxic metals or discover digestive issues. From my clinical experience, patients are frequently told that their fatigue and is just part of aging process or it’s in their head if nothing abnormal turns up in their lab work. The problem is that many times, doctors simply do not look at the whole picture. They might order routine blood tests and if the results are within the “normal range”, they look no further. There is an important difference between normal and optimal lab result. Never accept the common “you’re just getting older, what do you want?” Find a healthcare provider that is willing to take your complaints seriously and looks for the cause until they find it.
Learn More:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Gut Bacteria
http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2016/06/indicator-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-found-gut-bacteria
Statins and Fatigue
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-06/uoc–sst060712.php
Chronic Fatigue and Immune System Dysfunction
https://www.rd.com/health/healthcare/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-research/
