Fatigue

Fatigue is described as a sense of physical, emotional, or cognitive exhaustion that interferes with desired functioning. All you want to do is lay down and rest, go to sleep, and sleep for hours. But then you still feel like you are not recovered. The fatigue prevents you from getting on with your life and functioning normally.

What can cause fatigue:

Anemia

You would be surprised by how often this is missed. Looking at the size and color of your red blood cell, iron status, ferritin stores are all important. Some tests are not ordered or seen through the lens of a functional medicine practitioner. The purpose of a red blood cell is to deliver oxygen to every cell in your body in order to make energy. If this is not optimal, how could you possibly function optimally.

Thyroid Dysfunction, Adrenal Dysfunction, Infections

If your sick, then you are tired. Could it be a stealth infection like lyme, parasites, yeast and molds, Epstein barr, or other chronic viral or bacterial infections? As we peel back the layers of your fatigue stealth infections will also need to be assessed.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction

The mitochondria are the powerplant for the cells in your body. If they are slow, then you can’t produce enough energy to keep up to your demands. This of course can affect every system in your body from hormones, to heart function, to liver function, to brain function.

Toxins and Heavy Metals

These can create inflammation, stop hormone production and signaling, and slow down our energy making mitochondria. It’s important to assess these as best as we can but regardless we know we live in a toxic world, and a detox needs to be a part of the plan.

Sleep Disorders, Cancer, Medication Interactions, Pain, Inflammation

As you can see there are many reasons for why someone would experience fatigue or be diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. However, you were not born fatigued, so what went wrong in your body? There are multiple routes and lenses to look through when someone experiences with fatigue, its best to start with the most basic and then peel back the layers from there.

To overcome something so complex, and vague, a functional medicine approach to wellness is necessary. If you have any questions please write or give us a call.