Extreme Fatigue – Amazing Evidence Says Functional Medicine Can Permanently Help

Unrelenting fatigue, even extreme fatigue, seems to affect us all at times.  I bet you don’t find it difficult to think of the last bout you had.  But let me ask you something.  Is your fatigue becoming less common or more common?  More common right.  Okay, since we agree on that, do you see your fatigue getting better in the near future or worse?  We both know the answer is worse.  But before you write me off for taking negative tone to the start our conversation, stick around.  I have a a lot of positive to share.

I see fatigue as one of the most frustrating symptoms a person can have.  It is linked to everything and nothing all at the same time.  Talk about confusion.  Fatigue is associated with literally almost every medical condition you can think of.  However, most people dealing with fatigue, don’t have a medical condition.  If you ask your doctor to look deeper into the cause of your fatigue, they don’t find anything and say it’s nothing to worry about.  Still, no answers concerning your fatigue.  Where does it end?

Extreme Fatigue –

Extreme fatigue is crippling.  If it were just about low energy, I think most people could push through it.  And I know some still do, especially moms.  However, fatigue is more than low energy.  It robs the motivation you might use.  Not only that, I think it is most devastating when it reaches the point where it is impacting brain health also.  Brain fog and mental fatigue is a subset of fatigue not discussed enough.  Too often we limit our conversation of fatigue to physical fatigue.  Mental fatigue is worse.  It sabotages your interest and desire for taking action.

Not the Answer

“RAMPANT FATIGUE EPIDEMIC CONTINUES ITS DEVASTATING EFFECTS, NO HOPE IN SIGHT”.  I think this should be the headline on every news outlet until we acknowledge how harmful fatigue really is.  Too often we nonchalantly say we are a little tired, but it will be okay.  Will it I ask you?  If you think you are going to turn to your doctor for answers to obtain a medication to help, just know, the FDA has not approved a medication for fatigue.  Now what?

Well, I see the energy drink industry is booming, so that seems like a reasonable route to take.  Except that it’s really more of a caffeine / sugar high than real energy.  So in reality, I think it is safe to say you should avoid the energy drinks and quick shot stimulants.  Alright, I have poked enough.  Let’s talk real solutions.

Functional Medicine Holds the Answer to Fatigue

You would think from what I have shared so far that fatigue is a medical mystery.  No real solutions.  Hard to define.  Unavoidable.  The irony is that the opposite is true.  Causes are very definable with the right assessment tools and you can completely recover from and avoid future fatigue.  It is not inevitable.  The most basic causes of fatigue are not novel.  In fact, every doctor, myself included, studied them early in our education.  Even though medications hold no value in addressing these causes, options still exist that can be life changing.

In contrast to conventional medicine, functional medicine is looking for underlying causes rather than diagnosing, treating or curing.  Among the most common of causes of fatigue is a nutrient deficiency.  A nutrient deficiency, even a single one, can slam the brakes on your energy production.  It will literally come to a grinding halt.  Nutrients are the lifeblood of every action in the body.  They support the most basic to the most complex actions.  When they are available, every function can operate efficiently.

Is This Your Problem?

Why take the functional medicine route for extreme fatigue?  Couldn’t you order a supplement off Amazon and do the same thing.  Maybe, but your odds of guessing the right approach to take are about the same as gambling.  I know you can do better than that.  Functional medicine can dial you in to the exact combination of nutrients you need, why you were deficient in the first place, and how to prevent them again.  This is done by careful assessment and cutting edge testing, many of which you may be unfamiliar with such as micronutrient tests and organic acids just to name two.

You should ask for these basic functional medicine support tools until you find a provider that can offer them and interpret them with a solution for you in mind.  Fighting extreme fatigue everyday is a losing battle and you deserve to know what functional medicine has to offer you.

The Forecast

The meteorologist talks about the weather forecast and the week ahead.  I am going to give you your “fatigue forecast” and the week ahead.  If you take action, I see brighter days ahead, more energy in the AM and clear mental activity through the afternoon and early evening.  Not exploring what functional medicine can do for your fatigue looks cloudy rolling out of bed with mental fog through the day made worse by dreary moods and motivation.