There are patients who experience fatigue on a daily basis and those who are debilitated by fatigue often referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. While they vary in their causes and treatment at Holistica Integrative Care, we address fatigue on both ends of the spectrum. Some people report that they have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning, need their morning cup of coffee, and struggle to stay off the couch every single afternoon. Some people are so fatigued they cannot make it out of bed in the morning and their activities of daily living (such as work and school) are severely affected by fatigue.
Each patient has a different story and cause related to their fatigue, and each patient that we see has a specialized treatment plan created for their particular picture of fatigue.
Too many people are struggling with fatigue every day and most patients accept it as a normal course of aging. NO! I want to scream from the roof tops: “This is not a normal symptom to just put up with!!” We dig deep to find the cause of your fatigue. For some people they have a latent viral infection, lyme disease, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism and low thyroid function, hormone deficiencies, food allergens, digestive disorders, sleep disorders, or most often, a combination of the above. Often patients have seen a doctor for digestive symptoms and another for fatigue and another for depression, and no one has ever looked at their case in its entirety! Fatigue is a diagnosis that anti-depressants are prescribed for, largely because the allopathic medical model does not address fatigue well. New research has been published in the journal Health Affairs reporting that in the past two decades, antidepressant drugs have become so commonly prescribed that they are now the third most prescribed type of medication in the U.S. While depression may be a feature of fatigue, it must be ruled out as a causative factor.
A typical patient in our office who is seeking help for fatigue will generally get a full blood work up, which includes comprehensive hormone panels, testing for viral infections (Lyme, Epstein Barr, Hep C ), nutrient and mineral analysis, thyroid hormone assessment, nutritional consult, digestive analysis, and a physical exam. The findings from the above will help us create the best protocol for you.
If you are seeing your “normal” doctor for the treatment of fatigue, you may want to find a holistic practitioner! You need longer than the typical 7-9 minute office consultation to discover and address your fatigue.
What if we were fully alive in our power and had enough energy to do the things we know we are here to do? What if we had the courage to confront our fatigue and to do what ever it takes to move beyond it? How many of us would be making a difference in the world around us if we no longer had fatigue? Get help and be assured…fatigue doesn’t have to happen to you!
