![]() ![]() Maybe you’re fatigued because your spirit isn’t connected to God, the source of all life. This is why functional medicine is the answer because a functional medicine doctor looks at the whole you – spirit, mind, and body – in the context of your life experiences. ![]() What can a pill, shot, or surgery do for diet, stress, and lifestyle issues that are at the core of fatigue? This is why conventional medicine is so ill-equipped to treat fatigue. There are other roots, but these are the most common. The roots of adrenal fatigue lie in blood sugar imbalance, nutrient deficiencies, low afternoon cortisol, insufficient sleep, overwork, and of course, unmitigated stress. Waking up tired and unrefreshed, dragging throughout the day, crashing around 3 pm – these are common phenomena, indicative of classic adrenal fatigue. We fall short of our best selves.įatigue is another pervasive issue with women. This in turn disrupts our hormones and neurotransmitters and zaps our joyful moods. Eating too many sugars and refined carbs, and not enough vegetables like leafy greens – increases inflammation in our brains and bodies. Of course, lack of movement and poor food choices can increase our irritability. Irritability happens when we’ve been living at either end of the spectrum – either giving too much of ourselves and not refueling, or focusing too much on ourselves and not giving enough to others. This is where a functional medicine doctor can help. Irritability happens when we’ve gotten lost in the mundane and forgotten that we are creative, purpose-filled women who need play and fun and adventure and wide-open spaces of time to connect and create. We need to refocus our priorities and realign our activities with what truly nourishes our bodies and restores our souls. When we are easily triggered, increasingly sensitive, and short-fused, it’s a clear indication that we are not right within ourselves. Irritability is often the first sign that we are off-balance. So let’s talk about something most everybody can relate to: irritability, fatigue, and brain fog. Some of us like the functional medicine doctor approach to science, but most of us get lost in the lingo. I love science and I thoroughly enjoy analyzing Functional Medicine lab results for my patients, but it’s not what I want to write about today. In this particular season in my life as a functional medicine doctor, I don’t want to write another science blog about how gut dysbiosis can disrupt the proper regulation of estrogen circulation (which can be shown on a DUTCH hormone test), or how low levels of methylmalonate on your GI-MAP gut test indicate not just low levels of vitamin B12, but also point to the possibility of poor digestion at the stomach level or even psychological stress as it suppresses the vagus nerve and consequently stunts digestive function throughout the entire GI tract. I want to talk about this because it’s deeply relevant to so many of my functional medicine readers. What causes brain fog, fatigue and irritability? But lately, the spectrum has broadened, from teenage girls battling anxiety to 20 year-olds fresh out of college but utterly burnt out, to 50+ year old women struggling through menopause and feeling like their bodies and brains are betraying them. Who are these women? It used to be working mothers typically in their 30s and 40s, juggling careers with children and marriage, social obligations, personal health, and beauty regimens. Is this you? Maybe your wife or your friend? Are you looking for a functional medicine doctor in the Los Angeles area who can help? In my functional medicine practice, I treat women with these issues on a daily basis. ![]()
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