Fatigued to Fabulous – Finding the Root Cause
Fatigued to Fabulous
LuLu was a bubbly happy woman who bounced into my office on her first visit. You would never know she suffered from crushing fatigue because she just put on such a good face. In fact her friends didn’t believe her when she said she was tired all the time. To the point that she sometimes couldn’t walk out her front door because she couldn’t get the energy up.
It seems like fatigue is one of the biggest problems I see in my office. It’s connected to so many things. And sometimes it’s hard to find the answers. This is one of the many reasons I love Chinese Medicine. Because when you take a through history and then do an exam from the perspective of Chinese medicine, you can find which organ is the most out of balance and it will guide your search for what is causing the fatigue.
Some of the causes of fatigue include – chronic infections, past infections, overwork, perfectionism, not enough sleep, not enough hormones, digestive problems, brain chemistry imbalances – such as depression, anxiety, medications, pain…..You get the drift, fatigue is a part of so many conditions.
No matter what is causing your fatigue, you can heal by finding the root cause and addressing it. Here are some questions that will help you with addressing the root cause of your fatigue:
- Immune system – do you remember getting ill at some point and feeling like you didn’t recover fully. Or do you remember an event such as a trip you took, going out in nature, catching a flu – where you might have contracted an infection.
- Hormones – Are you at an age where your hormones might be shifting – peri-menopause, and menopause are times that hormones shift and can cause a great disruption in your sense of wellness. Do you have trouble losing weight? Mood swings? Hot flashes? Trouble sleeping? Vaginal Dryness? Or changes in sex drive?
- Digestion – have had any digestive problems such as gas, bloating, inconsistent bowel movements , or heartburn that might indicate a problem with your digestion.
- Sleep -Do you have persistent problems sleeping – either trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep, do you have strange dreams at night, or do you feel like you don’t have enough rest.
- Inflammation – Do you have a lot of pain in various places in your body? Do you feel puffy, bloated, swollen? Do you have lots of allergy symptoms?
For LuLu hormones were the cause of her symptoms – she was such an over-achiever that she often overdid it, pushing herself to exhaustion in order to make sure everything was done right. She reached a point of no return when she had her second child. The effort of taking care of her entire household, children, and job finally got to her.
By doing this self assessment of your symptoms you can begin to figure out the possible causes of your fatigue, which will guide you in your search for answers. Often, when you’ve been fatigued for a long time, you will have a combination of these symptoms, but doing this process will help you understand the root cause.
