My labs were always impeccable. On paper, I was the picture of good health. Yet, somehow, I kept ending up back at the doctor’s office desperate for help. Some of the treatments ended up leaving me in worse shape than I came to the professionals in. At one point, treatments depleted me so much I ended up with a dangerous infection that put me at risk of losing my life. It was then I became my own best advocate. I started reading and made changes. My health finally was climbing mountains instead of sinking deeper into valleys.
I started having challenges again. Scary symptoms. The labs said I was perfectly healthy. I didn’t need a confirmation on paper. I wanted to understand why I was feeling the way I was so I could take the right steps to bring me back into better balance.
I spent the last 3 days speaking to hundreds of you who have expressed your exhaustion and frustration with experiences similar to mine. We’re, sadly, not alone. Not even a little bit. There is a huge and growing number of people experiencing chronic illness and unexplained health struggles. Going from doctor to doctor to get treatments that pause, change the trajectory of, or fail to even touch symptoms. Numbers on paper can’t give you the full picture. Sometimes they don’t even show a clear piece of it.
Some labs are more reliable and substantiated than others. No labs are perfect. They can be an amazing tool at helping to pinpoint what is causing the symptoms you’re experiencing. Many times they fail to give clear direction. When the print doesn’t match the experience, I want you to remember something.
✨ You are not being dramatic.
✨ You are not making this all up.
✨ You are not crazy.
If the numbers aren’t explaining the experience, there’s something missing. You can believe your own eyes and experiences. If others choose not to, that’s their business. If your team doesn’t believe you or stand by you, maybe that’s not your team at this time. One foot in front of the other. Even when you do get some results that FINALLY make sense, please remember – You are so much more complex and beautiful and intricate than a lab result.