Which Blood Tests Should I Request?

Diet and Nutrition
1

I have had the following symptoms off an on for the last 8-9 years:

  1. Brain fog at different times of the day
  2. Difficulty sleeping (waking up several times to go to the bathroom) Sleeping all day sometimes and still feeling tired.
    Difficulty waking up - feel tired when waking up.
  3. Heavy legs (sore almost constantly and only relieved by warm up during workout)
  4. Irregular heartbeat (not as often but this also runs in my family)
  5. Extreme fatigue the day following a workout
  6. Exaggerated effects from alcohol and hangover
  7. Mood swings
  8. Headache.
  9. Craving for sweets and chocolate
  10. Sensitivity to light (when driving at night) and noise)

I am 28 years old and have been training seriously for the last 12 years . I have finally decided to nail down what is causing all this and get some blood work done by a doctor. What type of blood work should I request? My symptoms are common with the following conditions: lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, Vitamin D deficiency, mercury poisoning, candiida or mineral deficiency from the initial research I have done online. It hasn’t stopped me from working out intensely 3-4 times a week and playing sports and my strength on workout days is good but the day after I have extreme fatigue to the point where I don’t feel like moving.

Thanks for any feedback!

2

Copy and paste this post onto a sheet of paper, and hand it to your doctor. It’s his/her job to know what tests to order. I suspect that the tests will be pretty comprehensive in light of your broad array of symptoms.

3

Please don’t diagnose yourself–you do not have the medical education–and even if you did, wise docs let other people diagnose them.

A few thoughts:

  1. Are you overtraining?

  2. Are you under a lot of mental/emotional stress and/or are you depressed?

  3. Are you avoiding high glycemic carbs except for PWO?

4

I am not trying to diagnose myself. Most western doctors would just blow you off anyway and advise you to “ice it and take advil”. I want to know in advance which blood tests would be helpful.

Thanks.

5

Sorry to hear that you have been feeling lousy. Blood work is definitely warranted. Also, what supps, meds are/have you taken. The answers to ScottL’s questions would also help.

As for blood tests etc. the following would be useful:

Complete Blood Cell Count w/ diff
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
Thyroid Panel (Include free T4, free T3 in addition to TSH and TBG, additionally reverse T3 could be measured)
Oral Glucose Tolerance test (ask to include measurement of both glucose and insulin levels)
RBC Mg

They could also eval for Lymes disease if you have had exposure to ticks.

A check for Epstein-Barr and Cytomegalo virus could be performed.

Canididia could be checked as well

Food allergy/sensitivity should be eval.

Adrenal status should be eval (Adrenal fatigue can cause many of the symp. you mention)

This list is pretty long and they may choose to start with the basics and progress from there.

6

I would suggest that you look at the web-site www.functionalmedicine.org If there is a doc in your area you would probably get a very good work-up from them.

Best of luck

7

Thanks Dr. Ryan. That is very helpful.