The One Functional Medicine Test Everyone Should Have
Do you ever feel like you’re on a hamster wheel and to keep up you have to go so fast that there’s no chance to slow down and think? You just have to keep going or you will fall flat on your face?
Well that was me. I was a family physician seeing 20-30+ patients on a typical day. I was frequently behind because the information I wanted to share was hard to get across in the 10 minutes I was allotted! I would feel this pressure or heavy feeling on my chest pretty much the whole day. I could never get ahead.
At lunch time I would have to dig myself out of a deep hole of phone messages, labs to review and prescriptions to refill along with finishing up my charting from the morning. I would eat and type at the same time. I became pretty skilled at this!
I wasn’t feeling great but I thought this was just what life was supposed to be. Always feeling rushed or behind. There was a constant level of exhaustion or at least fatigue that followed me all day and worsened around 3 pm. I remember regularly trying to hide a yawn as a patient was speaking to me! I would come home and be short with my family because I was simply overwhelmed. It seemed that this was what most adults felt day in and day out. I guess this is normal and what happens when you get older.
I didn’t know there was a better way until functional medicine landed in my life. I remember reading an article written by Dr. Mark Hyman about eating an anti-inflammatory diet to help reduce inflammation. And I was, at that time, taking 2 strong injectable medications to control my rheumatoid arthritis. So the article intrigued me and I took its suggestions to heart and was able to significantly reduce my inflammation by changing my diet. This got my attention! What was this functional medicine? So I started taking courses and learning more.
One of the things I learned early on that also hit home for me was this concept of adrenal imbalance or an overworked stress response. At the time the only thing I knew about cortisol (our stress hormone) was that if you had too much you had a condition called Cushing’s syndrome and if you didn’t have enough, then you were diagnosed with Addison’s disease. That was as far as my medical training had taught me.
But in my functional medicine training I learned about all the gray areas in between. You see, in functional medicine the goal is to look for an optimal range when reviewing a test. Not just for what is obviously outside the norm. Once we know you don’t have a disease, then we want to know how we can optimize your health or your “function” so to speak and get you feeling better. The goal is not to keep you away from disease but to push you towards health!
Test, Don’t Guess
In learning about adrenal imbalance we were encouraged to test our own salivary cortisol levels. And again, I thought things were just fine until I got my results! Holy cow! My body was unhappy with me. My cortisol levels were not abnormal enough to give me a medical diagnosis but they were far outside the optimal range I had learned to look for in functional medicine. This was another lightbulb moment for me.
So I took what I was learning in my training and started practicing it on myself. I utilized specific supplements. And I started looking at how my life was set up for ways to improve and change the pace. I had to focus on being in the moment I was in, with the patient I was with, instead of worrying about who was next and how far behind I was. I started forcing myself to take 10 minutes at lunch time to step outside of the building and go sit in my car and meditate.
And guess what? I started to feel like myself again. Gradually a sense of calm was present for the first time in as long as I could remember. The little tiny things that went wrong in my day didn’t set me off like they had before.
And, best of all, my chronic fatigue began to lift. I now felt more reserves to allow me to do what I wanted to do, with joy. I felt a sense of ease and lightness about my life that helped me to feel like myself again and actually thrive, instead of just surviving. The hamster wheel had slowed down enough for me to be more introspective and make some further changes. This is what life was supposed to feel like! I never knew.
You see when cortisol levels are optimal, it will:
Help offset inflammation
Raise the blood sugar in response to a stressor so we have the energy to respond
Support a healthy sleep/wake cycle, allowing us to be alert in the morning and day, and sleepy at night
Supports our immune system and metabolism
And allow for true healing
And cortisol serves a great purpose in moments of acute stress - think being chased by a tiger. We need cortisol in these acutely stressful times.
But in today’s day and age, we are dealing with chronic stress that does not stop - think bills, aging parents, kids activities, work demands, a sick pet and a house to keep up with.
Our bodies are not equipped for this amount of cortisol over long periods of time. It puts us into a constant state of “fight or flight”. This is a very energy demanding place to be and our body starts to break down from all the wear and tear.
Now I work with my patients to help them experience these shifts in their own lives. I’ve done hundreds of salivary cortisol tests now and the top 3 most common things I hear from patients as we start to treat the adrenal imbalance are:
I have more and steady energy
I am not upset by all the small things
I feel like myself again
Other common improvements:
My chronic gut issues are better
My periods are easier and my PMS is better
My sleep is improved
My anxiety is reduced
My aches and pains are gone
My brain fog has lifted
I really do wish every adult could have their salivary cortisol measured and a game plan created by a functionally trained practitioner. It’s a great starting point to heal so many things! If you would like to have your cortisol tested, come see us! We’d love to help you.
How can we improve adrenal imbalance starting right now?
Change starts with awareness. Once we’ve recognized that cortisol dysfunction may be contributing to our symptoms, we can begin healing right away. Cortisol testing will direct any supplement recommendations but some easy changes to get started on are:
Spend more time outside – reduces cortisol and helps us relax
Cut down (or eliminate) caffeine intake – caffeine interrupts our natural rhythm, which puts stress on the body and mind
Prioritize sleep and sleep routines – sleep is the cheapest medicine. Make sure to dedicate plenty of time to winding down before bed, minimizing light, and allowing cortisol levels to lower
Eat regular, well balanced meals – when your blood sugar drops, your cortisol spikes so eat regularly with protein at each meal to keep things steady
Spend time with the ones you love – laughter is also medicine! Make sure to connect with those around you – your pets, your kids, your partner, or friends
Move everyday – I know we don’t always have time for a full yoga class or to hit the gym, but even a walk around the block does wonders for our bodies and cortisol levels
If my story rings true with you, even a little bit, I’d invite you to schedule a discovery call.
In health,
Dr. Emily