Naturopathic Medicine Reverses Fatigue
Dr. Andrea Purcell, ND
Portal To Healing Naturopathic Clinic

A lot of people have fatigue or just feel tired or depressed or unmotivated or unrefreshed when they wake up in the morning. And so, eventually they go to their conventional medical doctor who will run a blood test, the results come back, and they’re told that everything is fine or that their blood work is normal and it’s within the reference range. And so they go home feeling frustrated because they know they don’t feel fine.

Fatigue can be caused by any number of underlying conditions. Anemia caused by a deficiency in iron, B-12 or folic acid, low thyroid or hypothyroidism, stress induced adrenal depletion, sleep deprivation, Epstein-Barr virus which causes chronic fatigue syndrome, depression or any other disease state.

When someone comes to me who has fatigue, I want to find out the underlying cause. First and foremost, I listen. I want to know about their daily routine, their level of stress, how they sleep at night. Secondly, I want to look at the labs. I will run blood work to evaluate anemia, thyroid function, Epstein-Barr, or any underlying chronic disease. Secondly, I will run a salivary test to test adrenal function through cortisol levels.

What I have found in my practice for men struggling with fatigue is that they usually have low thyroid function or hypothyroidism and elevated Epstein-Barr virus antibodies. Treatments for these include modern to high dose vitamin C to boost the immune system, antiviral herbs such as andrographis or licorice, a low sugar or no sugar diet focused on eating real whole foods to support the immune system, and thyroid support in the form of herbs or thyroid glandular.

For women, the cause of their fatigue could be any combination of anemia, adrenal depletion, low thyroid, Epstein-Barr, sleep deprivation or depression. First, I recommend a whole food plan low in sugar. Second, if she’s anemic, I prescribe iron, B-12 or folic acid as appropriate. For adrenal depletion, I recommend adrenal glandulars or herbs such as licorice, ginseng or ashwaganda. If she’s low thyroid, it may be appropriate for me to prescribe Armour Thyroid, a natural thyroid hormone or herbs to support thyroid function or nutrients that support thyroid function such as selenium or iodine. If she has Epstein-Barr, we need to support the immune system. How I support the immune system is with vitamin C, licorice is a great antiviral, and sometimes other antiviral herbs such as andrographis.

If she’s sleep deprived, I will recommend herbs that help promote relaxation. So for both men and women when the underlying cause is treated, the fatigue will go away.

I have had great results treating people with fatigue. For those who follow my protocol, they get their energy back within three to six months.

If someone has fatigue, I recommend that they adopt a natural living lifestyle. This includes eating whole organic foods and avoiding processed foods, taking supplements such as enzymes and fish oil, and visiting a naturopathic doctor who can run the proper testing to discover the underlying cause and treat the fatigue.