Just because your blood work comes back normal doesn't mean there's nothing going on. Dr. Christina Rahm explains why symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, bloating, poor sleep, and unexplained weight changes deserve a closer look. Routine blood work doesn't test for everything, and persistent symptoms can have causes that... require further investigation. The takeaway? Don't ignore what your body is telling you just because your initial labs look fine.show more

there is doctor normal and real normal

It’s not the limitation of the routine bloods it’s the interpretation alongside poor reference ranges

What specific blood tests would you call for to check these things?

Thanks for sharing this

Gary, please be cautious about functional medicine, particularly when practitioners are using interventions without sufficient clinical evidence to support them. My concern is that some patients, including babies and young children, are being subjected to potentially harmful detoxification protocols and antiviral treatments without a confirmed diagnosis or clear evidence of an active infection. I’ve seen examples where antibody results indicating previous exposure to viruses or bacteria are being interpreted as evidence of ongoing infection, despite those antibodies potentially representing normal immune memory. Meanwhile, fundamental biochemical investigations are being overlooked. Iron deficiency, for example, can affect immune function, gastrointestinal health, cellular energy production and tissue repair. Yet rather than investigating and correcting these underlying deficiencies, some practitioners are prescribing extensive probiotic protocols and attempting to treat presumed gut dysfunction. Similarly, parasites are sometimes being blamed for symptoms without appropriate testing to establish whether an infection actually exists. This is where I believe the real danger lies. When assumptions replace evidence, patients risk undergoing unnecessary treatments while genuine underlying medical conditions remain undiagnosed. I strongly support investigating upstream causes rather than simply managing symptoms. However, that investigation must be grounded in validated testing, clinical evidence and an understanding of human biochemistry. Functional medicine should never mean abandoning fundamental medical science. Investigate first, establish the cause, then determine the appropriate treatment.

If the labs come back fine, what do we do about all the above? Where do we go to get those examined?