Oh, Bloody Normal! When Your Labs Don’t Match How You Feel

Episode 71: Oh, Bloody Normal! When Your Labs Don’t Match How You Feel   In this episode, Dr. Jen and Dr. Mel unpack why standard blood work can miss important patterns, especially for people who still feel exhausted, gain weight, lose hair, or have trouble sleeping despite being told everything looks normal. They explain how their functional medicine approach uses a broader lab view to find clues earlier and build a more complete picture of what is driving symptoms. We discuss how their practice approaches blood work differently from primary care and emergency medicine, why ferritin, thyroid markers, blood sugar, and cardiovascular risk labs matter, and how lab results fit into the bigger picture alongside the nervous system, symptoms, and next-step care.   Key topics - In this episode, Dr. Jen and Dr. Mel explain why “normal labs” can still leave patients without answers when symptoms clearly persist. - They contrast conventional care, which is geared toward emergencies and clear abnormalities, with functional medicine, which looks for patterns and earlier warning signs. - They highlight the value of comprehensive testing in their practice, including when previous labs are reviewed and when additional markers are added based on symptoms and history. - Ferritin comes up as a major marker for energy, hair loss, shortness of breath, insomnia, heavy periods, and possible iron deficiency patterns that basic panels can miss. - They explain why a full thyroid panel can be more revealing than TSH alone, especially when thyroid antibodies point to early autoimmune thyroid disease or subclinical hypothyroid patterns. - Dr. Mel shares her own Graves disease story as an example of how full thyroid testing can reveal what a limited workup may overlook. - Blood sugar and metabolic health are discussed beyond glucose alone, including A1C, fasting insulin, and sometimes C peptide to catch insulin resistance earlier. - They cover cardiovascular risk markers like lipoprotein(a), ApoB, LDL, and triglycerides, noting that some risks are genetic while others are modifiable. - They stress that testing is individualized, not “order everything on everyone,” and that the right labs should match the person’s symptoms, history, and goals. - The conversation ends with the reminder that labs are only one part of healing, and nervous system regulation, nutrition, sleep, movement, and follow-up care all matter too.   Timestamps 00:00 - Why “normal blood work” can still miss the real problem 00:49 - Feeling dismissed after minimal lab work 01:25 - What primary care and hospital testing are designed to do 03:08 - Functional medicine looks for patterns, not just out-of-range values 04:01 - Why insurance-driven testing often limits deeper evaluation 05:22 - What basic CBC, metabolic panel, glucose, and TSH can tell you 06:45 - Why influencer advice can be misleading and dangerous 07:13 - Adding markers based on the patient’s history and symptoms 07:41 - The problem with needing to “prove” lab requests to insurance 08:33 - Why longer visits and follow-up questions matter 09:03 - Ferritin as a key marker for fatigue, hair loss, and heavy periods 10:20 - Why ferritin reflects iron storage and overall energy 10:20 - Full thyroid panels and thyroid antibodies beyond TSH 11:20 - Catching autoimmune thyroid issues earlier 11:24 - Dr. Melissa’s Graves disease was found through functional testing 12:43 - Blood sugar and metabolic health beyond glucose alone 13:40 - Lipoprotein(a), inherited cardiovascular risk, and what it means 14:39 - ApoB, LDL, and triglycerides as part of the full cholesterol picture 15:09 - Why testing should match the patient, not a one-size-fits-all panel 15:38 - What to do after finding something early: lifestyle, treatment, referral 16:30 - Reviewing prior labs and identifying what is still missing 17:33 - Why the practice feels like peeling back an onion 18:30 - There is no single supplement or silver bullet 19:13 - Why digging deeper matters instead of only treating surface symptoms 19:41 - The nervous system as a major piece of the symptom picture 20:07 - More testing may be needed, including Dutch testing 20:34 - Setting realistic goals like sleep, energy, or walking again 21:21 - Closing thoughts and the value of staying consistent   Connect with your hosts!!   📱 Dr. Jen & Dr. Mel Instagram: Health In Motion Wellness , Health In Motion Chiropractic Facebook: Health in Motion Wellness , Health In Motion Chiropractic  Websites: www.drauchter.com , www.healthinmotion-wellness.com   Our YOUTUBE channel:  www.youtube.com/@gutfeelingslifeunfiltered?si=KIF1oOQm64FhEE6Y   💬 Enjoying the podcast? Follow, rate, and share to support our mission of whole-person healing!