Chronic Fatigue — Get Your Energy Back!
The key is not to ignore mild symptoms of fatigue. If you feel any of the above for more than ten days or so, take it seriously — don’t just power through it! Call your practitioner and request a blood test at the very least (for more in-depth tests, see below). This will rule out any serious secondary conditions like bacterial infection or a virus. Many medications can also induce fatigue as a side effect, so women should always question this as a cause — but do not go off them without asking your doctor about it first.
The conventional approach to fatigue
Because so many illnesses and diseases begin with symptoms of fatigue, it is likely that many physicians will run some tests if you tell them you are concerned, particularly if you are younger. 
But many conventional practitioners buy into the idea that being tired is part of aging and tend to poo-poo fatigue in older patients. The difference between my approach and theirs centers on my attitude toward fatigue and my reaction to the outcome of those tests.
I always pay close attention to my patients who complain of feeling relentlessly fatigued — even if it is their only symptom. That alone tells me their body is sending out a call for more support. A healthy, balanced body and mind, given adequate food, sleep and water, should not feel tired for any extended period of time. Being tired all the time is not an acceptable part of menopause, age or modern life in my book, no matter what your tests say.
Conventional medical tests screen for disease, not health. If your test results fall within the innermost and outermost markers, you are diagnosed as healthy, even if you are deteriorating rapidly. A good example of this is in the case of adrenal dysfunction. In our Western paradigm, your adrenals are “actionable” when they are on high or low, meaning you get a diagnosis of Cushing’s disease or Addison’s disease and the appropriate prescription. Anywhere in-between is considered normal, even if your adrenal function is moving rapidly toward either disease state.
Importantly, I’ve seen in my practice time and again that the optimal range for test results is much narrower than conventional practice. When it comes to fatigue, this is particularly so. Many women with fatigue have test results that are read as “normal” but truthfully lie far below optimal. Discovering where your physiology is trending can be a valuable clue to the hidden imbalances your body is struggling to correct.
Even if your conventional blood tests return “normal,” don’t disregard persistent symptoms of fatigue. Many doctors overlook these more subtle clues and send their “healthy” but bone-tired patients home with little to no recourse. 
The bottom line is, chronic fatigue is complicated, and modern medicine doesn’t deal well with holistic conditions. The good news is that functional medicine does! I have 80-year-old patients who are crackling with energy, now that they know what their body needs.
So how do you begin to help yourself when it comes to fatigue? The first step is figuring out your degree of fatigue. Symptoms and treatment slide on a scale ranging from mild to severe, so let’s start by looking at what causes mild fatigue, then progress to the causes of severe fatigue.
Common causes of mild to moderate fatigue
If you feel symptoms of fatigue for more than two weeks, even if they are mild, get a blood test. Once you have ruled out critical concerns and anemia, you can begin to make some positive lifestyle changes that can help reverse fatigue and give you your energy back.
Glance over the list below and note any areas where the support you provide your body may be falling short. These commonsense supportive measures give your body a solid base from which to deal with emotional and physical stress of all kinds. If any are deficient, your body will rob from Peter to pay Paul, striving to compensate for the loss, and slowly but steadily deplete itself. You must replenish your well of resources every day to keep enough in store for the bad times.