Have you ever had one of those moments where you think…

I just feel so BLAH!

Is this what getting old is all about?

OMG, am I going to end up like my mother?!?

This is what was going through Elizabeth’s head when she called my office.

Her BLAH feeling was going on five years straight with no end in sight. Her fatigue and sleep issues had been dragging on for at least six years. And now her energy was at an all time low – at 3 out of 10. Every night she would wake up at least a few times.

And her digestion was really bad. Heartburn. Indigestion. She avoided wheat and dairy. This helped, but she knew she had to dig deeper than that. She knew there were more foods irritating her system.

Her brain felt like a hazy fog, and she suffered with chronic pain in her back and neck. In fact, she had been seeing her chiropractor for years on a weekly basis (often twice a week) with only temporary relief. And it all seemed to start when they found her thyroid was low. Everything seemed to have changed since then.

She was frustrated.

She said “I used to be such a go-getter. I was always one step ahead of everyone else. I was so frustrated at having no energy to do things and feeling slowed down.”

Life was getting pretty boring to say the least! She would refuse invitations from friends to go out because she was too tired and exhausted. Even going for a walk was hard – she really had to push herself to go around the block (this from a woman who used to walk 7-8 km daily).

“I really wanted to know what was going on – with my digestion…with the fatigue…and my thyroid. I knew my doctor wouldn’t find the cause. They just offer to patch you up with medications. All I wanted was to feel like my good old self again…have energy…be happy. I knew I had to call Dr. Carri because she would dig deep and really find the cause.”

After sitting down with Elizabeth I ran a FULL thyroid panel (TSH, free T4, free T3, TPO and TG antibodies) to really see what was going on with her thyroid. I ran a full hormone panel (cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and melatonin). And, vitamin D.

I found a lot to work on. Her vitamin D was way too low – her body thinks it’s in hibernation mode. She was hardly making any melatonin – no wonder she couldn’t sleep! And her thyroid hormones were wonky. Her T4 was good, but her T3 was low. (By the way, if you have a thyroid problem, you should ask your doctor to run a FULL panel like I did with Elizabeth, and then specifically list out those tests to your doctor).

“Looking over my blood work and running those tests gave me the confidence that Dr. Carri was on the right track!”

I started Elizabeth on her treatment program and within one month she was sleeping 6-8 hours straight! The brain fog was gone. Her head was clear “like a veil had been lifted”. And, her energy was much, much better.

It was time to put the next step of our plan into place. The plan was The Plan– a book that would guide Elizabeth through an elimination diet to find her food sensitivities.

“When Dr. Carri explained The Plan to me I felt confident. I said to myself I’ll at least try it. I knew Dr. Carri wouldn’t recommend it if she didn’t think it would help.

“It took 4-5 weeks to get through The Plan, but it’s changed my life forever! It was difficult. It took a lot of work, but it REALLY paid off!

“I found 14 food sensitivities. Since stopping those foods my fatigue is GONE…my digestive problems are GONE…and my chronic pain is GONE, GONE, GONE! In fact, my chiropractor cannot believe how great my spine feels and how easy it is to adjust me!

“Even my friends noticed the changes in me. They say I look more serene and calmer. They are amazed! I have always been a nervous-type person and anxious, and now I feel so CALM inside. Even a lady who lives in my building who has never spoken to me came up to me the other day and said ‘You look really good’!

“In fact, I feel BETTER than my old self. Thank you, Dr. Carri”!

Elizabeth’s advice for new patients: “Get yourself tested. Do the work with The Plan. Find out why you are feeling so bad. Dig deep and you will get results. Most people just talk about what they should do, but stop talking and take action. It is only by taking action that you will see real results. Call Dr. Carri.”

Make a promise to yourself starting today:

Stop feeling lousy…rotten…awful…crummy…miserable…terrible…crappy.

Find a good Functional Medicine doctor to help you get to the root cause of your health problems.

Like I always say:

Find the cause.

Fix the cause.

Feel normal again!

Dr. Carri Drzyzga, DC, ND – The Functional Medicine Doc

Find the Cause. Fix the Cause. Feel Normal Again!