Testing for Tired and Wired Women
Testing is about getting to the root cause of your symptoms. It’s about understanding what is happening in your body that might be driving your health concerns.
If you just can’t understand why you feel so exhausted or why you just can’t switch off your thoughts; or how these feelings might be connected to your low mood, inability to focus, weight-gain, IBS or menstrual issues; testing could be the answer.
So many of the women I talk to have struggled for years with unexplained fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, weight gain, IBS and menstrual issues. They are ‘tired and wired’ and totally fed up of searching for answers without success.
In reality there is unlikely to be a single cause of your symptoms, rather a complex and distinct combination of imbalances that are unique to you.
Poor mental health, for example, could be as a result of:
An imbalance of mood-regulating chemicals (neurotransmitters and neurotrophins) in the brain
Poor methylation - a ubiquitous biological process that helps us to make and recycle brain chemicals
Poor digestive health and/or an imbalance in gut bacteria, which can impact gut-brain signalling
Hormone imbalance (stress hormones, sex-hormones, thyroid hormones, metabolism hormones)
Inflammation
Poor mitochondrial function - the part of our brain cells responsible for energy production
Poor nutrient status
Genetic predisposition
Trauma
Limiting beliefs
I could go on…..
But you get the picture: What sets one person on a course towards burnout is likely to be different to the next. This is what makes all the conflicting advice out there all the more confusing.
So Why Test?
If you have tried everything but nothing seems to work- testing could be for you.
Testing helps to pin point the root causes of your symptoms, enabling dietary, lifestyle and supplement advice to be truly personalised to you. Testing can also help you to achieve effective results, fast.
The tests are state of the art and carried out by approved private laboratories.
The tests are simple to carry out and can be done in the comfort of your own home. With the exception of certain blood tests, you can collect the samples yourself and post them back to the lab. If you require a blood draw, a nurse can visit your home to take this for you, or you can visit a phlebotomy service near you.
To give you an idea, here are the types of tests I offer:
Advanced Well Woman Health Screen
As with any health concern, if you are feeling tired, wired or emotionally overwhelmed, checking the basics should always be the first port of call.
The Advanced Well Woman Health Screen I offer evaluates the key nutrients involved in the production of your mood-regulating brain chemicals and energy such as iron, vitamin B12, folate, vitamin D and magnesium. The test also includes a comprehensive assessment of liver and kidney function, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, inflammation and red and white blood cell count.
Gut Testing
Your gut is often dubbed your second brain: Home to the largest collection of nerve cells in the human body and a vast microbial ecosystem, known as the gut microbiome. Together they create a physical and chemical connection with the brain known as the Gut-Brain-Axis.
A healthy gut, with the help of our bacterial friends, will produce the brain chemicals that regulate mood, memory and attention. Similarly, a healthy brain will support digestive health. Conversely, a poorly functioning gut can negatively influence our mental and cognitive health; and, under stress, the brain can send unhelpful signals that disrupt digestion and microbial balance. This goes someway to explain why when we are feeling anxious, depressed or emotionally overwhelmed, we may also experience unexplained digestive symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, bloating and IBS.
Hormone Testing
Your hormones can play havoc with your mood. When you work and play in the fast lane, this can take its toll on how well your hormones function. Balanced hormones are key to successful communication in the body. Mixed-up chemical messaging = mental (and physical) chaos and confusion.
The hormone test I offer assesses sex and stress hormones (and their metabolites) in urine over a 24 hour period. This gives a much better picture of what’s going on than a snapshot of hormones in a standalone blood test.
Thyroid Screen
Thyroid hormones play a key role in mental development, brain chemical regulation and metabolism. Even a small decrease in thyroid hormones can result in fatigue, mood swings, depression, brain fog and impaired cognitive function. Low thyroid hormones may also be a factor in weight gain, constipation and menstrual disturbances.
You may have been tested before and told that your thyroid hormone levels are ‘normal’. But normal doesn’t always mean optimal and sub-optimal thyroid hormone levels could be contributing to your symptoms.
The thyroid screen I offer is a comprehensive assessment of thyroid function. In particular the test looks at levels of free T3 - the most metabolically active thyroid hormone, low levels of which are associated with depression; and thyroid antibodies –chemicals that impair thyroid function (neither of which are routinely screened by the NHS).
Nutrigenomic (DNA) Testing
The ultimate in personalised advice.
Whereas the functional tests on offer assess the environmental factors driving your mental health, there may also be a genetic influence. In fact, your unique health presentation is most likely to be a combination of your genetic predisposition and the way you live your life.
Nutrigenomics is the scientific study of the effect of food and nutrients on gene expression. Certain nutrients have been shown to upregulate specific genetic pathways that regulate our mood, energy levels and hormones, whereas others downregulate them. Nutrigenomic testing focuses on identifying genetic variants (also known as SNPs), which may make us more or less vulnerable to certain health conditions.
Which Tests?
I need to speak to you first before I can advise you which tests would be the most suitable for you. You weren’t born “off the shelf” and so the support package I offer you will need to be tailored to your specific needs.
Let’s have a chat so we can find out what you need.
