Why "Normal" Lab Results Don't Mean You're Healthy:
What Your Doctor Might Be Missing
If you’ve ever been told “everything looks normal” after bloodwork yet you still feel exhausted, bloated, moody, or off, you’re not crazy.
Many women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are dismissed by their doctors because conventional lab ranges are based on outdated population averages, not on what it means to feel well. Functional medicine asks a different question: What’s optimal? What’s healthy?
Let’s break down how standard labs can miss key dysfunctions and how a root-cause, functional approach can finally help you connect the dots.
Conventional vs. Functional: What's the Difference?
In conventional medicine, lab ranges are typically designed to detect disease, not dysfunction. These ranges are based on a wide swath of the population, including people who are already unwell. The goal is to rule out extremes, not assess for wellness.
Functional medicine uses optimal ranges… tighter reference points that reflect what’s needed for energy, fertility, metabolism, mental clarity, and hormone balance.
Example:
Conventional TSH range: 0.5–4.5 mIU/L
Functional optimal range: 0.5–2.0 mIU/L
If your TSH is 3.9, your doctor might say it’s “normal” but you could be experiencing thyroid-related fatigue, weight gain, constipation, or brain fog.
5 Common Labs That Miss the Mark
1. Thyroid Panels
Most doctors only run TSH, maybe T4. But without looking at Free T3, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies (like TPO and TG), you’re only seeing a small piece of the puzzle.
Many women with “normal” TSH still have hypothyroidism symptoms due to poor T4-to-T3 conversion or Hashimoto’s. Need labs? I got you: click here
2. Iron and Ferritin
Fatigue? Hair loss? Shortness of breath? Ferritin is your stored iron, and levels under 50 ng/mL can cause symptoms, even if you’re not anemic by conventional standards.
3. B12 and Vitamin D
Conventional labs might say B12 is fine at 300 pg/mL, but optimal is closer to 600–900 for energy, cognition, and nerve function.
Vitamin D under 40 ng/mL may still be considered "okay," but research supports aiming for 50–70 ng/mL for immune and hormone support.
4. Blood Sugar and Insulin
You don’t have to be diabetic to have blood sugar issues. Functional medicine looks at fasting insulin and glucose together, not just A1C. Chronically elevated insulin can cause:
Midsection weight gain
Energy crashes
Hormone imbalances (especially estrogen dominance and PCOS-like symptoms)
5. Inflammatory Markers
Labs like CRP (C-reactive protein) and homocysteine are rarely run in routine panels but offer powerful insight into systemic inflammation and cardiovascular risk, especially important for women with autoimmune tendencies or chronic fatigue.
Symptoms Are Data… Not Inconveniences
In functional medicine, we treat your symptoms as clues rather than nuisances to suppress. If you’re experiencing:
Persistent fatigue
PMS or painful periods
Trouble sleeping
Digestive issues (bloating, reflux, constipation)
Anxiety or irritability
… but your doctor says “everything looks fine,” it may be time to reevaluate how you’re measuring health.
The Functional Approach to Testing
A proper lab review should include:
✅ A full thyroid panel
✅ CBC with optimal interpretations
✅ Iron, ferritin, B12, folate, and vitamin D
✅ Fasting glucose and insulin
✅ Liver, kidney, and inflammation markers
✅ Optional: DUTCH hormone testing or GI-MAP gut analysis
This gives us the full picture not just what’s broken, but what’s out of balance.
Need labs? Click here
You Deserve Better Than “You’re Fine”
Too many women are gaslit by the healthcare system when their labs look “normal,” but they don’t feel normal. You deserve a practitioner who listens, asks better questions, and looks deeper.
Ready to get labs interpreted through a functional lens and finally feel heard?
Book a free consultation and let’s build a personalized plan rooted in your data.
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