Bring This to Your Next Appointment
Use these questions. Hand them to your provider. Or read them aloud. Most doctors will not offer this information unprompted - but most will answer directly when asked.
 
Doctor-Visit Question Sheet - Root-Cause Essentials

 

1. Can we run a full thyroid panel - not just TSH, but Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies (TPO and TG)?
    

2. Can we check my fasting insulin and a two-hour postprandial glucose - not just fasting blood sugar - to get a complete picture of insulin sensitivity?
    

3. Can we test my RBC magnesium rather than serum magnesium? I understand serum levels can appear normal even when intracellular levels are depleted.
    

4. Can we run a full iron panel including ferritin, serum iron, TIBC, and transferrin saturation? I understand ferritin below 50 can cause significant fatigue even when other iron markers are in range.
    

5. Can we test my homocysteine and methylmalonic acid to assess B12 and folate status at the cellular level?
    

6. Can we look at hs-CRP and a sedimentation rate to evaluate the level of systemic inflammation that may be driving my symptoms?
    

7. I would like my sex hormone panel to include estradiol, progesterone (day 21 if cycling), testosterone, SHBG, and DHEA-S. Can we run that comprehensively?
    

8. If my symptoms are not explained by standard labs, would you be willing to consider a referral to a functional medicine practitioner, or to discuss the possibility of toxic burden or mycotoxin exposure as contributing factors?

 

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