07/28/2026
"My doctor said my labs are normal, but I still feel awful."
I hear this most weeks. Three things worth knowing.
1: "normal" is a statistical range, not a health target. Standard lab ranges are built from the population that got tested — a population that is, broadly, not well. You can sit inside the range and still be nowhere near where your body works best. TSH is the classic example.
2: most panels are narrower than people think. A standard annual often doesn't include ferritin, a full thyroid panel (free T3, free T4, antibodies), B12, vitamin D, or fasting insulin. A lot of fatigue lives in the markers nobody ordered.
3: one data point isn't a pattern. A single value taken once tells you far less than the same value tracked over a year, or read alongside four related markers.
None of this means your doctor missed something. A fifteen-minute visit isn't built for this. It means "normal" answers a different question than "why do I feel like this."
If you want to know what to ask for at your next physical, ask below and I'll tell you. Free, no catch!