And I’d like to begin by telling you, if you’re experiencing crushing fatigue you just can’t get rid of, it’s not your fault.
I’d be willing to guess that at this point, you’ve tried all kinds of things in an attempt to pump up your energy.
Maybe you’ve leaned heavily on caffeine and sugar. Taken naps. Tried to get more exercise. Hopefully you’ve already ruled out obvious medical reasons your energy is in such short supply.
You’ve tried, and you’ve tried hard! But so far, nothing has helped.
I know all about the devastating impacts of fatigue for two reasons…
1. As a physician, without exception, the most common reason women came to see me was fatigue. No, let’s call it what it REALLY is. EXHAUSTION!
2. And as a woman, a Mom of five, a family provider, and entrepreneur, I had the exact same problem myself!
Yep. Me too. “Physician heal thyself” ran through my head on a daily basis. I mean seriously? If I couldn’t conquer this problem in my own life, how could I help my patients do it?
Let me explain…
It was just a few years ago I wasn’t just tired, I was totally exhausted.
And we’re not talking a bit short on sleep once in a while. The level of exhaustion I experienced was years in the making.
There was college, then medical school, and countless days of late nights with studying and insane shifts that were as long as 37 hours at a time.
This was before the medical establishment finally woke up to the fact that
168- hour work weeks were not exactly in the best interest of the patients!
During this time I also had not one, but TWO babies, who were constantly nursing when I was home, plus the usual demands of a family.
That part got even more challenging because after I survived the grueling training, and moved into full-fledged doctor mode, I had THREE more babies.
Are you doing the math? I have FIVE kids.
Sure, I had plenty of obvious reasons to be tired. But so do you, right?
But things started escalating almost out of control, because in my everyday life as a doctor, now I was seeing an army of patients who were struggling…
Women who were not just tired, but EXHAUSTED! Can you relate?
In fact, statistically, fatigue is one of the top five reasons women seek medical care. It’s practically epidemic.
I was seeing women who consistently had normal lab tests but were increasingly frustrated about WHY they were so tired all the time.
These women were sleeping poorly and experiencing a wide array of physical symptoms like headaches, fibromyalgia, constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, anxiety, depression, brain fog…a host of symptoms that were dramatically impacting their daily lives.
Sound familiar? Maybe you’re living this kind of fatigue induced nightmare too.
By the time they came to me, they were at the end of their rope. They tried everything from supplements to acupuncture, to therapy and chiropractic care. But they were still bone-tired.
And my deep dark secret was that I was also having the same issues!
Can you imagine how frustrating that was? I wanted to heal my patients, but I also knew I had to heal myself too.
So I set out to get to the REAL reasons so many of us have struggled with debilitating fatigue.