Liam is a 66 year old retired school teacher who came to see me for help with fatigue and abdominal bloating. His energy level had been gradually deteriorating for the previous three years. His doctor had ordered some basic blood tests and couldn’t find anything wrong, therefore concluded his low energy must be a symptom of getting older and being retired.

Liam wasn’t satisfied with that explanation. He wasn’t bored. He had many interests and hobbies. He also had quite a large garden which required a lot of work. He felt frustrated about not having the energy to maintain his yard. His friends were the same age and they seemed to be far more energetic and were thoroughly enjoying their retirement.

A low mood had slowly crept up on Liam in the past year. He told me that he was losing enthusiasm for activities that previously excited him. Liam’s quality of sleep was poor. He found it easy to fall asleep; however, would wake 3 or 4 hours later and the rest of the night would be marked by a light, restless, unrefreshing sleep. He usually got up and read the news on his phone or scrolled social media.

I ordered the following blood tests for Liam:

  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin B12 and homocysteine
  • Ferritin
  • Thyroid gland function – including TSH, free T4 and free T3
  • Liver function test

Additionally, I ordered a stool test for Liam to check for intestinal parasites. The test is called a PCR test and it checks for genetic material from a wide range of different harmful intestinal bugs. I ordered this test because Liam regularly suffered with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms – he was usually bloated and his bowel motions alternated between diarrhea and constipation. These are common symptoms of a gut infection. The fatigue and disturbed sleep are also sometimes clues.

Liam’s test results:

--Vitamin D deficiency. This is common in many of my patients and frequently leads to fatigue. We can make vitamin D in our skin from exposure to the sun’s UVB rays, but our skin become less efficient at that as we get older. I asked Liam to take one vitamin D capsule each day with breakfast or lunch. The digestive problems Liam experienced indicated he didn’t digest fats well. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. Poor fat digestion can lead to hormone deficiencies and fatigue, as many of our hormones are made from fat. I gave him an ox bile supplement to take with meals, to improve absorption of beneficial fats.

--I discovered low vitamin B12. I ordered the homocysteine test as well because it is sometimes more reliable for checking B12 status than just looking at B12 levels in the blood. As we get older it becomes more difficult to absorb vitamin B12 from food, mostly due to lowered stomach acid and digestive enzyme levels. So I gave Liam a B12 supplement. Low B12 can cause fatigue and low mood.

--Fortunately Liam’s parasite stool test was negative. This means his gut symptoms were due to unbalanced gut bugs, digestive enzyme insufficiency and possible food intolerance. I asked him to remove grains, dairy products and sugar from his diet. Bactoclear capsules contain antimicrobial clove, oregano and thyme essential oils. They are excellent for killing harmful gut bacteria and yeast. I asked Liam to take 1 capsule with each meal, and 1 Digestive Enzymes capsule with each meal, to resolve the irritable bowel symptoms.

--Liam’s liver function test result showed a mildly fatty liver. This is likely due to insulin resistance. He ate a lot of bread because he found it convenient. I asked Liam to base his meals on low carbohydrate foods like animal protein and watery vegetables instead. The diet guidelines are in the book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It. To enhance the improvements in his liver health, I gave Liam Livatone capsules.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.