When Your Doctor Says "Everything's Normal" But You Know Something's Wrong
You've done everything right.
You booked the appointment. You explained your symptoms-the exhaustion that won't go away, the weight that won't budge, the brain fog, the mood swings, the hair loss, the sleep problems. You were honest about how much this is affecting your work, your relationships, your life.
Your doctor recommended a full set of bloods. You waited for answers.
And then: "Everything looks normal……it's probably just stress. Are you getting enough sleep?"
If you've ever sat in a doctor's office feeling dismissed, frustrated, and wondering if you're somehow imagining all of this-I want you to know something crucial: your symptoms are real. Your experience is valid. And "normal" blood results don't always mean your body is functioning optimally.
Why "Normal" Doesn't Always Mean Healthy
Here's something most doctors won't tell you (not because they don't care, but because this isn't how they've been trained to think):
Standard lab ranges for hormones, thyroid function, and metabolic markers are based on averages across huge populations. If your results fall anywhere within that wide range, you're considered "normal"-even if you're at the very bottom or top of the ranges and feel terrible.
But here's the reality: optimal function and "within normal range" are not the same thing.
A woman in her 40s with rising TSH levels, experiencing exhaustion, weight gain, and hair loss? According to standard medicine, she's fine as long as she’s within the ´normal’ range. No treatment needed.
A woman with low progesterone, chronic stress, daily fatigue and blood glucose levels higher than normal? As long as she doesn't have diabetes or thyroid disease, conventional medicine often has nothing to offer.
This is why so many intelligent, capable women end up feeling dismissed-or worse, questioning their symptoms.
The Tests Your Doctor Probably Didn't Run
When you go to your GP with symptoms like exhaustion, weight gain, mood changes, or sleep problems, you'll typically get a basic blood panel: maybe TSH to check thyroid function, possibly some general metabolic markers.
What you probably won't get is testing that shows the complete picture:
Comprehensive thyroid testing that looks beyond TSH to include Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies. Your thyroid might be producing hormones, but are your cells actually able to use them? Standard testing often doesn’t tell us the entire story
Detailed hormone testing that measures not just whether hormones exist in your body, but how they're being metabolised, and how they're functioning throughout your monthly cycle. A one-time blood test on a random day doesn't capture the complexity of your hormone patterns.
Cortisol rhythm testing that shows how your stress hormone levels change throughout the day. A single morning cortisol test tells only a fraction of the story-but it's the pattern throughout the day that reveals whether your stress response system is supporting your energy and sex hormone balance or sabotaging it.
Nutrient deficiency testing for the specific vitamins and minerals that directly impact energy production, hormone synthesis, and metabolic function. Being "not deficient enough for disease" and having optimal levels are very different states.
Functional markers that show how well your body is actually processing food, absorbing nutrients, and managing inflammation-all of which directly impact your energy and hormone health.
Why This Matters More Than Chalking It Down To "Just Stress"
I've worked with way too many women who were told that they just needed time off work and or a sleeping pill for their symptoms.
Then we ran comprehensive testing. And suddenly found their symptoms had concrete explanations:
The woman told her exhaustion was depression? Her cortisol was flatlined from running on empty for so long it couldn't mount a normal stress response anymore.
The woman told her weight gain was just about calories in, calories out? Her thyroid was converting T4 to Reverse T3 effectively putting her metabolism in hibernation mode.
The woman told her brain fog and anxiety were just age and stress? Her progesterone had dropped to almost nothing driving symptoms of oestrogen dominance like irritability, anxiety and mood swings.
These weren't psychological problems requiring therapy or meditation (though those can be helpful). These were physiological imbalances requiring specific, targeted support.
What "Something's Wrong" Really Means
When you know in your gut that something isn't right, your body is giving you information.
You know yourself better than anyone else. You know what normal feels like for you. When professionals say, "I used to be able to power through 12-hour days and now I can barely make it to 5 PM"-that's not depression or stress. That's their body saying its capacity for energy production has changed.
When women say, "I'm doing everything I did before but gaining weight anyway"-that's not lack of willpower. That's metabolic function shifting in ways that standard testing doesn't capture.
When someone describes losing themselves in their roles, feeling like they don't recognise their body anymore, struggling with symptoms their doctor dismisses as normal aging-that's not vanity or complaining. That's someone experiencing real physiological changes that deserve real investigation and support.
The Relief of Actually Understanding What's Happening
The women I work with often tell me that getting comprehensive testing results feels like validation after months or years of being dismissed.
One client recently told me: "I cried when I saw my test results because I finally had proof that I wasn't making this up. There were actual reasons for how I felt and something I could do about it."
Another said: "For the first time, someone looked at my symptoms and said, 'They make complete sense based on what's happening in your body' instead of just telling me to sleep more and stress less."
Understanding what's actually happening removes the frustration of feeling gaslit by your own body and your healthcare providers. It replaces confusion and dismissal with clarity and a path forward.
What Changes When You Have the Right Information
Once you know what's actually happening-not just that you're "normal" but what specifically isn't functioning optimally-you can make targeted changes:
If your thyroid is converting hormones poorly, you can support that conversion with specific nutrients and lifestyle adjustments.
If your cortisol rhythm is disrupted, you can rebuild healthy stress response patterns with strategic support for your adrenals.
If your oestrogen metabolism is creating problematic metabolites, you can support detoxification pathways to offset them.
If your blood sugar regulation is creating energy swings, you can adjust meal timing and macronutrient balance to stabilise your energy throughout the day.
This isn't guesswork. It's not another generic wellness program. It's personalized support based on what YOUR body specifically needs right now.
The Question Isn't "Am I Imagining This?"
The question is: "Who's going to take my symptoms seriously and help me find out what's really happening?"
You deserve more than "everything's normal" when you know something isn't right. You deserve testing that looks at the complete picture. You deserve someone who understands that optimal function and "within normal range" are different things.
You deserve a provider who will listen when you say, "This isn't normal for me," and will work with you to understand why your body is struggling-even if standard testing says you're fine.
What Your Body Is Really Saying
Those symptoms your doctor dismissed as stress or aging? They're your body's way of communicating that specific systems need support.
The exhaustion is telling you something about your energy production, stress response, or hormone balance.
The weight gain is signaling changes in your metabolic function or hormone metabolism.
The brain fog is indicating issues with blood sugar regulation, hormone shifts, or gut-based inflammatory processes.
The sleep problems are revealing dysregulation in your cortisol rhythm, blood glucose levels or hormone balance.
Your body isn't betraying you. It's trying to tell you what it needs. The question is whether you have someone who knows how to listen.
You're Not Asking for Too Much
Wanting to understand why you feel terrible isn't being a difficult patient. Insisting that something is wrong when you know your body isn't functioning the way it should isn't being dramatic. Seeking out providers who will do comprehensive testing isn't being excessive.
You're advocating for your health. That's exactly what you should be doing.
If your current healthcare providers aren't giving you the answers you need, it might be time to look beyond conventional testing to functional medicine approaches that examine root causes rather than just checking boxes on standard panels.
What Real Investigation Looks Like
Comprehensive hormone and metabolic testing doesn't just tell you whether you have a disease. It shows you how well your body is functioning across multiple systems, where it's struggling, and what specific support would make the biggest difference.
It looks at:
The complete picture of your thyroid function, not just TSH
How your body is producing, metabolising, and responding to hormones
Your stress response patterns throughout the day
How well you're processing nutrients and managing inflammation
The specific biomarkers that explain your unique symptoms
And then it connects those results to a personalised plan-not generic advice, but targeted support for YOUR body's specific needs.
The Relief Comes From Being Heard
More than test results, more than supplements or protocols, what women tell me made the biggest difference was finally being heard.
Being told, "Yes, these symptoms make sense based on what's happening in your body."
Having someone explain why they feel the way they do, without dismissal or minimizing.
Understanding that they're not imagining things, not being dramatic, not just stressed or getting older.
Your symptoms are real. Your experience matters. And you deserve answers that actually address what's happening in your body.
About the Author
I'm Gráinne Harbison, a functional medicine practitioner who specialises in comprehensive hormone and metabolic testing for women whose symptoms have been dismissed by conventional medicine. I work with intelligent, capable women in their 40s who know something isn't right-even when they've been told everything is "normal."
If you're tired of being dismissed and want real answers about what's happening in your body, I can help.
