Your Labs Are Normal — But You Are Not

If I had a dollar for every patient told their labs are fine while they feel terrible, I could fund this practice for a year. The truth is, normal is not the same as optimal, and many psychiatric symptoms are downstream of biology that conventional ranges quietly miss.

What Often Gets Missed

• TSH alone instead of a full thyroid panel (free T3, free T4, antibodies)

• Vitamin D in the low-normal range

• Ferritin under 50 in symptomatic women

• B12 under 500

• Fasting insulin when only glucose is checked

• Inflammatory markers never drawn at all

Five Whole-Person Steps

1. Ask for a full panel, not just a screen.

2. Get a copy of your results and know your numbers.

3. Work with a clinician who looks at optimal ranges, not just 'not flagged.'

4. Address nutrition, sleep, and stress at the same time.

5. Re-evaluate every 3–6 months during active healing.

Respectfully, Beth Makar, RN, Dual-MSN, PMHNP-BC · Integrative Mind Body Psychiatry · integrativemindbodypsychiatry.com