Why Is Lab Testing So Important?
It’s not always easy to determine what is causing a particular symptom. Some mental health disorders have similar or even identical impacts as physical disorders, but their treatment protocols may be completely different. For example, a physical health issue like chronic hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) could easily be mistaken for depression, as both can cause fatigue, irritability, and hunger. Timely lab testing to correctly identify the issue will make a world of difference when it comes to securing the correct treatment for a disorder. Testing of this order is what most people have hoped for since they began having issues.
The reason we believe it’s important to do such thorough lab testing is that often, there are physiological factors contributing to what’s going on mentally, or vice versa. The mind has a powerful impact on the body, and the body has a powerful impact on the mind. Sometimes this can manifest in ways that may be unexpected to those affected. For example, depression and anxiety are both linked to inflammatory bowel disease and determining whether there is a physiological component to observed anxiety can help determine the treatment protocols necessary.1 Lab tests are key to uncovering and understanding these patterns to provide better treatment.
In addition, many psychiatric medications affect a person’s biochemistry, and we need to see how the body compensates so we can suggest the most appropriate treatment for you. Psychiatric medications can affect a person’s endocrine system, nutritional status, sleep patterns, and neurochemistry. Being in a state of anxiety or depression does the same thing.2 The right lab tests can help us determine the root cause of your symptoms, devise a better treatment, and avoid pharmaceutical drugs that may make the problem worse.
To put it simply, comprehensive lab testing makes it possible to determine whether their mental health struggles are related to any physiological issues as well. Attempting to diagnose a mental health condition without evaluation of components like hormone levels, blood sugar, and metabolic markers is like trying to solve a puzzle with only half of the pieces. This is why we dig deep and see what’s really going on within the whole body. We don’t want to just think about the brain; we want to restore balance to the whole person.
Lab Testing Allows Us to See What Is Really Going on Beneath the Surface
Lab testing ensures that we don’t miss a single thing. The results can help us understand the issues and symptoms clients are dealing with, as well as potential treatments.
Our lab testing includes, but is not limited to:
Complete metabolic functioning, including liver and kidney- Complete blood count with differential
- Amino acids
- Trace minerals
- Cortisol
- Sex hormones, comprehensive
- Pregnancy, thyroid, blood sugar, iron, and other metabolic markers
- Additional tests may be requested by the medical directors
Extensive blood chemistry analysis allows us to get started with a clear picture of where the client is at. We can assess blood sugar, electrolyte balance, organ function, hormone balance, adrenal function, neurotransmitter status, immune function, nutrient and mineral status, and the cofactors in between. Nutrient deficiencies, for example, play an important role in health and disease and are almost always seen concurrently with mental health symptoms. 4
The most effective way to heal the body and mind is a strategic combination of thorough lab work, psychological analysis, and holistic treatment. Often, this is all that’s needed to address both physical and mental health issues without the need for toxic psychiatric medications or a complicated diagnostic procedure.
Lab Tests Are Effective and Reliable
At Alternative to Meds Center, we firmly believe in conducting only essential, effective testing and therapies. As a result, it’s important to know that we only perform lab testing because of the definitive links between the results and the symptoms our clients are demonstrating.
We test for a number of biomarkers that can help understand the symptoms you are having. Whether these biomarkers will immediately indicate a particular condition or whether they warrant a deeper analysis can vary. What’s important are the proven crossroads between psychology and physiology, and lab tests are the only way to pick up on these otherwise invisible patterns.
Inpatient Lab Testing is a Diagnostic Tool
Here is one example of using lab testing in diagnosis. The expression, or lack thereof, of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, has been linked with an extensive number of psychological disorders. BDNF levels can thus be analyzed in a lab to determine whether there is an issue, though our aim is not to label a person. What this shows isn’t that a lab test can immediately determine a person’s problems just with just one result, but that there are many physical changes that can be detected and studied to form a bigger picture that will help inform a personalized recovery program. 5
Another example from published research has shown that low phosphate levels are associated with depression. A phosphate test would allow a wider range of people to be treated for their depression without resorting to psychiatric drugs as a first-line response. 6
Inpatient Lab Testing Looks for Root Causes
Depression and other mental health symptoms are associated with many potential causes, but one that is frequently overlooked is neurotoxicity.7 Many symptoms have their own biological “tells” as well, such as mercury which can cause neurological symptoms. No drug can fix this situation, but neurotoxin removal is the logical, more strategic solution.11
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the name for a set of symptoms that generally surface after a traumatic event. Why would a drug which manipulates neurochemistry be thought of as any type of answer, when the cause is rooted in unresolved trauma? Psychological counseling would be the common sense approach.
However, even in PTSD type symptoms, lab testing can fill an important diagnostic role. Abnormally high or abnormally low levels of natural hormones, glucose levels, toxic accumulations, or other biomarker measurements, can be detected, so they can be treated without drugs. By managing or replenishing neurochemistry through diet, and supplements, as well as with psychological counseling, symptoms like these can be reduced and entirely eliminated without introducing toxic drugs into the body. 7
Testing for Neurotoxicity
Neurotoxicity can play a major role in the decline of a person’s mental and physical health. Environmental toxins, such as pesticides, air pollutants, heavy metals, and even household cleaners, have been linked to mental health conditions like depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis.9 At Alternative to Meds Center, we take neurotoxicity very seriously, and our lab tests help us uncover its presence with precision.
One common example is lead exposure. This is an acknowledged concern in mental health, and is associated with symptoms that are often misdiagnosed as mental disorders of one kind or another.10 Drugs are also a type of neurotoxin, and their use can cause a variety of problems, from tissue damage to depression. Spotting neurotoxin biomarkers can help us identify whether patients are exhibiting symptoms that mimic a mental health disorder brought about by neurotoxicity. Neurotoxin removal is then indicated as a treatment.
Testing for Nutritional Deficiencies
Lab testing can be used to determine whether biomarkers are in place for nutritional deficiencies and anomalies that may be contributing to a patient’s symptoms. For example, zinc and vitamin D are often low in people with depression. Clinicians may also notice low levels of magnesium, citicoline, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, all B vitamins, and vitamins A, C, and E. If patients arrive deficient in essential nutrients, the issue and its resulting physical and mental health effects can be addressed with common sense, via supplementation and a nutritious diet, based on orthomolecular principles and guidelines..
Inpatient Lab Testing is a Pillar of Recovery at ATMC in Sedona, AZ
Extensive blood chemistry analysis allows us to get started with a clear picture of where the client is at. We can assess blood sugar, electrolyte balance, organ function, hormone balance, adrenal function, neurotransmitter status, immune function, nutrient and mineral status, and the cofactors in between. Nutrient deficiencies, for example, play an important role in health and dis-ease and are almost always seen concurrently with mental health symptoms.
Thorough lab work, analysis of clinical symptoms, combined with effective holistic treatments is the most effective way to heal the body and mind together.
By conducting laboratory testing, we can get a better understanding of what treatments would target those issues that are troublesome. At Alternative to Meds Center, each patient is given individualized, holistic care based on their needs, and lab testing allows us to be even more accurate and efficient about providing this care. If you would like to learn more about our methods and the use of lab testing as an important component of holistic treatment, contact us today.
Fact Checked Alternative to Meds Editorial Team
Inpatient lab testing is a vital aspect of Alternative to Meds Center’s overall program.
