.png)
Undiagnosed Illness
Healing begins with understanding.
It’s exhausting finding your own way between different drugs, treatments and doctors who don’t have the time to delve deep into your experience.
Not knowing why you feel unwell can be frustrating and scary.
If you find you are asking yourself “Why am I always sick?” we would love to work with you.
At Ōtepoti Integrative Health, we explore your health holistically to locate the root cause of your symptoms and help you finally feel better.
What are Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS)?
Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are physical symptoms that cannot be explained by lab tests, imaging studies or physical examination.
Common medically unexplained symptoms include:
-
fatigue,
-
pain,
-
headaches,
-
gut upset,
-
sleep disturbance,
-
dizziness,
-
difficulty breathing,
-
heart palpitations, or
-
weakness or numbness in certain areas of the body.
For many people, MUS can cause a great deal of distress and interfere with their daily lives.
We take a detailed history, utilise diagnostic questionnaires, perform relevant examinations and tests, to get to the root cause of your symptoms.
Treatment of MUS includes adressing the root cause with lifestyle modifications such as relaxation techniques, exercise and stress management, as well as medications such as antidepressants to alleviate symptoms.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is another treatment option that may help reduce the distress associated with MUS by altering thinking and behavior patterns and teaching new coping strategies for managing symptom flares.
Common causes of Medically Unexplained Symptoms
-
Fibromyalgia
-
Chronic fatigue syndrome
-
POTS
-
Other Dysautonomia
-
Trauma
-
Adrenal Fatigue (medically known as HPA axis Dysfunction)
-
Estrogen Dominance / Progesterone Resistance / Hormone sensitivity
-
Nutritional Depletion
-
Emotional Depletion
-
Burnout
-
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
-
Weight changes
-
Chronic Pain
Are my symptoms real or just in my head?
Current research helps us to understand that some physical illnesses, especially those that are not easily explained, are not simply made up, or just in the mind.
Many medically unexplained symptoms are the result of complex neuroendocrineimmunological responses due to genetic predispositions, past viral infections, trauma and stress. The bodily symptoms are real.
They may not reach a threshold for a particular diagnosis but the do indicate dysfunction in these neuroendocrineimmunological pathways. They are not all in your head. They are created by mind, body and brain, which is a whole entity.