08/26/2026
I keep thinking about one piece of the Lindsay Clancy case that every woman needs to hear.
We have to stop allowing the words “YOUR LABS ARE FINE” to automatically end the conversation.
A basic thyroid result being within a reference range does not mean every possible medical contributor to a patient’s symptoms has been evaluated.
As an FNP who works with hormone and metabolic health, I cannot tell you how many patients have sat across from me and said:
“My doctor checked my labs and told me everything was normal.”
Then we look at what was actually ordered.
Sometimes it was a CBC, CMP and a TSH.
That may be completely appropriate for routine screening—but it is not the same thing as a comprehensive evaluation when someone is experiencing significant fatigue, mood changes, cognitive changes, menstrual changes, sleep disturbances or other concerning symptoms.
Depending on the patient and their symptoms, there may be a clinical reason to look deeper: thyroid function, iron status, B12, folate, vitamin D, metabolic markers, reproductive hormones and other testing when medically indicated.
And just as importantly, postpartum mental health cannot be reduced to a blood test.
Postpartum depression, bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis require appropriate mental-health screening, careful history-taking, follow-up and rapid intervention when warning signs appear.
This case should not become an argument that “one hormone caused everything.”
It should become a conversation about something much bigger:
-Are we actually listening when women tell us something is wrong?
-Are we looking at the whole patient?
-Are we ensuring this patient has adequate outside support from loved ones? (As a DV survivor, I’ve said yes to this but was terrified going home). Patients sometimes tell you what you want to hear, not what we NEED to hear.
-Are we asking the next question instead of simply saying,
“Everything looks normal.”
Because there is also an important difference between:
“This laboratory value falls inside a population reference range”
and
“We have thoroughly evaluated why this individual patient does not feel well.”
(Those are not always the same conversation.)
Women deserve providers who listen.
They deserve appropriate mental-health screening.
They deserve thoughtful medical evaluations.
They deserve follow-up.
And they deserve to know what was actually tested before being reassured that “everything is fine.”
If you’ve been told your labs are normal but you still don’t feel like yourself, we’re here to help you understand what has—and hasn’t—been evaluated and determine whether additional testing or referral may be appropriate.
*I’ve always said, medications are MANY times..a bandaid to a root cause* (not saying they aren’t sometimes absolutely needed), but you would be floored by the results from just hormone replacement, vitamin optimization, & even therapy etc. can correct within the body. I’m here for the hard conversations, if you don’t know where to start just call me..I get it.
🌊 Saltwater Medspa
📞 910-490-9868
Hormone or vitamin testing does not replace psychiatric evaluation or emergency mental-health care. Postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency.
