Fatigue Test

$159
Sample Type:
Blood
Age: 18+
Collection Method: Visit a Labcorp Location
HSA/FSA Accepted

Tired of feeling tired? Investigate your chronic fatigue symptoms

Long term fatigue or feelings of excessive tiredness can cause a decrease in quality of life and overall well-being. Lifestyle factors related to sleep habits, nutrition, exercise, and stress levels can significantly impact your general sense of well-being – but sometimes there is more to the story. If your fatigue has persisted for six months or more, and it does not improve with rest and gets worse with physical or mental activity, it’s time to seek out answers. Your chronic fatigue symptoms may be due to measurable deficiencies or imbalances in your body.

Labcorp OnDemand’s Fatigue Test can shed light on potential imbalances, providing insights you need to begin investigating your symptoms.

Note: There is no blood test to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome.1 However, this test may provide proactive insight into chemical or functional imbalances that can contribute to extreme fatigue.

Preparation

Fast for 12 hours (no food or drink, except water) before sample collection. If you’re taking a supplement containing biotin (also called vitamin B7 or B8, vitamin H, or coenzyme R), commonly found in products promoting nail, skin, and hair health, it is recommended that you wait at least 72 hours from your last dose before sample collection.

What's Included

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Test

Interested in testing your hormones? Consider starting with your thyroid.

Complete Blood Count

This CBC blood test is the first step to detecting illnesses that can affect your overall health.

Diabetes Risk (HbA1c) Test

Concerned about diabetes? This test can help.

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel

Measures key components for valuable information on your metabolism, liver and kidneys.

Ferritin Blood Test

Iron is incredibly crucial to your health—and so is how well your body stores it.

Any abnormal results could represent an underlying cause for your fatigue and may warrant further evaluation. Share any abnormal results with your healthcare provider to ensure you receive any follow-up testing indicated for your initial screening results.

Why consider this test?

Image for understanding your symptoms
Understand Your Symptoms

It can be frustrating to feel extreme tiredness and not know why, which, in turn, makes it worse. This test captures insights from common tests that may reveal vitamin, nutritional or other chemical imbalances related to your symptoms.

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Fatigue is common

Fatigue symptoms may not feel like a big deal, but extreme tiredness can lead to a decrease in general health or overall wellbeing. This test can help you screen for some of the most common underlying causes of fatigue.

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Understand Underlying Causes

Abnormal levels of iron (ferritin), metabolic hormones and/or blood glucose could expose serious conditions impacting your health —like anemia, thyroid disorders, or diabetes.3 This test measures important health levels, giving a clearer view of your overall health concerning these conditions.

Image for Fatigue After Long COVID
Fatigue After Long COVID

You may be experiencing symptoms of persistent fatigue after recovering from COVID-19. While there is no test to diagnose long COVID (aka post-COVID), this test may give insight into additional factors impacting your health and contributing to symptoms of fatigue after long COVID.

FAQs

    What are the symptoms of fatigue and what do my results tell me?

    Labcorp OnDemand’s Fatigue Test may be right for you if you are experiencing unexplained symptoms of extreme fatigue in association with problems with memory/focus, muscle or joint pain, dizziness, and/or unrefreshing sleep—especially if your symptoms have lasted 6 months or more.2

    The fatigue test will give insight into important factors that may be causing your fatigue. Depending on your results, it is recommended you consider your results with a healthcare provider to discuss potential treatment plans.

    Your results will provide you with insights regarding your thyroid hormone level, blood cell counts, diabetes risk, electrolyte levels, kidney function, liver enzyme levels and iron storage levels. Any abnormal results could represent an underlying cause for your fatigue and may warrant further evaluation.

    What is chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)?

    Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, can affect all ages, though is more common in people between 40 and 60 years old. Among adults, women are affected more often than men.1

    There is no blood test to diagnose CFS and the cause of the condition is still unknown.2 Only a healthcare provider can diagnose CFS by conducting a thorough medical exam and evaluation2 A healthcare provider may consider a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome in patients who experience new onset fatigue that interferes with daily activities, symptoms that persists longer than 6 months, doesn’t improve with rest, worsens with physical exertion, and is associated with poor memory/concentration or dizziness. Because these symptoms overlap with a variety of other health conditions, a healthcare provider must first evaluate for underlying medical conditions that could explain the symptoms.4 There is no cure for CFS, however some symptoms can be treated or managed which may provide relief.

    If you plan to see your provider with concerns about possible CFS, it may be helpful to write down information about your signs and symptoms, sleep habits, key changes or major stressors in your life, prior to your visit.

    Patients should talk with their doctors about all potential therapies because many treatments that are promoted as cures for ME/CFS are unproven, often costly, and could be dangerous.1

    What is long COVID (aka post-COVID or long haul COVID)?

    According to the CDC, at this time there is limited data about the long-term effects of COVID-19. Anyone who has been infected with the COVID-19 virus can experience post-COVID conditions. Some people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 experience long-term symptoms or effects, commonly referred as long COVID or long haul COVID.6 These symptoms, which lasts for more than 4 weeks, range from difficulty breathing to brain fog (difficulty thinking or concentrating) to changes in smell and taste. Fatigue or tiredness that interferes with daily life is also a potential long-term effect. While there is no test to diagnose long COVID or post-COVID fatigue, this test can provide information about critical health measures that may be contributing to your fatigue.

    Where can I go to learn more?

    If you’re interested in learning more, check out the following resources:
    1) Mayo Clinic. Chronic fatigue syndrome. Mayo Clinic. July 6, 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20360490

    2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms of ME/CFS. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. January 27, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/symptoms-diagnosis/symptoms.html

    3) CDC. Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions. CDC. September 1, 2022. Accessed December 15, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html

    References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. CDC. Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/index.html

    2. Mayo Clinic. Chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. July 6, 2022. Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20360490

    3. Frontiers. Chronic fatigue syndrome possibly explained by lower levels of key thyroid hormones. Science Daily. March 20, 2018. Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180320084337.htm#

    4. Mayo Clinic. Chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis & treatment. Mayo Clinic. July 6, 2022. Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20360510#

    5. Thompson Jr., D. The common threads of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Everyday Health. November 23, 2011. Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.everydayhealth.com/fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia-and-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.aspx#

    6. CDC. Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions. CDC. September 1, 2022. Accessed December 15, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html