What Can You Test? Unpacking Lab Work
March 10, 2026 • Written by dr. hannah webb, nd
One concern I frequently hear from patients is “my GP says all my tests are normal but I feel terrible, how can that be?”
I know many patients feel dismissed and unsupported at this point.
First of all – we must always remember that when we say everything is normal on your labs…. we mean everything is normal that we tested. Meaning, if we don’t test for the thing that is off we won’t know it’s a problem. This is often forgotten when we talk about basic blood work – it’s easy to assume that it is a complete and comprehensive assessment, which isn’t the case.
Basic blood work is just that – it’s the basics, not a list of EVERYTHING that can possibly be tested.
The standard labs most doctors run for a basic check up look at your blood sugar, liver, kidney, electrolytes and so on. This list may also have a few add-ons tailored to your presenting symptoms as well as your age and sex. These tests are great at telling us if you are stable and disease free, but less good at telling us if you are really well.
Doctors usually start with ruling out the most common most likely things. If that doesn’t give us any insight there is (or could be) a next step for further assessment. Things that weren’t high on the index of suspicion and weren’t run at first. Perhaps deeper screening is necessary. Maybe more thorough thyroid labs. An iron panel. Vitamin D levels. An autoimmunity screen. Celiac testing. Or whatever else is relevant.
Of course, doctors are not machines nor are they algorithms.
They have biases in their assessments and the labs they choose to run – this could be another reason why nothing was found.
The lab too is not perfect – every lab test has a certain amount of variability within which we can be confident that the test is accurate. While we tend to assume labs are 100% accurate that’s not actually the case.
And then there is the whole world of private or specialty testing. In BC we have a certain set of labs available to us under MSP, but of course this is not all that can possibly be tested about the human body. Specialty testing can include genetic tests, in-depth hormone panels, adrenal testing, mold toxin exposure testing, heavy metals testing, comprehensive nutrient levels testing, chronic Lyme, and more. The sky is really the limit here. These labs tend to be either 1 – deeper assessments for rarer conditions or 2 – about health optimization rather than diagnosing disease.
And even then maybe the tests really don’t show anything wrong. Not everything can be tested for with a lab. And yet, most of the time there IS a findable reason a patient doesn’t feel well and has health concerns – perhaps we need to go back to their history and explore where there are other circumstances profoundly impacting their heath – perhaps it’s the effect of their job on their health, their falling apart marriage, a spiritual crisis, or their near inability to sleep for the past few years.
In naturopathic medicine we have the gift of time, with a 75 minute intake visit that allows us time to dive into the full and interconnected story of your health so we can understand these pieces that are a bit more nebulous to test for. I think it’s important to say if you’re not feeling well there is absolutely still something wrong.
May your medical team have the perseverance, compassion, creative thinking, and diverse skillset needed to thoroughly pursue this.
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Disclaimer: Information can be empowering, but we all have unique health profiles and needs. Health-related information contained in this article is intended to be general in nature and should not be taken as medical advice nor should it be used as a substitute for a visit with a licensed health care provider.