Brain Fog Archives %% - Dr Wendy Wells Naturopathic Doctor Online

Fatigue ICD-10 Code & Why It Matters: More Than Just a Diagnosis

Fatigue is one of the most common complaints in modern medicine. But despite how widespread it is, fatigue is often dismissed, misunderstood, or labeled as "just stress." In conventional care, fatigue gets boiled down to a billing code: ICD-10 code R53.83, the general diagnosis for "other fatigue." But here's what most people, and even some practitioners—don't realize: that little code is just the tip of the iceberg. Chronic or long term fatigue can be a signal from your body that something deeper is out of balance and needs support. And in functional and naturopathic medicine, we go far beyond [...]

Fatigue ICD-10 Code & Why It Matters: More Than Just a DiagnosisWendy Wells2025-07-15T19:51:06+00:00

Vagus Nerve Signaling: The Gut-Brain Superhighway

When you have a ”gut feeling”, you’re not imagining things, your nervous system is actually listening and trying to get your attention. One of the best ways your gut talks to your brain is through the vagus nerve which is a long, wandering nerve that connects your digestive tract to your brainstem. But what most people don’t realize is that around 80% of vagus nerve fibers are afferent, meaning they carry signals from the gut up to the brain, not the other way around! When Vagal Signaling Is Working Well… In a healthy gut, vagal afferent fibers, which are [...]

Vagus Nerve Signaling: The Gut-Brain SuperhighwayWendy Wells2025-07-14T03:01:55+00:00

Bugging the Blues: The Gut Microbiome’s Role in Depression

Ever wonder why your mood sometimes sinks for no clear reason? It turns out, the answer might lie deep in your gut—literally. While most people know serotonin as the brain’s “feel-good” chemical, fewer realize that nearly 90% of it is made in the gut. Even more surprising? Your gut bacteria play a major role in how much serotonin your body can produce—thanks in part to a microbial metabolic route called the shikimate pathway. Let’s explore how your microbes may be influencing your mood from the inside out. Serotonin is made primarily in the brain and the gut. [...]

Bugging the Blues: The Gut Microbiome’s Role in DepressionWendy Wells2025-07-06T19:12:43+00:00

The Hidden Causes of Depression: A Whole-Body Perspective

Depression is more than a mental health diagnosis—it’s a message from the body that something deeper is out of balance. While conventional medicine often reduces depression to a "chemical imbalance," naturopathic and functional medicine reveal that it’s far more complex—and far more treatable at the root. When I treat patients who suffer with depression, I am seeing beyond the diagnosis to the person and we look at all the possible underlying causes and find the ones that are at play in each person's case. Then we address, support the part of the body that is out of balance, and [...]

The Hidden Causes of Depression: A Whole-Body PerspectiveWendy Wells2025-06-24T18:34:12+00:00

Recognizing Fatigue Symptoms and How to Alleviate Them

More people worldwide are experiencing fatigue than ever before. The impacts on our personal, family and work life is making us all more aware of work-life balance and how to stay healthy given the daily stresses we are undergoing. A 2023 study from the National Institutes of Health revealed over 42% of people experience significant fatigue on a daily basis. (1) What are the key symptoms of fatigue? -Physical symptoms include a feeling of tiredness during the day, waking up not feeling refreshed, blurry vision, a sense of listlessness, headaches, muscle weakness and dizziness. -Mental symptoms include a lack [...]

Recognizing Fatigue Symptoms and How to Alleviate ThemWendy Wells2024-06-18T18:45:03+00:00

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