Archive for the ‘Hormone Physician’ Category

A simpler question is how do you know if your hormones aren't balanced? You will likely feel unwell and not be able to figure out why. The practitioners certified by BioTE Medical have seen the life-changing results time and time again; balanced hormones can change your life.

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Studies have shown that balanced hormones are necessary for good health and disease prevention for women and men throughout the entire life cycle. However, balanced hormones become even more critical for health as we grow older and more susceptible to disease.

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BioTE Medical optimizes hormone levels with bio-identical hormone pellets. Hormone optimization is a process by which levels of hormones throughout the body are equalized through continual absorption of BHRT pellets, leading to peak levels of health and wellbeing.

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Hormone pellets release bio-identical hormones into the bloodstream continuously. These are tiny pellets just under the skin, typically placed in the upper hip. BHRT pellets are smaller than a grain of rice and are consistently effective for between 3 and 6 months.

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BioTE Medical - Official Site

A Doctor's Journey

I started to realize something was wrong when I saw a patient who was on 10 medications. The first five dealt with ailments while the second five were for the side effects of the first five. Despite the medications, the patient didn't feel any better. This was the beginning of my inquiry into another way to practice medicine.

Sometimes our practice gets lumped into the alternative medicine category. And while we are open to additional ways to treat illness, our protocols are based on science and deduction.

The Hormone Center is much more than a hormone treatment center or just a hormone physician. We practice integrativemedicine, which is sometimes confused with functionalmedicine.

We believe that medications are not always the answer and can often mask the true underlying conditions and imbalances. Even my kids chuckle when they see drug commercials that spend 15 seconds on the benefits and 45 seconds on the side effects.

And unfortunately 'healthcare in the U.S. is mistitled. It should be called sick-care because most people only engage the medical system when theyre sick, not when theyre healthy.

Our "hormone specialists" believe the following:

We believe that most people dont want to be on medications or live a sub-standard life but they often don't know what else to do.

At our core, we believe that from an evolutionary standpoint, the body is built to heal itself. Our job is to clear the obstacles and support the body, before resorting to more invasive measures. If this belief makes us alternative medicine doctors, then so be it.

We look forward to meeting you!

- Lauren D. Loya, M.D.

Founder and Medical Director of The Hormone Center

At The Hormone Center, we put an underlying focus on the cause, not the symptom. We are an integrative medicine practice and put our clients first. Some of our most sought-after services include:

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The Hormone Center - Alternative Medicine | Holistic ...

Does this sound like you? Too tired to function during the day, but cant sleep at night. Keep gaining weight in spite of eating clean and working out with a personal trainer. Becoming depressed, moody and irritable. Achy. Sweating. Bloated. Ever thought you had a hormonal disorder or wanted to have your thyroid thoroughly checked. You may want to look over the information on the Goodhormonehealth.com website and see if making an appointment with Dr. Friedman is appropriate.

The key to getting your life back starts with getting the right information from an expert Endocrinologist who is dedicated to educating and treating patients with all types of hormonal disorders. Goodhormonehealth is dedicated to providing just that. Check out our collection of articles backed by research, provided by Theodore C. Friedman, MD, PhD on the detection and treatment of hormone imbalances, pituitary, thyroid, adrenal disorders, low testosterone, menopause and Cushings disease/syndrome. You can then decide if you want to make an appointment with Dr. Friedman.

So many of us believe that fatigue, weight gain, loss of libido and other problems are just symptoms we must learn to live with. What if these symptoms are not the result of stress, diet, or aging, but are actually caused by a hormonal disorder? Symptoms of hormone deficiency or excess may be subtle and difficult to diagnose. Many hormonal problems are misdiagnosed as depression, especially in women.You know your own body better than anyone else, and you know when something is wrong. Dr. Friedman is a compassionate, caring physician who will listen carefully to your concerns and work with you to establish a diagnosis and treatment plan. As an experienced, board-certified endocrinologist and researcher, he has the capabilities to diagnose and treat even the most difficult hormonal problems. Dr. Friedman has found that many of his patients suffer from undiagnosed pituitary, thyroid or adrenal problems or are improperly treated for these conditions. These include many people with Cushings disease, which can present with a baffling array of symptoms and is frequently misdiagnosed. Other patients may have pituitary, thyroid or adrenal insufficiency, each of which have numerous symptoms and are equally hard to diagnose. Menopause is a challenging time and Dr. Friedman specializing in treating women with menopause. Dr. Friedman is a world-renown expert in these difficult-to-diagnose diseases and is happy to see patients from around the country (and around the world) who need a straight answer to their hormone problems. Dr. Friedman is a take action doctor who wont delay treatment and just tell you to come back in 3 months. He thinks out of the box (yet is well-grounded in conventional Endocrinology) and often diagnoses hormonal problems where other doctors have failed. Dr. Friedman is not an anti-aging doctor and works to return low hormones levels to normal unlike anti-aging doctors who give high doses of hormones often to those with normal levels. Dr. Friedman listens to symptoms and uses reliable laboratories for testing.

Dr. Friedman appeared as an expert Endocrinologist (along with his patient Kate) in a program called Science of Obesity, which was produced for and aired on the National Geographic Channel.

Find out more on pertinent endocrine issues. Dr. Friedman give tips to readers about how they can improve or augment actions in their life to have ahealthylifestyle.

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Good Hormone Health | Become a Healthier You

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which your thyroid glanda small, butterfly-shaped gland in your neckdoes not produce enough thyroid hormone. It is sometimes referred to as an "underactive" thyroid. Hypothyroidism slows down a person's metabolism, leading to symptoms like weight gain, sluggishness, feeling cold, and more. A simple blood test called thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) can diagnose hypothyroidism, and thyroid hormone replacement medication can treat it.

By gaining knowledge about hypothyroidism, including what it feels like to have this thyroid problem, and how it's diagnosed and managed, you will be more prepared and self-assured as you embark on your thyroid journey.

A look at the anatomy of the thyroid, located above the collarbone.

Your thyroid gland uses dietary iodine to make thyroid hormone. When there is a deficiency in thyroid hormone, your body has trouble using energy and staying warm.

Your muscles, brain, and other organs may also have trouble functioning.

The signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism are variable and can be subtle, even mistaken for stress or another medical problem.

Here is a closer look at some of the symptoms a person with an underactive thyroid may experience:

There are a number of health issues and conditions that cause hypothyroidism.

The autoimmune disease Hashimotos thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. In this disease, antibodies attack the thyroid gland, making it incapable of functioning properly.

Post-surgical hypothyroidism refers to insufficient thyroid hormone due to surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland. Surgery on the thyroid is known as a thyroidectomy.

Radiation-induced hypothyroidism may occur from radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy, which is used to treat hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer. Exposure to radiation treatments to the head and neck, or radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents like Chernobyl or Fukushima, may also cause hypothyroidism.

With congenital hypothyroidism, newborns come into the world without a thyroid gland or with a partial thyroid gland.

Hypothyroidism may also result from taking certain medications (called drug-induced hypothyroidism). While this is not a comprehensive list, some of the more commonly known medications include:

Hypothyroidism can occur with too little iodine consumption (called iodine-deficiency hypothyroidism) or if too much iodine is consumed (called iodine-induced hypothyroidism).

In secondary or central hypothyroidism, the pituitary gland (located in your brain) is damaged (from a tumor, radiation, or surgery) and is unable to trigger your thyroid gland to produce thyroid hormone.

Rarely, hypothyroidism from infiltrative diseases (for example, sarcoidosis or hemochromatosis) can deposit substances (like granulomas or iron, respectively) into the thyroid gland, reducing its ability to function.

The diagnosis of hypothyroidism requires a clinical examination and blood tests.

Clinical Examination In addition to a clinical thyroid examination, which includes a manual and visual examination of the thyroid gland, a doctor will also perform a physical examination to look for signs of hypothyroidism. Some of these signs include dry, coarse skin, a slow heart rate, slow reflexes, and swelling.

Blood Tests

The main blood test used to diagnose hypothyroidism is the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test. This test measures TSH, a pituitary hormone. TSH rises when it detects low levels of thyroid hormone, and drops when it detects excess thyroid hormone. Laboratories have established a reference range, and levels above the reference range are considered potentially indicative of hypothyroidism.

In addition, the unbound and available levels of the actual circulating thyroid hormonesfree thyroxine (free T4) and free triiodothyronine (free T3)may be measured. There are reference ranges for these two hormone tests, and levels below the reference range (showing that there is insufficient free T4 and/or free T3) are considered indicative of hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is treated with a thyroid hormone replacement drug, which is a medication that replaces the missing thyroid hormone in the body.

LevothyroxineThe most commonly prescribed thyroid hormone replacement drug is known generically as levothyroxine, a synthetic form of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4).

LiothyronineThere is also a synthetic form of the T3 hormone, known as liothyronine. It is sometimes added to levothyroxine as part of a therapy known as T4/T3 combination treatment, though this practice is considered controversial by the many endocrinologists and mainstream practitioners.

Natural Desiccated ThyroidFinally, there is a hormone replacement drug called natural desiccated thyroid, sometimes abbreviated NDT or called "thyroid extract." NDT contains natural forms of both T4 and T3. While it has been available for more than a century, and is still in use today, it is considered controversial by the mainstream medical community and is prescribed more often by integrative, functional, and holistic physicians, as compared to endocrinologists and conventional physicians.

The official guidelines of various endocrinology organizations position levothyroxine as the preferred treatment, and discourage both T4/T3 combination therapy and use of NDT.

A Word From Verywell

Whether you (or a loved one) has been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism, or you are being currently treated for it, but still not feeling right, please know that you are not alone. Continue to seek knowledge about your thyroid disease and remain resilient as you navigate this sometimes taxing journey.

Also, remember that living well with hypothyroidism is not just about medication. It's also important to eat well, get enough rest, make time for exercise and play, and manage your stress. And even if you feel like youre fighting an uphill battle with doctors, treatments, and debilitating symptoms, don't give up. You will eventually find the answers that will help you live well and feel well.

Sources:

American Thyroid Association. (n.d.). Hypothyroidism (Underactive).

Braverman, L, Cooper D. Werner & Ingbar's The Thyroid, 10th Edition. WLL/Wolters Kluwer; 2012.

Garber J et. al. Clinical Practice Guidelines for Hypothyroidism in Adults: Cosponsored by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Thyroid Association. Endocr Pract. 2012 Nov-Dec;18(6):988-1028.

Read the original here:
Hypothyroidism - Symptoms, Treatment, and More

last update January 15th 2018

List of Top HCG DropsSuppliers(with comparison chart)

The real hcg hormone drops can be purchased only from certain merchants and you should always double check whether they are authentic, original, legit and 100% pure. Everyone knows that there are loads of crappy company and sites selling fake hcg hormone drops. However, before you continue with your purchase, you might need to know the things you should look out for:

1. It should be pharmaceutical grade HCG. A pharmaceutical grade HCG is nothing but purest form of HCG. On the other hand, other types of HCG have hormones diluted with it reducing the effectiveness.

2. The HCG should be manufactured within US. Never Buy HCG supplied from Third world countries as they do not meet quality guidelines and might contain microbes.

3. Finally and most important of all, the process of manufacturing HCG must be approved by the FDA. If the merchant has this certificate then you can buy from them blindly. This will ensure that you are buying the real hcg drops and not fake ones.

Of all the real HCG suppliers HCG Complex is the best and meets all the above criteria. Moreover, they have great inventory that beats other suppliers.

Note: For a Limited Time HCG Complex is providing Buy One Get One Offer.

We have also listed a number of top HCG suppliers for your convenience. Browse each supplier and choose your product independently.

There are new and exiting offers for the year 2018. Therefore, ensure to check them out.

Obesity has become prevalent across the world. As a result, number of rapid weight loss programs and solutions have been developed. One of the effective solutions is HCG drops. They offer a painless, convenient and fast way to shed large pounds of weight in a short period. They contain HCG hormone that develops in considerable quantities during pregnancy. This hormone influences how the fats are utilized in the body. It is very effective for weight loss as it signals your hypothalamus to convert your fat deposits into energy. If you want to shed the extra pounds of weight, you should first learn how to find legit hcg drops, buy them and adhere to strict diet. This is important if you want to achieve the desired results. There are many reports published that reveal effectiveness of hcg drops for rapid weight loss.

HCG drops are simply drops you place on the tongue and it is comprised of HCG hormone. It may be found in shakes and some other products. The drops are scientifically proven to assist with weight loss. The oral administering is a good alternative to the injections. It is great, cheaper, way to losing weight on hcg diet. It attracts minimal costs and maximum dosage, no unnecessary trips to doctors and you are free to increase the dosage yourself to get desired results. The following are some of the important things you should consider on how to find legit hcg drops online:

A simple search online will yield a lot of products, companies and reviews. Any blog or review you are reading should cover quality of documentation. In addition, instructions about the product need to be included. The instructions ought to cover basics of diet; its implementation and it can be maintained throughout. It is important to note that the diet is very powerful and it will produce stunning weight loss results in short period. However, this is only possible if you adhere to diets guidelines. On the other hand, using inaccurate dieting instructions is likely to make your purchase useless. Therefore, a good review ought to list products or supporting information that comes with the purchase. All materials that are provided with your product need to describe the particular dosage instructions.

It is important to note that it is the ingredients that make hcg drops work. Therefore, they are very essential part of the information on how to find legit hcg drops. All the ingredients must be listed and their effect briefly explained. In this way you will be able to find out whether your hcg drops are going to work or not. Generally, the ingredients should follow guidelines set by FDA. Therefore, they should be manufactured in FDA approved facility. Homeopathic HCG is illegal in according to FDA. It is unfortunate that some manufacturing firms have incorporated illegal ingredients in their HCG drops products.

Simply, if all the ingredients of HCG drops are not listed, then never trust that product. In fact, failure to disclose the ingredients is a red flag and should be treated that way.

Most HCG drop reviews do not have price comparisons. You need price comparisons in order to find right products that meet your budget. Ideally, they should compare the size and price of every product. All these are important characteristics to give a consideration. This is because dosage plays an important role as it helps determine the duration your dosage will last.

You should note that not all HCG drops manufacturing companies are trustworthy and reputable. You should look for companies, which offer generous product guarantees and return policies. Some guarantees do have absurd rules in fine print, which are meant to discourage returns. A reputable company that offers legal hcg drops should offer solid guarantees and solid return policies. Such guarantees are important as they ensure that the company you are dealing with believes in its products and it is confident that you will be satisfied with them. Also, the company you are dealing with should have prominent contact customer support and phone number.

Any review you are reading about hcg drops should not promote a particular product. Ideally, it should offer honest and unbiased information about the products. This is the best way to ensure that all information you are getting is true.

You should note that hcg diet is available in different forms. However, diet drops is still the most popular form currently on the market. Therefore, before spending your hard-earned money, it makes sense to read legal hcg drops reviews. The information you get will be of help in finding best products from reputable companies.

Not all legal hcg drops are made equal. A number of homeopathic varieties have cropped up with the main intention of scamming customers. Homeopathic simply means the product contains no dosage at all or contains a small dosage. You will note that hcg diet is quite strict about need for the real dosages to make hcg effective. Generally, 500 calories and clinical dosages are needed daily to achieve the desired results.

Previously, it had become difficult for the customers to acquire real, legal, non-homeopathic hcg drops. But nowadays, it is possible to find genuine hcg drops that offer same results as injections.

One of the benefits of these drops is the instant results you get. In fact, the results are noted faster as compared to other diet products that take months. During the first days, you body begins feeling lighter. This will inspire and keep motivating you. Secondly, you will not have a constant hunger. This makes hcg drops perfect solution for people with busy lifestyles who want to lose weight. You will be able to continue working on important things without worrying about losing weight loss. This is possible as hcg hormone eliminates hunger feeling. While taking these drops, it is not a must to couple with exercises. The results are possible without exercises and there is no need to actively change your lifestyle. Lastly, it is a cost effective method of losing weight.

note: a recent research had indicates HCG diet is healthy as it is low in carbs.

HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. It is a hormone that is produced within the body of pregnant women.

HCG is generally extracted from the urine of pregnant women. After 11 days of conception the body of pregnant women starts to produce HCG hormone. The amount of HCG within a pregnant womans body doubles every 45 hours or 90 hours. This level increases until the woman is 11 weeks pregnant. After that period the amount of HCG decreases steadily.

For Introduction to HCG diet Click Here

Any HCG hormone that is purest in its form without any other addition of hormone is known as pure HCG and in fact it is also known as pharmaceutical HCG.

It is a form of HCG that is known as homeopathic and does not contain much of HCG. And for your kind Information we would also like to state that Homeopathic HCG drops are not as effective as the real ones. Moreover, the FDA considers homeopathic HCG drops as Illegal as they shouldnt be prescribed within the US.

Dr Simeons was the first to find that HCG when consumed with low calorie diet can lead to weight loss. It was in India while studying pregnant women that he came to the conclusion. He wrote all his findings and published them as a book which today is sold worldwide called as Pounds and Inches.

The HCG works in several ways. For first it increases metabolism of the body so that it can burn more fat. Secondly, while being on HCG diet with low calorie the hormone programs the brain to stick with low fatty foods and avert themselves of high fatty substances. Therefore, even if you have stopped with your HCG diet you will still be able to lose weight.

Thirdly, It keeps the leans muscle from losing as it targets only the fat cells.

No, it is not possible to lose weight only on HCG hormone alone. You will have to accompany the meal protocol that is mentioned in the book Pounds and Inches written by Dr. Simeons. However, there are many other modern authors that have polished the works of Dr Simeons and have presented the works as theirs.

Ideally the diet will supply calorie anywhere from 500 to 800 per day.

Yes, it is completely safe as long as you eat the right mentioned foods. The meal protocol was meant to provide your body with whole nutrition keeping the calorie in check. Therefore, it is very important that you follow the meal protocol especially meant for HCG diet. Also check our HCG Mythsand a True story of weight loss on Shape.com

For the first week you might a little hard to keep on the low calorie food and you might get frequent cravings. However, from the second week you will noticed that you have adapted to the low calorie diet and you will no longer have those cravings. Moreover, the HCG hormone in itself is a hunger suppressant. Therefore, you do not have to worry about cravings as you will soon manage them within a week or two.

No, you cannot exercise while on the HCG diet. This is because while on the diet your body will burn fat at its maximum potential. Further increasing the metabolism through exercise will shoot the metabolism even higher. This can lead to imbalance within the body or will cause you to eat more. Eventually, you will end up in failing the weight loss. Hence, exercise during the HCG diet is strictly prohibited.

You will lose more weight that with any other diet. If you are following the meal protocol exactly then it is possible to lose up to 3 lbs per day. However, on average people lose at least one lbs per day.

It depends on you as only you know how much weight you wish to lose. A single bottle of HCG drops (1 oz) helps in losing around 7 to 12 lbs. The time it takes is a month on average. Therefore, if you wish to lose 50 lbs then we strongly recommend following the diet for at least 4 months in a row. Yes, you need to follow in a row as only then you will be able to lose weight. Skipping the HCG diet every month will throw your system to into chaos as it will forced to choose between fatty food consumption and low calorie consumption. Therefore, before starting your HCG diet plan it accordingly and decide for how long you wish to be on the diet and how much weight is needed to be lost.

After Dr. Simeons published his findings in a book the whole weight loss industry was thrown over as his diet became the most popular diet to lose weight instantly. However, FDA has yet to find any claims as to whether the HCG really helps in losing weight. Therefore, The FDA hasnt given its approval for HCG as a weight loss supplement. click here to see what FDA thinks about HCG diet.

FDA certified manufacturing process and FDA approved are two different things. The first says the manufacturing of the product is approved by the FDA (only the process not product). The second says that the product is approved and the HCG has no approval from FDA as a weight loss product.

Yes, as long as you buy from a legit seller. Before purchasing from any seller ensure that they are selling real hcg drops and not homeopathic. Secondly, do not buy from any other country except US as HCG imported to US from other countries is considered illegal and might carry infection.

Well, we have some great recommendation on our blog over here. However, if you ask which is the best of best then you must have noticed our recommendation at the top for HCG triumph which is a great brand as all their HCG drops are pharmaceutical grades. Moreover, they even have various types of HCG bottles for people for different tastes like homeopathics and HCG without Hormone.

Yes, actually there are many. We ask you to take a look at our top HCG brands and start out from there. It contains some awesome sites and they are great for casual purchase like a single bottle or for bundle packages. We update the page regularly and if you think we have missed any brand that is worth mentioning over there then kindly let us know through the contact page or comments.

If you are buying from a local store then yes you will need a prescription. However, if you are purchasing from online store then you wont probably need a prescription.

Most online sellers do not test you or ask for any work. However, we strongly advice that you get checked up by your personal physician and get to know if you are fit for the HCG diet. Some people are not meant to be on the low calorie diet and hence we suggest that you do not jump on HCG diet. Rather treat with it cautiously. It has known to cause arrhythmia in some cases.

The side effects of HCG drops are abdomen pain, nausea and loose stools. Other side effects might be possible. Check with your doctor.

This is a most common question and however, depends on the manufacturer and the case in which it is bottled. If you have purchased from a retailer who has manufactured in a lab approved by FDA and the glass bottle is colored to filter out sunlight then it is possible that the hormone would stay good for at least a year.

Note: HCG has also received some negative reviews like this one and yet people still trust it because it really does help in weight loss.

Disclaimer: All the above mentioned information should not be considered as an alternative to medial advise. Readers are advised to make their independent decision before purchasing HCG Diet or Drops.

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2018s 100% Real HCG Drops Real HCG Hormone Drops

Dr. Edmund Chein, M.D., author of Age Reversal, Bio-Identical Hormones and Telomerase, and Living to 120 and Beyond, has appeared on various radio and television shows such as:

Dr. Chein is a practicing physician in Palm Springs, California who is regarded by many as one of the founding fathers of longevity and anti-aging medicine.Today, he is known as one of the best bioidentical hormone doctors in the world.

His method of life extension was recently validated by achieving a biological age of 34 as measured by telomere length in the DNA at the calendar age of 61. His patients, who had followed him since 1994, achieved similar results.

He is offering a cash reward of $25,000 to the public for anyone who can show a difference of greater than 27 years between the persons biological age and calendar age.

Dr. Chein was trained at the University of Southern California Medical Center in Rehabilitation Medicine a specialty focused on restoring function to disabled patients. Now, Dr. Chein has narrowed his specialty to rehabilitating those suffering from the disease of aging. He considers aging to be a disease because aging, like any other disease, ultimately leads to death.

Dr. Chein learned the importance of hormone balancing during the years he replaced hormones in patients with damaged glands. In the early 1990s, he researched and discovered the miraculous benefits of the total hormone balancing treatment. His study with Dr. Cass Terry of the Medical College of Wisconsin showed that by replacing and balancing all the hormones in ones body, a person can improve and normalize the bodys systems and functions that deteriorate with age. This results in REVERSING ones biological age and eliminating age-related diseases such as elevated cholesterol, increased body fat, decreased energy and stamina, decreased immunity, decreased sexual functions, and wrinkling of skin. Together, they completed the largest study to date (of 1,000 human subjects) on supplementing growth hormone and other hormones to achieve reversal of biological age.

Dr. Chein was the first hormone doctor in the United States to discover and patent total hormone balancing therapy. He was also the first physician to supplement and optimize human growth hormone in adults in a private practice. In addition, Dr. Chein was the first physician to advocate supplementing thymus hormone and pregnenolone hormone.

Hormone specialist, Dr. Cheins work has been discussed in Newsweek, Health and Medicine for Physicians, Ability, Cosmopolitan, and Life Extension Magazine, to name a few.

In 1994, Dr. Chein founded the Palm Springs Life Extension Institute. The Institute is visited by hundreds of new patients from all over the world, and has the largest clinical client base in hormone replacement therapy. In 1996, he founded the American Academy of Longevity Medicine for bioidentical hormone physicians and scientists to pursue and exchange ideas regarding this new specialty.

In 2010, Dr. Chein founded the Autologous Stem Cell Therapy Institute. Autologous Stem Cell Therapy uses peripheral-blood-derived and adipose-tissue-derived autologous stem cells to regenerate damaged joints (such as torn meniscuses) and damaged organs such as the lungs (emphysema) and the brain (stroke).

He has been granted three patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for his discoveries in Total Hormone Replacement Therapy, Method of Hormone Treatment for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis, and Reversal of Coronary Blockages.

His publications include Clinical Experience Using a Low-Dose, High-Frequency Human Growth Hormone Treatment Regimen, Journal of Advancement in Medicine, December 1999, and Retrospective Analysis of the Effects of Low-Dose, High-Frequency Human Growth Hormone Treatment on Serum Lipids and Prostate-Specific Antigen, American Journal of Aging, May 2001.

In addition to his medical degree, Dr. Chein has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law.

Dr. Chein, a renowned name among bioidentical hormone doctors, has written three books:Age Reversal (1997)Bio-Identical Hormones and Telomerase (2011)Living to 120 and Beyond (2013)

Dr. Chein is often asked to speak publicly. Recent Activity

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Finest Bioidentical Hormone Doctors | Hormone Specialist

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13) Photolibrary.com

SOURCES:

David Adamson, M.D., clinical professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, CEO of ARC Fertility, Saratoga, California.

Alyssa Dweck, M.D., assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City.

Jenna LoGiudice, PhD, CNM, RN, assistant professor, Fairfield Universitys School of Nursing, Fairfield, CT.

American Academy of Dermatology: Hormonal Factors Key to Understanding Acne in Women

Cleveland Clinic: Menstrual Cycle

Gao, Q., Endocrinology and Metabolism, May 2008

Gov.UK: Hormone Headaches

Harvard Medical School: Testosterone Therapy: Is It For Women? Perimenopause: Rocky road to menopause, Dealing With Menopause Symptoms

Johns Hopkins Medicine: Hormone Imbalance May Be Causing Your Acne

Lopez, M., Trends in Molecular Medicine, July 2013

National Cancer Institute: Understanding Breast Changes

National Sleep Foundation: Menopause and Sleep

Soares, C. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, July 2008

The University of Connecticut Health Center: Benign Diseases of the Breast

The University of North Carolina School of Medicine: Hormones and IBS

Read more here:
Slideshow: Hormone Imbalance: Symptoms and Treatment

Merchantville Office41 West Chestnut Ave.Merchantville, NJ 08109Call (856) 488-7067 for appointments

Moorestown OfficeMoorestown Office Center110 Marter AvenueSuite 408Moorestown, NJ 08057

Sewell Office - New LocationAgeless Skin and Laser Center660 Woodbury-Glassboro RdSewell, NJ 08080-2664Timberline Shopping CenterOffice is located behind Dunkin Donuts

Jennifer Phillips, ND

Dr. Jennifer Phillips is a board certified and licensed Naturopathic Physician.

She holds a BS in Biology and earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University and Completed a residency specializing in adjuvant cancer therapy under the guidance of John Catanzaro, ND, author of Cancer, An Integrative Approach.

In her practice the emotional aspects of health and disease are explored in conjunction with lifestyle and nutritional management.

The Moorestown office is now located on Marter avenue across from the TD Bank. It is very close to the Big Acme in Moorestown that closed, and also near Wegmans.

I now offer a Wellness Package, and my rates for additional appointments have been updated.

Read about my rate increase in the Frequently Asked Questions section of Naturopathy NJ.

Read testimonials of those who have experienced better health through Natural Medicine.

Attention Women: Are you interested in an alternative to Mammography for Breast Cancer Detection?

Education Not Medication - click here for the truth about breast cancer

Jennifer Phillips, ND Merchantville Office (856) 488-7067 Merchantville Office 41 W Chestnut Ave, Merchantville, NJ 08109 US Moorestown Office 110 Marter Avenue Suite 408, Moorestown, NJ 08057 US Sewell Office (Ageless Skin and Laser Center) 660 Woodbury-Glassboro Rd, Sewell, NJ 08080-2664 US DrJen@naturopathynj.com

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Weight loss isnt about restricting caloriesand willpower. Its about hormones: thechemical molecules that govern nearlyall aspects of your body fat

When your metabolism is broken, you get fatter no matter what you doespecially after age forty. The Hormone Reset Diet will show you, in seven three-day bursts, how to make specific dietary changes, eliminate metabolism-wrecking foods (meat and alcohol, sugar, fruit, caffeine, grain, dairy, and toxins), repair your body and reset your hormones.

About the Author

SARA GOTTFRIED, M.D. is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hormone Cure. After graduating from the physician-scientist training program at Harvard Medical School and MIT, Dr. Gottfried completed her residency at the University of California at San Francisco. She is a board-certified gynecologist who teaches natural hormone balancing in her novel online programs so women can lose weight, detoxify, and feel great. Dr. Gottfried lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband and two daughters. Visit her online at http://www.SaraGottfriedMD.com.

Continued here:
The Hormone Reset Diet - Order the book

1. Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, et al.; Writing Group for the Women's Health Initiative Investigators. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results from the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002;288(3):321333....

2. Anderson GL, Limacher M, Assaf AR, et al.; Women's Health Initiative Steering Committee. Effects of conjugated equine estrogen in post-menopausal women with hysterectomy: the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2004;291(14):17011712.

3. Manson JE, Chlebowski RT, Stefanick ML, et al. Menopausal hormone therapy and health outcomes during the intervention and extended poststopping phases of the Women's Health Initiative randomized trials. JAMA. 2013;310(13):13531368.

4. Mikkola TS, Clarkson TB. Estrogen replacement therapy, atherosclerosis, and vascular function. Cardiovasc Res. 2002;53(3):605619.

5. ACOG committee opinion no. 565. Hormone therapy and heart disease. Obstet Gynecol. 2013;121(6):14071410.

6. The American Academy of Family Physicians. Hormone replacement therapy. https://www.aafp.org/patient-care/clinical-recommendations/all/hrt.html. Accessed December 1, 2016.

7. Gold EB, Colvin A, Avis N, et al. Longitudinal analysis of the association between vasomotor symptoms and race/ethnicity across the menopausal transition. Am J Public Health. 2006;96(7):12261235.

8. The 2012 hormone therapy position statement of: The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2012;19(3):257271.

9. Maclennan AH, Broadbent JL, Lester S, Moore V. Oral oestrogen and combined oestrogen/progestogen therapy versus placebo for hot flushes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004;(4):CD002978.

10. Nonhormonal management of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms: 2015 position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2015;22(11):11551172.

11. Mohammed K, Abu Dabrh AM, Benkhadra K, et al. Oral vs transdermal estrogen therapy and vascular events: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015;100(11):40124020.

12. ACOG practice bulletin no. 141. Management of menopausal symptoms. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;123(1):202216.

13. Jaakkola S, Lyytinen H, Pukkala E, Ylikorkala O. Endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women using estradiol-progestin therapy. Obstet Gynecol. 2009;114(6):11971204.

14. Goletiani NV, Keith DR, Gorsky SJ. Progesterone: review of safety for clinical studies. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007;15(5):427444.

15. Pickar JH, Yeh IT, Bachmann G, Speroff L. Endometrial effects of a tissue selective estrogen complex containing bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens as a menopausal therapy. Fertil Steril. 2009;92(3):10181024.

16. Johnson K, Hauck F. Conjugated estrogens/bazedoxifene (Duavee) for menopausal symptoms. Am Fam Physician. 2016;93(4):307314.

17. Depypere H, Inki P. The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system for endometrial protection during estrogen replacement therapy: a clinical review. Climacteric. 2015;18(4):470482.

18. Sideras K, Loprinzi CL. Nonhormonal management of hot flashes for women on risk reduction therapy. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2010;8(10):11711179.

19. Newton KM, et al. Treatment of vasomotor symptoms of menopause with black cohosh, multibotanicals, soy, hormone therapy, or placebo: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145(12):869879.

20. Lethaby A, et al. Phytoestrogens for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;(12):CD001395.

21. Cohen LS, Joffe H, Guthrie KA, et al. Efficacy of omega-3 for vasomotor symptoms treatment. Menopause. 2014;21(4):347354.

22. Franco OH, Chowdhury R, Troup J, et al. Use of plant-based therapies and menopausal symptoms. JAMA. 2016;315(23):25542563.

23. Kaunitz AM, Manson JE. Management of menopausal symptoms. Obstet Gynecol. 2015;126(4):859876.

24. Elkins GR, Fisher WI, Johnson AK, et al. Clinical hypnosis in the treatment of postmenopausal hot flashes. Menopause. 2013;20(3):291298.

25. Ockene JK, Barad DH, Cochrane BB, et al. Symptom experience after discontinuing use of estrogen plus progestin. JAMA. 2005;294(2):183193.

26. Castracane VD, et al. When is it safe to switch from oral contraceptives to hormonal replacement therapy? Contraception. 1995;52(6):371376.

27. Allen RH, Cwiak CA, Kaunitz AM. Contraception in women over 40 years of age. CMAJ. 2013;185(7):565573.

28. Management of symptomatic vulvovaginal atrophy: 2013 position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2013;20(9):888902.

29. Portman DJ, Gass ML. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause: new terminology for vulvovaginal atrophy from the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health and the North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2014;21(10):10631068.

30. Oge T, Hassa H, Aydin Y, Yalcin OT, Colak E. The relationship between urogenital symptoms and climacteric complaints. Climacteric. 2013;16(6):646652.

31. Bygdeman M, Swahn ML. Replens versus dienoestrol cream in the symptomatic treatment of vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women. Maturitas. 1996;23(3):259263.

32. Bachmann GA, Komi JO. Ospemifene effectively treats vulvovaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2010;17(3):480486.

33. Rahn DD, et al. Vaginal estrogen for genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a systematic review. Obstet Gynecol. 2014;124(6):11471156.

34. Farrell R; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Gynecologic Practice. ACOG committee opinion no. 659. The use of vaginal estrogen in women with a history of estrogen-dependent breast cancer. Obstet Gynecol. 2016;127(3):e93e96.

35. Hill DA, Hill SR. Counseling patients about hormone therapy and alternatives for menopausal symptoms. Am Fam Physician. 2010;82(7):801807.

36. Carroll DG. Nonhormonal therapies for hot flashes in menopause. Am Fam Physician. 2006;73(3):457464.

37. Morelli V, Naquin C. Alternative therapies for traditional disease states: menopause. Am Fam Physician. 2002;66(1):129134.

38. Cutson TM, Meuleman E. Managing menopause. Am Fam Physician. 2000;61(5):13911400.

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Hormone Therapy and Other Treatments for Symptoms of ...

Endocrinology is the study of medicine that relates to the endocrine system, which is the system that controls hormones.Endocrinologists are specially trained physicians who diagnose diseases related to the glands. Because these doctors specialize in these conditions, which can be complex and have hard-to-spot symptoms, an endocrinologist is your best advocate when dealing with hormonal issues.

Most patients begin their journey to the endocrinologist with a trip to their primary care provider or family doctor. This doctor will run a series of tests to see what could be the potential problem the patient is facing. If a problem with the hormones is suspected, the primary care doctor will provide a referral. The endocrinologist's goal is to restore hormonal balance in the body.

The glands in a person's body release hormones. Endocrinologists treat people who suffer from hormonal imbalances, typically from glands in the endocrine system or certain types of cancers. The overall goal of treatment is to restore the normal balance of hormones found in a patient's body. Some of the more common conditions treated by endocrinologists include:

Most of the work performed by an endocrinologist serves as the basis for ongoing research. Some endocrinologists work solely as research physicians. The goal of the research is to come up with new ways to better treat hormonal imbalances, including the development of new drugs.

The first step to become an endocrinologist is earning a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Toward the end of the bachelor's program, a student will then have to apply for and be accepted to medical school. Once accepted, four more years of schooling will have to be completed. Most endocrinologists will complete a residency that lasts anywhere from three to four years. After schooling has been completed, it is then mandated that a state licensure be obtained.

Common courses that will have to be completed to become an endocrinologist include:

It usually takes at least 10 years for a person to complete all of the necessary coursework, schooling and training to become an endocrinologist. From the year 2010 through 2020, there is an expected growth rate of 24 percent for this position. Before a person starts the educational path to becoming this type of physician, it is highly recommended that he or she carefully consider whether or not it is the right path.

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You and Your Endocrinologist | Hormone Health Network

By Sara Gottfried MD

Jill, a patient of mine, felt a true physiological need for caffeine, similar to how a diabetic needs insulin. She couldnt imagine life without coffee. The thought of removing it from her daily routine almost caused her to miss out on one of the most important decisions of her life, which was doing The Hormone Reset Diet. In retrospect, she was glad that she didnt [Read More...]

By Sara Gottfried MD

Lets start with an insulin reset! Remember, the seventy- two- hour reset is a simple way to take care of the chronic symptoms that plague you, especially fat gain. Each cycle takes a mere three days to reverse and reset your bodys hormone receptors. Of course, the Hormone Reset is a twenty-one-day program, so as you focus on each reset and tune into the changes that [Read More...]

By Sara Gottfried MD

The patient I am going to describe is unique in her own issues, but her frustration with conventional medicine could be duplicated in my practice many times over.Louisa is a forty-five-year-old teacher and mother of two. After the birth of her children, she was unable to lose the twenty-five pounds she gained and she was experiencing profound fatigue. After [Read More...]

By Sara Gottfried MD

With the release of my newest book Younger, Ive spent a lot of time recently thinking about aging. As a doctor, I not only look at the physiological external effects of aging, such as the wrinkles, hair loss, and weight changes, but also the internal changes: thinning bones, failing memory, rising inflammation, and declining mood. These are very real challenges that [Read More...]

By Sara Gottfried MD

As a woman, youre on ahormonal roller coaster ridemost of your life. My books The Hormone Cure, The Hormone Reset Diet, and Younger were born of my passion to help women,one hormone at a time. I want to help you do that so you can stay looking and feeling great at every age.Hormones are chemical messages, like text messages sent from an endocrine gland [Read More...]

By Sara Gottfried MD

Many women hesitate to bring up the topic of constipation with their doctor. While its common, few women want to talk about it. But constipation is not an issue you want to keep under wraps. When your bowel movements are regular, chances are that your hormonescortisol, estrogen, and thyroidare working at their best.[1] Below are my natural remedies for [Read More...]

By Sara Gottfried MD

I woke up from anesthesia about two months ago, euphoric from the certainty that I made the right choice to undergo a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy for a faulty breast cancer gene called CHEK2. I snapped a quick selfie, unadorned and very raw, in my hospital bed and wanted to share it with you (see photo).Breasts are an important symbol of so many things: [Read More...]

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Sara Gottfried MD | At Home in Your Body, At Last

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Menopausal hormone therapy does not put women at increased risk for death, according to long-term follow-up from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) randomized trials published in JAMA.

In the WHI, nearly 17,000 postmenopausal women with a uterus were randomized to receive either daily conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate, or placebo. An additional 11,000 women who'd had a hysterectomy were randomized to CEE alone or placebo.

During 18 years' follow-up which included roughly 57 years of treatment and 1112 years of post-intervention follow-up 27% of the women died. Neither combination hormone therapy nor CEE alone was associated with all-cause mortality during the intervention or post-intervention phase. Findings were similar for cardiovascular and cancer mortality.

An editorialist calls the findings "compelling and reassuring." She concludes: "For women with troubling vasomotor symptoms, premature menopause, or early-onset osteoporosis, hormone therapy appears to be both safe and efficacious."

More here:
Menopausal Hormone Therapy Not Associated with Mortality ...

The application cycle is now open.

The Physician-Scientist Career Development Award provides an opportunity for first-, second-, and third-year medical students to gain experience in hematology research under the mentorship of an ASH member and to learn more about the specialty. Awardees must agree to spend more than 80 percent of their time, during the immersive, year-long project, conducting laboratory, translational, or clinical hematology research.

The award provides recipients with $42,000 of funding for a one-year period. This includes $32,000 to support the trainee, $4,000 for research supplies, $4,000 for insurance and educational expenses (including one course), and $2,000 for meeting attendance (including the ASH annual meeting).

Award recipients attend the ASH annual meeting in December following their research experience. During an orientation breakfast, members of the ASH Committee on Training and Trainee Council are available to discuss specific areas of research and to provide recommendations on annual meeting sessions, events, abstracts, and/or posters related to the awardees areas of interest. Awardees are also invited to attend the Career Development Reception on Monday evening.

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SelectTimelineEligibility RequirementsApplication ProcessEvaluation, Selection, and NotificationTerms and Conditions Questions

At the time of application, the applicant must:

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:

Physician-Scientist Career Development Award mentors must be ASH members who will assume the responsibilities of overseeing the award recipients work and progress. Mentors assist in completing the program application, aid the recipient in his/her research, and ensure that the recipient meets all deadlines, including those for award reports.

ASH believes that a multiple mentorship model is important for researchers regardless of their career stage. Therefore, the applicant may include a second mentor in his/her application to provide advice and career development support as well as additional guidance on research questions. If the study section believes additional mentorship may be beneficial to the applicant, members of the study section will be responsible for identifying an appropriate mentor and facilitating contact. The additional mentor will coordinate with the research mentor to the extent that is feasible and desirable.

The Physician-Scientist Career Development Award application, as well as all supporting documents outlined below, must be submitted through the ASH online awards system.

Required Documents

For more information about the required materials, please see the Required Documents PDF.

Applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the Physician-Scientist Career Development Award study section. Applicants will be evaluated on the following criteria:

There is no limit to the number of applications that an institution and its affiliates can submit. However, no more than one award will be granted for any given institution. For this purpose, ASHs definition of medical school encompasses all affiliate institutions (e.g., University of Washington would include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, etc.).

All awards will be activated on July 1 of the award year and will conclude on June 30 of the following year (off-cycle exceptions may be allowed with explanation). Payment will be made in two equal installments (on July 1 and on January 1) to the institution at which the recipient will conduct his/her research. Research award funds are non-transferable.

As a condition of acceptance of the Physician-Scientist Career Development Award, it is required that:

After the award period, recipients are required to submit a final written report (not to exceed four pages). The report will include a summary of research, manuscript submissions during the award period related to the funded research, presentations (locally and nationally) of the funded research during the award period, educational goals met, and a summary of the usage of funds. This report must be emailed to awards@hematology.org. Members of the Oversight Committee will evaluate final reports.

Please note: Failure to submit the final report or an interim progress report will render the applicant ineligible for future ASH funding.

Students making significant progress may submit a written request to reapply for one additional year of funding. Award renewal requests should be submitted by the award deadline. As part of the request, a joint letter must be submitted by the awardee and his/her mentor addressing the following:

No-cost extensions may be requested if needed. To request an extension, the awardees mentor should submit a letter to ASH by emailing the Awards Department at awards@hematology.org.

Any funding not spent by the end of the award term must be returned to the Society when submitting the final report. A check made out to American Society of Hematology must be sent to the address listed below:

Allie SamisAwards Programs SpecialistAmerican Society Hematology2021 L Street NW, Suite 900Washington, DC 20036

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ASH Physician-Scientist Career Development Award

Martin Nwosu MD is the founder and medical director of Doctors Medical Group (DMG) Health and wellness center. Founded in 2010, DMG is the leading Anti-Aging and Functional Medicine specialty practices in Middle Tennessee and surrounding states. The practice reflects his passion to bring an integrative approach to patient care that combines the latest in scientifically validated treatment protocols with the best of conventional medical therapies.

Dr. Nwosu specializes in treating men and women with bio-identical hormone replacement, weight management, a functional approach to treating and preventing chronic disease, and therapies to reverse the symptoms of aging and enhance overall wellness and longevity. Dr. Nwosu is a diplomat in Geriatric medicine, a board-certified internal medicine, a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine and a member of the American Association of Pain Management. His practice emphasizes a thorough competency in the areas of nutrition, fitness, stress reduction, bio-identical hormone replacement and spirituality as a necessary basis for optimal health

By utilizing bio-identical hormone products that restore hormones to optimal levels, strengthen the immune system, and increase energy levels, we are able to help you regain and prolong your quality of life. Our Center has many years of experience in treating hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalances using bioidentical hormones, desiccated thyroid supplementation and Dr. Nwosus 8-Point Treatment Regimen. Given our years of experience, level of expertise, and renowned treatment using bio-identical hormones, the DMG Health & Wellness Center is considered the Hormone center of choice.

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DMG Health - About Us

A hormone doctor, or an endocrinologist, is a physician who treats diseases related to the endocrine system. While primary care physicians (family practitioners and internal medicine physicians) can treat many hormonal disorders without a need for specialized training, a physician may also receive advanced training and specialize in endocrinology. A primary care physician can determine whether he or she can treat a patient or whether the patient should be referred to a specialist treating only disorders of the endocrine system.

The endocrine system is composed of many glands, including the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroids, adrenals, hypothalamus, pineal body, ovaries and testicles. The islet cells of the pancreas are also part of the endocrine system. These glands secrete hormones (chemical messengers) that regulate the bodys metabolism, growth, sexual development and sexual function, by complex feedback systems comparable to a thermostat regulating room temperature.

A hormone doctor can specialize in diseases of one or two glands or treat patients in all areas of endocrinology. A large part of a typical practice could involve treating diabetes and related complications. The physician may also treat thyroid disorders, inborn metabolic disorders, over- and underproduction of hormones, osteoporosis, menopause, cholesterol disorders, hypertension, and short or tall stature. Patients with endocrine cancer are usually referred to an oncologist.

To treat non-reproductive hormonal disorders, a physician generally completes four years of medical or osteopath school and a three-year residency in either family medicine or internal medicine. He or she must pass a board examination to become board certified in family or internal medicine. To become board certified as an endocrine specialist, the physician completes a three-year endocrinology fellowship program and passes a board certification examination.

Reproductive endocrinologists complete four years of residency training in obstetrics and gynecology, rather than training in family medicine or internal medicine. They must complete two or three years of fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility and pass the board certification examination. These specialists treat infertility by using in vitro fertilization, embryo and sperm freezing, assisted embryo hatching, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and other emerging technologies. Reproductive endocrinologists also treat a wide range of reproductive disorders, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, gonadal dysgenesis, galactorrhea, repeat pregnancy loss, ectopic pregnancy and excess hair in women, to name just a few.

A hormone doctor may work in academic medical centers, community hospitals, private group practices or private solo practices. Each situation can involve different work hours, a different patient base, and different lifestyles. Unlike surgical specialties, hormone doctors generally do not take call hours, but they may be called on an emergency basis to see a patient in a hospital when the physician on staff cannot appropriately treat the patient.

Continue reading here:
What Is a Hormone Doctor? | Career Trend

The celebrity doctor phenomenon is not new to Americans. With the release of his first baby-care book in the 1940s, Benjamin Spock became a household name by helping mothers across America feel more confident in their child-rearing skills, long before the age of social media and daytime television. Now, decades later, some of the most prominent players in the game of celebrity doctoring are integrative medicine expert Andrew Weil, cardiothoracic surgeon turned daytime television health guru Mehmet Oz, and televisions go-to-psychologist, Phil McGraw.

All of these men have come under fire in the past, usually due to questions regarding the medical safety and efficacy of their recommendations. But the controversies surrounding them have hardly made a dent in the profitability of their longstanding empires or in the dedication of their fans. Doctors and researchers have been so riled up by the lack of medical evidence for the recommendations handed down by medical television shows that a 2014 study looked specifically at this issue. Not too surprisingly, only 54 percent of the recommendations studied had even one piece of medical evidence to back them up. And less than 1 percent were accompanied by disclosures of potential conflicts of interest.

But now, in the era of social media influencers, celebrity doctoring is no longer exclusively available through the handful of physicians writing books or starring in television shows; it can be found across just about every social media platform. Medical bloggers, doctor instagrammers, and physician twitterati are all reaching out to the American public, and this is a slippery slope to disaster.

What started as a way to improve professional development for physicians and help disseminate credible information for patients has slowly started to devolve into a world of glamour shots, with physicians often exaggerating their credentials at the expense of a gullible social media audience. As a result, social media has created microcosms of celebrity doctoring that have started to expand unchecked and unfettered, usually at the expense of their target audience.

Todays self-promoting physicians have strayed far from the no advertising rule in the original American Medical Association (AMA) Code of Ethics that was in place from 1847 to 1975mainly to prevent the practice of medicine from turning into a practice of solicitation. And while the rule ended to allow hospitals and medical practices to work on public relations efforts for the betterment of healthcare, we have to wonder about the significant potential for harm that stems from often misleading and misrepresentative healthcare information coming from these physician social media accounts.

With 2.5 million Instagram followers, Dr. Mike Varshavski is one of the most popular young physicians on the social media playing field. His account can often be entertaining, albeit misleading: many of his followers likely do not realize that Dr. Mikes experience is very different from the experiences of the average American physician-in-training, based on previous studies looking at resident quality of life. This is fairly harmless, but he also ventures into some dangerous territory, where the line between physician and social media maven begins to blur. Recently, Dr. Mikes Instagram account has been a collection of promotional photo shoots for companies ranging from Charmin to Kenneth Cole to Braun, raising the question of how appropriate is it for a physician to be profiting from Instagram views of posts on the same platform that provides medical commentary? Unfortunately, my requests for comments from Varshavski went unanswered.

Pop-star status for physicians has the potential for harm, simply because of the power wielded by physicians who have such wide access to the American public. Thankfully, in many instances, the Food and Drug Administration has cracked down on misinformation and false claims from such celebrity physicians as Oz and Weil. Ozs claims regarding potentially unsafe arsenic levels in apple juice caused unnecessary hysteria, while Weils claims for his immune boosting supplements came with zero evidence that they could in fact ward off swine flu.

When the practice of clinical medicine begins to be trumped by individual physician brand-building, patient safety and well being can become endangered. And while many of the mega-media physicians often do face scrutiny for their practices, physicians who are merely social media celebrities attract less, even though they might have just as large an audience.

I am not advocating for a witch hunt, but physicians should be held to high clinical standards across every platform in which they practicefrom their clinics to their Instagrams. Unfortunately, clinical standards seem to disappear in the realm of social media, where private practice physicians tout affiliations with academic institutions that they truly have no day-to-day dealings with; pediatric physicians branding themselves as integrative medicine experts for adults; internal medicine physicians branding themselves as skincare experts; and even non-endocrinologists branding themselves as thyroid and adrenal gland experts and pioneering hormone revolutions. The list goes on ad nauseam. Maybe we should have kept some form of the AMAs original no advertising rule around.

Ultimately, there is an almost complete lack of evidence about the long-term effects of social media on the practice of medicine, and right now, there are several accounts that could potentially be deceiving their followers. So what can be done in the meantime? Take everything you see, read, and hear from social media physicians with a grain of salt. Google their credentialsbecause for nearly all physicians with legitimate training, this information is readily available online. Lastly, take some time to scrutinize those credentials to understand if their current area of medical practice is consistent with their training.

It's wise to remember thatnot everything natural is safe, and not all expert advice is sound.

See the original post here:
Beware of Social Media Celebrity Doctors - Scientific American (blog)

Awhile back, I posted on my Facebook page a question, Is it easy to talk about depression in the church? The overwhelming response to the question was, No. In fact, the church was the last place most people felt they could discuss the subject that affects 1 out of 10 people in our country. We need to do better. We need to understand what depression is all about.

Most people are unaware of the many causes of depression. It is a complicated disorder that requires on-going attention and treatment.

Depression can be a result of medical conditions such as hypothyroidism, Cushings, heart disease, sleep apnea, strokes, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, hormonal imbalances, HIV and AIDS, cancer, autoimmune disorders, seizure disorders and chronic pain.

Depression is also associated with substance abuse and withdrawal from long-term use of many drugs such as cocaine, sedatives, narcotics and steroids.

It is more common in people with a family history of mental illness, suggesting genetic involvement and heritable traits. And people with depression experience biological changes in their brains. Brain chemicals go out of balance and hormone changes can create depressive symptoms.

Traumatic life events such as childhood trauma, death, loss, financial pressures and stress that strains a persons ability to cope all play a role as well.

Certain personality traits make a person more susceptible to depression. Medication side-effects can cause depression. For example, a common medication such as Accutane, used to treat acne, has a side effect of depression in some people.

While the causes of depression are complicated, treatment is available and effective. We know the signs: difficulty concentrating, fatigue, feelings of hopelessness, guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, insomnia or excessive sleeping, loss of pleasure, overeating or appetite changes, sad, anxious or empty feelings, and thoughts of suicide.

If you struggle, dont do so in silence. Tell your physician or a mental health professional and get the help you need. Lets all be a part of making the church aware that people in our congregations struggle in this area and need to discuss depression without the stigma attached or some accusation of having little faith. Based on all the possible ways people can experience depression, dont judge, rather love and encourage people to get help.

Read this article:
Depression: The Taboo Topic in Church - Beliefnet

The latest research on patient preferences, quality-of-life, ear health, thyroidectomy, and other topics related to the specialty of otolaryngology will be presented in Chicago Sept 10-13, during the AAO-HNSF 2017 Annual Meeting & OTO Experience.

The 2017 Annual Meeting includes hundreds of research presentations. All abstracts to be presented are now available online as a PDF.

Nineteen studies have been selected to be presented during the Best of Orals session on Sunday, Sept 10, at 10 am, CDT, in room E450A of the McCormick Place Convention Center. These studies, identified by the Annual Meeting Program Committee, comprised of physician members, are recognized for outstanding scientific merit and innovation.

What role does the Internet and social media play in patient perception of physicians? This study looks at the physicians age and online/social media presence in relation to positive ratings and comments from patients.

What drives patients decisions, and what are their preferences of care? Where do factors like cost, timely appointments, experience, and thorough physical exam fall in a patients list of priorities?

This study reviewed 906 patient charts to identify significant factors predicting hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy. After extensive analysis of patient demographics and surgical characteristics, only parathyroid hormone (PTH) was found to have significantly predicted hypocalcemia postoperatively. Further findings suggest that early, standardized supplementation can significantly reduce hypocalcemia-related extended stays and associated costs.

This is the first population-level analysis focusing on quality metrics for parathyroidectomy. The study identified independent, potentially modifiable perioperative factors that may assist in appropriate risk stratification for patients susceptible for readmission and reoperation.

What are the outcomes and complications after rhinoplasty with either autologous rib graft (ARG) or cadaveric rib graft (CRG)? This meta-analysis demonstrates that further research is needed to determine the complication rates and outcomes of ARG versus CRG in rhinoplasty.

Is advanced age an independent risk factor for complications following free flap surgery of the head and neck? Are such patients likely to have a longer hospital stay or be discharged to a skilled nursing facility? This study analyzes the effects of increasing age on outcomes of microvascular reconstructive surgery of the head and neck.

This study assesses the sustainability of clinical benefit with balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube (BDET) using the Eustachian tube balloon catheter (ETBC) in conjunction with medical management at 12 months follow-up in adult patients aged 22 years and older with drug-refractory Eustachian tube dilatory dysfunction (ETDD).

Do ototopical quinolones delay tympanic membrane healing in a drug-specific manner? This study compared the effect of both ciprofloxacin + dexamethasone and ofloxacin on tympanic membrane perforation healing in rats, with reported results.

The study population consisted of 8,281 individuals diagnosed with HNSCC, with 537 (6.4%) surviving to 5 years with the purpose to estimate the prevalence of comorbidity in HNSCC survivors at diagnosis and evaluate changes in prevalence of comorbidity over time.

This review analyzed the effect of adjuvant radiation on survival in pathologic N1 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) and if these findings apply to HPV+ tumors.

Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a fibroinflammatory disorder that causes narrowing of the airway. This study analyzed the effects of macrophage polarization on LTS-derived and normal airway fibroblasts (FBs) in vitro.

This study assessed patient decision making in subglottic stenosis treatment with findings that predict that most patients will prefer voice-sparing, low-risk procedures, consistent with an endoscopic approach, even if they require multiple procedures.

Is there a significant difference in postoperative complications in tympanoplasty with or without concurrent therapeutic mastoidectomy? This study addressed this question in the management of chronic ear disease alone.

Is the human middle ear inhabited by more diverse microbial communities than was previously thought? The aim of this prospective multicenter cohort study was to profile and compare the middle ear microbiomes of human individuals with and without chronic otitis media.

Does gender, age, nasal trauma, prior nasal surgery, allergic rhinitis, or additional surgeries (at the time of procedure) affect postoperative Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) scores? This study analyzed disease specific quality-of-life in patients undergoing septoplasty and functional septorhinoplasty.

Is the modified Swallowing Quality of Life instrument a valid measure of dysphagia-specific QOL in children? Does it demonstrate a significant association with videofluoroscopic swallow studies and moderate-to-strong correlations with multiple domains of generic QOL measure?

Is balloon catheter dilation (BCD) an effective treatment for sinus pressure headaches? In this study, participants were recruited who reported sinus pressure headaches, localizing to either unilateral or bilateral maxillary and/or frontal sinuses, and were blinded and randomized to receive either BCD of the affected sinus ostia or a sham procedure.

This study explored whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin gene are associated with chronic rhinosinusitis and can predict TSLP activity.

This study analyzed cranial nerve XII (CNXII) stimulation 5-year outcomes and assessed effects of stimulation and body mass index (BMI). The study found that cranial nerve stimulation demonstrates significant clinical improvements at one year, but was it maintained at 5years?

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Physician Experts Highlight Research Ahead of Otolaryngology's Annual Meeting - Sleep Review

When an experiment turns into a tradition in Laughlin, it means there was a show worth taking a chance on at one timethen consistently that same show proved itself time after time to be one audiences didnt want to miss. The Memorial Day Comedy Festival at the Riverside Resort was that show. Experiencing comedy served up as a variety show with veteran comedian Gabe Lopez as the shows producer, performer and emcee was like discovering a hidden gem on the entertainment landscapemore along the lines of one of those underground clubs in Vegas, known only to a lucky few. But now the word is out and the Comedy Festival is coming back to the Riverside Resort over the Labor Day weekend this time.

If you are a local, or a regular visitor to Laughlinespecially if your visits are on holiday weekendsyou are aware that the Avi Resort & Casino doesnt simply wait for the Fourth of July to set off a major fireworks display. Nope. Beginning in 1996, and continuing every year since, they have been filling the skies above the Colorado River with the amped-up creations of Zambelli Internationale Fireworks on Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend.

The Colorado Belle is home to a multitude of outdoor festivals that embrace particular themes and for the Labor Day Riverwalk Festival, its a celebration of the end of summer and the cooler temperatures just starting to take hold of the Colorado River regionthink of it as one big neighborhood block party.

Theres a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time, but could Air Supplys long-time success be the result or a chance meeting or was the cosmos working overtime on a little something called destiny? Maybe, but one thing is for surenone of it would have been possible at all without their hard work and tenacity to make it happen.The two Russells, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, happened to be cast in the same Sydney, Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1975, and everything changed after that.

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Pneumonia ventolin inhaler - Albuterol aerosol inhaler - Laughlin Entertainer

As physicians who collectively care for thousands of transgender children, adolescents and adults in Philadelphia, we are deeply troubled by the presidents new policy that bans transgender Americans from joining the military and immediately stops gender-affirming medical care for those in active duty.

The reasoning for such a policy outlined earlier by the president that the military cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail is not supported by scientific evidence or by our experiences with transgender patients.

This reasoning implies that care to support transgender individuals medical transition is necessarily invasive and expensive. In fact, for our patients, the most common interventions include supporting social transition and prescribing hormones, like estrogen or testosterone, which cost less than $50 per month.

Despite higher costs for procedures like gender reassignment surgery, which only a minority of transgender individuals undergo, a report by the RAND corporation and a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine confirm that the overall cost to the military to care for transgender soldiers would be negligible.

Actually, most gender-affirming treatment for transgender individuals will in the end save the health care system money. A report by PolicyLab at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) details how treatments like puberty blockers and mental health support services for transgender children and adolescents can actually prevent the need for some expensive procedures later in life.

These treatments also lead to better health outcomes as adults by shielding patients from the high costs of mental health conditions or substance abuse that might result from untreated gender dysphoria. Further restricting such treatments as the ban proposes could have unintended consequences.

As stated in our recent qualitative studies published in Journal of Adolescent Health and Transgender Health, we found that many young transgender women described lack of access to gender-affirming hormone therapy as a barrier to receiving other essential preventive and cost-saving care, such as mental health support or HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis,a daily pill to prevent HIV infection.

Transgender women are at nearly 50 times the risk for HIV infection compared to the average person.

Beyond this flawed over estimation of health care costs, and underestimation of potential savings, any message of you are not welcome here can cause major harm to the mental and physical well-being of transgender individuals, which make up one percent of the U.S. population. Transgender people have high rates of depression and anxiety, and as many of 40 percent have attempted suicide. These and other physical health problems are not due to their identity, but rather a result of shame, stigma and isolation when ones identity is not affirmed.

When caring for transgender children and adolescents, we talk to them about what they want to be when they grow up. They have the same hopes and dreams as other kids.

Take, for example, one 18-year-old patient who during his first visit to the CHOP Gender and Sexuality Development Clinic disclosed that despite being born assigned female sex at birth, he knew he was a boy since age four. At that young age, he had begun walking around with his shirt off because he felt he was a boy like his dad and couldnt understand why he was being told to put it back on. He also said that he has always wanted to serve our country in the military, just like his father.

But, we cant only be concerned for those who have hopes of serving their country; if enacted, this directive could have particularly grave consequences for the thousands of transgender individuals already serving in the military.

The current U.S. Department of Defense policy states that transgender individuals can serve openly and cannot be discharged solely on the basis of being transgender.

This policy helped a patient, who we are calling Sarah, at Philadelphias Mazzoni Center transition socially and medically while continuing to serve in the military. She was able to start hormones safely under medical supervision, and she had the full support of her fellow service members and her commanding officer. Without this policy, Sarah would have been forced to decide between her duty to her country and hiding her true self.

The policy also allowed a patient, here referred to as Michelle, at the University of Pennsylvania Health System begin to affirm her female gender via hormone therapy while actively serving her country. Michelle was able to seek civilian medical care for gender affirmation in collaboration with her base physicians and supervising officers. Though she enlisted as male, Michelle said that the reception to her transgender identity on the base was overwhelmingly positive, especially among her peers. She considers her status as a member of the U.S. military as integral to her identity as her gender, and has always hoped it would be her lifelong career.

Clearly this policy does not align with the real stories that we, as physicians, confront every day when we talk to patients for whom this is a deeply personal matter. Even if you disregard stories like our patients, there is no evidence to support the idea that allowing transgender individuals to serve in our military would burden us with medical costs, and there could be major negative effects to health and well-being of those currently serving if gender-affirming medical care is restricted. Our patients, and any transgender individuals, who wish to bravely serve their country should continue to be able to do so.

Nadia Dowshen, MD, MSHP is a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist who is co-founder of the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia Gender (CHOP) and Sexuality Development Clinic, a faculty member at PolicyLab at CHOP and assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Allison Myers, MD, MPH is a family medicine physician and clinical assistant professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Pennsylvania where she specializes in the care of LGBTQ patients.

Lin-Fan Wang, MD, MPH is a family medicine physician at Mazzoni Center Family & Community Medicine, which provides comprehensive health care with a primary focus on the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Military ban will risk the health and well-being of transgender Americans - The Hill (blog)

What Makes Ehormones Different?

Each person is biologically unique, therefore, EHormones s Physicians design a comprehensive Hormone Replacement Therapy (or HRT) protocol to match each persons individual needs. At EHormones, individuals undergo comprehensive lab work as well as a physical examination. Additionally, each individual receives a thorough consultation with his or her physician to discuss and interpret the comprehensive lab results. Thereafter, every EHormones managed physician will use your medical history, symptoms, and labs to develop an individualized and comprehensive Hormone Replacement Therapy protocol.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy (or TRT) is typically administered in the form of once weekly Testosterone injections. There may be ancillary medications which allow the testes to continue its natural production of testosterone while on therapy, and an Aromatase Inhibitor, an estrogen suppressing pill typically taken once to several times weekly.

HGH Therapy prescribed by an EHormones managed physician is also administered by injection, typically in the form of Sermorelin and/or Growth Hormone Releasing Peptides.

Female Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy is generally administered in the form of transdermal creams, typically applied daily to the skin.

We offer comprehensive Hormone Programs for nearly all budgets.

Our affiliates have offices in many US cities and we continue to grow. Getting started is as easy as setting you up for lab work.

With 100% confidentiality, our doctors and staff are available by phone for any questions you may have while you are under our care.

Originally posted here:
EHormonesMD Hormone Doctors - Ehormones

When an experiment turns into a tradition in Laughlin, it means there was a show worth taking a chance on at one timethen consistently that same show proved itself time after time to be one audiences didnt want to miss. The Memorial Day Comedy Festival at the Riverside Resort was that show. Experiencing comedy served up as a variety show with veteran comedian Gabe Lopez as the shows producer, performer and emcee was like discovering a hidden gem on the entertainment landscapemore along the lines of one of those underground clubs in Vegas, known only to a lucky few. But now the word is out and the Comedy Festival is coming back to the Riverside Resort over the Labor Day weekend this time.

If you are a local, or a regular visitor to Laughlinespecially if your visits are on holiday weekendsyou are aware that the Avi Resort & Casino doesnt simply wait for the Fourth of July to set off a major fireworks display. Nope. Beginning in 1996, and continuing every year since, they have been filling the skies above the Colorado River with the amped-up creations of Zambelli Internationale Fireworks on Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July and Labor Day weekend.

The Colorado Belle is home to a multitude of outdoor festivals that embrace particular themes and for the Labor Day Riverwalk Festival, its a celebration of the end of summer and the cooler temperatures just starting to take hold of the Colorado River regionthink of it as one big neighborhood block party.

Theres a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time, but could Air Supplys long-time success be the result or a chance meeting or was the cosmos working overtime on a little something called destiny? Maybe, but one thing is for surenone of it would have been possible at all without their hard work and tenacity to make it happen.The two Russells, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, happened to be cast in the same Sydney, Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1975, and everything changed after that.

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Husband on clomid for low sperm count - The doctors who pioneered the ivf procedure in australia - Laughlin Entertainer

Theres a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time, but could Air Supplys long-time success be the result or a chance meeting or was the cosmos working overtime on a little something called destiny? Maybe, but one thing is for surenone of it would have been possible at all without their hard work and tenacity to make it happen.The two Russells, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, happened to be cast in the same Sydney, Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1975, and everything changed after that.

Many an audience member has probably asked himself if a fine looking group of ladies about to take the stage could possibly do justice to one of the most popular rock bands in the world. Its a legitimate question considering its not easy music to play, so a person cant help but wonder if the music will be taken as seriously as the people in the audience do. However, once the guitars are plugged in and the girls dig into those first few chords, the obvious answer to that question is, oh, hell, yes.

Many a cook tries their hand at duplicating foods they love in restaurants and specialty shops, telling themselves, it cant be that difficult. Often times, theyre right. It can be doneand its pretty simple. However, sometimes, its not as easy as it looks.Mexican food for example looks easy because ingredients are simple, sauces are often slow-cooked and meat is marinated, making this comfort food one of Americas favorite. Recipes are often handed down and each time theyre prepared, a spice might be tweaked or flavor added, depending on taste and preference.

Its been 40 years since Elvis Presley died (August 16, 1977) and millions of people still have the date circled in red on their calendars. People still remember and they still mourn. Some internet sites have gone to the extent of estimating what he would look like now, if he were still here in the physical.This time of year Memphis fills up with more people than usual as crowds in large numbers make their pilgrimages to Graceland for visits to his home while tribute shows pop up all around the country to remember the huge icon that he was.

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Brand cialis - Difference generic brand cialis - Laughlin Entertainer

Ten years ago, a young woman came to Dr. Cynthia Li, seeking treatment for fungal overgrowth causing chronic fatigue and digestive disorders. Drawing on years of internal medicine training, Li dismissed the patients self-diagnosis. I thought it was probably some quackery she found on the internet, she recalled. Little did Li realize that she, too, would soon turn to alternative solutions for her own mysterious medical condition, in a development that would change her approach to life and to medicine.

(Photo courtesy of Cynthia Li)

Up until her thirties, Li was living every well-intentioned doctors dream. She worked at the San Francisco General Hospital and taught UCSF medical residents, volunteered with Doctors Without Borders at an HIV/AIDS clinic in rural China, lived in a classic Victorian-style house in San Francisco, exercised regularly and ate a mostly vegetarian, organic low-fat diet.

Not until the spring of 2007 as she was being rushed to the hospital, heart rate over 200, delirious and slipping out of consciousness, did she realize she was spiraling into an inexplicable chronic health crisis.

Li had experienced severe fatigue and dizziness after her first pregnancy, but brushed it off because she felt well enough. This time in 2007, while visiting her family in Beijing, she experienced the perfect storm pollution exposure, stomach flu, unusual foods and a second pregnancy left her bedbound for six months after the emergency room visit and another two years housebound. Having endured 36-hour shifts, Li was no stranger to fatigue, but what she felt now was a completely different animal. I couldnt move my muscles and didnt feel like I had the energy to draw my next breath, she said.

Her primary care doctor, endocrinologist and psychiatrist shuffled her around in a referral merry-go-round. Screening tests including the thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH, were normal. No sign of depression or mental health disorders. She had become one of the invalids those with a medical case that went unrecognized and deemed incurable.

Growing up, Li was not one to deviate much from the norm. Her parents emigrated from Taiwan and held a high regard for authority. She lived her life by the book went to church on Sundays and always turned in her schoolwork on time. In her third year of medical school, she shoved a nasogastric tube down the nose of an unwilling patient because a resident told her to. She attributed repeated instances like this to unknowingly stifling her curiosity and will to question what happens in medicine and why.

It came as a shock, then, when she violated medical norm and became the difficult patient. Desperate but still skeptical of alternative treatments, she began with acupuncture, and then slowly integrated other paradigms like environmental health (how pollutants and chemicals disrupt hormone function) and ancestral health (how an evolutionary perspective helps define diet and lifestyle) into her personal healing routine.

She understood diets had to be personalized there is no one-size-fits-all perfect diet and ditched vegetarianism for more nutrient-dense foods like bone broth soup, learned to rewire her brain and dampen inflammatory stress responses through a technique called neural retraining, took up Qigong practice, and supplemented with things ranging from amino acids like L-glutamine for repairing the gut lining to vitamin B-complex with active folate and B12 for healthy detoxification support.

Li, 46, eventually diagnosed and slowly healed herself from autoimmune thyroiditis, multiple food sensitivities and chronic fatigue syndrome. Her personal health journey profoundly changed the way she now practices medicine. In 2012, she opened her own practice in Berkeley, based on an approach known as functional medicine, which seeks to find root causes and mechanisms for chronic disease instead of ruling out and reducing problems.

Cynthia Li (Photo courtesy of Cynthia Li)

Matthew Sades son was one patient who walked through Lis door last year. When the 8-year-old boys eyebrows and eyelashes began to fall out, their pediatric dermatologist diagnosed him with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes excessive hair loss. Treatment included monthly injections of steroids in his scalp and daily topical creams. It was labor intensive and after three to four months of very minimal progress, Sade decided to take his son to see Li.

Li ordered a battery of stool, urine and blood tests and found that his sons gut flora the microorganisms that resided in his gut was out of balance. She prescribed a cocktail of probiotics and prebiotics to restore the dysbiosis, and vitamins and minerals to support his immune function. In addition, his celiac panel testing for gluten sensitivity turned up positive, and Li provided articles citing an increased incidence of alopecia in celiac patients. Sades son remains gluten-free today.

Sade, CEO of natural food company Kite Hill, admits that conclusions can never be definitive, but says that for his son, the results were significant. Four weeks into the new regimen and boom, it was just like night and day. His hair grew back like it had never happened, Sade said.

Hes a big believer in Lis work and has referred a half a dozen people to her this past year whom he felt, much like his son, were not getting the answers and relief they needed from their conventional Western medicine practitioners.

Not everyone is enamored by Lis less-than-standard method of care. When Sade shared the good news of his son with a physician at UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospital Oakland, she replied that this was a new body of medicine with insufficient research to speak to it.

It was a little bit disappointing because it felt there was this undertone of adversity to the possibility that there are other practices that could be yielding different and potentially better outcomes, Sade said.

Cynthia Li traveling with her husband in South Africa, while still in her prime. Her life would soon change as her health took a turn for the worst. (Photo courtesy of Cynthia Li)

Christopher Gardner, professor of medicine and director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, said what functional medicine practitioners do is plausible and makes sense and may work well for some. (EDITORS NOTE: Peninsula Press is a project of the Stanford Journalism Program and not affiliated with Stanford Medicine.) However, his impression is that they believe in a lot of non-standard diagnostic tests, many of which are related to the gastrointestinal tract and system, which have limited scientific evidence to either support or refute their claims.

More outspoken critics include Wallace Sampson, the late oncologist and emeritus professor of clinical medicine at Stanford University, who wrote that functional medicine is nothing more than a treatment of phantom diseases and a non-scientific, ineffective, jingoistic, cultic approach to dysfunctional somatoform, non-disease conditions.

Li is undeterred by the naysayers. She said that functional medicine does not replace her medical training but instead enhances it. In addition, in randomized controlled trials, people become statistics. The idea that this gold standard of research always produces the best evidence-based medicine is limiting, she claims. Standard practice has been proven ineffective time and time again and off-label uses of drugs are often prescribed. Conversely, functional medicine is not without the more out there practitioners. Integrative medicine people can be equally dogmatic, Li said, chuckling.

While sitting at a bustling Berkeley brunch spot picking at her fruit salad, Li articulated a keen awareness and respect for the complexity of the human body, while remaining pragmatic and skeptical throughout the conversation. Of course, she would research each of her patients cases thoroughly, scouring PubMed articles and natural supplement databases, but her humility stood out the most. The most valuable thing that I learned in my health journey was to come to the place of not knowing, she said.

The rest is here:
Breaking the mold: A doctor's illness journey changes her practice - Peninsula Press