Advanced Institute for Diabetes & Endocrinology
Last week I sat down with Dr. Diana Girnita, MD, PhD, FACR, a rheumatologist and host of the podcast Thriving with Arthritis and Autoimmune Diseases. Her patients have lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren’s. Mine have Hashimoto’s, diabetes, and the hormone changes of midlife. The same women walk through both of our doors, and they arrive
My doctor said all my labs look normal and to keep her updated if I start feeling worse. Should I see a new doctor? I get a version of this every week. The answer has two halves. The labs are almost certainly right. And the symptoms are almost certainly real. Both of those things can
Normal TSH but Still Exhausted? When Subclinical Hypothyroidism Needs Treatment Read More »
I had my whole thyroid removed for thyroid cancer when I was 21, in 2002. So when a patient asks me what thyroidectomy recovery is like, I can tell them what it was like for me, and then I can tell them that it is considerably better now. Key takeaways What is thyroidectomy recovery like
Thyroidectomy Recovery: What It Is Actually Like Now Read More »
“In 2011 I had three or four nodules on my thyroid. They biopsied the biggest one and found abnormal cells. The doctor said it was not cancer, but still recommended removing the whole thyroid. I was scared and had a young child at home, so I had the surgery. I have always wondered if I
Atypia on a Thyroid Biopsy: What It Means, and Whether You Needed Surgery Read More »
Someone hands you an ultrasound report, says see you in a year, and leaves the room. And you sit there thinking, what am I supposed to do with this? I know how nerve wracking that is. So here is what the report, and the TI-RADS score on it, is telling you, in the order that
TI-RADS Score Explained: What Your Thyroid Nodule Report Actually Says Read More »
“I have been reading a lot about diabetes and I am so confused and overwhelmed.” Yes. When you are new to diabetes it is a verbal onslaught. We spend about an hour with a new diabetes consultation, and even with that much time people leave a little glazed over, because there is so much to
Newly Diagnosed Diabetes: What Should Happen Next? Read More »
The thyroid is very sensitive to subtle assaults. That one sentence explains most of what follows, and it is why the first thing I ask anyone with a thyroid nodule is not about the nodule. It is about where they have lived and what they have done for work, because radiation exposure is the most
Radiation Exposure and Thyroid Cancer: Who Actually Needs Screening Read More »
I am trying to understand why I cannot be seen by an endocrinologist. That was the first line of a message sent to one of our channels, from a woman who had five thyroid nodules found in October, TI-RADS two to four, and a history of stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. The rest of the
Do You Need a Referral to an Endocrinologist? Read More »
Someone wrote on one of our channels that losing weight and getting healthier are not the same thing. They are right, and I want to take that seriously, because it leads straight to the most useful question I get asked about GLP-1 therapy: how would you know, day to day, if you were losing muscle,
Three Signs You Are Losing Muscle on a GLP-1, Without a Body Composition Analysis Read More »
I want to talk about judgment. Americans have a strange relationship with obesity. We keep thinking of it as a personal weakness when the evidence says far more is involved. And nowhere does that show up faster than in what people say when someone’s face starts to change on a GLP-1, a change the internet
Ozempic Face: What It Is, and the Patient Who Was Told She Looked Too Fit Read More »