Medical Articles
Understanding Adrenal Hormones The adrenals make 2 important hormones, cortisol (a glucocorticoid) and aldosterone (a mineralocorticoid). Patients with adrenal insufficiency from an adrenal cause such as an adrenalectomy or Addison disease require replacement of both hormones, Although the natural mineralocorticoid is aldosterone, we give fludrocortisone or Florinef as a replacement. The glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid axis […]
Treatment Options for Hypothyroidism Dr. Friedman uses various different treatments for hypothyroidism. A traditional treatment is to give a preparation of levothyroxine, such as Synthroid, Levoxyl, or Unithroid. This can be given once a day because the T4 has a long half-life, which means it stays in your body for a long time. However, Dr. […]
Thyroid cancer is quite common but very few people die from it or have a shortened lifespan because of it. In other words, don’t worry. Many people have a thyroid nodule found in their neck area. Sometimes you the patient notices a lump, sometimes the doctor finds it, and sometimes it shows up on other […]
Controversy Surrounding Reverse T3 (rT3) Measurement Reverse T3 (rT3): Should it be measured in patients with hypothyroidism. There is a lot of controversy about whether reverse T3 (rT3) should be measured to assess hypothyroidism. The normal thyroid gland secretes T4 (an inactive precursor), T3 (the active hormone), and reverse T3, a biologically inactive form of […]
Vitamin D is an important vitamin that not only regulates calcium, but also has many other beneficial actions. Not many endocrinologists realize this, but several articles published over 20 years ago showed that patients with hypothyroidism have low levels of
Introduction to Hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism is a relatively common disorder. It affects more women then men, but I happen to be one of the men who does have it. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, gradual weight gain, constipation, muscle aches, joint pain, feeling cold, menstrual irregularities, weakness, hair loss, dry, cold skin and slow reaction time. […]
Understanding Thyroid Hormones: T4 and T3 The thyroid makes two hormones, T4 which has a long half life meaning it can be given once a day. T4 gets converted to T3 which is the active form of the hormone and has a short-half life, meaning it has to be given frequently. Most patient with hypothyroidism […]
Dr. Friedman is one of the world's experts on treating Graves' disease. Graves' disease is a type of hyperthyroidism that is autoimmune...
Hypothyroidism is usually diagnosed with an elevated TSH and often with a low free T4. The symptoms of hypothyroidism include ...
Importance of Correctly Diagnosing Hypothyroidism It is very important to correctly diagnose hypothyroidism. If a patient truly has hypothyroidism, they need to go on thyroid medicine; otherwise, their condition will worsen. On the other hand, if they do not have hypothyroidism and are treated with thyroid medicine, their own thyroid will shut down and it will be very hard […]
