Medical Articles
Birth control pills were discovered in the 1960s as a means to contraception with profound implications for society, including separation for women between conception and sexuality. While this most likely had beneficial effects for our society, people have come to see birth control pills as something completely benign, almost like taking a vitamin. Birth control […]
Dr. Friedman usually recommends surgical treatment for Cushing’s syndrome and, specifically, pituitary surgery for those with pituitary Cushing’s disease. However, many patients are not good surgical candidates for their Cushing’s disease. This can occur if they do not have a tumor clearly seen on their pituitary or if their tests are equivocal for Cushing’s. There are several medical […]
Often patient with hypopituitarism need growth hormone, and many of them are younger females who do get pregnant. Dr. Friedman has explored the issue about whether growth hormone is safe and needed in pregnancy for those who were already on growth hormone before they became pregnant. The literature supports that growth hormone can be given […]
Patients frequently ask me if takin a certain drug will affect cortisol levels, either in regarding to cortisol testing or if they want to raise or lower their cortisol. If a patient is undergoing testing for Cushing’s Dr. Friedman recommends discontinuing the drug for a week before testing, especially drugs in bold. Although it may […]
GH deficiency in adults occurs because of some type of injury to the pituitary gland. GH is the first hormone to be affected if the pituitary gland is injured. Injury usually can occur because of the presence of a pituitary tumor, or pituitary surgery or pituitary irradiation. It can also be caused by trauma to […]
Growth hormone (GH) is a protein hormone made by the pituitary, a gland located at the base of the skull.
The answer is no for 2 reasons. First of all, I did a study when I was at the NIH about 25 years ago showing that people with Cushing’s syndrome and those tested for Cushing’s syndrome and not having it,
There are several new thyroid hormone preparations that can be used to treat patients with hypothyroidism. These include a new preparation of levothyroxine called Tirosint that is the only thyroid preparation in a gel capsule. There is also new preparation of desiccated thyroid (from porcine thyroid) called WP thyroid, that is similar to Nature-Throid. Many […]
Combination Therapy Options The thyroid gland makes 2 hormones, T4 and T3. T3 is the active hormone, and the body converts T4 to T3 by deiodinases. Most patients with hypothyroidism are treated with T4, and their doctors assume that it gets converted to T3 physiologically. For many patients this happens, and many patients do well […]
Preauthorizations are becoming the bane of doctors’ existence. Preauthorizations are a ploy by insurance companies to not have to pay for medicines. They often require extensive paperwork to be done, multiple phone calls and faxes, and take up a huge amount of time for doctors’ offices. They do not generate any revenue for the doctor, […]
