Can anyone recommend a good endocrinologist?

R

RedGate

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First Post....

Been reading the forums for a while, thought I would sign up as the board seems to be a good source of general info.

Anyways, back on topic.

I am 29, and have always been in pretty good health. Lately I have been very low on energy, trouble sleeping and maintaining focus, poor exercise recovery... Just feeling 'not quite right' most of the time.

So I have been to my GP twice in the last year. We have done lots of bloodwork and checkups. Covered everything and everything comes back as normal. When i bring up hormones, my GP basically refuses to test for any of these as 'im too young to be having problems with it' and my symptoms don't match.

From my own research hormones seem to have a massive impact on the body, and sort of fit with what Ive been experiencing. This week has been particularly hard and I felt completely burnt out by the end. So I have decided to just persue this issue myself. I realise that most specialists require some sort of referral from a GP, but I am just planning to go see one myself without a referral and plead my case.

So, can anyone recommend a good endocrinologist in the JHB area?

Ta....
 
I have Hoshimoto's disease. I experienced the same symptions as yourself. I would recommend going to see an endocrinologist. I was diagnosed 10 years ago at the age of 25. It could also be your serotonin (spelling) levels.
 
alf101 said:
Depression?

Have a break-up?
Lonesome?
Click to expand...

No and no, my GP had the same 'diagnosis'. Wanted to push me onto Anti depressants. They hear the words low energy and drive and they think its depression. Actually my life is actually going pretty well lately. I am only 'down' about my health :/
 
As a surgeon, i would rather recommend that you get a second opinion from a GP rather than going to an endocrinologist. If you inisist on seeing one, and there's not a hell of a lot of them around, get an appointment with Prof. Tessa vd Merwe - just google for her phone number. You'll probably wait for an appointment. There are about a zillion things that can be causing how you feel. Also, you don't need a GP referral to see a specialist, as long as you're willing to pay our exorbitant fees we'll see you.
 
RedGate said:
First Post....

Been reading the forums for a while, thought I would sign up as the board seems to be a good source of general info.

Anyways, back on topic.

I am 29, and have always been in pretty good health. Lately I have been very low on energy, trouble sleeping and maintaining focus, poor exercise recovery... Just feeling 'not quite right' most of the time.

So I have been to my GP twice in the last year. We have done lots of bloodwork and checkups. Covered everything and everything comes back as normal. When i bring up hormones, my GP basically refuses to test for any of these as 'im too young to be having problems with it' and my symptoms don't match.

From my own research hormones seem to have a massive impact on the body, and sort of fit with what Ive been experiencing. This week has been particularly hard and I felt completely burnt out by the end. So I have decided to just persue this issue myself. I realise that most specialists require some sort of referral from a GP, but I am just planning to go see one myself without a referral and plead my case.

So, can anyone recommend a good endocrinologist in the JHB area?

Ta....
Click to expand...

Hmmm, You described symptoms I've been experiencing lately... It's just you need a good nights rest.

I stuffed up my body clock recently while study intensely, was on;y getting 5 hours sleep a night, and from that point on, i was buggered. I was tired as hell, I couldn't think properly, and worse yet, I was over tired, so I couldn't sleep properly. Anyway, Just pull a late late night, maybe even have a little beer to make you hit the sack and sleep properly. You've basically gotta push your body to a point where you barely can't stay awake, and this should help reset yourself :).
 
scotty777 said:
Hmmm, You described symptoms I've been experiencing lately... It's just you need a good nights rest.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, but this has been chronic for months. A nights good rest doesn't do anything for me. Im past that point.

keru said:
I would recommend The Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology. You can get their details from http://www.cdecentr.co.za/
Click to expand...

Thanks. Seems they are focused mostly on Diabetes though?
 
RedGate said:
First Post....

Been reading the forums for a while, thought I would sign up as the board seems to be a good source of general info.

Anyways, back on topic.

I am 29, and have always been in pretty good health. Lately I have been very low on energy, trouble sleeping and maintaining focus, poor exercise recovery... Just feeling 'not quite right' most of the time.

So I have been to my GP twice in the last year. We have done lots of bloodwork and checkups. Covered everything and everything comes back as normal. When i bring up hormones, my GP basically refuses to test for any of these as 'im too young to be having problems with it' and my symptoms don't match.

From my own research hormones seem to have a massive impact on the body, and sort of fit with what Ive been experiencing. This week has been particularly hard and I felt completely burnt out by the end. So I have decided to just persue this issue myself. I realise that most specialists require some sort of referral from a GP, but I am just planning to go see one myself without a referral and plead my case.

So, can anyone recommend a good endocrinologist in the JHB area?

Ta....
Click to expand...
I had similar symptoms, my doc put me on omega 3/6 supplements and that sorted me out.
 
i think we have all felt like this at some point.....I had a decent spell about a year ago which lasted a few months....and i fixed it with starting exercise/sport again, cellfood, and a job change. Whilst i am not saying ur condition is not medical, it could simply be that ur in a rut...

Maybe look at some lifestyle changes beyond diet?
 
Maybe it could be worms in your body. Go to a pharmacy and ask for Vermox pill (R30), do it every six months, any type of worms to tapeworms etc from sushi
, uncooked meat, contaminated food are killed. even if its not the cause, doing this is still a gud idea :)
 
Hi there,

I need to see and endo. I wanted to know if anyone has been to one before and can recommend one? It's R1000 per session, plus R600 per follow up session, plus extra for any tests. Sigh.

Has anyone had thyroid tests, hormonal tests and/or adrenal fatigue tests? Also any figures about the costs?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
 
theBrusatori said:
Hi there,

I need to see and endo. I wanted to know if anyone has been to one before and can recommend one? It's R1000 per session, plus R600 per follow up session, plus extra for any tests. Sigh.

Has anyone had thyroid tests, hormonal tests and/or adrenal fatigue tests? Also any figures about the costs?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...

See no one replied... would also love to know.
 
theBrusatori said:
Hi there,

I need to see and endo. I wanted to know if anyone has been to one before and can recommend one? It's R1000 per session, plus R600 per follow up session, plus extra for any tests. Sigh.

Has anyone had thyroid tests, hormonal tests and/or adrenal fatigue tests? Also any figures about the costs?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...

I saw an endocrinologist last year - Dr Zaheer Bayat based at the Sandton Mediclinic.

I can't remember how much he charged for the first appointment, but I am pretty sure it was over R1500. Had a full range of bloods drawn, which cost close to R10k. I think R8600 for the blood tests if I remember correctly.

Follow up appointment to discuss the results was something like R1000. I can't remember. Not as expensive as the first session but more than a GP.

I went to him because I was/am having heart palpitations. So, with heart palpitations, common culprits are things like your thyroid, electrolyte levels, etc etc. He tested all of that. He asked about my family history, he asked about everything. He took basically every type of blood test that could be related to heart palpitations.

Everything came back fine - no issues. I am still having heart palpitations, but I think I am now a little bit closer to finding the cause.

In any case, while he wasn't able to find a cause, what I liked about him was that he took me seriously. The next step was to see a cardiologist to see if there was any fault with my heart itself, and of course there wasn't. The cardiologist however was very dismissive - you know when you get treated like you are faking it and it is all in your head. Nothing more to discuss, sorry for you, get out of my office. I don't want to name the cardiologist. My point is, Dr Bayat was expensive but he took me seriously. He even asked me to email him if the cardiologist was able to identify the cause. He was geniunely curious as to what was going on.

For those curious, I think the cause of my heart palpitations is either BPA or too much fasting. BPA is a plastic commonly used to line the inside of tins. I have been eating tinned mackerel every day for well over a year now. I have a hunch that the BPA I am ingesting is the cause of my palpitations, since they stop when I go on holiday. The other possibility is fasting, because fasting is a stress on the body. I am not eating canned food anymore as of today, and I will not fast for the next month, to see what happens.
 
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. My daughter has growth issues and we see Dr David Segal at Donald Gordan. He is a pediatric endo though, not for adults. Also fairly expensive but he has done good work keeping my daughter growing. Its just hectically expensive to treat growth issues and the medical aids are iffy about paying for it as to them its not life threatening being a midget.
 
I have lots of experience with Endocrinologists, I would recommend Dr S Goldburgh at linksfield, or at the CDE Dr Stan Landou.
 
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