A Comprehensive Introduction About Endocrinologists

Who is an Endocrinologist?

In India, an Endocrinologist is a doctor who has completed his MBBS, following which he would have completed his MD in internal medicine or pediatrics. Then he gets training for 3 years in endocrinology and is awarded a DM endocrinology degree.

The MCI recognizes a DM endocrinology degree as the prime qualification required to practice in India. MCI also recognizes the CCST degree from the United Kingdom. It also recognizes a three-year fellowship and certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine as a requisite degree to practice endocrinology in India. However, many senior practicing physicians with an MD in internal medicine or Pediatrics may be qualified and competent to practice by virtue of their experience and research experience.

Endocrinologists are uniquely qualified to treat conditions such as Diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, pubertal disorders, growth disorders, PCOS, Menopausal disturbance, Osteoporosis, and fragility fractures. One can also consult the best diabetes doctor in Hyderabad, available at Magna Centre.

What Does an Endocrinologist Do?

Before understanding what an endocrinologist does, it is important to understand what an Endocrinologist does not do. An endocrinologist does not do surgery. They cannot do procedures such as abscess drainage removal of various tumors from the body. For these, there is a separate specialty called endocrine surgery, and endocrine surgeons take care of the surgical aspects of endocrinology.

Endocrinologists are primarily physicians who treat patients with medication rather than do surgery. The endocrine system is complex, and the disorders which affect the endocrine system are chronic and slowly progressive at times, requiring special training for proper evaluation for optimal management. A qualified entropylist will typically take a history exam and order lab tests that are relevant to your history and examination to decide on any problems that may be affecting your hormonal and metabolic health.

Who is a Hormone Specialist?

There is no term called hormone specialist in modern evidence-based medicine. In popular parlance and social media, many people refer to themselves as hormone specialists. Contrary to popular narrative hormonal disorders are not very common and are very rare in nature. Many conditions like overweight, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure are due to a combination of genetic variations and environmental factors, possibly due to avoidable or Unavoidable circumstances. For example, a patient with a very strong family history of diabetes makes it diabetes earlier than usual if you adopt a very unhealthy Lifestyle like having multiple servings of cola or being completely sedentary. A patient with a family history of hypertension may develop hypertension very early on or develop more severe hypertension if they are under a lot of emotional stress or consume a lot of salt in their diet.

The so-called hormone specialist on social media and the internet claims that common abnormalities are due to hormonal disturbance and try to fix the hormonal disturbance. For instance, it is not uncommon to see extensive literature attributing variations in fat distribution in the body to either reduction in test-oste-rone or excess estrogen. If you find a lot of informative information on the Internet about hormonal disorders that are supposed to “cause” common conditions, please go through the blog and see whether the person is trying to divert you to a product-based website where they are trying to sell a product. In most instances, endocrine treatments will never help improve common conditions such as overweight, obesity, and high blood pressure.

For all practicing doctors, a hormone specialist is usually an Endocrinologist, and they refer to one if they need to clarify doubts regarding a patient to see whether they may be suffering from a -usually rare- hormonal disorder. For example, a cardiologist may ask an opinion from my endocrinologist to see whether their patient has high blood pressure due to a hormonal abnormality. These hormonal abnormalities account for a very small proportion of patients with uncontrolled blood pressure, but still, an assessment from an endocrinologist may help them identify the problem.

What Do You Expect During Your First Visit with an Endocrinologist?

Your endocrinologist will typically try to analyze how long you have had your complaints. Certain complaints you may feel that you might have had for a short duration may have been present for a long time. When a condition is present for a long time, it is likely to be related to a hormonal disorder; for instance, if you are overweight or obese, you might have had difficulties with controlling your weight from an early age, say from your early teenage and or might of developed it in the first decade of your work life. The endocrinologist typically tries to find out the time course of events of development of your condition; typically, they would ask you if you have diabetes, when you first got the disease and how long you had it, and what treatments you have taken for it.

Analyzing the long-run course of various chronic disorders is important to assess their security and extent and what kind of treatment will suit your particular needs rather than focusing on only the aspects of the disease which occur just before your first visit. Visiting an endocrinologist will be different from seeing a general physician. An endocrinologist will also ask for very pointed and relevant investigations which help to confirm or refute a particular suspicion. For example, if you have severe hypertension, are overweight or obese city and have certain features which suggest that you may have Cushing’s syndrome, they may order a test to rule out cortisol excess.

An endocrinologist will also examine you using a focused examination to assess whether you have certain endocrine problems. For example, they may examine your neck to see whether there is a thyroid swelling because it may not be easy for them to see that there is a thyroid swelling if it is a small one. If you have a complaint of neck swelling type, endocrinologists should usually feel your Neck area to identify what type of swelling it is. They may also take your height, weight and record your body mass index or BMI. Some would check your waist circumference to assess whether you have abdominal obesity and also record its severity. Some may also examine your neck circumference if you suspect you may have an Obstructive sleep apnoea. Suppose you have symptoms of delayed puberty or poor, secondary sexual characteristics. In that case, your endocrinologist may examine your private parts to examine whether there is sexual maturation appropriate for your age in some conditions. The endocrinologist will measure your arm span and height to see whether there is a disparity between limb length and height.

Suppose you are suffering from poor or delayed secondary sexual characteristics like a poor beard or lack of breaking of voice, despite reaching adulthood. In that case, an endocrinologist may have to examine your testicular volume and compare it with a Prader’s orchidometer. They may also examine the length of the penis after stretching it. This is called the stretched penis length.

For Which Symptoms Should I Go to an Endocrinologist?

This is a challenging question to answer. In an ideal situation, you should visit your family doctor or general physician, who will evaluate your condition and will refer you to a superspecialist who is an endocrinologist if they suspect you have an endocrine problem. But in India, especially in cities, patients visit the doctor or decide to see the doctor independently. It includes-

• If you have certain diagnosed conditions like type two diabetes, hypothyroidism, PCOS, or uncontrolled hypertension. These are the conditions for which an endocrinologist is a primary doctor from a symptomatic point of view. 
• If you experience sudden weight loss or Veedu gain, if you experience extreme sweating or dry skin, if you experience frequent infections, if you experience severe fatigue, ability or tiredness, unable to do your day-to-day tasks, these are some symptoms for which you can visit an endocrinologist. 
• If you have a rounding of the face and proximal muscle weakness, especially again, you should visit an endocrinologist.
• If your child has to delete puberty or Emo, delete the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics which are suggestive of maturation days again, and endocrinologist is the best person to assess this if early puberty is also again a condition for which you must visit an endocrinologist.
• Both adult men and women with sexual dysfunction can approach an endocrinologist. 
• Postmenopausal women who have severe hot flashes or sweating approaching an endocrinologist. 

Though this list is not exhaustive, there are some pointers from which you can choose to see whether you have the symptoms and if you need to consult an endocrinologist.

Should I Consult an Endocrinologist for Diabetes?

So there is a popular misconception that endocrinologists see only hormonal disorders like delete liberty or early puberty and are not equipped to manage diabetes. Endocrinologists are the best diabetologists to treat diabetes.

In India and worldwide, the most qualified person to manage your diabetes is an endocrinologist. After three years of training, endocrinologists are trained formally to manage diabetes which is a complex condition, especially if you have type one diabetes or insulin-requiring diabetes. It is advised that you visit an endocrinologist. He will not only look at your diabetes numbers, but they will also look at your global risk in terms of your cardiovascular risk. Your risk of other mobile events like fractures, etc., which other physicians do not do.

Should I Visit an Endocrinologist for Thyroid Problems?

If you have hypothyroidism, you can more or less self-manage your condition by measuring your thyroid function test periodically and seeing whether the thyroid function test is in range. You probably don’t need to visit your endocrinologist if your thyroid functions are in range. You need to meet them only when your results are out of range; a family doctor home visiting for routine ailment can also manage Hypothyroid conditions. 

However, if you suffer from hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid, you must consult an endocrinologist. Suppose you are having hypothyroidism and planning a pregnancy or pregnant. In that case, it is better to discuss with an endocrinologist because the dose adjustments have to be done according to your need, and it can be pretty complex for inexperienced persons to handle. 

If you have a thyroid, not dual, then again, a consultation with an endocrinologist is a must for a thyroid. Nodule is a swelling in the thyroid gland that is felt as a lump. If you have a goiter or a completely enlarged thyroid gland, then again, an endocrinologist is the best person to meet; they will assess your thyroid gland structure by ordering an ultrasound and an ultrasound-guided FNAC and then suggest an appropriate course of action based on the need. One can book a consultation with the expert thyroid doctor in Hyderabad, at Magna Centre.

Should an Endocrinologist Treat PCOS?

Women with PCOS often have the confusion whether they need to meet a Gynaecologist, Dermatologist, or an Endocrinologist. All three doctors differentiate three aspects of PCOS;

• A gynecologist will focus on your ability to conceive and your menstrual cycle city. 
• A dermatologist will focus on skin symptoms. 
• The endocrinologist will focus on weight loss and improving the metabolic condition.

All three aspects must be dealt with simultaneously. PCOS is a polygenic condition that is frustrating to treat, and symptoms may not improve despite weight reduction or exercise. Oral contraceptives, anti-androgens, diet, and exercise must often be used. 

An endocrinologist can help you understand the time course of events, how easy it is for you to conceive, or how difficult it will be for you to conceive in the future. Consulting with an endocrinologist will help you understand the prognosis of your condition much better than other doctors. One can get effective PCOS treatment in Hyderabad at Magna Centre. 

Can an Endocrinologist Treat Weak Bones and Osteoporosis?

An endocrinologist is the best doctor to treat your weak bones or Osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a polygenic condition due to weakness of bones and fractures. Occur easily after a trivial fall. Endocrinologists often take the most evidence-based approach to treat osteoporosis. 

For example, you may have a low bone mass if you are 35 or 40 years old. Still, you may not be at high risk of fractures because of your young age, so very often, other physicians will treat such patients with some drugs used to treat osteoporosis. 

An endocrinologist to look at the global risk of fractures using the fraction score and offer you scientific treatment. Endocrinologists often use more sophisticated treatments which are more practical such as giving a simple subcutaneous injection every six months once, or teriparatide, which is required as it is a daily injection for a year and a half. Endocrinologists are more well-versed in these therapies than orthopedic surgeons. Orthopedic surgeons or ID suited to treat spine fractures or Hip fractures after fractures have occurred.

Endocrinologists at Magna Code are professionals in treating all endocrine-related diseases. If you're looking for a certified endocrinologist in Hyderabad to help you with your condition, Magna Code is an ideal place to go.