Hello all! This week was a truly amazing week on site, and the first week we gave the surveys!. We saw upwards of 15 patients with my time on site, all a variety of cases, ranging from diabetes, to Kallmann’s Syndrome. We also had some establishment of care visits, which is the term for appointments with first-time patients of Dr. Barker. Busy week!
The first type of common visit we saw was diabetes management. Fasting glucose level (where you do not eat for 8 hours before having blood drawn), often called your “sugars”, is another factor in health influenced by both lifestyle and genetics. This should be under 100. 101-129 is pre-diabetic, and above 130 is diabetic.
We explained this information to patients, and other warning signs of diabetes, such as high A1C levels or imbalanced levels of insulin. (A1C is another blood test done, with healthy values being under 5.7, prediabetic levels ranging 5.7 to 6.4, and diabetic levels being about 6.5). In general, diabetes patients require more frequent visits to the doctor to manage their condition, so reading their survey responses should be interesting!
A fascinating case of female Kallmann’s Syndrome was something new I was introduced to this week. Kallmann’s Syndrome is type of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. In layman’s terms, this is a low level of activity of the gonads (sex organs), creating a lack of sex hormones, specifically estrogen and progesterone. It prevents the completion of puberty, requiring hormone supplements that in females can be provided by the oral contraceptive pill. This condition also brings another interesting symptom: anosmia, or the lack of smell. Hearing can be damaged as well.
The connection between these and the lack of hormones is unclear, but it is theorized that the genes responsible for stimulating the hypothalamus (which would in turn stimulate the gonads) are related to those responsible for some sensation.
However, the best part of my week was not related to either of these. It was confirming that a young couple was pregnant with their first child. Seeing how happy they were when they found out more than made my day. This experience has actually stirred interest for me in the OB field, as these happy couples and little newborns would be amazing to work with.
All in all, it was a great week, full of fantastic experiences. I started collecting the surveys, and have only skimmed through them. Thorough analysis will begin once I have more of them completed. Until next time, thanks for reading!
