An Endocrinology Expert: Dr. Neelima Singh Answers Your Common Questions on Diabetes, Thyroid, Osteoporosis, and More

“I decided to go into endocrinology because of a very strong family history of diabetes, including me, my father, all my uncles, and aunts and my sisters.” Today’s woman dreamer, Dr. Neelima Singh is a a Boston-based endocrinologist. With over 10 years of experience, she was recognized as one of the Top Women in Medicine 2020 and Top Doctors in the North Shore. For Women’s Health Wednesday, she shares her tips and expertise for all women on all things endocrinology: thyroid, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and more.

1.Tell Us Your Story.  Why inspired you to become a doctor? 

I am an endocrinologist and I work for Onduo PC, a Verily company.  It is a digital healthcare organization with a science-backed, data-driven virtual care model designed to help people with chronic conditions live their best life. I also work with NSPG, Mass General Brigham. I have been in the North Shore area in Massachusetts since I finished my Endocrine, diabetes & metabolism fellowship in 2009. 

I am from a very small town in India, called Gaya, and I always wanted to be an Engineer. However, I am here because of my father, who thought I could do a whole lot of good if I were to become a Doctor.  I decided to go into endocrinology because of a very strong family history of diabetes, including me, my father, all my uncles, and aunts and my sisters.  Southeast Asians and Indians are at high risk for type 2 diabetes due to the genes and diet.

I have also always had a fascination with women’s health issues, hormonal disorders, pregnancy, and complications.

2.As an endocrinologist, what are some common hormonal disorders you see in women at your practice? What are some other common diseases you see in women as well? 

Other than diabetes, which is very common in Southeast Asia, I usually see and treat Thyroid disorders, PCOS (which is a disease of younger women with irregular menstrual cycles, acne, hirsutism, weight gain and insulin resistance), Osteoporosis, and Obesity. Obesity is another common problem that we see everyday, and of course, there are times when we do want to rule out hormonal disorders like Thyroid disease, PCOS, and the very rare Cushing's disease but, for the most part, it comes back to the diet and exercise mismatch. 

3. Thyroid disease is a very common disease that you mentioned.  What should everyone know about thyroid disease? What are some symptoms and common questions your patients ask? 

Thyroid disease is also a very common disease, which can cause an array of symptoms from constipation, weight gain, cold intolerance, irregular menstrual cycle and fatigue when someone is dealing with an underactive thyroid. It can cause increased frequency of bowel movements, irregular menstrual cycle, weight loss, heat intolerance, fatigue with an overactive thyroid. The symptoms, for the most part, are real. But at the same time, fatigue and weight gain can also happen from day to day life, it does not necessarily have to be due to your thyroid. If the blood tests do not show it, it is not your thyroid. No matter what books you have read or which website you have heard it from, it is NOT YOUR THYROID. I often get asked to check a reverse T3, because a patient's nutritionist asked them to get it checked.  Unless we see a patient in a hospital and in a certain setting, this test does not add any value to your care. 

4. Osteoporosis is also a common disease that affects many women, as they get older. What should everyone know about osteoporosis, specifically for women? 

Osteoporosis is a serious problem as it is painless unless someone fractures a bone. Women after menopause are at high risk for osteoporosis. If, for some reason, women have premature menopause (which refers to a situation when women stop having their menstrual cycle before the age of 45), they are at much higher risk for Osteoporosis. We do have a lot of medications to treat Osteoporosis, which can help, along with exercise and adequate intake of calcium and Vitamin D. There are a lot of myths about medications for Osteoporosis. For example, I often hear from my patients, things like - after starting the medications, they developed jaw pain, which is not due to their osteoporosis medication.

4. You mentioned your family history with diabetes. What are some common signs of diabetes? 

Diabetes is the most common problem, I see. You should see your doctor and get checked for diabetes if you are feeling thirsty, drinking a lot of water, urinating a lot, losing weight and tired. Other risk factors for diabetes are a strong family history of diabetes, obesity, race and / or ethnicity.

Thank you Neeli for sharing your expertise with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!

Bio: Board-certified Endocrinologist with over 10 years of clinical experience. She is a recognized patient advocate, and leader in helping patients use cutting edge technology to better manage their diabetes. She is affiliated with the MassGeneral Brigham network in Boston and Onduo PC. She was recently recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for her role as Unicef advisor for the promotion of Human rights in Southeast Asia. She was also recognized as Top Doctors in North shore 2020, and Top Women in Medicine 2020.