“I couldn’t sleep. I knew something was wrong with my son. For over seven years we had seen many professionals and I was left with the impression that my son’s case was ‘different’ but no one quite knew why.
“My son’s mental health had improved drastically but he was sleeping way too much, his hair was very gray at 19 years old, and he was gaining weight. Nothing made sense and it hadn’t for quite some time.
“I had been to Dr. Rebecca Ryder for acupuncture and knew her to be a systems-thinker, someone who looked at the body functionally. I realized I needed functional medicine doctor like her who treated men.
“I went looking, but came up short. I finally went to the Synergy website and learned that they began treating men a few years earlier. I called the next morning. Honestly, I just wanted to know what Dr. Ryder, a hormone therapy doctor, would do if she had a son like mine, but she was much more gracious than that.
“She agreed to examine my son, but first she sent him for labs. I had no expectation that these labs would reveal anything because blood work hadn’t been significant for my son in the past with the other doctors. But the labs she ran were different and the results were quite significant, and Dr. Ryder knew immediately that something unusual was going on in my son’s endocrine system.
“Sadly, a pediatric endocrinologist barely tested my son when I first suspected hormonal issues, he was 14 at the time. We were dismissed and I naturally assumed my son’s issues did not involve his endocrine system.
“Mental health professionals offered a host of psych drugs which only made my son’s issues worse. We also had genetic testing and nutritional testing done. His primary care doctor entertained the idea of endocrine issues when he was 17, but again testing wasn’t thorough. At the time I didn’t know to question the process further.
“But Dr. Ryder was different. She listened, tested thoroughly, analyzed, and refereed us to additional specialists. Ultimately, she uncovered what we had been searching for seven years.
“When your child has chronic health problems and you spend years and lots of money gaining minimal help, a break-through like the one Dr. Ryder found is an indescribable relief.
“My son is now under the care of a team of doctors from Virginia, Florida and California. But we are so very grateful for the significant role Dr. Ryder played in uncovering my son’s thyroid and pituitary issues. He is currently taking six hormones and he will require life-long care, but we are seeing real improvements.
“I appreciate Dr. Ryder’s holistic thinking, her wisdom, and the fact that she trusts her patient’s experience. She also wrote a letter to my son’s college supporting the need for a medical leave. That alone alleviated my stress immediately during a very hectic period trying to navigate medical care and college campus life.”
Name Withheld Upon Patient’s Request
Chesapeake