Dr. Barkoff’s unique philosophy of thyroid balance combines elements of traditional Endocrinology with a whole-body integrative approach. She doesn’t just treat the disease, but also focuses on why the patient is affected by the disease.
SPECIALTIES
Dr. Barkoff is a board-certified Endocrinologist, trained at the University of Chicago, who specializes in all aspects of thyroid health. With over 10 years of experience caring for people with thyroid disease, she believes that achieving thyroid balance requires an individualized and comprehensive approach.
AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE
When treating hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, it’s important to know if the cause is autoimmune. For Dr. Barkoff, this broadens the treatment approach and may involve reducing other inflammation alongside targeted thyroid treatment. She educates all of her patients on their options and creates a comprehensive plan to both treat the disease and improve quality of life.
THYROID AND PREGNANCY
Dr. Barkoff believes it’s key to understand a woman’s reproductive plans when designing the best course of treatment. She encourages patients with thyroid disease to see her prior to pregnancy for preconception counseling as thyroid balance impacts pregnancy outcomes. She works side-by-side with the patient and her OB during the pregnancy to regulate the thyroid.
THYROID NODULES AND THYROID CANCER
The incidence of thyroid cancer is on the rise, especially in women. Dr. Barkoff has over a decade of experience identifying and treating thyroid cancer. She performs her own ultrasound or minimally invasive biopsy in her office if needed. She educates all of her patients on various treatment approaches should they receive a diagnosis of a suspicious nodule or cancer.
MAST CELL ACTIVATION SYNDROME
Dr. Barkoff began to see a pattern in patients who continued to feel unwell even after thyroid treatment. Mast cells, an important part of the body's immune defense, can become overactive or overproduced, causing generalized symptoms of hives, nasal congestion, abdominal pain, and anxiety, but also unique symptoms that Dr. Barkoff has identified amongst her patient base.
Dr. Barkoff has given me a quality of life that I had no idea was possible. After 13 years of chronic fatigue, low energy, and difficulty concentrating at seemingly random times, a physician took the time to listen to my concerns and take them seriously. She ordered multiple tests and made sure that the results were not a false positive. I finally had an answer to why I felt the way I did for so many years, when every other physician had dismissed my symptoms with “some people just have less energy.”
– K. Bauer
Dr. Marla Barkoff is accessible on all levels: humanely, competently, timely, and compassionately. At first I thought she was too good to be true-exceedingly bright, genuinely compassionate, and we actually were laughing a lot together. She took the time to answer all my questions and explain to me specifics around tests, diagnoses, and treatments. She never missed making me laugh, feel calm, and cared for. My family and I are grateful for Dr. Barkoff and will never forget her life-saving and restoring measures.
– A. Chapman
I had been misdiagnosed, mismanaged, and I was settling into hopelessness with my Mast Cell Disease for 10 years. I spoke to her on the phone prior to my first appointment and she was wonderfully kind, enthusiastic and eager to help me. Dr. Barkoff is the most sincere Doctor I have ever met. Of note: I’m a Registered Nurse so I have worked with hundreds of doctors, but none like her. She is extraordinarily intelligent, extremely thorough, passionate about her work and devoted to her patients. Now, only a few months after beginning treatment, I am me again. To be her patient is to be very lucky indeed!
– K. Blanchard, RN