Holtorf Medical Group

I couldn't sing higher praises for Dr. Shalev at the Holtorff Medical Group in Foster City. I am a long-term sufferer of Hashimoto's Autoimmune Thyroid Disease and endocrinologists have failed me repeatedly. It wasn't even rocket science, they simply didn't get all the labs they could have and where they did, they still only followed the TSH guidelines from the stone ages while other values repeatedly indicated that I was not getting enough thyroid medication.

Due to financial constraints as an academic I am in the category of people who would rather not go beyond the professionals recommended by insurance, but here every dollar spent was worthwhile. For the first time in my life I feel alive, as if I had emerged from my own coffin of brain fog, pain, and fatigue every single day.

With Dr. Shalev's help I have even returned to my athletic pursuits and have very recently completed my first 100-mile running race. None of this, not even a fraction, would have been possible without her.

Dr. Shalev took so much time with me in each of our appointments. Beyond that, I had the freedom to order the labs I wanted, as many times as I wanted. She was open to treat me based on symptoms and to have me try different doses and types of medication until the right fit was found. This is a stark contrast to the often patronizing comments of "You are fine - go see a psychologist" by other practitioners. We found out about gene mutations, food intolerances, anemia status, and so many more things that go beyond the band-aid type thyroid treatment that is found elsewhere in the busy medical world, in which we are never sick enough to get the attention we deserve.

Dr. Shalev has brought me back to life, after many years of life quality wasted. There is no better gift in this world and I can now pass it on to my family and loved ones who have a wholesome person to enjoy by their side again. Thank you!

I knew I something was wrong. My primary care physician wasn't specialized enough to pinpoint my problem. She sent me to a renowned Stanford specialist who told me to get a breast reduction because one of my symptoms was sore breasts. I left her office in tears because I felt so horrible and no one could help me.

Then I found the wonderful Dr. Lyster. She listened, took notes, asked questions and thought. She ran tests and pinpointed one issue. When I still didn't feel myself, she ran more tests. She found a cutting edge prescription that could potentially help. Dr. Lyster explained the medicine and asked if I wanted to try it. It was almost like a miracle. Since that time, the drug received FDA approval and is becoming commonly prescribed.

Dr. Lyster changed my life. She stuck with me, and didn't give up. I wish all doctors accepted a challenge and kept cutting edge current to maximize patient health and quality of life as Dr. Lyster does. I am so thankful for this doctor and medical group that thinks, questions, and never gives up on you.

Excellent place to go to seek treatment (holistically) for medical issues. Doctors are above average and knowledgeable. If I didn't find them and seek treatment here, I would not be functioning very well. My quality of life would suffer.

Nancy and Rose are the best too. Very good staff and they do well to keep things running smoothly and excellent customer service.

Glad we left and started seeing a licensed endocrinologist instead. Safer, cheaper, no condescension. Wish we had switched to a specialist in endocrinology sooner and regret overlooking the red flags we saw at Holtorf.

Intake person not very helpful- she didn't seem to understand what I was asking for, and in the end, it doesn't really matter because the Foster City office is not taking new patients indefinitely. I had asked if I could fly down to LA for an initial visit, and then transfer to Foster City when availability opens up, and was told, "they will not be taking new patients in Foster City" (verbatim). Then I asked if I could fly down to the LA office for an initial, and take follow up appointments via telephone, but given the tone of the response, it seems this is not something they like to do either. I had some specific questions about treatment that went ignored, so it doesn't really sound like they're interested in helping new patients.

After reading these reviews I'm realizing there's a treatment formula Holtorf sticks to rather than individualizing a treatment plan. I wish I could say I had a different experience than everyone else.

The first appointment is around 30 minutes to an hour reviewing your medical history. You'll leave with a lab slip for tests. Thyroid cancer runs in the family, so I wanted an ultrasound or another way to physically check my thyroid and parathyroids, but didn't get an order for that.

The cost is a minimum of $425 for your first appointment now and they want it before you leave. So while you also leave with the claim form to send into your insurance, they won't wait for insurance reimbursement. (Insurance will cover about 25-50% as most insurance will allow about $300 for an office visit and they're "out of network")

Your next appointment will be in about 2 months and your test results are reviewed. Vitamins D & B, bio-identical hormones, selenium, iodine, cortisol, and other supplements all with the "Holtorf" brand name will likely be suggested. The appointments from here going forward are a minimum of $345 then add on the cost of supplements. I got the feeling that if I didn't take a recommended supplement and didn't start feeling better on my medication it would be because of the missing vitamins or minerals, so I bought all Dr. Lyster recommended.

After experimenting for over 30 years I know what medication I feel best on and was hesitant to mess with them, but Dr. Lyster was sure of herself so I went on the LT3 from the compounding pharmacy. My guess is that it was a non-FDA approved time-release form of Cytomel. I don't know why she wouldn't prescribe Cytomel, an FDA approved pharmaceutical with no wheat fillers I do well on.

I had to set up an account with a credit card with the pharmacy in Southern California. The medications came by mail about a week later. (They don't take insurance either and my insurance refused to cover any, so it cost me an additional $230/month for my medications) and the dose was too low. I started feeling worse. It was nearly three months before the dose was changed after more office visits. By the time I started feeling better I was 4 months and over $2,000 in. Still no thyroid ultrasound.

For those of you saying Holtorf doesn't cost any more than other doctor's offices, I have to say that's not my experience. By my calculations they're between 3-4 times more costly. The demand for payment in full after each visit is awkward too. You go into another office where they go over your bill, the cost of supplements, how to get your prescriptions and take your payment. (I've never been to doctor that wouldn't bill me.)

This office is a couple of blocks from 2 CVS pharmacies but rather than getting medication right away from them, you've got to wait for the processing and mailing of yours. Two weeks is a long time when you're not feeling well. My insurance didn't cover any of the medication or supplements.

After the first visit you'll get a card for $25 off your next visit if you keep your first appointment with no rescheduling. If you call days or weeks in advance to reschedule, even if its because your health is declining rapidly and need to be seen sooner, they'll make a point to tell you that you didn't keep your initial appointment "So you won't be getting a $25 credit".

But that wasn't the most frustrating part, getting an appointment was, and once you get an appointment it's very orchestrated by the doctor. Did the doctor listen, yes, but I got the feeling that no matter what my symptoms, the results would be the same. You're treated based on lab results not how you feel.

My symptoms started two years prior to going to Holtorf. One of my friends recommended the practice to me. I went to see Dr. Blakley. During the initial visit she was really thorough and ordered the most comprehensive blood work that any doctor had ever ordered before.

Shortly after I got my blood work done my health really declined. My symptoms got worse (nausea, dizziness, weakness, and extreme weight loss). After a week of these symptoms I ended up in the ER, which I had never been to in my life. Even though I didn't have an appointment, the office staff was kind enough to get me in to see Dr. Blakley. At that point I was so weak I couldn't even drive.

During the appointment Dr. Blakley went over everything with me. She concluded that she has seen "worse blood work" and she even "gets sick after getting labs drawn." She told me that my hormonal deficiencies were from being a vegetarian and having low cholesterol, since cholesterol is the precursor to hormone production. I didn't realize this at the time because I was so overwhelmed, but my cholesterol was never even measured in the lab work. I'm not sure how she concluded that my cholesterol was low. In fact I asked another doctor about this theory and she said it didn't make any sense. My cholesterol would have had to have been extremely low, which is rare. Also during that time I was eating eggs, dairy, and coconut oil so I was getting plenty of cholesterol.

I had high rt3 and classic adrenal fatigue symptoms, but Dr. Blakely said that my adrenal hormones looked fine from the blood work. Going off blood work for adrenal health isn't accurate. Surprisingly I learned this from a video on the Holtorf website; salvia testing is more accurate. In fact two months later I did a salvia test with another doctor and my adrenal glands were barely functioning. During this same appointment Dr. Blakely urged me to start eating animal products and put me on 11 different supplements and hormones.

I went on the program Dr. Blakely prescribed and even started eating meat after being a vegetarian for 11 years. I had an adverse reaction to T3 so Dr. Blakley told me to stop taking it and asked me to get more testing done, which I did. Afterwards there wasn't any follow up on what to do about my thyroid. I also did a stool sample because my lab work indicated that I had some sort of infection or parasite. I paid $200 for a 30 minute phone call with Dr. Blakley to go over the stool sample results only tell me that I had candida and it was most likely the cause of "all of my problems."

At that point it had been a month and a half since I was under her care and had gotten so sick that I had to stay with family to take care of me. Obviously I would have a candida overgrowth, most people who are really sick have excess candida because their immune system can't keep it in check. Instead of finding out why my immune system wasn't able to combat candida, Dr. Blakley suggested I go on a candida cleanse but warned me that it would be difficult on my body. I don't have any medical training, but it didn't make sense to me to go on an intense detox program causing my body further stress only to have the candida come back when I was done with the program because the root of the problem wasn't addressed.

Get a doctor who sees you as more than your lab numbers. Having health issues is like putting together a complex puzzle. I'm glad Dr. Blakley did so much initial blood work but it's pretty obvious she has a major bias against vegetarians. From going to another doctor and doing further testing it turns out I had some pretty serious health issues that had nothing to do with eating meat. Also two different doctors told me that they would not advise going on the amount of supplements and hormones Dr. Blakley put me on initially. Even though I waited 2-3 days before introducing each one into my system, it's way too difficult for your body to process, especially when super sick.

My friend who recommended Holtorf to me wasn't a patient of Dr. Blakley so maybe one of their other doctors would have been more helpful. On a side note, the office staff was always really organized and great to work with!

I have to agree with other patients who spent a ton of money here like me, over 1k per visit. I saw Dr. C who was nice but clearly overworked.

This place is a franchise. Don't get their supplements. Just get the information and dosage and shop around online.

They just sent me a Black Friday deal for their supplements and I have to say It felt a little tacky to see them discounting these supposed treatment products.

The office is nice and clean but they really charge ridiculous prices and don't take insurance.

Left practice, did not help my condition after all. Dr. encourages treatment through supplements mfg. by the owner. Similar products are sold cheaper on-line, but there business model is a hard sell. I did not feel better on any supplement purchased. These was nothing mystical or magical.

I had high hopes due to the website and videos reviewed. Trying to continue health care treatments, through genetic testing, improving methylation and gut issues that are a critical in treating the thyroid first if you have having a hard time absorbing thyroid medication.

Dr. Blakely and her staff have been amazing! They have guided me back through cancer and radiation. Helping my body recover and move forward on a health path!