A friend’s son was just diagnosed with Type 1 at 18 yrs old. He is very athletic and is working toward a pro hockey career, but this is a set back. So I was hope someone could give me some names of some Endo’s that would be a good fit for him. The family lives just north east of Minneappolis.
I am type 1 myself but live in Montana, I will be giving advice and support but would like some recommendations for Endo’s. Thanks in advance.
I don’t have a specific endo recommendation, but if I lived in Minneapolis or the surrounding area I would be heading to the Mayo Clinic for doctoring.
Well it is a bit of a drive from Mpls to Rochester—90 miles or thereabouts. Not that Mayo isn’t a great place (my cousin is head of pediatric medicine there) but convenience starts to be a factor…
Mayo has two clinics IN Minneapolis and one in St Paul.
So like the lady said, Mayo clinic! 
What a concerned and supportive friend you are! I never cease to be amazed by how caring the D community is.
I live southwest of Minneapolis so not much help. I put out a message on Facebook to some T1’s who live north. Either they will chime in here to help or if they contact me, I’ll let you know.
I would probably check out the University of Minnesota or the International Diabetes Center. A lot of insurance plans in Minnesota don’t cover Mayo Clinic because of the cost and I don’t have any advice to indicate that they would be the best or not anyway.
Hey, @John111!
I’ve had good experiences with the endos at the International Diabetes Center and have also been impressed with nearly everyone I encounter when I participate in studies at the University of Minnesota. I don’t have any personal experience with the folks at the Mayo locations, but I’d be surprised if they weren’t good, too.
It might take a bit of trial and error for him to find one that really fits well. I bet many of us here have been to awesome clinics with docs that didn’t work well for us, and likewise, not well-known clinics with absolutely incredible docs.
Thankfully, Minneapolis seems to have a lot of options that seem relatively easy to access.
3 Likes
Here are some replies that I received on Facebook:
" don’t have a specific recommendation, but I would suggest looking at the University of Minnesota Physicians. He would be close to the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) and the new MHealth CSC."
" I wonder what that means since I believe a “great” endo does not prescribe high doses of insulin and carbs, believes in a non-diabetic blood sugar (A1C 5.0 or lower and target BS of 85), isn’t hypo paranoid, does not force a pump or CGMS on your but will prescribe all the test strips you want and encourages more rather than less …"
“Here’s a link to help find an Endo http://www.hormone.org/contact-a.../find-an-endocrinologist”
I’ll let you know if I can any other suggestions.
Another comment from Facebook:
If he uses any devices (pump, CGM) and is tech-savvy I suggest he get in touch with a local rep who knows all of the local endos and their abilities and demeanors.
" If he’s really into hockey (seems he is) I suggest he also take a read at this post on TuDiabetes (and the YouTube links in one of the comments) that I wrote back in the day when I had no kids and a little hair. Ice hockey + Insulin Pump. Any suggestions? "
Thank you all for the replies. That is why I love this site so much. You all rock!!!