13 years ago I was first asked to contribute to ACNEM’s thyroid training
8 years ago I put together a little Masterclass on Diagnostics & 6 years ago co-created another one on Thyroid
2 years ago I dived deep into new literature to update my ideas & my teaching for ACNEM again & reinspired by all I had discovered
1 year ago I promised a new MasterCourse, for all those eagerly awaiting the next instalment: Thyroid & Adrenals
Now it is about to land!
Across this time I have fallen in and out of love with this topic. ‘In’, in the early heady days of learning some great tricks and tools, ratios and relationships between thyroid parameters (T4:T3, rT3:T3 etc) to aid interpretation but then ‘out’, when I discovered in my own patients and many others, that while this solved some thyroid patient puzzles, it left the curlier ones with questions remaining. I became unsatisfied with the simplistic stereotyping of the thyroid hormones (T3 important & always good, T4 not, rT3 never) and frustrated by the misapplication of ratios & lazy labelling of the thyroid as the ‘problem’. All of these things I intrinsically knew didn’t make good scientific sense and actually revealed a lack of depth in mine & our understanding. So I re-immersed myself in the very latest research and, wouldn’t you know it, in the time between there’s been a mini-revolution taking place in relation to our understanding of the HPT axis and the other endocrine circuits that manage it! Thank goodness for science!!
As a result, not a slide, possibly barely a dot-point remains from what I wrote back in 2009 and not a great deal more from 2015 even.
That’s how far the research has revolutionised my ideas & understanding.
Some of the assay techniques & technologies are new, there’s a river of research & a mountain of meta-analyses published in the time between & I have had the privilege of innumerable more clinical encounters in this space, to really nut out how all this translates into the real world. And most importantly I can confidently say that this training and teaching reflects the truly integrative nature of psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology…did I just make up a word?! Basically, if you think that the hypothalamus and/or pituitary is the boss of the thyroid – we need to talk! There’s a lot I need to catch you up on.
So like our first MasterCourse in Comprehensive Diagnostics earned us a reputation for, we are going to leave no stone unturned – no difficult question – unanswered, like…
- Can you list the critical roles in health of T4 that are independent of its precursor potential?
- How about rT3 – what are the important health implications for us if we don’t have enough?
- When shouldn’t the T4:T3 in the plasma be approximately 3:1?
- When and why would a drop in TPO & Tg antibodies signal progression not remission of AITD?
- In the absence of imaging, can you still be confident that thyroid nodules are the most likely differential in your patient?
- What is the one test result that differentiates between Euthyroid Sick Syndrome and Central Hypothyroidism?
- Exactly how low in Selenium, Iron or Zinc do you need to have a measurable impact on thyroid hormones and function?
- Who escapes from the Wolff-Chaikoff effect and how long after iodine dosing can we be certain?
So stay tuned… and watch this space! We thank you for your patience and know it will be worth the wait…
“Absolutely loved this course, I’ve listened to each of the recordings at least 3 times now taking furious notes and am still picking up new gems. Love that it’s helping me build up my knowledge and confidence in such a fundamental area of practice. The case studies are super valuable as they bring the labs to life, I’d be keen for more of these! Really appreciate all the extra PDFs / audios that have been added also. Eagerly awaiting MasterCourse II” – Naturopath | Australia
“Why wasn’t this content covered in medical school? As a psychiatrist, I have greatly benefited from attending this course which comprehensively covers the ins and outs of interpretation of pathology labs and how this applies to clinical cases – many of which have both physical and mental health considerations. I believe all doctors from general practitioners to specialists will gain from attending! ” – Psychiatrist | Australia
“Thank you so much for this course, it has been brilliant. It has ‘fuelled my practice’ and many people have benefited already – from such insights. It’s quite thrilling!!! I’ll definitely be signing up for the second course later next year” – Naturopath, Medical Herbalist | New Zealand