Rachel's Blogs
A Diagnosis of Inclusion for all Women 35-65?
Any steps towards inclusivity in societal & cultural terms are cause for celebration but in medicine, that can come in the form of a 'diagnosis of inclusion', the opposite, of course, of a 'diagnosis of exclusion' and potentially as slippery and loose as it...
Is Our Education At Risk Of A Being An Echo Chamber
Recently I asked practitioners to tell me where the 'therapeutic reference range' many of us were taught for nutrients comes from & no one has been able to answer that.🙄 If you've heard me refer to my original naturopathic education before you'll know I...
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My Big Fat Greek (month-long) Feast!
Somehow it didn’t dawn on me immediately, that I was in fact living this nutrition nerd’s dream…I WAS ACTUALLY EATING THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET! 🤯 😍 Like, the real-deal, legit, bona fide, honest-to-goodness, original, dinkum 1960s Greek diet. That...
Suboptimal Thyroid Function? Could It Be Their Psych Meds?
Gone are the days, thankfully, when we could all easily identify any individual taking an antipsychotic 1) because they were the marginalised 'mad' and 2) stigma and shame were rife. With the seismic shift that has occurred both in psychiatry & society we now know...
Our *NEW* Prescribers Program in 2023
How much? How often? When is the best time & timing? do you know about friends, foes and frenemies? Which form, when? e.g. building blocks or bioactives? And for how long? aka are we there yet...? These are the kind of questions that one would imagine nutritional...
The Perfect TSH??
Have you been told somewhere by someone that the ‘perfect’ TSH is 1.5 mIU/L? This is a wonderful, terrible & wonderfully terrible example of ‘magical numbers medicine’. As a push-back against the published reference ranges we’re given, that are so wide you could...
The Silent Scream of Aging?
One of my dear friends told her husband several years ago that she had noticed he was now making, 'old man noises' upon standing up from couches & chairs. She told him that must simply stop. She pointed out that he was only 50 and that she neither could nor would...
MasterCourse II
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...
*NEW* Advanced Thyroid Training Coming Soon!
I've spent the best part of about 4 months recording my *NEW* Advanced Thyroid Assessment training. I told my team this would be easy and quick, given it was to be based on a great little 2-part, 2hr updated presentation I delivered just last year for ACNEM!! Sixteen...
Keeping Things Real & Representative
Any pathology test is only of value if the result produced is 'real', or, representative of that individual, right? So the timing of the test is a major pivot point then: do I tell my patient to present for the test, or collect the sample themselves, on their...
Are You A Finger-Pointing-Prescriber Or A Change-Maker?
Are we doing ourselves out of a job? I've been talking treatment plans with my New Grads recently. Given, only recently these were major assessment items in their clinic units, they have been trained to create ALL-ENCOMPASSING (biopsychosocial) prescriptions and...
The GREAT Cortisol Capture! 35K Aussies Get Tested
And all 35K results have been collated, analysed & made available so we can be better informed regarding expected Cortisol values based on sex (spoiler alert: women win & when I say win I mean track higher generally🤷♀️), age &...
Is Your Diagnosis on the $ or a Misdirection?
No, I can't leave it alone. I've been gabbing on about Gilbert's Syndrome for about 15 years now and it's not going to stop anytime soon! This is not because I think it's the most common condition we encounter but, rather because it is not uncommon. It is also not...
I read it on Facebook
We all (inaudibly🤞) sigh when patients utter this & adopt the brace position for whatever mis- or dis-information may follow. So how would you feel, if instead, these were the words of the health professional you're seeing? We could debate forever the pros...
Increasing Patient Buy-in: Compliance Changers
Have you ever noticed that our products don't work if our patients don't take them?!🙄 The reasons for non-compliance, dis- or non-engagement, poor patient buy-in & follow through are many: *My dog ate the instructions * My inbox swallowed the instructions...
Have You Received a Nudge?
A recent foreboding article featured in NewsGP Pathology requests under the microscope warned, 'More than 5000 GPs are about to receive a letter from the Department of Health about their pathology requests.' This is a ritual cleanse performed by Department of Health...
Independent Education For All
Over years of delivering independent education in integrative health I have spoken to some diverse audiences. This has included health professionals from very different backgrounds: from hospital-based psychiatrists & mental health nurses, to whom I presented on...
What’s Changed For You?
How much has THE world🌏 changed in the last 2 years?! Have the changes within the field of Integrative Health been equally seismic? I'm sure there are many different aspects to speak to & we all have our own thoughts to share on this. I shared my thoughts...
More FODMAP Fails
Last week, yet another patient with refractory diarrhoea, up to 10 stools a day, Bristol type 5-7, for 3 decades following a diagnosis of Crohn's at 16 years old. A range of specialists have thrown everything at 'it' - single & combination immunosuppressants, TNF...
Where Is That??!!!
Ever been guilty of having a 'man's look' for something? I have. Particularly when it comes to the online omniverse! I can be a bit flaky at finding things right there on the page...allegedly! So for those of you who have a similar experience with my website &...
Meet My Alter Ego
Did I say, ‘Our Brain’? 🙄 Maybe it really should be, ‘Their Brain...on Drugs: what recreational substances reveal'. While infinite self-analysis is an occupational hazard for health professionals, when we use our detective powers for good not evil, our patient...
I’m Against Absolutes
And health, no matter which side you sit on, seems to be particularly plagued by them. I (incorrectly) recall my 4 year degree as being a series of deep personal losses, some favourite food, then caffeine, then alcohol etc etc.😂 Likewise, I'm aware that...
That ‘Throat Feeling’
"My 7yo daughter was frequently distressed, telling me she had that 'throat feeling'." As you can imagine, mum offered up a smorgasbord of suggestions to help her try and describe it: Can you swallow ok? Does it burn or taste funny? Where is it? Is it hard, soft,...