I hate studying the ENDOCRINE system!!

pinkiepie_RN · Jun 17, 2009

Off the top of my head, I know diabetes and hyper/hypothyroidism are big testing topics. :)

CapNurse09 · Jun 17, 2009

It seems like I get a lot of questions on Cushings and Addisons disease in the Kaplan q bank.

kkluczynski · Jun 17, 2009

try reading something important and try to explain it to yourself outloud in your own words. its sounds crazy but i did this when i was in school and it made a huge difference because memorizing information and actually knowing the information is different. it will help remember because its not you memorizing how the book is presenting the information, explain it to yourself or someone around you in your own words, it will help.

purplechicxiii, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2009

[color=plum]i think we share the same problem. i really hate this topic ! since my college years. but well as what the saying goes, "the more you hate, the more you love". so i guess trying to like the topic first would really be of big help. plus you can devote a little more time with this topic when studying or answering practice questions, so yo can get yourself familiarize with it. good luck ! :)

nmaracle3834 · Jun 17, 2009

It's a VERY boring topic. I ended up studying my weaknesses. I would try to focus on Thyroid (Addisons/Cushings) Signs, symptoms and treatment and some Diabetes especially meds.

sweetmya · Jun 18, 2009

Thanks everyone! I'm going to focus more on the diseases you guys just posted rather then 15-20 different diseases listed in this chapter. Thanks

talaxandra · Jun 18, 2009

I love endocrine - once you get your head around what the hormones do when functioning normally it will be much easier to understand what happens when they are low or high. And pretty much every condition with too little hormone - Addisons, hypothyroidism, diabetes - has a partner with too much - Cushings, hyperthyroidism, insulinoma.

If you focus on the hormones first then the disease processes not only make more sense but you will be less likely to get the opposites mixed up with each other.

sweetmya · Jun 18, 2009

I love endocrine - once you get your head around what the hormones do when functioning normally it will be much easier to understand what happens when they are low or high. And pretty much every condition with too little hormone - Addisons, hypothyroidism, diabetes - has a partner with too much - Cushings, hyperthyroidism, insulinoma.
If you focus on the hormones first then the disease processes not only make more sense but you will be less likely to get the opposites mixed up with each other.

Thanks for the great advice hun but one question, How do I understand the hormones? I know this might be a silly question but I really need to understand the endocrine system better so it will get easier for me. I am so frustrated with this chapter!! I could use all the help in the world lol. Thanks. :yawn:

talaxandra · Jul 9, 2009

Sorry for the long delay. I'm going to use insulin to demonstrate what I meant about focusing on the hormone first rather than the disease process.

The pancreas produces three hormones you need to know about - pancrease, glucagon and insulin. A condition like cystic fibrosis affects the pancreas as a whole, and therefore affects production and release of all these hormones. A condition like type 1 diabetes only affects part of the pancreas (in this case the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans) and therefore only affects one aspect of hormone production (in this case insulin).

Insulin affects the body as a whole, as well as having specific affects on cellular metabolism. These actions include:

- increased glycogen synthesis, which allows glucose to be stored in muscles and fat cells;

- increased fatty acid synthesis;

- increased fat production from fatty acids;

- increased potassium uptake from serum to cells;

- increased amino acid uptake;

- decreased protein breakdown (proteolysis);

- decreased fat breakdown (lipolysis);

- decreased glucose production from non-sugar substances in the liver (gluconeogenesis); and

- arterial wall relaxation (particularly to arterioles).

If you get a handle on that then insulin-production/utilisation disorders (diabetes, insulinoma) make more sense. For example, in addition to acute signs and symptoms, people with diabetes are more likely to have high serum lipids (because FA's aren't synthesised as readily or regularly), less muscle mass, more fat tissue, and more rigid arteries and arerioles, which contributes to diabetic complications like heart disease and nephropathy.

Hope that's more helpful than confusing :) I just know that when I was trying to get my head around iot all as a student we studies the diseases by organ, which meant I kept getting hypothyroid signs/symptoms messed up with those for hyperthyroidism nd the more I studied the more entangled they became!

Dizzy_Daisy · Sep 12, 2010

I am one of the few who loves the endocrine chapters. I feel like it is in need of advocation and is very often overlooked. Once you catch the pathways to the organs, to me, it is not that tricky. Cardiology is much more difficult for me to understand. My feeling with endocrine - most people hate it so it needs advocates. Personally, in my family self included, have diabetes, addisons, hypo thyroid, and poly-cycstic ovarian which can fall under ob/gyn or under endocrine from my understanding since poly-cystic can destroy the pancreas. However since the latter affects the pancreas and insulin production, I always think of it under endocrine. It is so difficult to find an effective treatment. Too bad there is not a larger role for RN's when it comes to endocrine, as in my experience, the endocrinologists are like many specialists and have very little time....in general. I'm many years into my hashimotos and still STILL Looking for an endo who actually listens. Most have told me I need to eat fewere hamburgers and for the record, I work out INTENSELY 6 days a week and eat only salad with olive oil dressing and chicken breast most days. Still I gain weight even on medication. I know from my experience that it is extremely frustrating. The world needs more advocates for this system. Just my opinion.

bummed82386 · Sep 12, 2010

i love endocrine system! i find it the easiest to understand out of all of them. Yeah theres a lot in it but once you understand the pathophysiology of it it is really easy. i would suggest you read it out loud or what i'm doin now is listening and watching this dvd and its awesome. I'm more of a listening and a visual person so reading is really my downside i have a hard time understanding things just by reading it and watching this dvd man, its great. i understood things better and the endocrine is great!