Book Reviews of Living Well with Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You... That You Need to Know (Revised Edition)

Book Review: One of the best resources available on Hypothyroidism
Summary: 5 Stars

Summary of Living Well with Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You... That You Need to Know (Revised Edition)

The Most Comprehensive Resource Available on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypothyroidism

For millions of Americans, hypothyroidism often goes untreated ... or is treated improperly. This book, thoroughly researched by the nation's top thyroid patient advocate-a hypothyroidism patient herself-provides you with answers to all your questions, including:

• What is hypothyroidism?
• What are the warning signs, symptoms, and risk factors?
• Why is getting diagnosed often a challenge, and how can you overcome the obstacles?
• What treatments are available (including those your doctor hasn't told you about)?
• Which alternative and holistic therapies, nutritional changes, and supplements may help treat hypothyroidism?

Shomon knows of what she speaks: she's a health writer and thyroid patient herself. She also manages a thyroid Web site and writes a newsletter on hypothyroidism. In Living Well, she offers an extensively researched guide to this complex condition. She covers conventional, alternative, and late-breaking approaches to treatment--such as challenging the gold standard of Synthroid as the thyroid replacement therapy of choice. (Synthroid replaces T4, the less active of the two thyroid hormones, and Shomon features new research on adding T3--the more potent thyroid hormone--to treatment.)

With her down-to-earth, patient-centered approach, Shomon explains everything from how to choose a thyroid specialist to how calcium, antidepressants, and a high-fiber diet affect thyroid hormone absorption. The book includes a chapter on depression, which is a typical misdiagnosis of hypothyroidism--as well as a symptom that often persists even after treatment. She also covers infertility (women who are hypothyroid don't ovulate as regularly and miscarry more frequently) and thyroid cancer, one of the less common causes of hypothyroidism. She explains how to spot hypothyroidism in kids, and ends with a glossary, international resources, and journal references.

Shomon creates a sense of community by excerpting e-mails from her vast network of patients--voices that bring a sense of humor so often missing from health books. One quibble: she could have avoided the antidoctor stance in the beginning of her book, where she blames physicians, rather than incomplete science, for the misdiagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism. --Rebecca Taylor

Immune Systems Books

• Subjects > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases > Immune Systems
• General