Customer Reviews

Graves' Disease In Our Own Words

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

That the folks who felt this book was... "inadequate" in addressing all of the issues, opinions, folk-remedies and whatnot regarding Graves' disease share the opinions of the "other" thyroid disease message board. So rather than use this review page as an Us vs. Them battle, I suggest that our fellow reviewers stick to the facts... and perhaps do a little research themselves.

For one: "Spontaneous Remission", a phrase long uttered by fans of Elaine Moore and Mary Shomon, is NOT the expected end result of either treated or untreated Graves' disease. Any Graves' disease patient who expects that their condition will suddenly cure itself or run its course, either through the use of ATMs, bogus herbal remedies or beta blockers, is taking a dangerous health gamble. While some patients do go into "remission" (meaning their Graves' antibodies settle down for a bit, but will likely flare up at a later date) through the use of ATMs, the long-term effects of improperly treated GD are marked: coronary involvement, osteoporosis, significant muscle wasting and possible thyroid storm or death. Any person who suggests that GD patients should try herbal remedies and vitamins alone to control this INCURABLE autoimmune disorder is flying in the face of established medical fact and may be placing other patients in serious medical harm.

So while I applaud any GD patient who has managed to send their disease into "remission" using one or more of the above methods, unfortunately most of the rest of us aren't in any position to gamble with our already failing health. When my blood pressure spiked to 210/115 and my resting heart rate was at 150 bpm on 50mgs of Atenolol b.i.d., waiting for "remission" was a luxury I just didn't have. And due to the severe immune system involvement of my condition, ATMs were also not an option. So I chose RAI, and while many GD patients will attempt to make me and others like me feel guilty for making this choice (and they did, on the "other" message board), I know that I made the best medical decision for me and will support other GD patients in their treatment choices - regardless of what that choice might be, within the realm of common sense.

Which is what 'Graves' Disease In Our Own Words' is all about, and why it is a far superior book to Elaine Moore's (not-so)'Practical Guide'. It offers REAL stories from REAL GD patients who faced tough decisions regarding their treatment. 'In Our Own Words' offers ALL treatment options from an objective point of view, and simply because the authors choose to not denounce RAI as evil spawned from Satan himself does not mean that they are "pushing" that option onto anyone.

In addition to addressing the "technical" side of this illness (done in a very matter-of-fact, cut through the B.S. way that I greatly appreciated), I loved how this book tackled the real-life, emotional issues of GD overlooked in so many other books on the topic: family problems, job-related stress, memory loss, and depression and anxiety to name a few.

'Graves' Disease In Our Own Words' may not be the definitive, encyclopedic tome on treating and managing this chronic condition, but if you want down-to-earth, realistic information on this disease from the people who know it best (fellow GD patients), this is the book for you.

I have Graves disease. Having said that, I decided to read absolutely everything I could find that has been written about this disease. The other books I read presented the technical and medical information very well. This book presented not only that technical information in a very understandable way, but it also presented information regarding the impact (other than on the body) that this disease can have. This extra information is what sets this book apart. When I told my endocrinologist that someone should write a book solely about Graves disease, he said, "why? It is a very straightforward disease." Wrong! This disease is not straightforward at all! (I am going to send my copy of this book to him!) This book is very very helpful! Thank you!

Having researched a number of the available titles about Graves' Disease, it was refreshing to find one which is not too technical, nor too "dumbed down". This well researched, yet easy to read book provides help and hope! I recommend it as a first choice to my recently diagnosed patients seeking information about their disease.

Books usually focus on the technical aspects of Graves' Disease. This one shares the experiences of many different people with Graves'. It seems to give many individual experiences, doesn't give advice, but helps each of us get an idea of what we might be facing. I had the pleasure of meeting both authors. I hope there will be a follow-up book.

Jake did a fairly lousy job in this book which contains many of wrong information. He went into the other extreme of bias from that of Elaine Moore in her book Graves Disease: a practical guide. While Elaine tends to promote ATD for long time use to achieve remission, Jake tends to lead all patients into radical treatment such as RAI and surgery.

Many clinical trials have pointed out that ATD has modest rate of remission rate for Graves. However, Jake tends to ignore the current medical finding in his book. Instead, he tends to use some out of dated information about remission rate with ATD, which might completely dismiss the hope for remission on ATD. This kind of bias might lead patient to choose radical treatment for Graves from very beginning. Though clinical studies have shown safety of RAI and surgery, non-invasive treatment should always be promoted first.

Personally, I would recommand neither Jake George's book nor Elain Moore's book to any of Graves patients thought Jake did a a bit better job than Elaine. Instead, I would suggest whoever had a diagnosis of Graves to search in Medline for more accurate information for treatment of Graves.

Graves' Disease In Our Own Words, by Jake George and Nancy Patterson, was a disappointment. I expected a great deal more. I hoped that a book endorsed by a national organization on Graves' disease would provide fairly up-to-date information, but this book has outdated information, and a number of weak and scanty sections.

Overall, it left me with more questions than answers, and even contradicted information I've received from my endocrinologist, who is considered top in his field.

I'd suggest Ridha Arem's Thyroid Solution, Elaine Moore's book on Graves' disease, or Sara Rosenthal's books before I'd recommend this one to others.

After being diagnosed with GD my doctor wanted to immediately perform RAI although I didn't have an enlarged gland. I knew nothing about the disease and was scared. My intuition told me there may be another way. This book taught me all I needed to know and gave me the insight and courage to persuade my doctor to let me try PTU first. In Our Own Words confirmed from the start that aggressive treatment wasn't always necessary. I took PTU for only 3 months and responded so well I am now in remission. However, I learned from the book the serious nature of GD and how to work closely with the doctor and lab results. IT's an on going journey. This book served as an important first navagational tool. An update on my condition 6/25/04: I had a recurrance of all hyper symptoms after only one month remmission. I opted to try PTU again, still with good results in bringing down my T4 but I'm constatantly juggling the dose. I still sense this is the way to go for me, but I get discouraged. I will look at some of the other suggested books on the subject.

You can learn more from a quick online search. This book is similar to reading the biased posts on the authors' bulletin board/website. Lots of misinformation and outdated notions to scare patients into having aggressive treatment. I have Graves' disease and I think this book exaggerates things. This book makes it seem like all patients with Graves' disease are doomed clones. Also, some of the medical information is inaccurate. This book should have been looked over by a careful medical editor before going to press.

Buy this book. I read three books on Graves' prior to this one. Graves' Disease In Our Own Words is by far the most easy to understand and most comprehensive. After reading this I had a much better understanding of the discussions with my physicians about treatment options. It helped me make informed decisions. The sections with individual cases also was reassuring about typical symptoms of this strange autoimmune disease. This book is from the National Graves Disease Foundation and DID NOT present an obviously biased point of view advocating a specific course of treatment, but instead presents all of the current options with the positive and negative aspects of each treatment. I can not overemphasize enough that I believe Graves' Disease In Our Own Words is a book every Graves' patient and their family should read.

This book is fairly light reading. It would not satisfy those who desire more technical information. A large part of this book attempts to connect the reader to the personal experiences of fellow patients.