Customer Reviews

It's Not Just Growing Pains: A Guide to Childhood Muscle, Bone and Joint Pain, Rheumatic Diseases, and the Latest Treatments

5 star:		(12)
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2 star:		(1)
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This book was very well written, easy to understand and in depth enough for the average person.

If a child you know is having undiagnosed pain this would be an excellent sourcebook. It gives you the questions to ask the specialists, tons of disease specific information, and details about why certain diagnostic tests will/will not be performed on a child. You will also better understand the possible causes and various diseases that present bone and joint pain in children.

If a child you know has been diagnosed with a specific disease (as mine was), this book provides many more answers about many specific conditions than you can find online or during a single doctor visit. It also gives a realistic prognosis for a variety of diseases which many doctors are shy about giving.

While this book is slightly lacking in scientific depth, it does get one started in understanding a child's condition and finding additional sources. It is geared for the parent/caregiver but would also be great for general practioners and nurses because of the information prsented regarding diagnosing bone/joint pain in children. The information regarding juvenile arthtitis is particularly up-to-date, interesting and helpful.

If you are looking for a therapy guide for children's pain management this is not the book. This book thoroughly explains prescription medications, surgeries, and labs, but does not delve deeply into the theraputic realm. (I am still looking a book reagarding OT/PT therapy approaches for juvenile arthritis.)

Thomas J. A. Lehman MD is Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery, in New York City and also Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is considered the leading specialist in the world. As President of a charity that helps children in Russia, I have asked Dr. Lehman to volunteer his services and speak at seminars in Moscow to hundreds of rheumatoid pediatric doctors. He has done this several times over the past 5 years. He has also visited other countries as well besides allowing specialists from many other countries learn at his side. As a result of his unselfishness he has improved the lives of thousands of children throughout the world. He has written a book that every parent who has an afflicted child should read. My reason for writing this review is to assure the reader the he/she can rely on what it says, as there is no one who is more knowledgeable than the author. As can be gleaned from other reviews, the book has been written to be easily understood by the general reader.

This is a wonderful book. Published for the first time in 2004, it is up to date with all the new medicines out there. If you have a child with Arthritis, you need this book. It addresses all issues surrounding the disease, the family, behavior, medicine, theories, how to relate to your doctor, etc.

This book couldn't have come at a better time. My son was recently diagnosed (and hospitalized) with stage 3, Lyme disease. He had been complaining for months about being in pain. I kept taking him to the doctor and over the course of a couple of months we were able to figure out the problem. After reading the chapter on Lyme disease, I feel very confident that he was diagnosed properly. I also read the chapters regarding other possible reasons for his pain. The symptoms don't fit and I am thankful he has a common (and treatable) disease. You must read this book if your child is in pain. IT"S NOT JUST GROWING PAINS.

This was a really great book. Very clearly written with good explanations and analogies to explain some stuff that other doctors I have talked to have made needlessly complicated. It really helped me understand why kids get joint pain and about my younger brothers arthritis.

My wife refers to this book as "The Bible" because it appears to be the authoritative source for information on JRA. This disease struck our child in the Systemic Onset version, and after months of fumbling around by the local care providers we got a diagnosis that led us to this book and to an appointment with Dr.Lehman personally in NYC. We found the book to be very useful and after meeting Dr. Lehman we regard it as indispensible. We would highly recommend the book to anyone with a child suffering from this family of afflictions.

I highly recommend this book for all parents. It provides
amazing up to date information regarding different types of sports injuries and how a parent may be pushing their child
into hurting themselves and not realize this fact. And, more importantly it allows a parent to distinguish between what he/she may think is a sports injury, but may actually be a chronic degenerative condition such as juvenile arthritis. Autoimmune conditions run in my family and my 7 year old neice has recently beed diagnosed with polyarticular arthritis.
This book has become a bible for our family. Dr. Lehman's approach not only covers medical issues but social issues as well. Thank you to him for providing such valuable information
and answers to all of us parents who always have so many questions.

I agree with all of the reviews! My daughter (just turned 3) was diagnosed with JRA when she was 18 months old. I spoke with Dr's and my brother had it as well, so I thought I knew it all! This book gave me MORE understanding and knowledge than ANY dr my daughter or brother saw! I too have a LAUNDRY list of questions to ask at her next visit!!! It was well written and easy for a non-medical person to understand! Hats off to the DR!

My 2-year old was diagnosed recently with JRA, and after scouring the local library and the internet for every search term imaginable, and reading everything I could get my hands on, I recieved this in the mail yesterday and feel as though I've at least doubled my understanding of rheumatic diseases, and probably tripled it. The book is well written and understadable, without sounding patronizing. I have had multiple appointments with our pediatric rheumatologist, but after reading this I have a whole list of things I want to ask at our next appointment. I especially like how it's organized. The first half deals entirely with rheumatic diseases, their symptoms, diagnosis, and prognosis. The second half discusses the medications, procedures, and methods used to deal with the disease. Parts of it were really scary for me to read because my daughter is so young, but I truly believe knowledge is power, and if you're looking for good info on JRA, Lupus, or other childhood rheumatic diseases, I'd recommend this read.

Wow!! This book is full of common sense practical advice that I never found anywhere else. A big help to me in understanding my child's problems and how to make sure she's getting good care. I strongly recommend this book to any parent of a child with arthritis or a related condition. It will help you figure out what's wrong and how to get the best results.