The Menopause Thyroid Solution: Overcome Menopause by Solving Your Hidden Thyroid Problems [Paperback]

Mary J. Shomon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2009

From New York Times bestselling author and nationally recognized patient advocate Mary J. Shomon comes a groundbreaking guide to safely managing menopause through a better understanding of and better care for your thyroid.

If you're one of the forty million American women struggling through menopause, you probably know all about the symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, and depression. But what you may not know is that the drop in reproductive hormones frequently triggers a thyroid slowdown—a "thyropause"—that can be the main cause for those troublesome symptoms. In fact, you may not even need hormone therapy, wild yam and progesterone creams, or herbs like black cohosh for a symptom-free menopause. What you really need is to begin to pay attention to your thyroid.

In The Menopause Thyroid Solution, Mary J. Shomon will help you:

• Recognize the symptoms of a thyroid problem versus those of menopause
• Learn how to get your problems diagnosed and treated
• Find out what and how to eat, what medications to consider, what supplements to take, and what lifestyle changes to make
• Improve your metabolism and increase your energy

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Shomon excels at comprehensiveness, covering all the decisions that a patient has to make when dealing with thyroid conditions.” (Library Journal )

“At last, a book that helps people make sense of multiple mystifying symptoms, and offers a road map to proper diagnosis and the most effective treatments...a brilliant empowerment manual for finding the proper practitioners and moving forward in your life.” (Richard Shames, MD, and Karilee Shames, PhD, RN, HNC, authors of Thyroid Power )

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about autoimmune diseases from Mary Shomon, the woman who taught America about thyroid disease! Her book will enlighten you about how to diagnose, treat, and possibly even prevent, autoimmune disease (Carol Roberts, MD, Director, Wellness Works Holistic Health Center )

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about autoimmune diseases from Mary Shomon, the woman who taught America about thyroid disease! Her book will enlighten you about how to diagnose, treat, and possibly even prevent, autoimmune disease in yourself or someone you love. Mary has my highest respect for her careful research and the way she presents both the conventional and the alternative aspects in a way that anyone can understand.” (Dr. John Lowe, Director of Research of the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation, Praise for: LIVING WELL WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM )

“A first rate book” (Los Angeles Times )

“Vital for hypothryoid patients who want to get well, and for physicians who want to do so.” (Dr. John Lowe, Director of Research of the Fibromyalgia Research Foundation )

“If I could recommend only one book on thyroid problems for my patients, this would be it.” (Elizabeth Lee Vliet, M.D., Founder and Medical Director of HER Place Centers )

“...inspirational for those afflicted with mysterious conditions...offers solid, practical advice for getting your health back on track.” (Alternative Medicine Magazine )

“A must read book.” (American Autoimmune Related Disease Association )

“This informative self-help manual is badly needed.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome confuse many doctors, and in turn they have difficulty giving good explanations to patients. Mary Shomon has been able to convert this ‘medicalese’ into simple talk that all patients can understand.” (Kenneth N. Woliner, MD, Holistic Family Medicine practitioner )

“I can think of few conditions more challenging to patients and the medical profession than fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Once again Mary Shomon has shed an incredible light on what really matters - everything from how to get an accurate diagnosis to finding the best treatment.” (Marie Savard, author of How to Save Your Own Life, praise for LIVING WELL WITH CFS )

“If you’re one of the millions afflicted with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, or think you may be, start changing your life for the better now by reading this crucial book. There are very real answers that will help you even more than you dare to hope, a (Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of The No-Grain Diet, praise for LIVING WELL WITH CFS )

“If you’re one of the millions afflicted with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, or think you may be, start changing your life for the better now by reading this crucial book. There are very real answers that will help you even more than you dare to hope, and Mary Shomon has done an absolutely masterful job of providing them to you here.” (Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of The No-Grain Diet )

“If you’re one of the millions afflicted with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, or think you may be, start changing your life for the better now by reading this crucial book. There are very real answers that will help you even more than you dare to hope, and Mary Shomon has done an absolutely masterful job of providing them to you here.” (Alternative Medicine Magazine )

About the Author

Diagnosed with a thyroid disease in 1995, Mary J. Shomon has transformed her health challenges into a mission as an internationally known patient advocate. She is the founder and editor in chief of several thyroid, autoimmune, and nutrition newsletters, as well as the Internet’s most popular thyroid disease website, www.thyroid-info.com. She lives in Kensington, Maryland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 Original edition (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061582646
• ISBN-13: 978-0061582646
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm Mary Shomon, and I'm a patient advocate, author, communications consultant, wife and mother. I've tried to transform my own struggle with thyroid disease into an advocacy campaign on behalf of patients with chronic diseases such as thyroid disease, autoimmune conditions, chronic fatigue, among others.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in 1995, and now research and write about these conditions and their impact on health and weight. Since early 1997, I have served as founder and Guide for the award-winning About.com Thyroid website, and as editor of my popular patient thyroid news report, Sticking Out Our Necks.

In my patient advocacy role, I try yto bring much-needed attention to underdiagnosed and often overlooked health issues. My desire to cut through medical jargon and deliver information to my fellow patients in a form they can understand resulted in my first health-related book, Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You . . . That You Need to Know, which was first published in 2000 by HarperCollins, and has gone to more than 20 printings before a 2nd Revised Edition was published in 2005. The book was a Prevention Book Club Selection, and Amazon Top-Selling health book, and its popularity launched a new series of consumer health books for publisher HarperCollins.

I am also author of the New York Times best-selling book The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss. (2004) "Thyroid Diet" was also a semi-finalist for the prestigious Quills Awards in 2005.

I am also author of Living Well With Graves' Disease and Hyperthyroidism" (2005) Living Well With Autoimmune Disease"(2003) Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia," (2004) and the The Thyroid Guide to Fertility, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Success" (2005). My newsletter for thyroid patients, "Sticking Out Our Necks," was founded in 1997, and has become a popular resource for patients in both its email and print form.

I have served as the Guide for the popular About.com Thyroid site -- now part of the New York Times Company -- launching the site in early 1997, and managing the site and working as its sole researcher/writer since that time. That site, Thyroid.about.com, along with my advocacy site Thyroid-info.com, are the Internet's most popular and visited sites dedicated to thyroid disease.

I've been featured in hundreds of television, radio, newspaper, magazine and web interviews, including appearances on ABC World News Tonight and CBS Radio Networks, and interviews in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Ladies Home Journal, Health, Cooking Light, Elle Magazine, Woman's World, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few.

In my decade of consumer advocacy, I have never hesitated to take a stand on behalf of patients, and my independence from drug companies and medical/patient organizations that are funded by the pharmaceutical industry has allowed me to maintain an unbiased, truly patient-first advocacy effort.

In the past, my experience focused on grassroots outreach, and developing consumer marketing and public information campaigns while working in the social outreach, advertising and public relations industry -- designing campaigns for clients as diverse as furniture retailer IKEA, the World Bank, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Before I began writing in the health area, I also published several humor books. I co-authored the humor book, Scratching the Net: Web Sites for Cats published by Andrews McMeel in 1998, and wrote the Washington, DC bestseller, The Single Woman's Guide to the Available Men of Washington, published in 1993.

I have a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Book!, August 7, 2009

By 

J. Mathis "BDBBH" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Menopause Thyroid Solution: Overcome Menopause by Solving Your Hidden Thyroid Problems (Paperback)

I got this book out of concern for my wife and found that the information is invaluable. Part of my wife's issues are related to thyroid and part to menopause, and the book helps with both. The book is both easy to understand and provides practical solutions. It also helped me understand what she was going through and how I could help. A very useful book.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the hormone debates..., November 18, 2009

By 

Sally Stewart "Sally Perrine Stewart" (Richmond, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Menopause Thyroid Solution: Overcome Menopause by Solving Your Hidden Thyroid Problems (Paperback)

Mary Shomon clearly lays out the issues concerning the latest information, belief systems and science concerning hormones in the aging body. I have been interested in this topic for nearly 15 years...when I first heard John R. Lee, MD speak on progesterone. As an early pioneer who treated women with severe osteoporosis with ProGest, he discovered that, indeed, these women could rebuild bone! Since then, I have continued to read what I could find on the Internet about bioidentical hormones. Never sure which physicians to trust, I went without hormones. As John Lee, MD first pointed out...the lack of studies on bioidentical hormone replacement versus synthetic hormones is due to the money that the pharmeceuticals make from their own patents. However, when physicians who are well educated read the studies that do exist, they, too begin to believe in the importance of testing and supplementing the body with needed hormones. What an impact on one's quality of life! Read this book...it is written in layman's terms. It's very helpful because it empowers you to have a meaningful conversation with your physician. If your physician can't respond, give him/her a copy!!! Ultimately, you must know your own body, how it functions and what symptoms you have. It's a big responsibility to take on but it's so worth it. Ignorance is NOT bliss!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly helpful info for women (and those who love them) of "a certain age", October 14, 2009

By 

Cynthia J. Jacobs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Menopause Thyroid Solution: Overcome Menopause by Solving Your Hidden Thyroid Problems (Paperback)

Mary Shomon has once again given some truly helpful thyroid information, this time for women "of a certain age." And, boy, can thyroid woes combined with perimenopause/menopause give many of us a one-two punch! It is so unfortunate that many doctors do not put all endocrine information together - thyroid issues AND menopause (!) - yet Mary has connected many dots and gives a wide range of well-researched information and suggestions in a balanced, holistic approach that includes everything from understanding how ALL hormones connect, nutrition, possible supplements, types of hormonal testing, the gamut of hormonal treatments available, exercise suggestions, and many alternative approaches. After reading this wonderful book, perimenopausal/menopausal women will have enough information to discuss a variety of options with health care providers to address their symptoms as well as empowering women to look beyond just what their providers know.