23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top choice among many hormone books for practicality, October 27, 2007
This review is from: The Perimenopause & Menopause Workbook: A Comprehensive, Personalized Guide to Hormone Health (Paperback)
I just can't say enough good things about this book and its balanced treatment of the issues (and no, I don't know the authors!).
Because I work in a related field, friends often ask me for advice as things start going haywire in perimenopause. I've bought a stack of about 20 books trying to find one that is a one-stop-shop for people so they don't have to just take my word on recommendations. This book is it. It's the book I would have wanted to write for friends and family if I had 48 hours in each day!
To give you an idea of the feel of the book: it provides references for the points it makes, but in a low-key way. It is much less information-heavy than "Screaming to be Heard"-- it is more focused on providing overview and analysis than an encyclopedic compendium of research. (By all means, if you want to learn a lot more about the subject, read Elizabeth Vliet's book, but watch out for typos, particularly the error in the conversion table of oral to transdermal estrogen. And if you're under 50, you'll find the new edition of her book "It's My Ovaries, Stupid" to be both relevant and more up to date-- just ignore the dumb title.)
Returning to the perimenopause workbook, it is that rare commodity: a book that doesn't fall into any of three camps: 1) the "progesterone is the greatest thing since sliced bread and will cure everything that ails you" camp (exemplified by Dr. Lee), 2) the "progesterone is miserable stuff and should be avoided whenever possible" camp (Dr. Vliet tends this direction), or, 3) the "estrogen is evil because the Women's Health Inititative told us so, so use it only when absolutely necessary and at as low a dose and for as short a time as possible" camp (this third camp still hasn't processed the results of the second arm of the WHI study, which pointed to the synthetic progestin, not estrogen, as a major culprit).
The authors of this book mention the large body of research indicating that estradiol by patch or gel (instead of oral horse estrogen) plus real progesterone vaginally or by mouth (instead of oral synthetic progestins such as Provera) has a very different, much more positive profile. I can tell you from reading all that research that they're right on the mark, and when they make generalizations they are backed up by research. So again, this book is about how to figure out how to make your life better, not a blow-by-blow treatment of the science. For that, you can turn to Dr. Vliet, or to some extent Dr. Uzzi Reiss' book (although it would sure be nice to have a new edition).
The weak spot in this book is that it's not heavy on specifics. It's pretty clear what regimen is likely to help a lot of women: the 0.1 Vivelle Dot patch, plus vaginal Crinone progesterone gel 14 days a month. But the authors are balanced enough in their treatment that they realize women may have too much, or too little, of either estrogen or progesterone at different stages in their perimenopause. They advocate looking for a knowledgeable doctor to do tests and plan a program, which is the right thing to do-- it's just that it can be a bit tough to find a good doctor. At the end of book it says there are tips on finding a doctor at the book's website, but I didn't find any referral ideas there (unless you happen to be near their clinic). Personally, I'd suggest doing a search for an "age management" doctor in your area, and then try to find one who isn't too into selling supplements. Fibromyalgia and fatigue centers can also be promising, although again taking with a grain of salt any "mitochondrial enhancement" or "dysbiosis" stuff they want to do. Or maybe you'll get lucky and your regular doctor or endocrinologist will be interested in learning!
Two more positive things about this book: It's not ga-ga about soy like some. And it covers adrenal hormones and androgens, unlike many that just cover estrogen and progesterone. (An otherwise very good book, "Perfect Balance," loses points for dismissing adrenal treatment.) One cautionary note: the graph of the menstrual cycle should say days 1 and 28 at the beginning and end, not days 7 and 21 (this typo could be confusing!).
In summary: Get this book if you want to feel better, and then find a doctor who will work with you on its absolutely evidence-based recommendations. If you don't just want to feel better and want to know all about this subject, you can continue on with books by Vliet (maybe her new one will finally come out soon) and Reiss. But this is the ONE book that succinctly pulls it all together from a perspective based in scientific research.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Diagnosis: improved my quality of life immensely., May 20, 2007
This review is from: The Perimenopause & Menopause Workbook: A Comprehensive, Personalized Guide to Hormone Health (Paperback)
At a time when doctors are rationing their time, and diagnosis is confined to laboratory test results, this book is an absolute godsend. Detecting whether one's estrogens, progesterone, thyroid hormones, cortisol, and testosterone are in or out of balance is a complicated business. These authors explain hormone function simply yet thoroughly. The checklists led me step-by-step through the process of observing and thinking through what was happening to my body, endowing me with the diagnostic savvy of Dr. House, and a way to finally talk to my doctor about things too easy for him to overlook and too easy for me to minimize, but later suffer in silence. A thorough discussion of replacement therapies including dosages and a comparison of delivery methods, complemented with numerous self-help strategies, made me feel confident that I could get help for what appears to be a relatively rare and not well-studied condition. I would like to tell Kathryn Simpson and Dale Bredesen MD, how fortunate I feel to have been able to buy and read this book, and how grateful I am for their writing efforts.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invaluable Information, January 9, 2007
This review is from: The Perimenopause & Menopause Workbook: A Comprehensive, Personalized Guide to Hormone Health (Paperback)
The clinical information, as well as the research, provided in this book spurred me on to make an appointment with an endocrinologist. It armed me with information regarding my thyroid condition and alternative medication for its treatment. I would highly recommend this book to any woman who is perimenopausal (or the man who loves her!) because it validates symptoms and gives possible reasons and treatments for them that would otherwise not be considered. My endocrinologist, fortunately, believes in using Cytomel in addition to Synthroid and I feel like a new woman!
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