The Thyroid Guide [Paperback]

Beth Ann Ditkoff (Author), Paul Lo Gerfo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2000

The definitive guide for the more than twenty million Americans suffering from chronic thyroid problems or thyroid cancer

Beth Ann Ditkoff, M.D., and Paul Lo Gerfo, M.D., two leading thyroid surgeons, identify the common symptoms of thyroid disease--weight gain or loss, fatigue, nervousness, and sleeplessness--and provide advice on diagnostic tests, treatments, medications, and self-help strategies.

Every person with thyroid disease can be helped with proper diagnosis and treatment. Most thyroid problems are chronic, so patients need information to cope with a disease that will likely be with them for life. This authoritative, easy-to-use book helps them understand their conditions and gives them the knowledge they need to manage their medications and symptoms. Drs. Ditkoff and Lo Gerfo are clinicians and researchers who have successfully treated thousands of patients.

Thyroid Facts

• More than twenty million people currently receive treatment for thyroid problems

• An estimated two million people have an undiagnosed thyroid condition

• At least 10 percent of women over the age of sixty will show evidence of underactive thyroid

• In women of childbearing age, thyroid dysfunction can cause menstrual problems, infertility, and miscarriage

• An underactive thyroid can cause sexual dysfunction

• Eight percent of pregnant women develop thyroid disease, which is often misdiagnosed as postpartum depression

• The majority of thyroid disease affects women

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Thyroid diseases are extremely common--but they often go undetected because symptoms are subtle and develop slowly, diagnosis can be tricky, and thyroid diseases can mimic so many other disorders (after all, sudden weight changes, fatigue, nervousness, and sleeplessness are symptoms associated with dozens of other health disorders, including psychological problems such as depression).

This empathetic reference from two leading members of The Thyroid Center--a multidisciplinary group of doctors at The Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City who have treated thousands of thyroid patients--gives you all the facts you need to understand this important gland and its functions, recognize trouble signs, and get proper treatment. The book is especially reader-friendly because many sections are written in a question-and-answer style and it's sprinkled with case studies about real-life people who have thyroid disease but went undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.

The book starts off with a chapter on how to find a good thyroid doctor--usually an internist, family practitioner, or endocrinologist with expertise in this area--with whom you'll feel comfortable over the long term (since thyroid disorders tend to need lifelong surveillance and treatment). It then covers the various types of thyroid disease: the underactive and overactive thyroid gland, thyroid nodules (usually benign lumps), cancer, and thyroid disorders common to children, and those that appear during and after pregnancy. The authors also describe tests used to diagnose thyroid disease and the latest surgical, pharmacological, and nutritional techniques for treating it. --Nancy Monson

About the Author

Beth Ann Ditkoff, M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where she specializes in thyroid disorders. Paul Lo Gerfo, M.D., is one of the world's leading thyroid surgeons and is co-director of the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1st edition (March 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060952601
• ISBN-13: 978-0060952600
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a physician, I am used to answering medical questions from my patients. However, friends and family also like to ask me health questions, ranging from serious topics like brain tumors to trivial ones like ingrown toenails. My two daughters, Andrea and Julia, also like to query me about medical matters. One day, my husband, Charlie Ditkoff, heard the girls ask me, "Why don't your eyelashes grow?" It is a basic questions, but one for which most people don't know the answer. As I explained to the girls about the cycle of hair growth, it gave my husband and idea. Why not write a book about everyday medical questions? Andrea and Julia would compile the questions, and I could provide the answers. Within days, Andrea and Julia had come up with dozens of questions--involving human body trivia (How many bones are in the body?), gross scientific facts (Why do we have boogers?), urban myths (Will you go blind if you sit too close to the TV?), and basic medical facts (Why do some people have innie belly buttons and others have outies?). In a little more than a month, we had more than 150 questions to answer! This book is intended for children and parents to address the everyday medical questions that come up frequently in day-to-day life. Beth Ann Zarkin Ditkoff, MD

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Just about the Surgery, April 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thyroid Guide (Paperback)

I was surprised when I got the book, because the listing says that thebook is 272 pages but it's really more like 170 pages, and doesn'thave much useful detail. The authors are apparently thyroid surgeons, and so they spend most of the book talking about thyroid surgery, and the conditions that can lead to thryroid surgery like hyperthyroidism, thyroid lumps and thyroid cancer. As someone who is hypothyroid, I was looking for more information than book's statement that "an underactive thyroid is easy to treat." They say this several times in the book, and the fact that they keep repeating this when it sure hasn't been true for me makes me think that they don't have a particular handle on what is involved in being hypothyroid after the surgery. Also, the cover talks about nutrition and self-care, but the nutrition chapter is only about 3 pages, and all it really talks about is iodine. These doctors also must not believe in alternative medicine because their section on it is 3 sentences that say that it doesn't really help anything, except maybe things like "insomnia or nervousness." This book might be good for someone who was going to have thyroid surgery, but this book didn't have much to offer for me, since I've had the surgery already, and am now dealing with being hypothyroid.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is an excellent layperson's manual, June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thyroid Guide (Paperback)

What I liked most about this book is that you don't have to be a surgeon to get value from it. For myself, I knew nothing about thyroid disease, other than to say that a very good friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with a kind of hyperthyroidism. I purchased The Thyroid Guide through Amazon.com because I was hoping to learn more about my friend's disease and maybe pass it on to her to provide her with some peace of mind. I am glad I purchased this book. The Thyroid Guide is an excellent source of information about all types of diseases affecting the thyroid. And, the information is presented in an easily accessible, unintimidating, readable way. Ditkoff and LoGerfo understand that it's not surgeons who need to read this book. So they have taken great pains to keep the technical stuff to a minimum. They have focussed on symptoms, choosing physicians, procedures, medications - the kind of information the layperson should know.

11 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Guide to Thyroid, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thyroid Guide (Paperback)

As an idividual familiar with the field, I think The Thyroid Guide is a must read for anyone faced with thyroid disease or thyroid surgery. Many people are hesitant to confront health issues that may be related to the thyroid, but this guide walks you through the steps from diagnosis to treatment. It contains all the questions a patient should ask his/her physician. It explores the different techniques used in dealing with thyroid surgery in an unbiased manner.

I feel that these two surgeons have dealt with all the issues facing patients dealing with thyroid cancer, disease, and surgery fully in writing this book.