287 of 290 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Required Reading for Your Doctor, June 23, 1999
By A Customer
People with thyroid disease face several critical challenges:
1. Recognizing their own various and seemingly unrelated symptoms as a potential thyroid problem, and getting their doctor to recognize the symptoms as well
2. Having the thyroid tests interpreted liberally enough to catch many low-level cases of thyroid problems.
3. Getting the right dosage of the right medicine.
4. Convincing the doctor to even recognize the symptoms, and test for a thyroid problem.
5. Once diagnosed, treated, at optimal thyroid hormone blood levels, and on the right mix of thyroid drugs...figuring out what to do you do if you STILL don't feel well?
Ridha Arem's book does an excellent, fairly groundbreaking job on points 1 and 2. Unlike the other currently available patient-directed books on thyroid disease, Dr. Arem's book talks honestly and openly about symptoms such as brain fog, depression, loss of libido, weight gain, anxiety, and many others. These are symptoms that all too frequently, doctors either deny, ignore, don't recognize, or attribute to causes other than the thyroid. Arem has also researched and analyzed the relationship of thyroid disease to brain chemistry, and resulting depression, anxiety disorders, mood disorders and other mental and emotional effects -- in great depth. This is a subject simply not covered in any of the current thyroid-related books available to patients. It is to Dr. Arem's credit that he has greatly added to the scientific understanding of the mind-thyroid relationship.
Dr. Arem also provides a good scientific grounding in why patients with low-level thyroid problems should be treated, with enough information that patients can show the relevant pages and references to their doctor and perhaps convince the doctor to treat them.
Where the book seems to be less pioneering is in its approach to the many millions of thyroid patients who get diagnosed, treated, are at optimal thyroid hormone blood levels, and on the right mix of thyroid drugs...who STILL don't feel well.
I hear from 500 thyroid patients a week at my thyroid disease website, and of the 10,000 patients who receive my thyroid-disease newsletter, many write to me regularly, so I hear from people in the trenches with thyroid disease every day. I know that despite the best advice of the rare doctors like Arem who understand thyroid problems, most doctors simply don't have much of an understanding of the issue. For the majority of patients, even finding a doctor who will agree to thyroid testing, much less treatment, can be Job One. It is my fervent wish that these doctors will read Arem's book, and at least open their minds to Dr. Arem's interpretations of what is a "normal" thyroid test result, or what constitutes low-level hypothyroidism and warrants treatment. Where the book leaves patients -- including me, as I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease with resulting hypothyroidism -- hanging is that there are many people who have found that much more is needed than even just the things Dr. Arem recommends as the crux of his program -- T4/T3 drugs, therapy, mind-body exercise and complex carbohydrate diet.
Dr. Arem's book acknowledges that hypothyroidism can cause infertility or miscarriage, but doesn't address how thyroid patients themselves can help to increase the likelihood of a successful and healthy pregnancy. He also skims fairly quickly over the issues of relationships between thyroid disease and women's hormonal medicine.
Given its somewhat scientific style, Dr. Arem's book should be required reading for all doctors, who could benefit from the breadth of understanding Dr. Arem has about the symptoms of thyroid disease. Given the respectable, conventional endocrinology credentials of the author -- the book could be valuable ammunition for patients who need to fight for proper diagnosis and treatment with less enlightened doctors. Being able to point to the fact that a conventional endocrinologist has written positively about these previously shunned forms of diagnosis, treatment, and hormone replacement takes them out of the realm of "alternative" or "quackery," a development that is only good for all thyroid patients in our search for the best possible lives and health.
Mary Shomon
Editor, "Sticking Out Our Necks," The Thyroid Disease News Repor
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128 of 129 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frustrated about your thryroid? This the the book for you!, November 5, 2000
I have been living with hashimotos thyroiditis for 18 years. I have been complaining to my Dr.'s off and on for years that I felt like I had symptoms of hypothyroidism, but they kept telling me that the blood tests were normal. After recently having a baby, my thyroid went crazy, and I basically had to tell my Dr. what I thought I needed. This book helped me understand that I was right! He goes into great detail about the fact that you can have a "normal" lab value and yet still suffer from low level hypo or hyper thyroidism!! I found a new Dr and have gotten myself at the other end of the "normal" range.
In addition, those of us with thyroid disease have never been told before that high cholesterol or mild depression can be symptoms of thyroid disease! This book describes all of the bodily functions effected by the thyroid AND what other diseases those of us with thyroid disease may be at higher risk for.
I can't stress enough how much this book described my life for the past 5+ years and how much better it had made me feel- I now understand so much better why I have felt the way I have and have a plan for working on the situation.
This is the best thyroid book I have ever purchased and strongly recommend it to anyone with thyroid disease!!
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104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THIS BOOK SAVED MY LIFE!, April 30, 2003
Buy this book as soon as you are diagnosed with a thyroid disorder and read it cover to cover while you are seeking treatment. Even if you are not sure whether you have the disease, it will explain the symptoms so that you can decide whether or not to seek medical diagnosis. Many doctors don't think to look for thyroid disorders, and so it is up to you, the patient, to suggest that they test you. Once they have diagnosed the disorder, they can give you medication, but may not tell you what to expect or how to deal with it.
When I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I could hardly function from day to day. The doctor convinced me that by taking a pill I would fully recover in 4-6 weeks. WRONG. The imbalance sent me into a spiral of health problems, anxiety, depression, weight loss, and appetite changes. I almost dropped out of school. I withdrew from friends and family. Even after my blood levels had returned to normal, I lived in a fog of pain and stress and confusion. I was too tired to turn pages in a book. I'm a PhD candidate and I couldn't even complete a sentence!
This book helped me take control of my life from diagnosis to recovery. It listed both the physical AND emotional symptoms that the doctors hadn't bothered to discuss. It told me which blood tests to request, and how to interpret the results. It suggested treatments and allowed me to understand my dosage scale. And MOST IMPORTANTLY it informed me of the complexity of recovery. No one had bothered to tell me that my symptoms might not resolve simultaneously with my blood levels. No one told me that the imbalance may have additional effects for which I may need supplemental medication (for instance, I required anti-depressants). Dr. Arem not only suggests medicinal treatments for these effects but also physical and psychological treatments to help people cope with the disease and aid their improvement. This book told me EVERYTHING the doctors didn't and allowed me to take control of my recovery. Thyroid disorders affect your body AND your mind, and you need to treat yourself holistically. For the first time in almost five months, I am happy and healthy in both body and spirit. But the doctors could not have done it for me. I had to be informed and take control. THIS BOOK SAVED MY LIFE!
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