Menopause and Madness: The Truth About Estrogen and the Mind (Hardcover)

by Marcia Lawrence (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This is a captivating book about an important topic: the role of estrogen deprivation in mental illness. Written from an autobiographical perspective, focusing on the author's bout with psychosis beginning at age 49, it also presents research supporting the existence of Gradual Estrogen Deprivation Syndrome (GEDS). Lawrence, an accomplished educator/writer, suddenly experienced schizophrenialike symptoms for which she received psychiatric treatment. But she recovered only after visiting her gynecologist for perimenopausal complaints; he diagnosed low estrogen levels and prescribed estrogen replacement therapy. Lawrence also describes the experiences of other perimenopausal women whose psychotic or depressive illnesses were alleviated by estrogen replacement. The story is fascinating, but her conclusion that GEDS, diagnosable by a simple blood test, can be a cause of psychiatric illness that arises during perimenopause is controversial. Although there is growing evidence that estrogen has significant effects on mental functioning, GEDS is not widely acknowledged. Recommended for public and large health sciences libraries as engrossing reading and because it conveys a message that could possibly alter the lives of certain women.?Linda M.G. Katz, Allegheny Univ. of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
A story of how determined research led to the discovery of the role that estrogen deprivation plays in mental illness, Menopause and Madness will not only enlighten but also ease the way for millions of women now approaching their mid-lives. The author, Marcia Lawrence, suffered from what she now calls Gradual Estrogen Deprivation Syndrome (GEDS), a psychologically debilitating condition that affects women who have a special sensitivity to declining levels of estrogen that occurs in the perimenopause. The book dramatically describes Lawrence's personal struggle and examines vital new information that will alert other women to the unique symptoms of this perimenopausal psychiatric illness.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Andrews Mcmeel Pub (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836235924
• ISBN-13: 978-0836235920
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,265,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars menopause madness is NOT a myth!, March 5, 2007

By	D. Bursch - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Menopause and Madness: The Truth About Estrogen and the Mind (Paperback)

I bought this book because at the age of forty two I was suddenly and unexplicably torn away from the self I knew. For no obvious reason, I was overcome with crippling anxiety and panic attacks, bizarre fears and overwhelming thoughts of suicide. I could barely function from day to day, and I felt that I was surely on the verge of insanity.
All I knew was that all these horrible feelings coincided with changes in my menstrual cycle and that I seemed to be suffering from intense PMS symptoms (especially sore breasts) almost all the time, so I suspected what I was going through might be hormonal. Marcia Lawrence (an intelligent, highly educated woman) confirmed my suspicions, and validated my feelings of psychological distress.
Her story, as incredible as it may seem, will make one question the belief that hormones are not at the root of mental and emotional turmoil during their greatest times of fluctuation- in the premenstrual, pregnancy, post-partum and perimenopause periods.
Her experience, as well as those of other women she has included in her book, was frightening and beyond her control. I feel that this book should be read by every doctor who deals primarily with women, by women young and old and by the men who are around them. It might help people to see that the so called myth of hormones making women crazy, has it's basis in a reality that still exists, and I have been living in it for the last several years!