Female Brain Gone Insane: An Emergency Guide For Women Who Feel Like They Are Falling Apart

About 18 years ago I entered Hell, also known as Perimenopause. It is not hell for every woman, but it is hell for enough women. This book is a pioneering book in my opinion. I went from 39 years old to crazy seemingly overnight. Then, somehow when no doctor or specialist or anyone knew anything; some way, I don't remember how, I found Mia Lundin. She held my hand over the phone.....sort of speak. Back then she lived in California and I in Florida. Her recommendations got me on the road to survive this thing. Gave me an idea what was happening and ....saved my life. Literally. I was completely ignorant about " The change", anger became rage, fear became anxiety, sadness became depression with homicidal and suicidal ideations....I called it an internal Holocaust. Mia Lundin was ahead of her time. This is my seventh book, because everytime I buy one I give it away to any young woman I meet or work with, as I wished someone had done it for me before I turned 39. Female Brain Gone Insane might not be the be all end all on the female hormonal insanity that the ovaries grand finally can be, but it is,in my opinion a phenomenal starting point. And for some women it offers all the guidance they will need to travel this transitional journey with dignity and some sanity. I'm postmenopausal now, but the hormones are on a different stage of settling down. Of finding their new normal....it takes time....and so I find myself reaching out for Mia's book one more time to help me thru this phase, cause the medical industry it is just catching on......shame on them. Too many women have gone thru tremendous pain of every type you can imagine, cause hormonal imbalance due to the ovaries grand finally it's not even taught in med school. But the world is waking up, and the topic is hot in podcasts and social media, cause a lot of women are screaming for help, and it's getting podcasters a lot of views also known as money. I am so thankful that informed newer and future generations of women won't have to go thru the hell women of the long ago past, and not so long ago as me, went thru. They will not have to suffer thru it, if they choose to stay informed. Thank you Mia.

This book really helped me to understand what was going on in my body when I felt so tired and sick during PMS after I weaned my baby. I would really recommend reading it! It explains different scenarios of various women and it's helpful to see that others are having similar symptoms and to read about the biological causes of them. It makes you feel relieved that you can be your normal self again soon. One thing- you might not need to take the risk of hormone therapy in order to get better. I didn't want to, because there is breast cancer in my family. For a few years before I had my second child, I took Chasteberry (Vitex) once a day. I felt a million times better- it helps your body produce more progesterone. Lately it hasn't been working though. Good luck! UPDATE: I just learned in the health food store today that there are two types of Vitex. One is the "fruit" and it doesn't work for women's issues. That's the one I bought by accident after I had my second child and that's why it wasn't working! The second type is the "extract"- it should say what % of Agnuside is in it. THAT one is a miracle. There are tons of studies on it. It even healed the proliferation of uterine tissue in one study. So, voila! Hope it helps you. You can take it for as long as you want according to a book by a scientist (unlike what some websites say). I am going to try it again because it totally helped me before. In the past few months I tried a prescription of natural progesterone pills (from the compounding pharmacy) but it made me feel super depressed and also hurt my bladder badly. UPDATE 6/2011 Beware- don't eat the 30% protein diet that this book recommends. It will make you so sick! It gave me a horrible stomachache that lasted every time I ate for months. Read "The China Study." The scientist who wrote it did experiments on rats. He was able to turn cancer on and off by changing the rats' diet from 5% animal protein to 20% animal protein. Whenever he decreased their diet to 5% the cancer stopped growing. When he raised it to 20% it came back full force. He could feed the rats tons of toxic chemicals but if they were on the 5% protein diet they never got cancer. Also he explains about female hormones. They are too high in western women because of animal-based diets. You can decrease your estrogen to half (and therefore not have such horrible female symptoms) by eating a plant-based diet. You don't need to take risky hormones!

Thank God for this book. At age 42 I crashed into perimenopause and had no idea what was happening to me. After seeing several doctors who all told me everything was "all in my head" and that I needed to start a regimen of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, I finally went to see my gynecologist who told me I was in peri and put me on birth control pills. At first, they worked like a champ, but after a few months the bottom fell out again and I slipped back down the rabbit hole. Out of desperation I searched for an answer and came across this book. Ordering it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Mia explains everything, why it's happening and how to fix it through the use of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy and neurotransmitter repair. My only complaint is that I personally felt she gave a bit of an impression that menopausal issues can be resolved in a matter of weeks (but that was just my personal interpretation). After a lot more research and talking to other women on BHRT, I've realized this is a long, slow process full of a lot of bad days, but eventually, sometimes minute-by-minute, the good times start to kick in and you slowly but surely begin to climb out of the hole. Hormone production declines over years so it can't be fixed overnight. But it's an excellent read and you will come to understand that it's not just you and that you are definitely not alone.

I really appreciate how this book simplifies the self-treatment of perimenopause symptoms with bioidentical progesterone and amino acids. I'd had great past results from 5htp as recommended in The Mood Cure. (That book is much more comprehensive on aminos.) But I didn't even know until I bought this that this book was about aminos. I was simply looking for answers about hormonal balance for my perimenopausal symptoms. This book did a nice job of explaining how low progesterone and low serotonin combine for hormonal moodswings. Her sample supplement plan is sound, although my cross-references have me starting with progesterone only once per day. I'm torn. On the one hand, this book is a much easier read when you're overwhelmed. You can get a good regime out of it. On the other hand, reading The Mood Cure and John Lee's What Your Dr Won't Tell You will give you a more moderate plan. I'd say start here, then double check details and contraindications with the other books. UPDATE. Giving it 5 stars now because I got my answers and feel amazing. The book suggests getting hormones, DHEAS, and thyroid tested via ZRT labs. Since I suspected I might have adrenal fatigue in addition to estrogen dominance, I sought out ZRT labs and got tested without a Dr. by joining Canary Club. BINGO. I learned that indeed, my cortisol and testosterone were below normal. Also that I was under-dosing my progesterone by following what John Lee's book said (1x day) instead of what Female Brain Gone Insane suggested (2x day.) Additionally, I learned that my thyroid is fine, so I don't have any lingering doubt if that was part of my problem. So I added all the adrenal fatigue supplements in addition to Mia's basic supplement plan. I also took a calculated risk and added a very low dose of regular DHEA (in addition to the Keto she recommends) because I was hoping that would increase my testosterone a bit. After 2 months, I feel amazing. I feel normal again. I am motivated again. This book gave the keys I needed to get myself sorted out.

Female Brain Gone Insane What a great book. I learned so much about myself. I have been off HRT for 5 yrs because of breast cancer. Each year more problems arise. Recently I have developed high anxiety, brain fog, memory loss & disliking being around people (I use to be an extrovert.) Mia Lundin's book has defined my path for the future. I am seeing results already. The neurotransmitter supplements mentioned in the book according to my symptons have helped me get back my old self or close to it. I am less anxious, enjoying friends & have my memory back. I am still working on the brain fog. The book starts off w/how to use this book, next is why & how this brain change happens, on to identifying where you are in the process, life improvement techniques, & lastly excellent resources. There is an excellent Emotional Rescue Plan that readers can complete & begin their healing. I have seen & read many health practitioners: western, eastern, holistic; but no book has given such clear steps & definitive answers to the changes of the female brain & its repercussions on one's life.

This book is interesting but it doesn't really offer suggestions/help that hasn't been said elsewhere. However she does cover a range of stages of a women's hormonal phases throughout life. My sister suggested this book, and the information on how the brain and hormones work is, again, interesting. Not much new here but not too bad (I've read a lot of books particularly on menopause and would suggest Christiane Northrupp for that instead).

WOW, just wow...this book really feels like a good friend after experiencing a severe hormonal imbalance, worsening anxiety issues/ panic attacks, and severe depression that came on with my very short cycles. This book explains in very simple and understandable terms the delicate dance between your hormones, your moods, your physical symptoms and gives really great holistic paths to help steer your system right again. I have gleaned pieces of what this book lays out from seeing a naturopath, a gynecologist, and a nurse psychiatrist but this really puts it all in one place and gives you a great breadth of knowledge to walk into your doctors office with. I have been utterly shocked at how little understanding there is on this subject and where to find help. Buy this book, you will not regret it.

I LOVE this book! I purchased my own copy after first checking out our library's. I was so impressed and so grateful that they had it, that I emailed the library a thank you. Since then I have purchased 2 copies as gifts and recommended to all the women I know. This is the best book I have read so far on general female health. It's very easy to read and follow. Mia has outlined four steps to help you have better health based on your age and emotional type. It doesn't group all women into just one category! I love the chapters on the adrenal and thyroid. But best of all, she does NOT promote her own products! And of course, it's not just about supplements. But what you eat, exercise, relax, etc. Mia must be a very smart and caring lady. She shares her story as well as some of her patients. I would love to meet her someday and tell her what a difference her book made in my life. Every woman should read this book, and follow her advice.

Great book , easy to understand

A great read with a lot of insight into what's really going on in a woman's brain!

Bought this book for a friend. She said it was a good read and helpful.

At a time when I really felt I was going insane with perimenopausal symptoms, this book offered straightforward information that explained very clearly, the physiological explanation for WHY so many women don't feel like themselves during this phase of life. I was relieved to learn that I wasn't alone!! Mia Lundin combines medical information along with case studies to reassure women that there is hope and there is no need to suffer through the many unpleasant physical, emotional and psychological struggles that perimenopause throws at us. Suggestions such as natural HRT, diet, and exercise are explained in detail and are practical solutions to help combat symptoms. Mia's mantras are uplifting! A great book for women seeking support and easy to understand solutions.

I stopped reading about 10% of the way through when the author started to suggest "alternative" medicines. If her knowledge of evidence-based medicine/science is so lacking that she is offering up pseudo science and other quackery I am not going to trust my health to her recommendations, especially on something as potentially dangerous as ill-advised hormone treatment. It also seems as if she is suggesting bioidentical hormones are safer than regular hormone treatment, which as far as my (admittedly brief) online searching can determine has no scientific basis. For anyone who wants to know about the scientific evidence or lack of it for "alternative" medicines may I suggest "Trick or Treatment" by Simon Singh, and also "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre to understand why clinical trials matter.