Living Well with Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You... That You Need to Know (Revised Edition)

For years my GP tried to treat my hypo thryroid condition. The list of weird problems I had was quite long. I found a taking a bit extra synthroid made me feel better, but she did not like that. I even got her to send me to the "best" endo in our area. But that was a mistake, the man could not even listen. At they end of the appointment I asked him what he does when someones T4 tests are "normal" and they still feel bad. He said it must be in my head and set me back to my GP. At the time my normal TSH was "5.1", when you read the book you will discover how "un-normal" this was. I found the Thyroid foundation, a list of "favorite doctors", and this book from a web search. This was all 7 years ago. Through great treatment with Kenneth Blanchard (boston MA) I am now totally symptom free. I can honestly say he saved my life. This book, and Dr Blanchards, will give you all the inside information you need to understand why simple tests may not be enough. It will give you the real list of common symptoms (get ready to be upset). It will give you the power and knowledge you will need to manage your health. It describes the thyroid function and impacts. It discusses tests and treatment mangement. From what I have heard and experienced, you cannot rely on many Doctors to really understand this problem. They have been brainwashed by the makers of thyroid drugs to belive that just one little pill fixes everything. Thyroid problems are much more common than most people realize and the symptoms are often vague. As women age the percentage effected is higher. And if your thyroid was tested years ago, have it done again now. The "normal" range has been lowered! I know I only feel well if my TSH is about 0.9-1.0. This is an epedemic and we all need to be educated.

Hypothyroid, Hashimoto's, fibromyalgia...when my doctor gave me this diagnosis I had no idea what any of it meant. All I knew is that I had packed on 30 pounds of fat and water weight, my hair was falling out, I was exhausted and confused and felt horribly ill. I decided I needed a handbook to help me understand what was going on with my body and my brain. When I found Mary J. Shomon's website I found a hypothyroid guru who had been there and done that--and was generous enough to share her experience and knowledge with the rest of us. Living Well With Hypothyroidism soon became my lifeline as I went from doctor to lab to doctor to endocrinologist--and then repeated that process again and again. This book helped me create a dialogue with the doctors and professionals who are helping me live with the disease of hypothyroidism. It helped me understand the basics as well as the more complex components of my illness. Shomon's book helped me find the best endocrinologist near me by giving me guidelines for what to look for in a physician. Because I'm TSH sensitive I need to know about the doses of Synthroid I take. I needed to know what a T4 was and a T3. The author explains it all. Shomon's voice in her writing is encouraging and point blank. I found it helped keep me on track--and moving forward even when I felt discouraged with the progress I was making. I wouldn't be here writing this review without it. New to hypothyroidism? An old hand? If you haven't read Shomon's book, you should.

Good book, lots of good info. It inspired me to go to a better endocrinologist and asked a lot of questions. Of course he refused to do many of the tests suggested in here. "They don't matter" he would say. He increased my medication because it was too low, I felt great, then I felt over medicated. I went back and he said I'm find go to another doctor. That doc almost killed me. Then I had to go to the mayo and have surgery. I'm doing better now but still have pain from surgery. I still feel over medicated so I cut one pill in half once a week. Now I suffer from hypo and hyper all in one week. Great times. My eyes have been opened to the poor medical care we receive for this condition. I have Hashimoto's that is what I intend to work on now. I'll never fix my thyroid but this is a good book to help you take charge of your health. Good luck!

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in October 2009 after a hemithyroidectomy (removal of half of my thyroid gland). So naturally I wanted to know everything I could about hypothyroidism. The condition is hereditary in my family and being only 22 at the time of my diagnosis and realizing I would live with it forever, I needed more info. Being an RN gave me basic knowledge of the condition but I wanted a book that could tell me how to live with it and FEEL better! If you have this condition you know about the fatigue, the depression, dry skin and losing hair, being freezing cold all the time, and a lot of other problems! So I got this book and began reading.... I still have not read EVERY page but the pages I have read are all great. It really provided me with a new knowledge basis for my hypothyroidism and gave me advice on how to live better. It gives tips on thyroid meds as well as other types of medicine that may help, such as acupuncture. It even talks about pregnancy with hypothyroidism, which I will deal with in the future, hopefully! I LOVE this book....it is awesome! If you have hypothyroidism it is a must read for sure! Even if you don't read it from cover to cover, look up whatever you want to know in the index...it is sure to be there! BUY THIS!!!!

I was very excited to receive this book because of all the positive reviews. I am testing with borderline hypothyroidism but with a lot of symptoms, and getting a correct diagnosis has been challenging. This book was great when it came to explaining what I was going through, giving other patient perspectives, and just discussing the challenges that come with being hypothyroid. However, some of the information in here is outdated. Shomon constantly (over and over and over...) refers to the fact that the AACE (American Association of Clinical Endrocrinologists) recommended changing the lab test standards in 2003, but that they have yet to be adopted, and that is why a bunch of people are undiagnosed and not receiving treatment. Okay, well a few years later, the AACE released another statement called a "Positions Statement" that a middle ground between the old and new values is correct, and that treating people with borderline (subclinical) hypothyroidism is ineffective and controversial. (Note that subclinical hypothyroidism is different than something like Hashimoto's, where the Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease that causes hypothyroidism and thyroid antibodies, in which case they reccommend early treatment to preserve the gland.) So you read this book and you think you have all the information, walk into your doctor's office and...it's totally outdated. The AACE is saying that up to 4.5 is normal, and that treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism (between 4.5 and 10.0) is not warranted unless thyroid antibodies or growths are present. Any doctor (or reader) with a computer can Google the information and check it out on the AACE web site's position statements. Unfortunately, a certain informative thyroid site is run by Shomon as a "Guide" and so it is useless in assisting in getting the links to medical sites. And most thyroid boards and information are FILLED with Shomon's information and quote Mary at length. I work in media, and I'm telling you I wish I had this woman on my team because she is EVERYWHERE and it can be hard to get around her. But, the National Association for Biochemistry also lists that up to 4.0 is a valid TSH, not 3.0 as Shomon writes. NHLBI.gov uses 4.5 (same as AACE), CDC uses normal of up to 5.4 or even 5.6...none of them are using Shomon's 3.0 TSH from an outdated AACE publication. And as much as I would love to believe her, I need a valid scientific agency to back my lab values for my doctor to listen, not just a well published author. You can't just choose one conference publication press release and latch onto it, then use it everywhere. If the AACE was still using this value, they would continue to use this in their position statements and treatment manuals, and send these recommendations to other agencies. These ranges would have to appear somewhere else, even on the AACE web site, and they just don't. She also wrote extensively on Armour and natural dessicated thryoid. While I do see the advantages, I didn't feel that it was appropriate to insert a bias towards one class of drug into a book that is based on patient education. Armour has in fact reformulated, and many patients are saying that they are not experiencing the same level of quality of life/maintenece that they once had on this drug. I would hope that Shomon's book does not sour any patient on trying synthetic thyroid hormone since it might work better for them...who knows? If hypothyroidism teaches us anything, it is that every body is different. I feel that the author covered quite a bit of information, the book was well researched if not a bit biased at points, and I did identify with it on so many levels. It does give you courage. Unfortunately, it just had too much outdated information to be useful to me or my physician.

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 25 and underwent a total thyroidectomy, followed by RAI. Over the course of the past three years (that's about how long I've been dealing with being thyroid-less), I have experienced everything from hair falling out, brittle nails, fatigue, heart palpitations, muscle cramps, and ridiculous weight gain. I'm not overweight or fat by any means, but I went from being 145 to 160 in a matter of months (and that's even with following a Paleo-style diet, doing 3 Whole30's over the past two years, and running 3-7 miles a couple times per week). With my weight skyrocketing (despite watching/cutting calories, making sure to exercise, etc), I've been getting more depressed (despite my strong support system of my boyfriend and family, both who reassure me that I am just fine) and turned to Amazon to maybe find a book to help me. I came across this and bought it, not sure if it would speak to me since I am not hypothyroid by blood test levels (thyroid cancer patients are initially run hyperthyroid to make sure the cancer does not come back). But I was frustrated at FEELING hypothyroid despite technically being hyper. Turns out that this book actually DOES pertain to me. The author mentions right off the bat that not having a thyroid, even if running "hyper" by blood test, you are still considered hypo. Not all of the chapters in the book pertained to me, but I just skipped those and focused on the ones that did. There's even a chapter near the end just for people who have had thyroid cancer. I really wish someone gave me this book right after my surgery. It was SO comforting to hear the stories of the author (and others) going through the same things that I am right now. When Shomon mentioned that she tried cutting calories/increasing exercise and still gained 1-2 lbs per week, I was so happy.....because it finally made me feel like I'm not alone. I love the chapter on weight loss tips and how Shomon states, straightforwardly, that weight loss for the hypothyroid person WILL be hard. We CANNOT compare ourselves to others or what our bodies did pre-hypothyroidism....because that's not how our bodies work anymore. She states that it's downright unfair that we have to deal with this, but it's not our fault...it's medical...and we have to work with it as best as we can. Persistence & patience are key. While at some level I knew all of this already, it was so comforting to hear it from her; it really helped me start to change the way I think. After reading this book, I feel more empowered. I came to it for weight loss help, but now have a better understanding of my condition (even though, as a science teacher/general science nerd, I thought I already knew a lot!). There were some symptoms that I have that I didn't even realize were thyroid-related....and it's just so nice to know WHY my body is acting the way it is rather than wonder what's wrong with me. This book is a definite must-read for anyone who finds themselves thyroid-less. I am thankful I picked it up!

I ordered this book hoping to find some answers to what is going on inside my body. I was diagnosed with Hypothyroid a few years ago, even though my test results keep coming back good, I am still having symptoms.I Have a hard time losing weight( even though I am an avid runner), my hair is falling out -to the point where my hair is so thin on top I have to have my haircut differently to hide the spots and I have such bad memory issues, where it's interfering with my everyday life. I found out so many different facts in this book that explained what my Dr wasn't telling me. This book described me to a tee. So, I have decided to take my health into my own hands and try to heal myself with some homeopathic remedies (and of course still taking my armour thyroid) I have made sure it was ok with my Dr. first. First thing to do is a liver detox ,next,cut out all processed food, next vitamin re-vamp, next get my hormones checked and in balance. I am going to re-read this book again , so I can keep all that was stated, fresh in my mind. I am also looking into essential oils, to try to calm my mind & soul. I give this book 5 stars, it has put me in the right path to healing . Thank You

I had been struggling with fatigue and mild depression, but chalked it up to aging and staying up too late and not exercising enough. When my hair started falling out I became alarmed and decided to visit my integrative health care practitioner. Thyroid was not something I knew much about, except the typical media influenced,"that's the excuse people have for being fat". I found out I have sub clinical hypothyroid with normal TSH but low T4. Not wanting to jump into a lifelong prescription, I read this book to further understand thyroid and the options I had for treatment. This book was helpful and very informative. Reluctantly, I filled my prescription, and was feeling better in a few days. If I was feeling the way I did with normal TSH, I can't imagine how awful people feel with elevated TSH.

Please cancel this order I do not own a kindle! I wanted the hard book not the kindle version. Please look into this.

Mary J Shomon explains in the best possible way

A thyroid patient herself, Mary Shomon has done her homework. From my own perspective, I don't trust all the doctors she quotes, but this book is nevertheless a very good place to start. She has contributed greatly to the revolution of thyroid patients against inadequate thyroid care by the conventional medical establishment. Also look up her website articles and check out another website (not hers) called Stop the Thyroid Madness.

If you want to feel empowered about your hypothyroidism, this is a great place to start. Although the information is most relevant to Americans, it also has a huge amount of relevance for everyone. Doctors in the UK do things very differently to those in the USA so just bear that in mind, and it will still empower you to manage things better. A huge amount of info about supplementary things you can use to enhance your health despite your issues. Quite a bit of info repeated in this and her other books but still worth reading all of the ones relevant to your issues.

Está muy bien escrito y sustentado. En definitiva deja en claro que muchos laboratorios y médicos no detectan tiroides fuera de rango por no tener la información más reciente presente. Siguiendo los parámetros del libro, mejora mucho el rendimiento del cuerpo y la sensación de salud en general.