Immune Systems

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

As many as one in eight women have a thyroid condition. In Living Well with Hypothyroidism, Mary Shomon outlines the most common of these--too little thyroid hormones in the body. Weight gain, depression, fatigue, and what patients call "brain fog, Brillo hair, and prune skin" result. Because the symptoms of hypothyroidism mimic so many other conditions--chronic fatigue, PMS, clinical depression--it can be very tricky to diagnose, especially since patients with HMOs may not get the thorough testing they need.

Shomon knows of what she speaks: she's a health writer and thyroid patient herself. She also manages a thyroid Web site and writes a newsletter on hypothyroidism. In Living Well, she offers an extensively researched guide to this complex condition. She covers conventional, alternative, and late-breaking approaches to treatment--such as challenging the gold standard of Synthroid as the thyroid replacement therapy of choice. (Synthroid replaces T4, the less active of the two thyroid hormones, and Shomon features new research on adding T3--the more potent thyroid hormone--to treatment.)

With her down-to-earth, patient-centered approach, Shomon explains everything from how to choose a thyroid specialist to how calcium, antidepressants, and a high-fiber diet affect thyroid hormone absorption. The book includes a chapter on depression, which is a typical misdiagnosis of hypothyroidism--as well as a symptom that often persists even after treatment. She also covers infertility (women who are hypothyroid don't ovulate as regularly and miscarry more frequently) and thyroid cancer, one of the less common causes of hypothyroidism. She explains how to spot hypothyroidism in kids, and ends with a glossary, international resources, and journal references.

Shomon creates a sense of community by excerpting e-mails from her vast network of patients--voices that bring a sense of humor so often missing from health books. One quibble: she could have avoided the antidoctor stance in the beginning of her book, where she blames physicians, rather than incomplete science, for the misdiagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism. --Rebecca Taylor

The Most Comprehensive Resource Available on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypothyroidism

For millions of Americans, hypothyroidism often goes untreated ... or is treated improperly. This book, thoroughly researched by the nation's top thyroid patient advocate—a hypothyroidism patient herself—provides you with answers to all your questions, including:

• What is hypothyroidism?
• What are the warning signs, symptoms, and risk factors?
• Why is getting diagnosed often a challenge, and how can you overcome the obstacles?
• What treatments are available (including those your doctor hasn't told you about)?
• Which alternative and holistic therapies, nutritional changes, and supplements may help treat hypothyroidism?

Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects nearly one in every hundred people. Unfortunately, 97 percent remain undiagnosed and untreated. They continue to suffer from gastrointestinal complaints, fatigue, headaches, joint pain, anemia, and itchy skin conditions -- to name just a few of the symptoms. These people consult numerous doctors, who prescribe drugs and diets that may alleviate some symptoms, but rarely work for long.

If you are one of these people, the real answer to your medical problems may lie in this book.

Celiac disease is a hereditary condition that damages the lining of the small intestine so that it cannot properly absorb the food that you eat. Without essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrition, the entire body begins to suffer. Because of its autoimmune nature it also sets off reactions that reverberate throughout all the organs of the body. This is a disease that you do not outgrow -- it often returns years later with more significant symptoms.

The true medical impact of celiac disease is just beginning to emerge. This is the first authoritative guide on how the condition is properly diagnosed, treated, and managed. It examines the latest research into its many manifestations, with chapters devoted to each complication and to related diseases. These include infertility, other autoimmune conditions (for example, type 1 diabetes and thyroid disease), peripheral neuropathy, liver disease, and even cancer. It also devotes an entire section to coping with the psychological aspects of a chronic illness and the gluten-free diet.

This "inside-out" examination and explanation of the disease is a must-read for both patients and the medical community.

The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance--and the Cutting-Edge Science that Promises Hope

"The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an astounding book....It is the kind of book that will rivet you and scare you. It will make you angry. It will amaze you with the courage of some of the people described in the book...The Autoimmune Epidemic is every bit as compelling as Upton Sinclair's The Jungle...It is also every bit as necessary as An Inconvenient Truth....

You will leave this book with no reservations about the veracity of the conclusions: put simply, there is no doubt that autoimmune diseases are on the rise and increasing environmental exposures of toxins and chemicals is fueling this rise. The research is sound. The conclusions unassailable....

Reading The Autoimmune Epidemic is a necessary first step. Reading The Autoimmune Epidemic is a life-altering event. It needs to be."

The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments: Defeat Lyme Disease with the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine

New Lyme Disease treatments are desperately needed. This book provides them. The book identifies ten cutting-edge conventional and alternative treatments and gives practical guidance on integrating them into a comprehensive treatment plan that maximizes therapeutic benefit while minimizing side effects. On the pages of this book you will find the most accurate, current Lyme Disease information available. Discover the tools and resources to reclaim your health using the best of conventional and alternative medicine. Lyme Disease is one of the most stubborn, treatment resistant infections on earth. It is also spreading rapidly on all continents. Borrelia Burgdorferi - the elusive and dangerous Lyme Disease bacteria - can mimic many seemingly unrelated diseases, resulting in frequent misdiagnosis of the infection. Government health officials are beginning to recognize Lyme Disease for what it is: a growing threat to public health and safety. Statistics show that there are over 200,000 new Lyme Disease infections per year in the United States alone. Read this book to find out about the following breakthrough Lyme Disease treatments. Five Core Treatment Protocols: The Antibiotic Rotation Protocol, The Marshall Protocol, The Salt / Vitamin C Protocol, Detoxification, and Electromedicine (Rife Machine Therapy). Five Supportive Supplements: Systemic Enzymes, Mangosteen, Lithium Orotate, Coenzyme Q10, and Magnesium.

Living Well with Autoimmune Disease: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know

Autoimmune diseases affect 50 million Americans, mostly women, who frequently remain undiagnosed and untreated, or are treated ineffectively. Living Well with Autoimmune Disease helps readers pinpoint symptoms, find the right practitioner, and learn cutting-edge approaches to reduce symptoms and reverse their disease.

Author Mary Shomon, who has the immune disease Hashimoto's thyroiditis, explains how the immune system is supposed to work, and what can go wrong. Then she discusses more than 20 specific autoimmune diseases--such as chronic fatigue syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, thyroid disease, Graves' disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, fibromyalgia, scleroderma, and multiple sclerosis. For each, she covers symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

Shomon, a patient advocate and Web guide for people with thyroid disease, hears the most success stories from people who combine conventional treatment with complementary therapies, so she gives specific strategies for using herbs, diet, and mind/body therapies. She also includes a 30-page checklist of risk factors and symptoms (helpful when you have no idea what condition you might have), a guide to finding and working with the right practitioner, and an extensive resources section that includes patient support organizations, Web sites, and books. --Joan Price

A complete guide to understanding the mysterious and often difficult-to-pinpoint disorders of the immune system--and finding the keys to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.

An estimated fifty million people suffer from symptoms including fatigue, joint pains, depression, or heart palpitations — signs that the immune system has turned on itself, causing conditions such as thyroid disease, hepatitis, or multiple sclerosis. And while doctors may prescribe treatments to relieve these surface ailments, when asked about the life-long health implications of an autoimmune condition, they often just shrug their shoulders. Yet much like cancer, having one autoimmune disease puts you at high risk for developing another, and understanding the underlying immune process can reverse a patients approach to a dysfunction--for the author, it changed the way she ate, the vitamins and supplements she took, and the types of doctors she visited. Living Well with Autoimmune Disease is the first book that goes beyond the conventional treatments by showing you how to work on your underlying autoimmune dysfunction with natural and alternative therapies.

Exercises for Multiple Sclerosis: A Safe and Effective Program to Fight Fatigue, Build Strength, and Improve Balance (Exercises for)

Fight the impact of MS through fitness with specially designed exercises.

In the U.S. alone, approximately 400,000 people have multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. There are a variety of symptoms of MS and it affects people in different ways, but there is no cure.

Fitness can help strengthen debilitated bodies, and make living with the disease a little easier. Exercises for Multiple Sclerosis outlines a detailed exercise plan that can help MS sufferers overcome their symptoms, especially fatigue and mobility problems. The latest book in the popular Exercises for series, Exercises for Multiple Sclerosis provides a tested program for people living with MS, making it an essential reference for anyone who suffers from MS.

The exercises are clearly photographed in easy-to-follow sequences and contain complete descriptions. If you or someone you know suffers from MS, you need this book. Exercises for Multiple Sclerosis will help MS sufferers to achieve a healthier, happier, more productive life. 100 photos.

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Autoimmune Disorders: The Revolutionary, Drug-Free Treatments for Thyroid Disease, Lupus, MS, IBD, Chronic Fatigue; Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Other Diseases

Autoimmune disorders are not well understood and therefore difficult to treat. The result is that there are millions of Americans who are suffering because they aren't being diagnosed properly, or getting the correct medical treatment they need. Here, Dr. Edelson discusses the most common types of autoimmune diseases, including lupus, Chron's disease, thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic fatigue syndrome, outlining their symptoms, causes, and risk factors. He describes his own revolutionary program for treating the root of all autoimmune disorders-without drugs-providing readers with new hope for getting back on the road to better health.

The Autoimmune Connection

As featured in the New York Times and recommended by the National Women's Health Resource Center and the Society for Women's Health Research, The Autoimmune Connection discusses the links between autoimmune diseases and offers up-to-date information on diagnosis, treatments, and risks for women with one or more autoimmune disease, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or Crohn's disease.

The New Sjogren's Syndrome Handbook (Sjogrens Syndrome Foundation)

Afflicting nearly four million Americans, Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that commonly causes dryness of the eyes, mouth, and nose, and that can lead to complications including profound fatigue, depression, and lymphoma. While there is no cure for Sjogren's, much can be done to alleviate the suffering of patients. This extensively revised handbook offers everything you need to know to cope with this disease.
The New Sjogren's Syndrome Handbook, Third Edition is a comprehensive and authoritative guide, produced by the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation and its medical advisors and edited by physician Daniel J. Wallace, a leading authority on auto-immune disorders. This expanded edition provides readers with the best medical and practical information on this disorder, bringing together the current thinking about Sjogren's in an easily readable and understandable book. The handbook illuminates the major clinical aspects of the syndrome and is loaded with practical tips and advice to assist those seeking information. Indeed, it offers a wide-ranging look at the many faces of Sjogren's, covering diagnosis, the various organ systems that can be affected, the possible psychological problems, and the many treatment options, as well as an appendix listing the resources available for patients with the disease. It is a valuable aid that patients can use while discussing their illness with their physician and an excellent resource for family members. And because Sjogren's is greatly underdiagnosed, this handbook is a particularly valuable resource for healthcare professionals.
The most reliable and informative guide available, The New Sjogren's Syndrome Handbook, Third Edition is the first place for patients to look when they have questions about this little known but serious chronic disease.

The Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough: Overcoming Sexual and Hormonal Problems at Every Age

If you're one of the millions of American women suffering from PMS, irregular periods, difficulty getting pregnant, low sex drive, postpartum depression, menopausal symptoms, or many other hormonal problems, what you may not realize is that thyroid disease could be the culprit. The Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough is a holistic guide to identifying and overcoming the connection between hormonal problems and the thyroid, which goes undiagnosed in more than 30 million women in the U.S. alone. It will help you identify and diagnose thyroid problems and offer strategies to cope with the effects that thyroid conditions can have on everything from puberty to menopause, including ways to avoid the pitfalls of decreased sex drive.

With information on diet and exercise, conventional and alternative therapies, and lifestyle changes that will benefit overall health, plus a risk and symptom checklist and a detailed resource section, The Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough is the most comprehensive thyroid hormone book on the market.