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Summary: The BEST Resource on the Topic I have Read
Review: I have been searching for a good resource on the topic of thyroid for many years. The Thyroid Solution is excellent. I intend to encourage all the people visiting my own web site to get this book. It is a rare blend of good science and down to earth, practical recommendations. Read it, take a copy to your doc and start making sense of how thyroid fits into your own equation.
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Summary: Anyone with thyroid disease must read this book.
Review: Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Plummer's Disease(a form of hyperthyroidism). This is the first book that I read that really helped me learn more how to deal with this thyroid disease. What is truly amazing is that my thyroid levels are in normal ranges, yet I still have some symptoms of hyperthyroidism. This book gave me some ideas on what I could do to help myself make a mind body connection. This book also made me realize that my endocrinologist was doing a good job! I would recommend this book to anyone with a thyroid problem. I would love to personally thank Dr.Ridha Arem for writing this book!
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Summary: Finally! A Source That Helps Me Understand What's Happening
Review: I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1989. I've been through two different doctors, and neither one of them has done a very good job of explaining what hypothyroidism is and what it can do to your body if untreated (or even undertreated). This book has helped "turn the light on" in my head and understand all the things I have been going through for the past 10 years -- things that made me think I was loosing my mind! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a thyroid condition or is very close to someone with a thyroid condition. It will help everyone come to a much better understanding of what's going on and that the problems aren't really anyone's fault. I'm even going to buy copies for my friends who have thyroid problems. I had always felt alone with this disease, and this book has made me feel that I'm not alone anymore!!
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Summary: a must-read for anyone who has or may have thyroid disease
Review: This book is a good antidote to the disinformation you may get from your doctor about thyroid disease and its treatment (that is, if your doctor makes the right diagnosis at all). Very clearly written, easy to understand with good explanations of how the thyroid works. The book also includes lots of personal stories which will resonate with anyone suffering from thyroid disease. Furthermore, the arguments in this book are backed up by plenty of references to current scientific literature. There is a lot of support and sympathy here for everyone who has been told that they are crazy, that it's all in their heads, and that any thyroid problems they've had have been cured so stop your whining. Best of all, this book offers some very concrete suggestions on what to do for yourself to feel better. For anyone who is making decisions about thyroid ablation and/or thyroid replacement therapy - read this book first. I wish I had...
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Summary: A wealth of valuable, pertinent, and empowering information.
Review: I came across this book quite by accident, and how grateful I am! After years of frustrating doctor visits, and bouts with thyroid disease and thyroid cancer, I feel I have finally been given solid answers to some rather important questions---questions that have been dismissed repeatedly by many physicians. Thyroid patients are aware of the often rocky path to accurate diagnosis and treatment. This path requires an informed and empowered consumer of medicine. Dr. Arem seems to understand this and encourages patients to advocate for themselves. His attention to the pervasive emotional aspects of thyroid disease is refreshing and helpful. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had included information about how these problems can affect interpersonal relationships. This book is simply an excellent resource for the thyroid patient and his/her loved ones.
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Summary: A great guide on thyroid disease written for the lay person.
Review: THE THYROID SOLUTION by Ridha Arem, M.D. not only provides a vast amount of information regarding many types of thyroid disease but also underscores numerous readers' many insecurities and doubts evolving from years of being ill and seeing physcians that were unsupportive and not medically helpful. Furthermore, the case examples cited in this book are clearly very real, thus making the book read like a story. Consequently, this storybook quality enables the reader to cover many chapters of information in one sitting. In conclusion, THE THYROID SOLUTION by Ridha Arem, M.D. is a one-of-a-kind resource that should be distributed to all patients with thyroid disease as well as practicing physicians and also those in training. Without Dr. Arem's medical and psychological insights, patients and physicians will continue to operate in the blind which obviously does not promote sound physical or mental health. Valerie N. Pugh
Rating: 
Summary: Required Reading for Your Doctor
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Finally
Review: I have suffered from a thyroid condition for 15 of my 30 years. Finally there is book that discusses the mental problems that are associated with this problem. The doctors that I have seen for this condition are only interested in the labs results. Now I have the knowledge to help myself as well as help my doctor to help me. This is a must read for anyone that suffers from a thyroid condition.
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Summary: Finally, a dr stating that LAB values do NOT make you well!
Review: I have been treated for hypothyroid for over 30 years.For the last SEVERAL years I have been to the doctor over and over, as well as to different doctors, telling them that I feel like I did when I was first diagnosed. They would point at my labs and say I was fine. I had one doctor lower my medicine levels and brag that he had people leave his practice because he would not raise their medication levels!! At last, Dr. Arem validates my belief that there IS more that can be done. This book is particulary valuable if you have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia! The best and healthiest patients are the ones that are armed with knowledge about their condition!! Thank you Dr. Arem.
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Summary: This is the thyroid book you'll re-read
Review: When I was diagnosed with Grave's disease (hyperthyroid), I read several books on thyroid function. This book is by far the most complete reference. The book explains in detail many of the subjects that other books gloss over. It also contains the most complete discussion of T3 that I've seen. Now that I'm taking anti-thyroid medication and I've reached a stable level, I'm still reading the book and finding out things I wasn't told. For example, 50% of people gain weight when they start taking anti-thyroid drugs. This would have been helpful for me to know. For how common thyroid problems are, there seems to be a real problem with correct diagnosis and treatment. In a world of managed care, you need the information in this book.
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