Rating: 
Summary: Great Information
Review: An informative book filled with useful lessons on the complete women -- nutrition, fitness, emotions, biology, spirituality. The doctors outline many of the similarities and differences between mood disorders and PMDD caused by hormone fluctuations. It's admirable that these doctors try to work on alleviating symptoms by recommneding improvements in lifestyle first, before prescribing drugs (unless there is a threat of harm). A great book for anyone working with women who experience mood swings: psychologists, psychiatrists, gynecologists. Also a great book to pass on to a friend. They also provide useful suggestions for charting symptoms; these charts are very useful in recognizing patterns and in helping your own doctor help. I for one and thankful for this book and look forward to continued information from these two doctors.
Rating: 
Summary: A validating read for any woman who has been depressed
Review: As a clinical health psychologist in an OB/GYN facility as well as a survivor of a recent life "earthquake" - I found this book to be an enormously validating experience both personally and professionally.The overwhelming majority of my patients are postpartum women who are suffering from a mood disorder which is embarrassingly poorly understood, and are often told to "snap out of it" at a time when "they should be happy." The authors of this book offer an explanation for postpartum depression from a biochemical standpoint, and thus relieve women from the shame that they are somehow doing "the mother thing" incorrectly. However, despite the fact that the book focuses on women's hormonal events such as pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause, this book explains women's depression from a view that is significant to any woman, regardless of her status of ever having been pregnant. In my estimation, this is the most powerful and most broadly applicable benefit of this book. The authors regard mood disorders as the result of brain "dysregulation" - a state which exists following repetitive and/or extreme stress to the brain, and based on an excess of stress hormones or "chemical loading." The dysregulation occurs when the brain "relearns" the adaptive stress mode as being the normal mode of operation, and gets "stuck" like a needle in a record groove which can't quite jump out on its own. The book's salvation - the NURSE program in conjunction with antidepressants, may be simplistic in some cases, but it's the best by far that we have to offer right now, and quite possibly the solution which leads to the quickest relief of physical and emotional symptoms. Therefore, I have recommended this book wholeheartedly to my patients as well as to those spouses/family members/significant others who need to better understand what their loved ones are facing.
Rating:
Summary: A validating read for any woman who has been depressed
Review: As a clinical health psychologist in an OB/GYN facility as well as a survivor of a recent life "earthquake" - I found this book to be an enormously validating experience both personally and professionally. The overwhelming majority of my patients are postpartum women who are suffering from a mood disorder which is embarrassingly poorly understood, and are often told to "snap out of it" at a time when "they should be happy." The authors of this book offer an explanation for postpartum depression from a biochemical standpoint, and thus relieve women from the shame that they are somehow doing "the mother thing" incorrectly. However, despite the fact that the book focuses on women's hormonal events such as pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause, this book explains women's depression from a view that is significant to any woman, regardless of her status of ever having been pregnant. In my estimation, this is the most powerful and most broadly applicable benefit of this book. The authors regard mood disorders as the result of brain "dysregulation" - a state which exists following repetitive and/or extreme stress to the brain, and based on an excess of stress hormones or "chemical loading." The dysregulation occurs when the brain "relearns" the adaptive stress mode as being the normal mode of operation, and gets "stuck" like a needle in a record groove which can't quite jump out on its own. The book's salvation - the NURSE program in conjunction with antidepressants, may be simplistic in some cases, but it's the best by far that we have to offer right now, and quite possibly the solution which leads to the quickest relief of physical and emotional symptoms. Therefore, I have recommended this book wholeheartedly to my patients as well as to those spouses/family members/significant others who need to better understand what their loved ones are facing.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the over 45 woman
Review: As a mental health practioner and former patient of one of this books authors,I would like to add a word of caution to all menopausal readers .One theory does not fit all This book and it's often sketchy theory does not adequately address the issues of menopause and periomenopause. If you are concerned with these issues and looking for answers do not waste money on this book(or these people).Get a good GYN and listen to what she/he has to say.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: As someone who is recovering from severe Postpartum Depression and postpartum OCD, this book was invaluable. Unlike other books that list symptoms and offer coping skills, this book actually shares the stories of women who have suffered through the hell that PPD can be. No matter how many times I'd been told "this is part of the illness, it will get better," I had a difficult time believing that until I read the story of Pamela, who suffered from postpartum OCD. I couldn't believe what I was reading! Parts of her story were so familiar to me that it was frightening; but I took comfort in the fact that I'm not alone, that this illness is VERY REAL. It is so difficult to suffer from mental illness, especially when no one around you can see the pain you are in. You just look "normal." For me, this book has been a wonderful tool to help educate my family about the severity of what I have been through. They had a better understanding after reading real stories that paralled mine, versus reading lists of symptoms that simply defined depression. A must read for women who suffer from major mood disorders and for their families, too.
Rating:
Summary: An trip through our amazing bodies
Review: Coming from a genetically load family (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and abuse) I found this book to be very helpful. A few months ago, my PMS/PMDD became unbearable, I had hormonal migraines everyday (for 7 days and then some)! Then I picked up this book. This book has allowed me to put my hormones and moods into perspective. It has given me hope and has strengthened my resolve to demand the proper care that I deserve from my healthcare professionals; and it has has given me ammunition to do so. I started the NURSE program a month ago and can already see results! It also helps to read about others with similar problems, you don't feel so alone. This book also prepared me for future problems that may come during different periods of my life: pregnancy, postpartum, menopause. This book does NOT tell you, "it's in your head, there's nothing we can do" or "here, take all these pills." Rather, the authors discuss all potential problems and then work with their patients towards a solution. Instead of just prescribing medication (like most doctors) they discuss the importance of therapy, exercise, rest, and taking the time to nurture ourselves. I recommend this book to all my friends.
Rating:
Summary: NO, YOU AREN'T GOING CRAZY; IT'S HORMONE CHANGES.
Review: Hormone changes can happen at any time in a woman's life from puberty, pregnancy to menopause and beyond. From personal experience, I thought all my problems were resolved when I went through menopause two years ago, only to realize as long as their is life, there are hormone changes. This book can be a woman's salvation when she comes to realizing she is not actually suffering from a case of sudden insanity, but hormone changes. Those devils, or lack thereof, can contribute to everything from insomnia, mood changes, loss of appetite, and low energy to physical aches and pains and increased susceptibility to infections. The message given in this book may not be new. We know, to keep our minds and body healthy, we need proper nutrition, understanding, relaxation, spirituality and exercise, but the authors' way of presenting the information is unique and interesting. This is a terrific book for women of any age. If you do not need it now, chances are you soon will.
Rating:
Summary: The issue of doctors overall attitudes must be addressed
Review: I am an author on this subject, and I am always interested in anything on this subject. Mss. Sichel and Driscoll have done women a great service in talking about the hormone-brain connection. There are few good books on the subject. Dr. Elizabeth Vliet's Screaming to Be Heard is one such. I am particularly writing to defend Mss. Sichel and Driscoll concerning the first review which praised them but then criticized them for so-called "doctor bashing." Really all they did was record women's experiences with physicians. The reality is such stories are true. In all areas of hormonal disorders, including those discussed here, women find great difficulty getting help from the medical profession. This is a generalization but the incidence is very common and a real problem. I have practiced as a hormonal consultant for 20 years and heard such stories every day. Yet, often when someone tries to write the truth about the situation for women and the way they are treated, they are criticized. But for many women who have been badly treated in this way, it helps to see in print that they are not alone and they are not crazy. I think about this subject a great deal. I am currently writing two more books and have to constantly weigh the balance between talking about the medical issues themselves or talking about doctors' attitudes. We who see the women can't help but become angry over the way so many are treated. When you read the research, there is so much known now about hormonal disorders that the average patient and the average doctor doesn't know (because they aren't taught it at medical school). There are many wonderful exceptions like Dr. Sichel herself, but they are relatively rare in each geographical location. Over the nearly three decades I have worked with women, I have found the information coming out on hormonal medicine has burgeoned. But what doesn't change is the average doctor's attitude. I was a victim of it in the 1970s, and I hear similar stories to mine still. Yet, I am not "antidoctor"--I am someone who has always worked with doctors, and I value and respect them highly. I think about further study at university and wonder should I write about the subjects themselves (PPD, menopause, androgen excess disorders) or about the doctors! To me having the information is relatively useless if you can't find someone to help you. It's a huge issue of women's rights and one that isn't yet being voiced much. You have a right to good health and to have access to the best that is known. Your physician (by knowledge and attitude) determines and limits the amount of help you get. To me this is a subject about which women should be marching on Washington. One day they will. Dr. Sichel as a physician herself is the very person who SHOULD talk about this. Ultimately, doctors have to regulate themselves. But with medicine in the state it is, struggling to survive, the problems of which we speak will always be at the bottom of the barrel. Thank you both for being prepared to speak out. Gillian Ford, author of Listening to Your Hormones...
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I am not exaggerating when I say this book saved my life. I suffered with PPD after my first child and when I got pregnant with my second child my depression hit me like a brick. The authors explain the chemical and horomonal reasons women have certain emotional issues through their lives. It goes through puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause. This book is a must have for all women.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing and Hopeless for Women!
Review: I am sure that these women were trying to accomplish something worthwhile in writing this book, but I found it to be horribe! Being a victim of trauma related issues, I sense that one of the authors truly attempted to relay her own problems in her life with her husband and children, yet would bounce back to the issue of leagalized drugs as the answer for all problems. Frankly, making me wonder what was going on in her life while writing this book. I am also wondering if she has her "clients" tested for any possible problems prior to placing them on medications that may not even apply to their problems. All I can say is that it made me very afraid for her "clients"! I think that the term best suited for this book would be "Physician heal thyself"....before writing a book! Anyone looking for a quick fix? It isn't out there. Find a good therapist, one that will listen, one that you can TRUST! Buyer beware..spend it elsewhere!
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