One in ten Americans suffers from thyroid dysfunction, yet most don't realize the mental and emotional components of this condition. "This is the first book to explain the hidden suffering that many patients have difficulty expressing and the first book to provide new ways of helping address and heal this suffering," promises author Ridha Arem, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of endocrinology and metabolism at Ben Taub General Hospital, both in Houston, Texas. This book explains the link between stress and thyroid imbalance; how thyroid imbalance affects your emotions, sex life, and relationships; and how to cope with the effects of this imbalance. Because thyroid problems primarily strike women, a whole section deals with women's health issues, such as infertility, miscarriage, postpartum depression, premenstrual syndrome, and menopause. Another section provides practical tools, such as evaluating lab tests and self-diagnosis techniques, dealing with treatment problems and side effects, and preventing memory lapses and depression. The book covers lifestyle choices that affect thyroid health, such as diet, supplementation, and exercise. Frequent case studies (usually told as first-person narratives), checklists, and questionnaires help to simplify the material and make it easier to check the medical information against your own situation. Each chapter ends with "valuable points to remember," making review easy. If you suffer from thyroid imbalance, or think you might, this book could be a valuable resource. --Joan Price


From Library Journal
Arem, a clinical endocrinologist and researcher, says that 20 million Americans (one in ten) have a thyroid disorder. He argues that millions more suffer from undiagnosed thyroid dysfunction and the resulting mental and physical symptoms. Arem clearly and extensively examines the fundamentals of thyroid disease, including diagnosis and therapy, although his focus is on the significance of the thyroid in cognition and emotionAthe mind/body connection. Arem's thesis, derived from mainstream medicine but illustrated throughout by anecdotal reports, is that abnormal thyroid hormone production and dispersal can lead to health problems that range from the psychiatric to ophthalmologic. However, he may be overstating the case when he suggests that thyroid disturbances can underlie depression, anxiety, decreased motivation, and sexual difficulties even in those with normal blood tests. Further, he asserts that thyroid hormone is a bona fide antidepressant. Although thyroid hormone regulation can be important, it isn't the answer to all problems. This book should be of interest to those with thyroid disease; for others, it provides appropriate encouragement to remind their physicians to consider thyroid issues. Recommended for libraries with large budgets.ALinda M.G. Katz, MCP Hahnemann Univ., Philadelphia Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The thyroid can affect both body and mind. Arem writes clearly about how the gland can disturb a person and personal relationships. He relays much useful information about thyroid problems and mysteries, including moderately lengthy descriptions of hypothyroid and hyperthyroid conditions. Much still remains to be discovered, causes and effects need to be untangled, and the results of thyroid imbalances need to be identified and taken into account when determining treatment programs. What roles does stress play in thyroid problems? How does a thyroid problem affect fertility and pregnancy? How, indeed, can physician and patient be sure that a thyroid imbalance can be identified and treated? Most treatment programs require regular checking of drug effects to ensure that dosages are effectively maintained. Arem points out the pros and cons of many drugs and gives practical advice for their selection. Despite its primary function as advertising for Arem's T4/T3 thyroid solution, the book is helpful, right down to the appended reading list. William Beatty


Review
"Quite simply the best thyroid book on the market today . . . Dr. Arem validates what I have found in my practice for more than twenty years, especially the importance of T3. I highly recommend this book."
--ELIZABETH LEE VLIET, M.D., Author of Screaming to Be Heard:
   Hormonal Connections Women Suspect . . . and Doctors Ignore

"CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE, AND INCREDIBLY USEFUL, THE THYROID SOLUTION IS THE BEST THYROID RESOURCE I HAVE EVER READ. Buy one for yourself and take one to your doctor to create an informed healing team for your thyroid!"
--KATHLEEN DESMAISONS, PH.D.
   Author of Potatoes Not Prozac

"At last, a nationally known endocrinologist with impeccable credentials discusses vital issues of thyroid disease and treatment never previously addressed in print."
--GILLIAN FORD
   Author of Listening to Your Hormones


Review
"Quite simply the best thyroid book on the market today . . . Dr. Arem validates what I have found in my practice for more than twenty years, especially the importance of T3. I highly recommend this book."
--ELIZABETH LEE VLIET, M.D., Author of Screaming to Be Heard:
   Hormonal Connections Women Suspect . . . and Doctors Ignore

"CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE, AND INCREDIBLY USEFUL, THE THYROID SOLUTION IS THE BEST THYROID RESOURCE I HAVE EVER READ. Buy one for yourself and take one to your doctor to create an informed healing team for your thyroid!"
--KATHLEEN DESMAISONS, PH.D.
   Author of Potatoes Not Prozac

"At last, a nationally known endocrinologist with impeccable credentials discusses vital issues of thyroid disease and treatment never previously addressed in print."
--GILLIAN FORD
   Author of Listening to Your Hormones

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's sometimes called a hidden epidemic: One in ten Americans -- more than twenty million people, most of them women -- has a thyroid disorder. At any given time, millions of people have an undiagnosed thyroid disorder and experience a chronic mental anguish that almost certainly arises from the very same source. Yet many primary-care doctors still don't recognize the importance of the thyroid in mind-body health -- and its especially crucial role in women's well-being.

The Thyroid Solution is a must-read for anyone who suffers from a thyroid condition. It's the first mind-body approach to identifying and curing thyroid imbalances. Written by a medical pioneer and leading authority in the field of thyroid research, this groundbreaking book offers Dr. Ridha Arem's practical program for maintaining thyroid health through diet, exercise, and stress control -- and through his revolutionary medical plan, which combines two types of hormone treatments with astounding results.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal