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

by Mary J. Shomon

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060938196
• ISBN13: 9780060938192
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Good all-round source to get you started

I had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, the doctors just did not know which one. There was a baffling array of symptoms that suggested that there were two disorders involved. Which two? The lack of information, and the lack of something specific to research, was maddening.This book helped it all make sense to me. Seeing all the possible disorders and all the possible symptoms, it became clear how difficult it was for the doctors to pinpoint a problem. It also helped me to realize that I did not need a label before I could begin working for a treatment. This book gave enough information for me to feel more in control and to familiarize me with the different diseases that were possibilities. Now I know which symptoms could be significant and should be reported. Things that did not seemed trivial before now have a different level of importance. But without guidance, I would not know what was worthwhile to report. Now I can be a better patient and can help my doctor narrow the diagnosis. This book was an excellent springboard to new topics to research and possible treatment avenues that might be worth investigating. The references for more information -- and why you would care -- was helpful too. This is a great book for those new to the autoimmune disease community.

A truly superb book

Having treated auto-immune conditions for over 20 years, I am delighted to finally have a book on the subject that I can recommend to my patients wholeheartedly. Mary Shoman has done a truly superb job in collecting and coordinating a wide variety of very helpful diagnostic and therapeutic information. I am especially please to see the inclusion of both conventional and alternative approaches. In fact, her book makes more sense out of the auto-immune challenge than most of the medical textbooks I have read. Best of all, this richly packed comprehensive overview is easily readable and understandable. Her action plans are a compelling incentive for patients to take health issues into their own hands. Her detailed list of resources and references together rounds out a sparkling achievement. With auto-immune illness increasing dramatically all over the world, EVERYONE needs to read this book.

Fresh, Integrative Medicine Approach and Practical Ideas

As an woman with autoimmune condition, Graves' disease, I have been desperately looking for information to help me in my efforts to improve my health. I am very grateful for Mary Shomon's book, because it's a fresh approach, and doesn't back off of looking at alternative and natural medicine options, but does include all the standard information (symptoms, how it's diagnosed, traditional treatments) that some people want. As for me, I struggled for years with symptoms that were vague, and were pooh-poohed by the numerous doctors, until finally hitting on the right doctor to get a diagnosis. That was when my horror story just began, because I had to go through the dreadful maze of antithyroid drugs, radioiodine and thyroid treatment. What a mess. Since that time, I have suspected that I might have other conditions as well [symptoms of Raynaud's, arthritis, hair loss, I am even worried at times that I might be getting lupus], but most doctors look at me like I am losing my mind when I raise the risk of autoimmune disease, or complain about these symptoms as related to my Graves' disease.I learned a great deal reading about the more than 30 conditions discussed in depth. They're grouped according to the organs or systems under autoimmune attack (like hair & skin, gastrointestinal, and such), which I've not seen done anywhere else. There's a chapter that's just a list of symptoms and various things that put you at risk for autoimmune diseases. It's particularly detailed -- that list alone would have made this book worth its weight in gold to me back when I was struggling with mysterious symptoms and my GP and I couldn't figure it out. It would have saved me months of fear, and helped us narrow down the field pretty quickly, instead of going to a neurologist, an infectious disease specialist and a gynecologist before they figured out I had Graves' disease.The writer has included information I had not seen in any other book, including the use of antibiotic and anti-pathogen therapies, how supplements and diet can help the immune system without suppressing it, the role of diet, detoxification and food allergies in autoimmune disease, and natural antiviral therapies. I'm taking the book to my latest practitioner [my current doctor is actually pretty understanding on these conditions] and he and I will use the book to continue finetuning my efforts to feel better. (FWIW, I'm also using Elaine Moore's terrific book on Graves' disease, Mary Shomon's other book which is on thyroid problems, and the Paleo Diet, which are all helping as well.)As a fan of integrative medicine, I'm glad to see someone finally look at autoimmune disease from this perspective, and offer me some practical things I can actually do to help my own health. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book.

I've been waiting for this book!

Two years ago I dragged myself to the doctor for blood tests after a friend told me to read Mary Shomon's Living Well with Hypothyroidism. Reading that book changed my life, it gave me the tools I needed to DEMAND correct treatment by my doctor. I've been waiting for Living Well with Autoimmune Disease to read more about Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (my autoimmune disease) and to share the book with my mother, who suffers from Raynaud's Phenomenon. I can't believe that Ms. Shomon keeps writing books that *I* need; it's like she's a close personal friend. So far my mother has already taken what she's read in this book and written it all down to ask her doctor questions about changing her current treatment. To empower my mom this way is just a gift.I need to buy two more copies now, as I know folks with Crohn's Disease who will benefit greatly from Ms. Shomon's wisdom. 5 Stars.

Shoule be Required Reading for Anyone with an AD

In Living Well With Autoimmune Disease, Mary shows the reader how to successfully take charge of their autoimmune condition. Mary empowers her readers by showing how the best of both conventional and alternative medicine can be incorporated into a lifestyle plan. She not only teaches us about cutting-edge therapies, she explains how lifestyle changes contribute to healing. Showing us how diet, stress, and environmental toxins affect immune system health, she invites the reader to take charge and reduce their symptoms. By including anecdotes, symptom lists, and recommendations from a wide array of medical practitioners, Mary makes this book very user friendly and a welcome addition to any personal library.