Graves-Disease Books

This book helped me understand what was happening to my eyes. It would have been nice if it was in bigger letters though.

This book was very helpful to me as a newly diagnosed patient with Graves Ophthalmopathy. I had so many unanswered questions after my dr's appointment and sitting down to read this book really helped me out. I learned many ways to help myself and whether or not my dr was doing all he could. I would highly recommend this book to others who have questions or just want to learn more.

This book is by far the most comprehensive, and yet understandable for the patient, that I have read on this topic. It has been invaluable to prepare me not only for communicating with my ophthamologist, but also for identifying complementary approaches that have greatly relieved my symptoms. The book serves as an important guide as my disease progresses which allows me to handle each difficult symptom intelligently. Wouldn't be without it!

I too have been recently diagnosed with Graves eye disease and was left very frustrated as to what I could do to help after leaving an opthamologist's office that supposedly specialized in this. This book lists things we can do to help this condition and stop aggravating - my Dr. didn't tell me to quit using Visine among numerous things. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for answers and ways to be proactive in their own treatment.

Very good book about the mysteries of Graves & that pesky thyroid. Easy to understand, with lots of alternative therapies and tips for making life with Graves eye disease easier. The stories of actual patients were very moving...Highly recommended!

I have been using this book for several years, and update my book each time a new edition is released. It is a must-have for Medical Transcriptionists, especially those working in specialty medicine. It saves me time and doesn't give me more information than I really need. All of our front-office staff use this version as well to verify medication questions. It is easy to use and has turned out to be a real time saver.

This is NOT THE ONLY BOOK a graves patient should have in their library. This is ONLY ONE perspective and to truly get the best treatment, I think it's important to consider all treatment measures before making the best decisions. This book covers the struggles the patient has to go through and it covers the fact that there are OPTIONS... it's not a cut and dry experience. It also covers traditional vs. alternative methods. BUT the reader must understand Graves is DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE and this book doesn't mean that alternative is the way to go or not to go... it's just a perspective in Graves Treatment from a patient's point of view. It does provide info based on experience and for many Graves patients it provides relief from the "I AM THE ONLY ONE" syndrome. But I would also recommend purchasing medical books, books that cover both eastern, western, traditional AND non-traditional methods of treatment.

I highly recommend it to individuals with Graves' disease as well as their family members, health care givers, and therapists. Having recently been diagnosed with Graves' disease I found the book very informative and helpful. Giving a list of the symptoms as well as the different types of treatment for Graves' and actual stories of those with the disease. Specifically, the author. Especially since my doctor didn't provide me with any information. It explained muscle weakness as well as other symptoms/side effects of Graves' disease.

I bought this book in an attempt to learn more about new options in Grave's treatments. I assumed by the title of the book, that Ms. Flax found a way of conquering Graves. Unfortunately "Healing Options" tells the story of her continual struggle with Graves. While it is a true representation of a chronic illness, it is neither an uplifting or comforting story. Ms. Flax covers the current Western methods of treatment. She does this by offering examples that illustrate the downside of each treatment. It is difficult to accept the alternative treatment methods she promotes (i.e.: massage, herbs, meditation). She was not originally treated with any of these methods and it is uncertain whether her outcome would have been better or worse. For me, the valuable information Ms. Flax provides is over-shadowed by her depressing and sad biographical narrative.

Kate Flax's informative book covers all aspects of Graves' Disease,from its onset, through treatment choices, to living the rest of your life as fully as possible. The main thrust of the book, for me, was that the responsibility for successful healing lies mainly in the control of the patient. It is up to the patient to find out about all the possibilites for healing and to then make as informed a choice as possible. This book not only helps sort out all of the medical mumbo jumbo, but it also is extremely helpful in dealing with the emotional ramifications of this diagnosis. I highly recommend this book.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to dialogue about my book and respond to reader comments. Specifically, I would like to address the misconception that my book offers a "cure" for Graves' disease. I am a 50 year-old woman who after years of misdiagnosis was finally diagnosed in 1991 with Graves' disease and Hashimoto's (chronic hypothyroidism and an autoimmune disease). I received standard U.S. treatment, radioactive iodine. To my dismay, this did not make me "better". I grew to understand that healing takes time and calls for a look at causes and not just the alleviation of symptoms. I stopped looking for a quick fix-there is no quick fix for chronic illness. Dr. Christiane Northrup says, "There is a difference between healing and curing. Healing is a natural process and is within the power of everyone. Curing, which is what doctors are called upon to do, usually consists of an external treatment and medication or surgery is used to mask or eliminate symptoms. This external treatment doesn't necessarily address the factors that contribute to the symptoms in the first place. Healing goes deeper than curing and must always come from within." I wrote this book as a part of my healing journey. It is a book I wish had existed when I was first diagnosed, feeling so vulnerable, overwhelmed, confused and alone. In my book, I explain Graves', offer practical tips on locating physicians and managing one's health care as well as address the many complementary therapies and offer help in finding practitioners. My hope is that my book will help others in their quest for wellness, their healing journey.

This is an amazing view of truth about our artificial chemicals in our food and why we are so sick these days. Hull uncovers the truth from hidden research and research that was played down to get approval for aspartame. It is absolutely toxic for everyone! Many will be shocked about the sickness they have had over the last few decades that can be linked to that little blue or pink packet..

The highly toxic sweetener known as Aspartame (pronounced 'as-PAR-tame' in Standard English) urgently needs to be banned worldwide. It's unfit for human consumption and has no business being in the food chain.

When warning of its dangers there's a risk of being perceived as some kind of zealous missionary who's hell-bent on 'proselytising' one's family and friends. You can be perceived as someone with a 'hang-up' about one particular additive. A friend of mine visited his niece's house and was offered a fizzy drink. When he started to read the ingredients on the bottle his niece remarked, "Oh no, you're going to lecture me about that sweetener that [this reviewer] is always on about!" Janet Starr Hull to the rescue! This excellent, well researched and tastefully produced book is all the ammunition you'll need. The subtitle alone sends shivers down people's spines.

The standard retort is, "well why is it 'officially approved' if it's so unsafe?". The sweeping of chimneys by 8 year-olds was once 'officially approved'. Did that make it safe? Or right? Even today, many unenlightened societies 'officially approve' workplace smoking. This exposes MILLIONS to the risks of lung cancer and ischemic heart disease. Governments who approve workplace smoking on the grounds of "civil liberties" are only buying themselves time. It's a stay of execution, no more. Some 30 years hence the next generation will marvel that we even debated such an open and shut case.

In 2008, Aspartame is probably where tobacco was in the mid-1970s. People are starting to wake up as the campaign to ban this deadly poison finally gathers momentum. Martin Luther King said "human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability". Janet Starr Hull is a champion and a heroine. If Amazon allowed it, I'd have given Sweet Poison SIX stars out of five!

I was having thryoid problems after my second daughter was born. I was drinking Diet Dr. Pepper for an energy boost every day. This book caught my attention because of the author's thryoid disfunction. I read the book and stopped using aspartame.

My hair is no longer falling out, and my engergy and thryoid levels are back to normal.

My 3 year old daughter is epileptic, and several months before reading this book her seizures took a sudden turn for the worst. She started having 15-30 seizures a day, and even had 2 grand mal seizures. I was terrified by the increase in seizure activity and wondered what had caused the change.

Reading about how aspartame can cause seizures/grand mal seizures, I checked the vitamins I was giving my daughter.

Because it was fall, and I wanted her to be healthy during cold and flu season,I had started giving her several fruit flavored vitamin c chewables and 1 chewable multi vitamin. Checking the labels I discovered they all had aspartame as an ingredient.

It was hardly coincidence when I realized the increase in seizures was around the same time I started these vitamins. I threw out both bottles. It has been 6 months and my daughter has not had another grand mal seizure, and her seizures dropped from 15-30 a day down to 0-3 on a typical day. I was also able to drop 2 of her 3 seizure medications.

Aspartame is very dangerous, I had no idea.

Everyone should read this book and understand the dangers of aspertame. It is far worse than people realize. I have stopped using any foods or drinks with it in, and I know I feel better, and have less headaches. A book for everyone!

I changed over to diet Coke and diet Dr. Pepper about a year ago to try and loose weight.

At first I continued to loose weight and all was well...

But then my weight loss stopped, and I started having a hard time concentrating. I thought I was just getting older when I started having trouble seeing at night. Then I noticed I started dropping things and bumping into walls etc. And I started having headaches.

I didn't think it could have anything to do with the aspartame in the soft drinks I was consuming even though I was up to about two liters of soda a day.

Then I talked with our Pastors wife who had almost died from aspartame poisioning and she said you need to stop right away.

I felt really bad the first two days of not drinking or consuming any aspartame products. Plus I wasn't consuming any cafeeine either. I was going to bed and sleeping for 16 hours.

But in the next three days I started feeling clearer headed and just better all around. My night vision is coming back every day and I no longer drop things.

Interesting to a point, but way too technical for the average individual - like me. I was hoping for more straight talk and less medical gargin. Though, the diet information was very helpful, I found myself getting frustrated and bored with the medical terminology. I'm still looking for a book that concentrates on more natural ways to control my GD.

Excellent information. Extremely technical. Not easy to read and understand for the lay person.

This book is fantastic. It is not a watered down, pandering talk about the subject, but it is a good source of knowledge. I wish my endocrinologist knew this much about the topic of Graves Disease. It is a bit advanced in some places, but many terms are defined and the author assumes that the reader is motivated, but not a medical student. You will probably have to spend some time memorizing terms and looking up some information for complete understanding, but it is all here.

The author also discribes current, past, and also nontraditional treatments and solutions to Graves Disease. There are good chapters and paragraphs that introduce information in a simple and practical way, but there are also chapters with all the details and confusing terminology that will frustrate some readers. I believe that no matter what your level of medical understanding, you will get something of value out of this book. It has definitely given me confidence and hope, especially since I do not trust the doctors who say it is easiest to simply irradiate the thyroid and take a pill a day for the rest of your life... I don't think anything is THAT EASY... This book discusses other options. Check it out-- you owe it to your thyroid. Scotty/Sioux City

I am disappointed in this book mainly because it is so technical and hard to read. The reviews made it sound like it was easy to read, that is one of the reasons I bought it. But, even with a bachelors of science degree, I am having a very hard time getting much out of it. Being thorough is one thing, but it reads like a medical text book with no explanations. If you are in medical school or a practicing physician, you may be able to understand this, but sadly for me, it is way over my head.

As a fellow author of books on thyroid disease, I'm impressed with the breadth and depth of this book. Elaine raises interesting questions about Graves' treatments, and this book has helped to shape more debate and analysis about treatment options. An excellent companion book to this title is another book for Graves' patients by Elaine Moore: Thyroid Eye Disease: Understanding Graves' Ophthalmopathy, available on Amazon, too! I'm delighted that it's now possible for Graves' patients to have a more complete home library through Elaine's work.

M. Sara Rosenthal, Ph.D.
Author of The Complete Thyroid Book (co-authored by Kenneth Ain, M.D.), The Thyroid Sourcebook, The Thyroid Sourcebook for Women, The Hypothyroid Sourcebook, and The Thyroid Cancer Book

This book is fairly light reading. It would not satisfy those who desire more technical information. A large part of this book attempts to connect the reader to the personal experiences of fellow patients.

After being diagnosed with GD my doctor wanted to immediately perform RAI although I didn't have an enlarged gland. I knew nothing about the disease and was scared. My intuition told me there may be another way. This book taught me all I needed to know and gave me the insight and courage to persuade my doctor to let me try PTU first. In Our Own Words confirmed from the start that aggressive treatment wasn't always necessary. I took PTU for only 3 months and responded so well I am now in remission. However, I learned from the book the serious nature of GD and how to work closely with the doctor and lab results. IT's an on going journey. This book served as an important first navagational tool. An update on my condition 6/25/04: I had a recurrance of all hyper symptoms after only one month remmission. I opted to try PTU again, still with good results in bringing down my T4 but I'm constatantly juggling the dose. I still sense this is the way to go for me, but I get discouraged. I will look at some of the other suggested books on the subject.

I have Graves disease. Having said that, I decided to read absolutely everything I could find that has been written about this disease. The other books I read presented the technical and medical information very well. This book presented not only that technical information in a very understandable way, but it also presented information regarding the impact (other than on the body) that this disease can have. This extra information is what sets this book apart. When I told my endocrinologist that someone should write a book solely about Graves disease, he said, "why? It is a very straightforward disease." Wrong! This disease is not straightforward at all! (I am going to send my copy of this book to him!) This book is very very helpful! Thank you!

Graves' Disease In Our Own Words, by Jake George and Nancy Patterson, was a disappointment. I expected a great deal more. I hoped that a book endorsed by a national organization on Graves' disease would provide fairly up-to-date information, but this book has outdated information, and a number of weak and scanty sections.

Overall, it left me with more questions than answers, and even contradicted information I've received from my endocrinologist, who is considered top in his field.

I'd suggest Ridha Arem's Thyroid Solution, Elaine Moore's book on Graves' disease, or Sara Rosenthal's books before I'd recommend this one to others.

Jake did a fairly lousy job in this book which contains many of wrong information. He went into the other extreme of bias from that of Elaine Moore in her book Graves Disease: a practical guide. While Elaine tends to promote ATD for long time use to achieve remission, Jake tends to lead all patients into radical treatment such as RAI and surgery.

Many clinical trials have pointed out that ATD has modest rate of remission rate for Graves. However, Jake tends to ignore the current medical finding in his book. Instead, he tends to use some out of dated information about remission rate with ATD, which might completely dismiss the hope for remission on ATD. This kind of bias might lead patient to choose radical treatment for Graves from very beginning. Though clinical studies have shown safety of RAI and surgery, non-invasive treatment should always be promoted first.

Personally, I would recommand neither Jake George's book nor Elain Moore's book to any of Graves patients thought Jake did a a bit better job than Elaine. Instead, I would suggest whoever had a diagnosis of Graves to search in Medline for more accurate information for treatment of Graves.

Highly recommended text for new or seasoned ACLS providers. Provides wonderful insight into new case-based learning. Also an excellent reference for ACLS instructors wanting concise and organized teaching points and sample scenarios for students. The "Five Quadrads" teaching approach and "Why? When?" method for drugs is an easy and real-world applicable way to logically break-down information. You absolutely MUST have this book for your reference library!!!! You owe it to yourself AND your patients.

I got the edition, unknowingly, that used the '94 guidelines. The cases were well presented and thought out.
But don't bother unless you get an up to date version that includes treatments such as amiodarone, and uses the most recent AHA algorithms.

ACLS training has been memorization and DRY runs at best until Cummins, Graves, et. al., transformed it to the dynamic subject that it is with ACLS Scenarios: Core Concepts for Case-Based Learning. It presents the reader with real day-to-day medical emergency problems and gives logic-based scenarios to reason through and treat. The case examples are well chosen to give that "you are there" feel. It's a fast read yet will serve as a trusted reference.

I bought this book without looking at the publish date. It is outdated at this time. The book is chopped up and repeats itself through several chapters. Some parts were helpful. The book is hard to follow and is not designed for beginners who have had no basic arrythmia experience.

Dr. Cummins and Ms. Graves have written the best ACLS book I've seen in years. I have been a paramedic for eighteen years. After a year off, I found it somewhat challenging to get started again. This book has most certainly helped my return. I will keep this book a very long time and I plan to share the cases with my fellow medics. Thank you both for this educational text.

This book is the Thyroid Bible
I learned everything I needed to know about thyroid disease not just Graves' disease in this book. I learned how the thyroid works, how to be a good self-advocate, how to find my doctor, how to talk to my doctor, how to include complementary treatments into my healing, how to choose my treatments, and some very personally important information on women and pregnancy and children and thyroid disease. My husband also read the book. He too found it helpful in understanding my "off " behavior, which is currently, thank goodness, under control since adding T3 into my T4 medication and making the time to take care of myself now. Thank you Ms. Flax for your research and caring. I am a new woman.

Readers looking for books on Graves' Disease have few choices, so anything on the subject is welcome, especially if you are newly diagnosed. While Kate Flax's empathy and genuine desire to help others comes through on most pages, the book is a muddle of poor punctuation, listless writing, careless spelling errors (example: spelling Dr. Andrew Weil "Dr. Wile"), and generally could have benefited from the work of a proofreader or copyeditor. Flax writes that she is dyslexic, but surely someone could have read the manuscript before it was printed? The errors, which abound on every page, distracted this reader from an otherwise valuable and informative book. Despite the protestations of Natalie Goldberg and Anne Lamott, both of whom are mentioned in Flax's acknowledgments and both of whom have encouraged thousands of fledgling writers, not everyone is a writer. At the very least, this book proves that certainly not everyone is a proofreader. This book feels like a manuscript-length post in an online support group. The errors in form reflect poorly on the accuracy of the information contained in the book. If you are the kind of person who corrects misspellings on billboards, this book will drive you nuts and is best to be avoided. If you're not this kind of reader, you may find the contents comforting and helpful.

True to its title, "Healing Options" brings those with thyroid disease the good news that they have many options beyond radiation, surgery, and drugs-options that can change their mindset from one of  "chronic illness" to one of  "chronic wellness."  This book was probably thought to be way out on the fringe when it first was published. Now in its second edition, at a time when alternative therapies are increasingly acknowledged and accepted, Kate Flax's book is an incredibly helpful and encouraging resource. Anyone with Graves/Hashimoto's should read this book.

It's OK as far as it goes, but it IS after all, only one person's account of her experience. Otherwise, having been given a mildly borderline diagnosis "possible Graves", I quickly figured out that going on the internet would probably give me more information from which to make my own decisions about what is, after all, my (as opposed to the medical industry) body. If you do feel the need to buy this book, do so. Otherwise, read the reviews, go on the internet, and save your money.

As a newly diagnosed patient, this is a book I need in my life. I am so grateful to have found it. Not only is this book informative with a terrific index, glossary, and resource section, but heartfelt and easy to read besides. Kate Flax's personal excursion to wellness is truly inspiring and gives me the strength and hope to make that path mine.

When my symptoms lead to a hyperactive thyroid, I purchased this book. As the tests came back, I was diagnosed with Graves disease. Every person diagnosed should have this book! The information is comprehensive, and is broken down to make the complicated information easily understandable. EXCELLENT! Reading it prior to my first appt. with an endocrinologist, helped me understand what he was saying, and helped me prepare for the appointment and arrive with a list of questions.

I was diagnosed in June 2007 with hyperthyroidism/Graves disease. I immediately started researching, reading everything I could get my hands on. Mary Shoman is a leading patient advocate when it comes to thyroid disease and she is very knowledgable. This book helped educate me about my disease and helped me to know what questions to ask my endocrinologist so that I would have a better understanding of graves disease and how to best treat it. I had my throid removed in November 2007 and now am on thyroid replacement hormone because now I'm hypoththyroid. I bought Mary Shoman's book on hypothyroidism as well as The Thyroid Diet. If you or someone you love has graves disease, I would highly recommend this book.

I gave this book as a gift to a friend who
was recently diagnosed with Graves. She told
me it is saving her from having tons of Med's,
surgery, or radiation. She is so glad I gave
it to her and she is feeling so much better.
Her doctor was shocked at how much better she
looked just 5 weeks after her being in horrible
pain and exhausted.

I didn't find this book terribly useful. I was recently diagnosed with Grave's disease, and it's not something I had come in contact professionally. That meant, I wanted a lot of info, quickly.

I started with the internet, and then was recommended this book. I found the book had a definite bias against RAI. That's all well and good. Some folks don't have that heavy of symptoms, and don't need it. Unfortunately, the author does not spare a chance to rail against the use of RAI, in every section of the book. After a while, it is tiresome to read about it.

If you know nothing about hyperthyroidism, and it's various flavors, this book is good in describing that. It will help you sort your symptoms, and help you ask your doc questions.

The author spends a lot of time on holistic methods. I have to state I have a bias against a lot of natural treatment options. If it helps you, that's great. I have seen a lot of patients spend money and time on things that didn't, though. I suppose it's a good section if you are looking for that, but it wasn't that useful to me, with my very severe symptoms.

There was also a large theme on pregnancy and fertility. That could be useful to folks in that situation, but not something I will ever be worrying about. I can't imagine everyone that has this is on the road to motherhood.

In all, the book is okay, but there is nothing in there you can't google up. If you are already medically savvy, I would say skip it, because there will be nothing in there you don't already know. It is not an unbiased source.

Was a bit disappointed with this book as the content does not cover a whole lot on "living well". This book is more for people who suspect they might have hyperthyroidism and would like to know more about it or who have been recently diagnosed but know little about it. If you are like me and have had this condition for quite sometime, then you already know the signs, symptoms and typical treatments which can all be found for free on the internet. What I had hoped it would cover were in-depth methods on how to control hyperthyroidism using alternative methods. It barely touches the surface. There is a section on the Johnson Nutritional Protocol and the theory of hyperthyroidism being a nutritional disease. Again, better off going to the ithyroid website for free to read about this. I also agree with another reviewer - too much information on hypothyroidism in a hyperthyroidism book.