Thyroid Balance

Three years ago I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and while I don't have a severe case and have managed to do really well on hormone replacement, I do have to keep on top of it and have my levels checked periodically. The last few months I started to feel more and more of some of those odd little symptoms that signal that the thyroid is not working optimally, and scheduled my appointment with my doctor a bit sooner than usual, and lo and behold, my gut feeling was right - my TSH levels are nearly two points higher than they have been the last two years and it looks like I'll need to increase my dose a bit.

Why am I writing all of this in my blog about books? When I was first learning about hypothyroidism I bought several books on the topic and there is one in particular that I think is excelllent and I turn to it again and again for reference. One of the reasons my gut feeling worked so well is from what this book taught me to pay attention to. Just recently when I suspected there was something not right, I got it out and re-read certain parts to help me figure out what was going on. The book is:

• Thyroid Balance: Traditional and Alternative Methods for Treating Thyroid Disorders. Glenn S. Rothfeld, M.D. and Deborah S. Romaine. (Adams Media, 2003)

What I love about this book are the excellent explanations of both hypo- and hyperthyroidism, the very clear information about the endocrine system as a whole, which is important to understand (at least to me, but I realize I am a wonk about health info - not everybody is going to find this as interesting as I do!), and the clear and unbiased review of all your options for treatment. Out of the several books I bought, this is the one I would definitely recommend as the one book you should have if you have any kind of thyroid problem.