Summary

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. Inside you'll discover - The thyroid basics--what it is, where it is, what it does - How thyroid hormones affect the brain and alter mood, emotions, and behavior leading to brain fog, weight gain, loss of libido, infertility, anxiety, and depression - What tests to ask your doctor to give you--and what they mean - The vital connection between stress and thyroid imbalance - The benefits of antioxidants and essential fatty-acid foods and supplements - How to recognize and cure the deep and lingering effects of a thyroid imbalance Filled with remarkable patient histories and interviews that document the dramatic results of Dr. Arem's bold new treatments, The Thyroid Solution now gives you and your doctor the tools you need to live a life with peace of mind . . . and body.

Author Biography

Dr. Ridha Arem is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He is also Chief of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston. In addition to teaching medical students and physicians-in-training, he regularly speaks to primary-care physicians and specialists at various educational programs. Dr. Arem is a nationally recognized thyroid specialist. For the past ten years he has been the author and editor of Clinical Thyroidology, a well respected widely read periodical publication for physicians on thyroid disorders. He also contributes to Thyroid USA, the official newsletter of the American Foundation of Thyroid Patients, and participates in patient education programs.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.

Introduction

(10)

PART I The Emerging Mind-Thyroid Connection: How a Tiny Endocrine Gland Intimately Affects Your Mood, Emotions, and Behavior

Thyroid Imbalance: A Hidden Epidemic

(16)

Stress and Thyroid Imbalance: Which Comes First?

(17)

Hypothyroidism: When the Thyroid Is Underactive

(18)

Hyperthyroidism: When the Thyroid Is Overactive

(21)

Thyroid Imbalance, Depression, Anxiety, and Mood Swings

(22)

Medicine from the Body: Thyroid Hormone as an Antidepressant

105

(18)

PART II No, You Are Not Making It Up: Common Emotional and Physical Interactions

Weight, Appetite, and Metabolism: The Thyroid's Actions

123

(14)

Hormones of Desire: The Thyroid and Your Sex Life

137

(15)

``You've Changed'': When the Thyroid and Relationships Collide

152

(13)

Overlapping Symptoms and Syndromes: Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue, Hypoglycemia, and Fibromyalgia

165

(20)

PART III Women's Thyroid Problems: Your Symptoms Are Not All in Your Head

Premenstrual Syndrome and Menopause: Tuning the Cycles

185

(14)

Infertility and Miscarriage: Is Your Thyroid a Factor?

199

(9)

Postpartum Depression: The Hormonal Link

208

(13)

PART IV Diagnosing and Treating Common Thyroid Disorders: The Journey to Wellness

What You Need to Know about Thyroid Tests

221

(20)

Treating the Imbalance

241

(22)

Curing the Lingering Effects of Thyroid Imbalance

263

(19)

The New T4/T3 Protocol: ``It Made Me Feel Better All Over''

282

(13)

Living a Thyroid-Friendly Life: Healthful Choices Day by Day

295

(21)

Living with Thyroid Eye Disease

316

(13)

Thyroid Cancer: Curable but Anguishing

329

(18)

Eight Steps for the Future: How to Promote a Better Understanding of Thyroid, Mind, and Mood

347

(5)

Notes

352

(20)

Resources

372

(6)

Bibliography

378

(4)

Index

382

Supplemental Materials

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Excerpts

Could you have an overactive or underactive thyroid and not even know it? Millions of Americans--and a high percentage of women in menopause and perimenopause (the decade or so before menopause during which hormonal, emotional, and physical changes begin)--do. Thyroid imbalances are not always easy to recognize. Only recently have physicians even begun to accept that minimal thyroid imbalances have an important effect on mental and physical health.

Do you have any of the following symptoms?
Always fatigued or exhausted
Irritable and impatient
Feeling too hot or too cold
Depressed, anxious, or panicky
Bothered by changes in your skin or hair
At the mercy of your moods
Inexplicably gaining or losing weight
Losing your enthusiasm for life
Sleeping poorly or insomniac

Are you feeling burned out from having acted on an excess of energy for several months? Are you listless, forgetful, and feeling disconnected from your friends and family? Are people telling you that you've changed? Are you taking Prozac® or a similar drug for mild depression but still feeling that your mind and mood are subpar? Or have you been treated for a major depression in the past five years?

If you suffer from more than one of these symptoms or answered yes to one or more of these questions, you could be one of the many people with an undiagnosed thyroid condition. Although some of these symptoms may seem contradictory, all of them can be indications of a thyroid imbalance.

You could also be one of the many people who has been treated for a thyroid imbalance but still suffers from its often-overlooked, lingering effects--effects that may continue to haunt you even after treatments have presumably restored your thyroid levels to normal. If you've ever been treated for a thyroid imbalance, answer these questions:

Do you feel better but still not quite your old self?
Do you have unusual flare-ups of anger?
Are you less socially outgoing than you used to be?
Are you less tolerant of the foibles of family and friends?
Do you suffer from occasional bouts of mild depression?
Do you have frequent lapses in memory?
Are you often unable to concentrate on what you're doing?
Do you feel older than your chronological age?

If you've had a thyroid problem in the past but still answer yes to one or more of these questions, it is quite likely that your symptoms are thyroid-related. You don't have to suffer any longer. The Thyroid Solution will show you how you can work with your physician to heal these lingering symptoms.

The Thyroid and the Mind

At any given time in the United States, more than 20 million people suffer from a thyroid disorder, more than 10 million women have low-grade thyroid imbalance, and nearly 8 million people with thyroid imbalance remain undiagnosed. Some 500,000 new cases of thyroid imbalance occur each year. All of these people are vulnerable to mental and emotional effects for a long time even after being diagnosed. Incorrect or inadequate treatment leads to unnecessary suffering for millions of these people. But these are numbers. Behind the numbers are the symptoms and ravaging mental effects experienced by real human beings.

The 1990s have seen a major increase in the recognition and detection of previously unsuspected thyroid diseases among presumably healthy people. This stems in part from improved medical technology, which has led to the development of sensitive methods of screening and diagnosing thyroid disease. It also stems from the increased public awareness that thyroid disease may remain undiagnosed for a long time and that even mild thyroid dysfunction may affect your health. Recently, some medical associations such as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists have initiated public screenings for thyroid disease, much as cholesterol testing has become available in shopping malls and other public places. At any given time, more than half the patients in our population with low-grade hypothyroidism remain undiagnosed. In a recent thyroid-screening program involving nearly two thousand people that I directed in the Houston area, 8 percent of those tested had an underactive thyroid. Many people screened had nev
er heard of the thyroid gland but rushed to be tested when they recognized that they were suffering many of the symptoms listed in the announcement of the screening. The public's awareness of thyroid disease was boosted by press reports about former president George Bush and his wife Barbara, Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and Olympic track champion Gail Devers when they were diagnosed with thyroid disease. Thanks to these factors, people with nonspecific, undiagnosed complaints are becoming increasingly likely to ask their physicians whether their symptoms might be related to an undiagnosed thyroid disorder.

As an endocrinologist who has focused his research, teaching, and patient care on thyroid conditions, I realized early on in my practice that taking care of thyroid patients was not as easy as I had expected. Treating and correcting a thyroid condition with medication may not always make the patient feel entirely better. I discovered that to care fully for my patients, to help them heal completely, I had to treat their feelings as well as their bodies. If they didn't feel better even though their lab tests said they were cured, I learned to listen to them, believe them, and work with them to help them become wholly cured. In taking care of thyroid patients, the physician's role is not merely to address physical discomfort, test the thyroid, and make sure blood test results are normal (indicating that the right amounts of the various thyroid hormones are circulating in the body). Addressing the effects of thyroid disorders on the mind, helping patients cope with their condition, and counseling them sympathetic ally are equally important.

Excerpted from The Thyroid Solution: A Mind-Body Program for Beating Depression and Regaining Your Emotional and Physical Health by Ridha Arem
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.