Because of the above situation, I recently joined the Chronic Disease Book Group on goodreads.com.
I nicknamed the group the Hypothyroid Lymie Book Club because almost everything on the current list relates to Lyme, thyroid disease, or related topics. The order of reading isn’t set up yet, but these are the books we have so far. (I put in Amazon links so you can read reviews; I have no affiliation with Amazon.)
(Update 2017: This group is no longer active, although we did make it through Dr. Horowitz’s book. I’m leaving this post up in case anyone wants to start a new book club, since it is so hard to get through the these medical books alone. We can change the list of books, add more recent books, move the group to Facebook–whatever people want. Send me a message in my contact form if you’re interested.)
1) Why Can’t I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Dr. Richard Horowitz — If you can read only one book about Lyme, I recommend this one. It’s amazing. If you’re a new Lymie, this will get you up to speed really, really fast. It’s long and the print is tiny (not a great thing for Lyme patients), but if you remember even a quarter of what you read, you’ll really have expanded your knowledge—so much so that you can go on a forum or to a doctor’s appointment and not need to start everything with “this may be a stupid question, but …”
If you have had Lyme for a while and have done a lot of research, there’s so much info in this book you’ll probably still learn a lot.
I recommend reading it in actual book format. I tried reading it on my phone, and it was hopeless. This is a book you need to be able to flip through and mark up.
2) Cure Unknown by Pamela Weintraub — A Lyme classic that explains the history of the controversy around the disease.
3) Why Do I Still Have Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal? by Dr. Datis Kharrazian — A well-known book about the causes and treatment of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (the autoimmune disease that causes most cases of hypothyroidism), with an in-depth analysis of the effects of gluten on autoimmunity.
4) The Root Cause of Hashimoto’s by Izabella Wentz — The title says it all. I took a quick look when it arrived, and I know it will be really helpful.
5) Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar, Your Brain’s Silent Killers by David Perlmutter— Again, I think the title says it all; the book is about the link between carbs and brain conditions such as dementia and ADHD. This book and the previous two are on thyroid expert blogger Hypothyroid Mom’s recommended book list.
7) Why Isn’t My Brain Working? by Dr. Datis Kharrazian — A highly recommended book about—what else—brain fog.
I feel there’s so much I need to know and understand about my various illnesses before I can get myself into a state of semi-functionality.
I’m terrible at making schedules for myself, and need to be given “homework” when it comes to health books. I will happily blast through a novel or memoir in three days, but health books require studying, underlining, and making little notes in the margins. I forget a lot, but I do retain a vague, brain-foggy knowledge of what I read.
The group has a flexible reading schedule and discussions, and the moderator posts short chapter summaries. Since it is a book group for the chronically ill and brain-fogged, it’s OK if you don’t finish a certain chapter by a certain date.
To join the group go here. (You’ll need to join goodreads.com if you are not already a member.)
For people who aren’t familiar with goodreads.com, it’s a free social networking site for bookworms. You can share lists of books you’ve read or want to read, see what friends are reading, get recommendations, write and read reviews, and join book groups. You register with an email and password, or sign in with Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, or Google. (I prefer using an email and password. I’m extremely paranoid about hackers and keep separate passwords for every site squirreled away in a little notebook that I will probably lose someday, causing a nervous breakdown. But I digress.)
By the way, I have to say my thyroid really approves of my joining the book group. Well, sort of.
Anyway, if you check out the book group, I promise my Evil Thyroid will keep quiet and not bother you.
Yeah, I don’t remember swallowing a tiny hat and broom … oh well.
Can you think of one or more books or articles that have really helped you either to learn about your illness or to deal with the emotional fallout from being chronically ill? If books are not your thing, what are your go-to websites, forums, and Facebook pages? Please share in the comments section.
Happy Halloween!
You see this month the Atlantic magazine?
It is article about the doctors. They not have time for the patient.
There is also books the doctors write about why they no have time.
I think maybe no time, because they so busy writing book.
You see here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/11/doctors-tell-all-and-its-bad/380785/
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LOL, Ani—, oh, uh, I mean Vlad. 🙂 The article you linked to was so great! It’s true—the five-minute appointment is the death of good care. The doctors who really dig and investigate often don’t take insurance. Also, it’s so typical that the writer had Lyme disease and went undiagnosed for so long. The system is broken for sure.
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That last book sounds like exactly what I need! It’s cool you found a book club like this. I love all your cartoons but they have me picturing my adrenal glands wearing devil horns! 🙂
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LOL, thank you! Hmmm, adrenal glands with horns … you never know what these glands are getting up to on Halloween!
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Is your Thyroid an old school witch, or is it into this current trend of being a sexy witch?
Well, regardless, your thyroid has quite an active voice. Love your drawings, thanks for the links.
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Thanks! My thyroid is definitely not a sexy witch. LOL. Hypothyroidism can make you gain a ton of weight and feel dead tired, and it also causes your hair to fall out and the outer part of your eyebrows to disappear. I forgot about the broken nails and muscle pain. Boo! This thyroid here is an old-school, unsexy witch.
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I LOVE your illustrations! They are THE BEST! I have not heard of this book club but I am definitely interested in checking it out. Thanks for the tip.
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Awww, thank you! I hope you check it out! It is new … we’re just finishing Dr. H’s book!
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I hadn’t heard of this either – will be checking it out. I sooo need help processing all the stuff I try to read. And I don’t even have a witch in my throat to blame it on.
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Haha, it is a witch the whole year round! Yeah, there are so many causes for brain fog including TILT and associated chemical exposures. It’s crazy! And of course we have to process all this highly scientific material (like PubMed studies) with the brain fog.
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In the next few days I’m posting my review of a brand new Lyme/ME/CFS/Fibro book coming out called ‘Suffered Long Enough’. Feel free to share my review with the book group! 😉
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Oh, interesting, I will. The title is great! Yes, we have all suffered long enough. 🙂
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I absolutely love your illustrations- they are so on spot- and it is incredibly nice to be able to laugh about all this, it majorly helps!!! 🙂
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Thank you! Yeah, I am not very good at the positive thinking thing, but I have an overdeveloped sense if the absurd, so humor is my main coping mechanism. Well, humor and a good massage, maybe.
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