By: Mary J. Shomon
Did you know that having an autoimmune disorder predisposes you to developing other ailments?

With a dysfunctional immune system, you could be more at risk
for not only hormonal irregularities, multiple allergies and sensitivities, but
also more at risk for other autoimmune diseases. Yet few doctors take the time
to inform their patients of this, and even worse, few have suggestions for
treatment or prevention other than medication.

Mary Shomon has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where the body attempts to destroy its
own thyroid gland. While researching her condition, she found a dearth of
literature on Hashimoto’s in particular and autoimmune disease in general. She
saw a real need for a book about what causes autoimmunity, what specific
symptoms are common to which diseases, and what the patient can do to work
toward gaining the best possible health.

She provides many case histories describing the difficulties involved in
obtaining proper diagnosis, the complex trial and error sometimes involved in
treatment, and the dramatic improvement in some of these patients once these
obstacles were overcome. She begins by listing the various factors involved in
shaping the immune system and what can cause the body to turn against itself.
She discusses the prevalence of and risk factors for autoimmune disease. These
factors range from ethnicity, gender and heredity to lifestyle, trauma and work
environment.

It is nearly impossible to cover every autoimmune disease as there are up to 100
distinct ailments affecting up to 50 million Americans (that’s 20 percent of the
population). But Ms. Shomon has detailed segments on a multitude of the most
common disorders, grouping them by which bodily system they affect the most.
Lupus, sarcoidosis and Sjogren’s syndrome are listed under multiorgan syndromes.
Each segment contains a description of the disease, a list of symptoms, how it
is diagnosed, who treats it and what the treatment options are.

While I don’t recommend self-diagnosis, I must admit that it was while reading
the section on Sjogren’s syndrome that I realized I had something more wrong
with me than the fibromyalgia I’d been diagnosed with. I was, in fact, a
textbook case of Sjogren’s as well. Several doctor visits and a biopsy two
months later confirmed this.

I find myself referring to the autoimmune condition descriptions frequently when
I meet or hear about someone with one of these ailments or when a doctor decides
to test me for one of them. These segments are lengthy enough for a proper
overview of each ailment, yet short enough to enable one to glean the most
important facts. Best of all, one does not need a medical degree to understand
this book.

After the specific disease descriptions, there are more general chapters on the
latest research on treatment, holistic medicine, diet and emotional health.
There is a lengthy checklist of autoimmune symptoms along with the diseases most
commonly associated with them. A chapter that is particularly informative is the
one about how to locate the proper physician. The book ends with details on
putting together your own autoimmune repair plan.

One thing I particularly like about this book is that it addresses alternative
medicine yet stresses that one should never forego the treatment and advice of
their doctor. Holistic methods are meant to complement, not replace, traditional
medicine. In treating her Hashimoto’s, Shomon herself incorporates alternative
mind and body work with her prescribed thyroid hormone.

This is one of the most valuable books in my library. Had I not read it, I would
likely never have been diagnosed with Sjogren’s, and perhaps the doctors would
have missed my celiac disease and diabetes as well. I recommend it for anyone
with autoimmune disease who wants a reliable reference handy.