The Perimenopause and Menopause Workbook: A Comprehensive, Personalized Guide to Hormone Health

I just can't say enough good things about this book and its balanced treatment of the issues (and no, I don't know the authors!). Because I work in a related field, friends often ask me for advice as things start going haywire in perimenopause. I've bought a stack of about 20 books trying to find one that is a one-stop-shop for people so they don't have to just take my word on recommendations. This book is it. It's the book I would have wanted to write for friends and family if I had 48 hours in each day! To give you an idea of the feel of the book: it provides references for the points it makes, but in a low-key way. It is much less information-heavy than "Screaming to be Heard"-- it is more focused on providing overview and analysis than an encyclopedic compendium of research. (By all means, if you want to learn a lot more about the subject, read Elizabeth Vliet's book, but watch out for typos, particularly the error in the conversion table of oral to transdermal estrogen. And if you're under 50, you'll find the new edition of her book "It's My Ovaries, Stupid" to be both relevant and more up to date-- just ignore the dumb title.) Returning to the perimenopause workbook, it is that rare commodity: a book that doesn't fall into any of three camps: 1) the "progesterone is the greatest thing since sliced bread and will cure everything that ails you" camp (exemplified by Dr. Lee), 2) the "progesterone is miserable stuff and should be avoided whenever possible" camp (Dr. Vliet tends this direction), or, 3) the "estrogen is evil because the Women's Health Inititative told us so, so use it only when absolutely necessary and at as low a dose and for as short a time as possible" camp (this third camp still hasn't processed the results of the second arm of the WHI study, which pointed to the synthetic progestin, not estrogen, as a major culprit). The authors of this book mention the large body of research indicating that estradiol by patch or gel (instead of oral horse estrogen) plus real progesterone vaginally or by mouth (instead of oral synthetic progestins such as Provera) has a very different, much more positive profile. I can tell you from reading all that research that they're right on the mark, and when they make generalizations they are backed up by research. So again, this book is about how to figure out how to make your life better, not a blow-by-blow treatment of the science. For that, you can turn to Dr. Vliet, or to some extent Dr. Uzzi Reiss' book (although it would sure be nice to have a new edition). The weak spot in this book is that it's not heavy on specifics. It's pretty clear what regimen is likely to help a lot of women: the 0.1 Vivelle Dot patch, plus vaginal Crinone progesterone gel 14 days a month. But the authors are balanced enough in their treatment that they realize women may have too much, or too little, of either estrogen or progesterone at different stages in their perimenopause. They advocate looking for

At a time when doctors are rationing their time, and diagnosis is confined to laboratory test results, this book is an absolute godsend. Detecting whether one's estrogens, progesterone, thyroid hormones, cortisol, and testosterone are in or out of balance is a complicated business. These authors explain hormone function simply yet thoroughly. The checklists led me step-by-step through the process of observing and thinking through what was happening to my body, endowing me with the diagnostic savvy of Dr. House, and a way to finally talk to my doctor about things too easy for him to overlook and too easy for me to minimize, but later suffer in silence. A thorough discussion of replacement therapies including dosages and a comparison of delivery methods, complemented with numerous self-help strategies, made me feel confident that I could get help for what appears to be a relatively rare and not well-studied condition. I would like to tell Kathryn Simpson and Dale Bredesen MD, how fortunate I feel to have been able to buy and read this book, and how grateful I am for their writing efforts.

Defintely a great book for every woman. Wish I had read it earlier to avoid all the suffering associate with all the female hormone imbalance. Kathryn did a great job writing this book. It gives us the knowledge and tool on how to better manage our own health. I am ready to use what I learn from this book to take more proactive approach to manage my own health. Thanks for the great research.

This book was very informative and easy to follow the details. Written very well and user friendly. Lots of info you don't find in the other menopause books. It's a must read if you are having these symptoms. Awesome!

The clinical information, as well as the research, provided in this book spurred me on to make an appointment with an endocrinologist. It armed me with information regarding my thyroid condition and alternative medication for its treatment. I would highly recommend this book to any woman who is perimenopausal (or the man who loves her!) because it validates symptoms and gives possible reasons and treatments for them that would otherwise not be considered. My endocrinologist, fortunately, believes in using Cytomel in addition to Synthroid and I feel like a new woman!