Your Body's Red Light Warning Signals, revised edition: Medical Tips That May Save Your Life

I was having some pain in the esophagus while swallowing this weekend and started to freak out about it a little. Being a doctor myself I naturally didn't want to go to a doctor about it so I grabbed Your Body's Red Light Warning Signals by fellow MD author Neil Shulman. Fortunately I found out that I wasn't going to die right away and I got better with some OTC Prilosec and Mylanta. That is why I was glad to see a new revised and updated version come out that got great reviews this weekend in the local AJC paper. Here is an excerpt: "When the little red light on your car's dashboard flashes, you know to check the oil or battery. But if one of your eyelids droops and your vision gets blurred, you might not know what to do --- or react as quickly. Atlanta physician Neil Shulman, who penned the book that became the 1978 hit movie "Doc Hollywood," is out with a new volume that aims to help you decode your body's codes. "In the newly revised and updated edition of Your Body's Red Light Warning Signals (Delta, 496 pages), the Emory University professor provides an owner's manual-style overview of the body and explains how to read the signs of potential health danger. Shulman helps explain the differences between simple conditions and immediate health threats, such as when a pain in the tummy is more than indigestion and could be an ulcer. "Health care is a two-way street, and the best way to make the system work better is to make people more medically literate and empower them to advocate for themselves, he said. "You shouldn't just turn over your body to a doctor and say, 'Take care of me,' " said Shulman, who describes himself as obsessively compulsive about patients." Doug Bremner MD, author of 'Before You Take that Pill: Why the Drug Industry May Be Bad for your Health'

This book literally saved my life. I experienced an excruciating, pulsating headache, worse than any migraine I've ever had. I was turned away from the emergency room, told it was just stress or anxiety. I knew something more was wrong so I decided to research my symptoms. According to this book, the headache was a sign of bleeding in the brain. Terrified, I went back to the emergency room and demanded a CT Scan. After 6 hours of arguing with doctors & nurses, including threats of callinga social worker for me, they finally gave me one. (I think to shut me up!) They discovered a 2 cm growth in my left temporal lobe that was bleeding internally. I was operated on a few days later, and I'm now at home recovering. As a mother of two small children, I cannot imagine the consequences if I had not read that tip!

Its amazing to read this book and then after years of dealing with doctors, to finaly fix whats wrong. This is a truely awsome book, I recomend it to anyone who has a bad doctor!!!!

This book is not comprehensive. I looked under the eyes section for the symptoms of seeing spots and lightning flashes (a sign of a detached retina), and there was nothing about it. This is a serious warning sign by your body that could lead to blindness unless you get laser treatment immediately, but this book says nothing about it.

Very informative, well researched, and easy to understand. This book could save your life!