Janie Bowthorpe has become a force to be reckoned with. Her first book, Stop the Thyroid Madness, chronicles her return to health after decades of dealing with misdiagnoses and misguided treatments. She describes herself as suddenly becoming more alive after finding out about desiccated whole thyroid and changing from l-thyroxine (T4) treatment only. Her book can be an inspiration to anyone who struggles with reduced energy levels or never feels quite well. Bowthorpe is also the author of a blog in which she shares the huge amount of thyroid information she has discovered herself and gathered from others who she engaged through social media.

Bowthorpe has taken another direction with Stop the Thyroid Madness II. In this volume, she serves as the editor of a collection of chapters written by practitioners who have recognized the complexity of thyroid issues. These practitioners have made large changes in their approach to recognizing thyroid dysfunction and assisting their patients to truly turn their health around.

The current standard for treating thyroid issues blessed by the society of endocrinologists is to only use one thyroid test, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and then only to use one thyroid hormone, T4, to treat. After treatment, only the results of dropping serum TSH levels are used as a measure of success. Healthcare practitioners are taught that this standard prevails, while the fact that resolution of symptoms has not happened is dismissed.

Patients with thyroid disorders suffer from the fragmentation of medical care. Since thyroid hormone is needed to be active in every cell in the body, the symptoms of thyroid disease can occur anywhere. Patients can find themselves being shunted from endocrinologists to gastroenterologists, psychiatrists, and more. And when the approach mentioned above with T4 doesn’t pan out, it is assumed that the problems presented are not part of thyroid disease.

This book covers an astonishing amount of material. You will find yourself highlighting and earmarking the pages and rereading chapters to reinforce your understanding. Once you have reviewed this material, you will be armed to advocate for yourself in identifying and treating the underlying problems leading to your thyroid disorder.

To illustrate the scope of this Stop the Thyroid Madness II, here are some of the areas covered:

• Gluten intolerance and sensitivity leading to thyroid autoimmune disorders
• Defects in methylation identified with DNA testing
• Toxic heavy metals that interfere with thyroid functioning and testing and detoxification modalities
• Shortages of essential vitamins and minerals that are needed for thyroid production and conversions
• Environmental pollutants that wreak havoc with thyroid and other hormones and how to identify and eliminate
• The implications and circumstances that will cause the production of an inactive thyroid hormone called reverse T3 and how to return to production of the most active thyroid hormone T3
• The pitfalls of laboratory testing and introduction of many more parameters to check thyroid activity
• Foods that are helpful to include in your diet and those that must be eliminated for healthy thyroid function

A favorite chapter of mine is entitled “Why are Doctors Like That?” Reading this chapter can be enormously helpful when preparing to discuss the comprehensive information presented here with your practitioner. This material has not been taught in medical schools; only the practitioners who have challenged themselves to go further to help their patients have mastered it. You may also find practitioners who have studied and understand certain aspects of this topic, but who lack experience in the whole scope of problems affecting thyroid function. A good partner in your search for wellness should facilitate the unraveling of the mysteries underlying your health problems.

Although we live in a time when there are many more challenges to our health, we also have a wealth of information available to us. This enables us to take an active role in partnering with our health care practitioners to solve health care problems. Janie Bowthorpe is proof positive that your health can be regained. We can only admire the energy and determination that she displays by providing this depth of information to everyone.