Looking for suggestions of good fibroid books.

[Guest guest]

I have been reading " Fibroids " by Johanna Skilling. It has been

somewhat informative but much of what she says isn't subtantiated.

Could anyone refer me to some good, factual books about fibroids? I

am especially interested in finding out what effect Vitex has on

fibroids. I had read material that supported its usage but this

author indicated that Vitex encourages cell division, and hence

fibroid growth.

Thanks,

Robin

[Guest guest]

Hi Robin,

I've been using a combination which includes Vitex (under the

direction of a naturopathic doc) for almost 2 years now. According

to the book " Healing Fibroids Naturally " Warshowsky and Oumano,

Vitex works at the level of the pituitary increasing LH production

which helps increase the body's level of progesterone. A menopause

book I have lists even more benefits from stopping flooding,

spotting, oozing, and irregular cycles to lubricating vaginal

tissues. In " What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids "

Goodwin, Broder, and Drum, note that you may not see the benefits

for 3 months to a year.

Gerri

> I have been reading " Fibroids " by Johanna Skilling. It has been

> somewhat informative but much of what she says isn't subtantiated.

> Could anyone refer me to some good, factual books about fibroids?

> I am especially interested in finding out what effect Vitex has on

> fibroids.

[Guest guest]

A lot of fibroid books are good. I could divide ones I've seen into

heaps:

1) Books targetted at medical students and doctors. Not really

what we're after but I came across a couple of helpful suitable

ones in a local library once. I forget the titles.

2) General books on women's health. Thank you! thank you!

Miriam Stoppard! Ideal if you don't know if it is fibroids yet or if

there's a test coming up or you want to know more about body

systems.

3) Well balanced fibroid specific books, covering symptoms,

treatments etc. in exactly the right depth, trying hard to be

unbiassed, helpful and accurate. These are extremely helpful.

4) The Natural progesterone advocators....The Godwin, Broder

and Drum book suggested an alternative viewpoint on the

subject of natural progesterone, so look at both sides.

5) Nutrition advice books

6) Contraception/pregnancy advice books. I recently read a revue

of a book on Amazon about monitoring fertility and cycles.

Reviewers said that what they'd learnt from the book, learning

and monitoring their own bodies, showed that their best days to

try and conceive differed from what their GP had said to

them....Handy to know if you're desperately trying for a baby.

7) Pollution and green issues books. Reminding you why you're

buying organic.

8) HRT , menopause & Hysterectomy type books

Here's some comments about books in no particular order.

(Various aspects for the newbie and some case study

examples). The Melbourne fibroid clinic book has a blue plain

cover and is partly a sales pitch for the clinic. It reassures that

there are other treatments apart from hysterectomy, and

competent interested surgeons out there who can help. There's

a chapter on phyto-oesrogens and a spirit of cooperation

between different specialists at that clinic. One of the people

there looks like the star of 'Space 1999' . The first fibroid book I

ever bought, it makes you seriously consider flying to Australia.

It's in my top 20. This book raises your hopes and spirits and

shows that hysterectomy isn't the only option and that some

research is done and some docs are keen. It mentions the

mini-laparotomy too.

(Various aspects for the newbie) The Sophie Bartish book has a

nice feel to it in it's design and weight, but that aside... ...The

presentation on the different treatments was good and the

mention of their cost a novelty. This book has no index. One of

the forum ladies here wasn't happy with one of the staements in

it (On UAE?) It's interesting in that it challenges the idea of foods

having any relevance at all. This is totally at odds with what

Lark says in her book, who feels the right or wrong

nutrition does have an impact. There's a short myth-debunking

section. It's nice to hear another viewpoint, but I personally feel

more inclined to go with Lark's opinion on that.

(Especially nutrition) Lark - These are interesting and

would be helpful to people with problemmatic symptoms. It tells

you a lot about nutrition for fibroids & endometriosis. The bright

pink one is a handy cheap summary. The larger paperback had

a very handy 31 day symptom monitoring table for you to fill in. I

recommend both. There may be repetition if you owned both.

(Various aspects for the newbie) Brewer - yes that was

good, I seem to remember (Library copy)

(Various aspects for the newbie and wider discussion) Carla

Dionne's 'Sex, lies, and the truth about uterine fibroids' is another

very good purchase for someone diagnosed with fibroids. It's

especially good for questioning, to get to the truth of the matter

with various aspects of the subject of fibroids. Eyes are wide

open to real world realities. Get this book and it's been in more

than one edition.

(Various aspects for the newbie and also post op) " What your

doctor may not tell you about fibroids' is a book to get if you are

only planning on getting one fibroid book. It covers so much of

what you'll ant to to look up. I particularly liked the way that it

provided sources for different statements and some discussion

about uncertain topics. I also liked the sections on what

happens with operation recovery.

(The UK fibroid sufferer will appreciate this) " Coping with

Fibroids' by -Claire Mason is especially good for us UK

fibroid sufferers, since it talks about our health service and there

are no irrelevant bits about the American system. We can use

more of the contact details and methods of finding info. But it's

well done for anyone based anywhere. This is the sort of book

you might find for sale in a UK health shop.

(Nutrition & health generally ) " Foods that Harm & Heal' is a

Readers Digest A4 hardback available at all good UK charity

shops :-) It's terrific: Get it! It's an A-Z of different foods and

illnesses. each illness entry says what to eat or avoid.

Aztek

[Guest guest]

> I've been using a combination which includes Vitex (under the

> direction of a naturopathic doc) for almost 2 years now.

Thanks for the reply Gerri. I have been using Vitex (sans the

naturopathic input) for many years. My fibroids seemed to " hold " for

a while but now I've got one the size of a tennis ball, a golf ball

and a racketball. It makes me wonder if the Vitex was helpful or not.

Robin