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Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness
Of all the problems that can affect physical or mental health, none is more common than thyroid gland disturbance. None is more readily and inexpensively corrected. And none is more often untreated, and even unsuspected.
Hypothyroidism -- low thyroid function -- is one of the gland disturbances that many people suffer from without even realizing it. It can be the cause of low energy or constant fatigue that is one of the most common complaints brought to doctors. It may be responsible for chronic headaches, repeated infections, unyielding skin problems, or circulatory difficulties. Even more frightening, it can be a major factor in heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema. And it is responsible for many emotional and mental disturbances. Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness explains low thyroid function in easy, understandable language. It tells how it may be affecting your health and your life.
Dr. Broda Barnes and Lawrence Galton tell what the thyroid gland is, how it works, the problems its dysfunction can induce. They detail case histories of patients, often thought hopeless, whose problems were discovered to be related to hypothyroidism and were cured by Dr. Barnes's simple effective techniques. And they discuss whether you too may be hypothyroid, affected by a condition even a physician may not recognize.
Included is a simple test you can make at home to discover if hypothyroidism may be the real, previously unsuspected cause of your ill health.
If you know you are hypothyroid, Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness will answer your questions about your condition. If you suspect you maybe, if you are unsure what may be causing those chronic headaches, infections, fatigue and low energy, it may help you find the answer.
Hypothyroidism -- low thyroid function -- is one of the gland disturbances that many people suffer from without even realizing it. It can be the cause of low energy or constant fatigue that is one of the most common complaints brought to doctors. It may be responsible for chronic headaches, repeated infections, unyielding skin problems, or circulatory difficulties. Even more frightening, it can be a major factor in heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema. And it is responsible for many emotional and mental disturbances. Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness explains low thyroid function in easy, understandable language. It tells how it may be affecting your health and your life.
Dr. Broda Barnes and Lawrence Galton tell what the thyroid gland is, how it works, the problems its dysfunction can induce. They detail case histories of patients, often thought hopeless, whose problems were discovered to be related to hypothyroidism and were cured by Dr. Barnes's simple effective techniques. And they discuss whether you too may be hypothyroid, affected by a condition even a physician may not recognize.
Included is a simple test you can make at home to discover if hypothyroidism may be the real, previously unsuspected cause of your ill health.
If you know you are hypothyroid, Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness will answer your questions about your condition. If you suspect you maybe, if you are unsure what may be causing those chronic headaches, infections, fatigue and low energy, it may help you find the answer.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 1975
29 people are currently reading
834 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 23, 2012
This book is a real eye opener. I recommend it to anyone who suffers from the disease, or has family who might have the illness since it does tend to run in the family and often explains undesirable behavior - loss of memory, anxiety, depression, "laziness". If you've ever tested "normal" for hypothyroidism, but KNOW you're not normal, read this book! It will change your life. I read it after I was officially diagnosed, but I wish I'd read it sooner as I had been experiencing the symptoms for years.
June 11, 2024
A good book. I was hoping for a bit more since so many people on twitter are quick to recommend it. Nevertheless, it does the job: gives an introduction to hypothyroidism, how it's increasing, it's tremendous importance for mental agility, physical wellbeing, etc., followed by a slew of chapters on the specific effects it has on distinct parts of the body.
To be fair, I would read the first 3 chapters thouroughly, briefly skim the intervining chapters (where descriptions of diseases are given, with correlations to hypothyroidism), and very dilligently read the last chapter, on treatment.
It's still an important work, and it helps to mentally model what has gone wrong in terms of physical degeneration population-wide. However, for such a purpose I much prefer Dr. Price's "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration".
To be fair, I would read the first 3 chapters thouroughly, briefly skim the intervining chapters (where descriptions of diseases are given, with correlations to hypothyroidism), and very dilligently read the last chapter, on treatment.
It's still an important work, and it helps to mentally model what has gone wrong in terms of physical degeneration population-wide. However, for such a purpose I much prefer Dr. Price's "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration".
November 3, 2013
Some excellent insights offered by this brilliant doctor about the effects of low thyroid. I wish he would have answered questions like why so many people have low thyroid function. And I do not agree with his lifelong protocol of desiccated thyroid to treat the symptoms. But his insights into what happens when the thyroid is low functioning was excellent.
July 5, 2019
I can't recommend this book more highly. Dr. Broda Barnes spent his entire life treating thyroid conditions, back in the day with natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) and before the overreliance on the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) test. A must read!
September 20, 2020
I had been longing to read Broda Barnes’s book “Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness” for so long. But here it is in my hands now. I have finally managed to read it. And I have to say it is a memorable book.
It came out in 1976 after Dr. Barnes had been treating patients for several decades - and taking thyroid hormone himself. In his book he has gathered his knowledge and experience and presented it in a way that is quite easy to understand. The book was obviously intended for thyroid patients, but also, I think, for other doctors who might have been skeptical of his methods. I do hope more doctors read it and decide to at least put Dr. Barnes’s teachings to the test in their own patients. The world certainly needs more doctors like him. And thyroid patients need his approach.
Here is a list of some of his merits:
- he diagnosed his patients by having them take their basal temperature – a test that was both readily available, non-invasive, cheap and could be performed at home by the patients themselves. Besides, it showed how their metabolism was working – something that blood tests quite often fail to do. He also took into account the patients’ symptoms – something that most doctors don’t do nowadays and it’s really a shame, because they basically miss most cases of hypothyroidism, while the patients continue to suffer needlessly;
- he prescribed combined thyroid therapy, i.e. both T4 and T3. To most of his patients he prescribed desiccated thyroid – this is not the treatment of choice nowadays;
- he was aware of the numerous conditions that thyroid disease could manifest as – all kinds of menstrual disturbances, susceptibility to infections, migraines, skin disorders, arthritis, hypertension, heart attacks, the complications of diabetes, emphysema and lung cancer. Most of them are never associated with thyroid disease nowadays and are treated in various different ways, with other medications and/or surgery, when thyroid therapy in the right form and dosage could easily do the trick in many cases.
I think Dr. Barnes’s book should be read together with Dr. Mark Starr’s, the two definitely complement each other. Dr. Starr based his on Dr. Barnes’s teachings. Both books are extremely valuable.
It came out in 1976 after Dr. Barnes had been treating patients for several decades - and taking thyroid hormone himself. In his book he has gathered his knowledge and experience and presented it in a way that is quite easy to understand. The book was obviously intended for thyroid patients, but also, I think, for other doctors who might have been skeptical of his methods. I do hope more doctors read it and decide to at least put Dr. Barnes’s teachings to the test in their own patients. The world certainly needs more doctors like him. And thyroid patients need his approach.
Here is a list of some of his merits:
- he diagnosed his patients by having them take their basal temperature – a test that was both readily available, non-invasive, cheap and could be performed at home by the patients themselves. Besides, it showed how their metabolism was working – something that blood tests quite often fail to do. He also took into account the patients’ symptoms – something that most doctors don’t do nowadays and it’s really a shame, because they basically miss most cases of hypothyroidism, while the patients continue to suffer needlessly;
- he prescribed combined thyroid therapy, i.e. both T4 and T3. To most of his patients he prescribed desiccated thyroid – this is not the treatment of choice nowadays;
- he was aware of the numerous conditions that thyroid disease could manifest as – all kinds of menstrual disturbances, susceptibility to infections, migraines, skin disorders, arthritis, hypertension, heart attacks, the complications of diabetes, emphysema and lung cancer. Most of them are never associated with thyroid disease nowadays and are treated in various different ways, with other medications and/or surgery, when thyroid therapy in the right form and dosage could easily do the trick in many cases.
I think Dr. Barnes’s book should be read together with Dr. Mark Starr’s, the two definitely complement each other. Dr. Starr based his on Dr. Barnes’s teachings. Both books are extremely valuable.
November 17, 2020
Каквото и да напиша за изследванията и приноса на д-р Барнс, касаещ хипотироидизма ще бъде малко. Всеки трябва да прочете тази книга, може да открие себе си в неподозирани симптоми, които не забелязваме в забързаното ежедневие, но телата ни казват най-точно.
Методът за поставяне на диагноза с мерене на сутрешна базална температура е все още един от най-точните и предпочитани, защото кръвните изследвания не могат да покажат нивото на хормона в тъканите, а измерването на базалната телесна температура, сутрин в леглото и стойността й под 36.5 градуса говори почти винаги за хипофункция на Щитовидната жлеза, за която много хора даже и не подозират. Кръвните ви изследвания често са наред и не показват нищо притеснително, но симптомите ги има - измерете си базалната температура- сутрин в леглото, още преди да сте се размърдали по възможност със стар живачен термометър.
Методът за поставяне на диагноза с мерене на сутрешна базална температура е все още един от най-точните и предпочитани, защото кръвните изследвания не могат да покажат нивото на хормона в тъканите, а измерването на базалната телесна температура, сутрин в леглото и стойността й под 36.5 градуса говори почти винаги за хипофункция на Щитовидната жлеза, за която много хора даже и не подозират. Кръвните ви изследвания често са наред и не показват нищо притеснително, но симптомите ги има - измерете си базалната температура- сутрин в леглото, още преди да сте се размърдали по възможност със стар живачен термометър.
June 5, 2009
The point of this book is to help people self-diagnose. Since I have a lot of hypothyroidism in my family, it was an interesting topic. I think it's important to not get overly worried that you definitely have the problem - or overly excited that an extra dose of thyroid is a cure-all. Definitely informative. Got a bit repetitive with case studies, etc. so I ended up skimming the chapters that didn't interest me as much.
October 15, 2018
Suffering from suboptimal thyroid function is enough to make you not recognize yourself anymore in many ways, and you keep trying to find the old “me,” but she’s long gone. It also means that you suffer all the symptoms but get stuck in ‘normal’ lab ranges that results in doctors leaving you untreated. This book is helpful in providing basic concepts of hypothyroidism but unfortunately lacks the tactical steps needed for anyone who is not able to get help from doctors.
June 20, 2021
This is an excellent book about Hypo-thyroidism. It is written in very plain and understandable language. Sometimes doctors write above my understanding. This book is well written and very understandable. It may have been written many years ago but it still had some very interesting and new knowledge for me that I learned through reading this book. I would highly recommend this book if you want to find out more about this disease hypothyroidism.
May 3, 2009
An eye opening view. I give this book a top rating more for its ability to convince than anything. I have avoided some thyroid treatment for a while, but now with understanding I am happy to proceed (and understand the consequences of neglegence...)
February 5, 2009
This book is rather old, from the 70's or 80's, so I ended up just skimming it. Still found some useful information.
July 16, 2012
This book provides a good overview of the myriad of symptoms that are associated with hypothyroidism.
Read
August 20, 2015this is a book full of facts we all need to know, to help understand ourselves and others.
September 15, 2016
Good introduction and back ground information to Hypothyroidism and its initial discovery. Recommend looking into more current books for further info with regards to ways of treating.
December 24, 2022
The book merits its 4 stars in the work of its author - his dealings with the thyroid and his effort to spread his gospel of thyroid supplementation is an extremely worthy cause and has saved thousands.
The book loses a star because it could’ve been condensed by about 200 pages.
The meat of the book is shuffling through various ailments, describing their effects, some personal anecdotes and studies, and, surprise, offering supplemental thyroid as a solution. It became all too predictable, and I found myself skimming and even skipping chapters.
Worth checking out the beginning and the end. Middle chapters should be read as applicable to the reader. If you have hypertension, read the hypertension chapter, etc.
The book loses a star because it could’ve been condensed by about 200 pages.
The meat of the book is shuffling through various ailments, describing their effects, some personal anecdotes and studies, and, surprise, offering supplemental thyroid as a solution. It became all too predictable, and I found myself skimming and even skipping chapters.
Worth checking out the beginning and the end. Middle chapters should be read as applicable to the reader. If you have hypertension, read the hypertension chapter, etc.
February 22, 2024
Good book
April 22, 2024
Life changing book. I only take away one star because some of his research is rather dated, especially with dosages.
July 10, 2025
A great introduction into how hypothyroidism affects the entire body.
May 21, 2024
An essential text showing the lengthy, but neglected, history and practice of testing and using thyroid correction for the correction of numerous other conditions. A must-read for medical students and professionals. Barnes's work, in his time, showed that at least 1/3 of Americans has hypothyroidism; the pervasive modern prevalence of menstrual difficulties and female genitourinary conditions-like PCOS and endometriosis- would seem to indicate that this percentage has only grown. Barnes claims that hypothyroidism can be inherited and that antibiotics have negatively regulated the 'Darwinian' selection of hypothyrodic persons.
Modern degeneration theorists attribute this to genetics and even have potential candidate genes related to things like obesity(or polygenic mashups meant to track intelligence), however, this generational issue has clear evidence for a generational epigenetic transmission and generational social exposure to hypothyroidic foods, living conditions, and culture.
Good book, will read again and would recommend
Modern degeneration theorists attribute this to genetics and even have potential candidate genes related to things like obesity(or polygenic mashups meant to track intelligence), however, this generational issue has clear evidence for a generational epigenetic transmission and generational social exposure to hypothyroidic foods, living conditions, and culture.
Good book, will read again and would recommend
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews