It's Your Hormones: The Women's Complete Guide to Soothing PMS, Clearing Acne, Regrowing Hair, Healing PCOS, Enjoying a Safe and Comfortable Menopause, Recharging Your Sex Drive . . and More!

by Geoffrey Redmond

From the renowned director of the Hormone Center of New complete cutting–edge medical and alternative strategies for living happily with your hormones–including how to enhance your sex life safely with testosterone. According to Geoffrey Redmond, M.D., a majority of the 42 million American women between the ages of 35 and 55 suffer from vulnerability to their own hormones. Appearance, feelings–and even sex drive–may be affected. Symptoms include thinning hair, persistent acne, mood swings, low energy, loss of pleasure in sex, weight gain, irregular periods, and migraines. While the media has emphasized the problems of menopause, Dr. Redmond explains that many women experience hormonal miseries even in their thirties. Lab tests are often normal because the problem is not the hormones themselves but how a woman's body reacts to them. Healthy, active women suddenly find that once quiescent hormones are ruling their lives. Because their problems are often dismissed as trivial, women who are hormonally vulnerable are frequently thwarted in their quest for help. Too often they are brushed off with remarks such as, "Your tests are normal; there's nothing wrong with you." This is tragic because, as Dr. Redmond demonstrates, hormonal balance can nearly always be restored with the treatments he details, which include individualized use of prescription medications, herbal supplements, lifestyle changes, and even spiritual practices. Many women have heard that testosterone can help sex drive, but most have not been warned about the damage that careless testosterone therapy can cause on skin and hair. In this book, Dr. Redmond, an internationally recognized authority on testosterone in women, explains the only safe ways to use testosterone. With informative sidebars, quizzes, and personal stories of women who have overcome hormone vulnerability, this helpful book will empower you to find treatments for your hormone problems that are tailored to fit your own body, biochemistry, symptoms, and lifestyle.

Genres: Health

480 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2006

About the author

Dr. Geoffrey Redmond is an endocrinologist at the Hormone Help Center of New York. He received his medical degrees from both Columbia and Rockefeller universities in NY. Over the years, he has helped thousands of women with hormonal issues such as hair loss, PMS, polycystic ovary syndrome, menopause transitions, and persistent acne. Today, he continues to help women across the world through his extensive research and lectures in female endocrinology.

Reviews

[Gabriel-paul Israel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the very few books that I have read about PCOS that does not place in the major desire of the PCOS patient on reproduction. The information within the text is fully explained and is provided in an easily readable style. The information within the text is also incredibly comprehensive and does not assume the sameness of everyone with the syndrome. The individualized attention to each patient is incredibly stressed, and the importance of treating each person individually, respectfully, and with dignity is a majr theme throughout the text. The importance of the testing and considering the intersystematic approach to the syndrome is also highly stressed throughout the book. Redmond does not assume at any point in time that the major interest of everyone with PCOS is pregnancy. His approach the women's health is incredibly refreshing. His understanding of the devestating effects of the symptoms shows, not only his expertise and the compassion he has for the women's lives, his deep concentration on he whole patient and not just the medical aspects of the syndrome. I found more valuable information about the syndrome in this book than in any other I have read.

[Belcky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to get this book because in all my internet searches for help, the site which provided me with the most helpful information was The Hormone Help Center from the director, who is also the author of this book. There is a ton of information there on the site for free, if you want a taste of Dr. Redmond's approach, but I wanted to have his book, which I would assume to be the sum of the knowledge he felt important to get out there to women, in a hand-held format that I could highlight and write notes in.

I definitely think it was worth it. Though its intent is to guide women so they can make informed decisions with their own doctors, it came too late in my life to do that for me. Still, it helped me to feel good about the decisions I had made and fine-tuned my understanding of my own treatment. It is also full of reassuring and validating statements and experiences that help you see that you are NOT alone, NOT crazy, and the ARE things you can do about it.

It took a long time to read, mostly because life kept interfering with my opportunities to sit down and give it the attention I wanted. Though it deals with what various hormones do, the tests you can have and treatments you can take, I didn’t find it at all dry. The text is peppered with patient’s stories, positive and negative anecdotes about health professionals and medical studies, and observations about culture and aesthetics. I found it very engaging and simple to understand, and I decided to read it front-to-back, even though many of the health issues did not apply to me directly. It was so interesting to see the many different ways our reactions to hormones can go wrong, and what can be done about it. Even a woman who doesn’t have life-altering problems with hormones (or doesn’t think she does) would find it interesting and even helpful in dealing with PMS, menstrual pain, bone health, sex drive, how to make oral contraceptives work for you, and being prepared for menopause. It's like the medical consultation you could only dream of having.

[Hadley Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Note: I only read the chapter about PCOS! I found it very encouraging and helpful. I do wish there were links with sources cited.

[Vanessa]

Dude. It's got to be SOMETHING...

[Katina Blasingame · Rating 4 out of 5]

very helpful!