Here is a list of books that I have read and would recommend. I have added a quick review of the books. If you have read a book that I have not read then please email me with the book title and author and if you like a quick review of the book.
Take Control of your Endometriosis - Help relieve symptoms with simple diet and lifestyle changes
By Hanrietta Norton.
By Hanrietta Norton.
I found that this book was a good read. It had a lot of information about Endometriosis without any of the medical jargon. It is written by a nutritionist that has Endometriosis for women with Endometriosis. I feel that books that are written by Endometriosis sufferers for people with Endometriosis are better than those written by someone that has just done research and not had first-hand experience of suffering (or knowing someone that suffers) from Endometriosis. The reason why I believe this is because if the writer has had first-hand experience on the matter (any matter whether it is Endometriosis or any other subject) then they know where the reader is coming from. In the subject of Endometriosis (or even any other chronic disease) the writer knows the feeling of helplessness of the ever constant pain that a sufferer has.
The book has some interesting recipe’s that sound very nice and I shall try some of them out. However I personally could not follow everything that the book suggests but I do agree with the whole “you put good healthy food inside you and you do feel better. If you put crap inside you and you will feel crap”. I myself have found that certain food flairs up my Endometriosis and others help it. However, what is good for me may not be good for someone else and vice versa.
The book has some interesting recipe’s that sound very nice and I shall try some of them out. However I personally could not follow everything that the book suggests but I do agree with the whole “you put good healthy food inside you and you do feel better. If you put crap inside you and you will feel crap”. I myself have found that certain food flairs up my Endometriosis and others help it. However, what is good for me may not be good for someone else and vice versa.
Endometriosis for Dummies - Sound, Sympathetic Guidance on managing and living with Endometriosis.
By Joseph Krotec and Sharon Perkins.
By Joseph Krotec and Sharon Perkins.
Like all books in the ‘For Dummies’ series this book is easy to use. It has a lot of useful information. Although it is aimed at the American audience and talks about the need of medical insurance which does not affect those readers from the United Kingdom as we have the National Health Service. This book tells you about different treatment options. It touches a bit about fertility, symptoms of endometriosis, pain management and other information such as the emotional issues that an Endometriosis sufferer could experience at some point during their journey.
I like the fact that the book tells a non-biased view of both the more traditional treatments as well as the alternative treatments from medications to control your Endometriosis to surgery, acupuncture and massages.
You can tell that the authors know what they are talking about. I feel that their introduction to what Endometriosis is well written and easy to understand. It is written in layman’s terms so you do not need a medical degree to understand what the book is going on about.
Reclaim your life... Your guide to aid healing of Endometriosis - A motivational informative and practical book to inspire confidence in your ability to heal from Endometriosis.
By Carolyn Levett.
By Carolyn Levett.
This book is an interesting read, however I did find it hard to follow. This may be down to my dyslexia. The book tells of Carolyn’s story and how the traditional medical route did not work for her so she went down the homeopathic route, which cleared her of all of her Endometriosis. This book, I feel comes across as very anti-traditional medicine. What I do like about the book is that it tells you about all of the different alternative medicines and what to look for if you are thinking of going down this route. Also I like that with each alternative medicine/therapy it has testimonies of success stories. I do believe that each route will help some people and not others. I myself use herbs to help settle my nausea and bloating caused by my Endometriosis, as well as heat treatment and TEN’s machines. However I personally would not give up the traditional route completely. Each treatment route that you decide to go down should feel right for you. This book is good for looking at alternative treatment to see which route you want to possibly go down.
Recipes for the Endometriosis Diet - A comprehensive diet resource diet resource for women with Endometriosis.
By Carolyn Levett.
By Carolyn Levett.
This book is easier to read than Carolyn’s other book. Not only does it tell you what not to eat whilst following the Endometriosis diet but it actually tells you what you can eat as well as alternatives to those things that you cannot eat.
The book also explains why to avoid certain items. The recipes include milk alternatives and how to make them. I like the hot drinks section that had several fruit/herbal tea ideas as well as a dairy free hot chocolate. I am definitely going to try the pain relief tea which has fresh grated ginger and raspberry leaves. There is also a large section for cold drinks.
The foods are set out in all of their groups e.g. all soups are together, salads, starters, mains and curries etc. there are also dressing ideas as well as dips and pates.
The final word about not changing your diet all at once but gradually, for example do it over 6 weeks, is also a good idea. I think this book is definitely worth a read. There are a lot of nice looking recipes that I shall be trying out, although I shall not be completely following the endometriosis diet as I have tried it before and for me it has not worked but for other people it will, after all we are all different.
The book also explains why to avoid certain items. The recipes include milk alternatives and how to make them. I like the hot drinks section that had several fruit/herbal tea ideas as well as a dairy free hot chocolate. I am definitely going to try the pain relief tea which has fresh grated ginger and raspberry leaves. There is also a large section for cold drinks.
The foods are set out in all of their groups e.g. all soups are together, salads, starters, mains and curries etc. there are also dressing ideas as well as dips and pates.
The final word about not changing your diet all at once but gradually, for example do it over 6 weeks, is also a good idea. I think this book is definitely worth a read. There are a lot of nice looking recipes that I shall be trying out, although I shall not be completely following the endometriosis diet as I have tried it before and for me it has not worked but for other people it will, after all we are all different.
Zita West's Guide to Fertility and Assisted Conception - Essential Advice on preparing your body for IVF and other fertility treatments.
By Zita West
By Zita West
What a fantastic book!!! I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is at any stage of trying to conceive. It is down to earth and extremely well written. This book covers both the man and the woman, and whether you are trying to conceive your first, second, third or tenth baby.
It explains everything in just the correct amount of detail about trying to conceive, what the tests you are having are for, various fertility treatments including IVF. It explains what happens during the IVF cycle. The book talks about some reasons that could be causing you to struggle to conceive with case studies and interviews from various specialists. As well as a whole chapter on successful IVF cycles it also talks about what if you are unsuccessful and the possible reason why. It also goes on to other options such as egg and sperm donation, surrogacy, adoption, and living with no children.
Even with my dyslexia I found I could read all four hundred and ninety odd pages in less than a week which is very quick for me. I just could not put this book down.
Zita west was a midwife for 30 years before she started her fertility clinic in London so with about 45 years’ worth of experience you can safely say she knows her stuff.
It explains everything in just the correct amount of detail about trying to conceive, what the tests you are having are for, various fertility treatments including IVF. It explains what happens during the IVF cycle. The book talks about some reasons that could be causing you to struggle to conceive with case studies and interviews from various specialists. As well as a whole chapter on successful IVF cycles it also talks about what if you are unsuccessful and the possible reason why. It also goes on to other options such as egg and sperm donation, surrogacy, adoption, and living with no children.
Even with my dyslexia I found I could read all four hundred and ninety odd pages in less than a week which is very quick for me. I just could not put this book down.
Zita west was a midwife for 30 years before she started her fertility clinic in London so with about 45 years’ worth of experience you can safely say she knows her stuff.
The Complete Guide to IVF - An Insider's Guide to Fertility Clinics and Treatments.
By Kate Brian.
By Kate Brian.
This book is written by Kate who has suffered from unexplained infertility and ended up having to go down the IVF route. This book has several different chapters each covering a variety of different points. I like the face that this book has quotes from various couples that have also been through assisted fertility treatment.
You can tell that Kate has really done her research and mixes this with her personal experiences. The book starts off by explaining in detail what IVF is and how many couples have different feelings and emotions when they find out that they are going to require assisted fertilisation. It also explains how men react so much differently to the matter than women do.
The next section of the book gives you advice on finding the right clinic for you as well as explaining all the different types of treatments that are available and what one would be better for different types of infertility.
It explains in a whole chapter about what happens at your initial appointment and talks about all the different members of staff that are involved with the process and what they do. In another chapter it explains about all of the tests and paperwork that is required to be completed before you start the fertility treatment that you require.
The book then goes on to explain what happens during the IVF treatment, the emotional impact of going through the IVF all the way through to either the disappointment of a failed attempt of the joyfulness of a big fat positive on that pee stick.
Like other books that I have read it touches a bit on complimentary therapies (e.g. yoga, acupuncture, reflexology, traditional Chinese medicine etc.) and IVF.
What I did like about this book was at the end it had a brief history of IVF which I found very interesting. I did however find some parts of the book hard to read and found that even though it is only a short book of just under 300 pages it did take me a long time to read. This though could be down to my dyslexia I would recommend this book.
You can tell that Kate has really done her research and mixes this with her personal experiences. The book starts off by explaining in detail what IVF is and how many couples have different feelings and emotions when they find out that they are going to require assisted fertilisation. It also explains how men react so much differently to the matter than women do.
The next section of the book gives you advice on finding the right clinic for you as well as explaining all the different types of treatments that are available and what one would be better for different types of infertility.
It explains in a whole chapter about what happens at your initial appointment and talks about all the different members of staff that are involved with the process and what they do. In another chapter it explains about all of the tests and paperwork that is required to be completed before you start the fertility treatment that you require.
The book then goes on to explain what happens during the IVF treatment, the emotional impact of going through the IVF all the way through to either the disappointment of a failed attempt of the joyfulness of a big fat positive on that pee stick.
Like other books that I have read it touches a bit on complimentary therapies (e.g. yoga, acupuncture, reflexology, traditional Chinese medicine etc.) and IVF.
What I did like about this book was at the end it had a brief history of IVF which I found very interesting. I did however find some parts of the book hard to read and found that even though it is only a short book of just under 300 pages it did take me a long time to read. This though could be down to my dyslexia I would recommend this book.