Overview: The only book you need to understand and treat your thyroid condition. Combining the expertise of two pioneers in the field-world-renowned thyroid specialist Kenneth Ain, M.D., and bestselling thyroid author and bioethicist M. Sara Rosenthal, Ph.D. The Complete Thyroid Book provides all the essential information on the diagnosis, options, and treatment of thyroid disease. Completely updated with the latest research, this book provides a comprehensive look at tests, scans, and state-of-the-art therapies and treatments for every type of thyroid condition. The Complete Thyroid Book, now revised and updated, is your source for information on: Thyroid hormone and all other medications used in thyroid treatment; Thyroid disease in special populations, including pregnant women, menopausal women, infants, children, and the elderly; Nutrition, environmental issues, and public health; This second edition of The Complete Thyroid Book gives you expert advice based on the latest research.

Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Why we're passionate about thyroid disease -- Part 1: Basics: -- 1: What is the thyroid, and what does it do?: -- How it formed, where it is, what it does -- Introduction to thyroid hormone -- 2: Tests and labs: diagnosing thyroid disease: -- Tests that measure thyroid hormone levels -- TSH: the most sensitive test to assess thyroid hormone status -- Thyroglobulin: the specific thyroid protein -- Thyroid hormone-binding proteins -- Measuring thyroid antibodies -- Dynamic tests of thyroid function -- Tests of metabolism -- Radioactive thyroid tests -- X-Rays, ultrasounds, and other diagnostic pictures -- Pathology: do you need surgery? What did the surgeon find? -- 3: Hypothyroidism: the most common problem: -- Why am I hypothyroid? -- Slowing down: signs of hypothyroidism -- Diagnosing hypothyroidism -- Treating hypothyroidism -- Why do I still feel hypothyroid? -- 4: Too much thyroid hormone: thyrotoxicosis: -- Symptoms of too much thyroid hormone -- Emotional effects of thyrotoxicosis -- Causes of thyrotoxicosis without hyperthyroidism -- Thyrotoxicosis with hyperthyroidism -- Intrinsic thyroid autonomy: independent thyroid hormone manufacturers -- Diagnosing thyrotoxicosis and/or hyperthyroidism -- Treating thyrotoxicosis -- 5: Hashimoto's thyroiditis and other types of thyroiditis: -- What is an autoimmune disorder? -- Hashimoto's thyroiditis -- Other common autoimmune disorders -- Other forms of thyroiditis -- 6: Graves' disease: -- What happens in Graves' disease? -- Diagnosing Graves' disease -- Treating Graves' disease -- Screening family members for Graves' disease -- Are there natural therapies for Graves' disease? -- 7: Goiter: an enlarged thyroid gland: -- Evaluating a goiter -- Types of goiter -- 8: Thyroid nodules -- Finding a thyroid nodule -- Steps in evaluating a thyroid nodule -- Hot nodules -- Radiation exposure to the neck during childhood -- 9: Thyroid cancer: -- Who gets thyroid cancer? -- What causes thyroid cancer? -- Types of thyroid cancers and their behavior -- Treatment for papillary and follicular thyroid cancers -- Diagnostic evaluation: long-term follow-up -- 10: Thyroid hormone: the inside scoop: -- How it all started -- T4: the details -- T3: specific and limited uses -- Mixtures of T3 and T4 -- Thyroid extracts, or natural thyroid hormone -- 11: Other drugs used in thyroid disease: -- Drugs used to treat hyperthyroidism -- Stable iodide -- Potassium perchlorate -- Lithium carbonate -- Treatment of hypoparathyroidism: low calcium -- 12: Radioactive iodine therapy: -- What is radioactivity? -- Types of treatment with radioactive iodine -- Part 2: People In Special Circumstances: -- 13: Thyroid disease in pregnancy and after delivery: -- Normal thyroid in pregnancy -- Being pregnant with preexisting thyroid disease -- Gestational thyroid disease (thyroid disease during pregnancy) -- Discovering thyroid nodules in pregnancy -- After the baby is born -- 14: Thyroid disease during menopause: -- Natural menopause -- HRT, menopause, and thyroid disease -- Osteoporosis -- Staying alert about heart disease -- 15: Thyroid disease in infants and children: -- Thyroid disease in newborns and infants -- Thyroid disease in children and adolescents -- 16: Thyroid disease and obesity: -- Defining obesity -- Inappropriate drug treatments for obesity -- Lowering fat and healthy eating -- 17: Thyroid disease in older individuals: -- Hypothyroidism in older persons -- Thyrotoxicosis in older persons -- Other thyroid problems -- Thyroid disease in a person with Alzheimer's disease -- 18: Thyroid hormone resistance and rare genetic disorders of the thyroid: -- Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) or thyroid hormone resistance -- Pituitary and hypothalamic diseases and other genetic disorders -- Part 3: Living Well After Treatment: -- 19: Thyroid misconceptions and misinformation: -- False statements about hypothyroidism -- Misconceptions about radioactive iodine (RAI) -- Other myths about thyroid cancer -- 20: Special diets for thyroid disease and healthy eating: -- High-fiber diet for hypothyroidism -- Low-iodine diet (LID) -- What to eat if you're hyperthyroid -- What to eat after treatment for thyroid disease -- Mediterranean diet -- 21: Making an informed decision: -- Standards of care -- What you should know about ethical guidelines in health care -- Steps toward informed decision making -- Part 4: Complications Of Thyroid Disease: -- 22: Coping with thyroid eye disease: -- What is thyroid eye disease? -- Battling the bulge: treating TED -- Dry eyes -- 23: Coping with depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders: -- Unipolar depression and hypothyroidism -- Anxiety, panic disorder, and thyroid disease -- When your body feels your emotional pain: somatization disorder -- 24: Coping with heart disease: -- Heart complications from hypothyroidism -- Heart complications from thyrotoxicosis -- 25: Coping with fatigue: -- Normal fatigue -- Abnormal fatigue: chronic fatigue syndrome -- 26: Thyroid and public health: -- Environmental issues in thyroid and endocrine disease -- Screening fertile women for hypothyroidism -- Iodine deficiency in pregnancy -- Radioactive iodine shortage -- Potassium iodide in the age of nuclear reactors and terrorism -- Appendix A: Thyroid links on the web -- Appendix B: Links to other conditions related to thyroid disease -- Glossary -- Supportive literature -- Index.