Unfortunately, in my opinion there's nothing in it that's not on the internet.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
can you return it? I'm hesitant to buy books anymore.
you can do research on the net and find most everything anyway.
Posted by Jordana (Member # 45305) on :
I think I can. I'm disappointed, I really thought there would be something new/revelatory in it.
Posted by Bartenderbonnie (Member # 49177) on :
Damn, that's ashame.
I ordered it through corner bookshop and pick it up tomorrow.
If I had money, I would have bought 20 copies to hand out to all my doctors, ha ha.
And if they choose to throw it in the garbage, then it just shows how truly ignorant they are
Can lead a camel to water but can't teach him to drink.
Posted by Bartenderbonnie (Member # 49177) on :
I m patiently waiting for Yolanda 's book to come out.
Posted by daphnesmom1 (Member # 39433) on :
Too bad that this new H book doesn't have anything monumental.
I am not surprised...was hopeful...but not surprised.
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
Thanks for the review. I just got it too and from a skim-through, that was my impression too. Seems like it's just an updated/pared down version of the last book.
So it might be good for people who didn't read the last book, but disappointing for those of us who did.
Posted by Kudzuslipper (Member # 31915) on :
He's not a great writer!
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
But, he is a great man and a good doctor.
And he cares. And he tries really hard. And he is dedicated.
And he doesn't quit on us.
Posted by TX Lyme Mom (Member # 3162) on :
I'm reading it right now, and yes, I have read his first book also (or at least most of it), and I do agree that there's nothing much new in this book. However, I'm finding that the organization of it is a little bit more user-friendly.
It will be a better reference book for me to use when I need to look up forgotten info for new members of our TxLyme Yahoo group, which I've been helping to co-moderate for the last couple of years. It's just so hard to remember everything.
I especially like how he organizes symptoms from his 16 point MSIDS Map into chart from, combined with possible related medical conditions and also with laboratory testing for confirmation. It's very, very detailed and covers 15 pages. (pgs. 51-64)
I think this book is going to be a go-to reference book for support group leaders like myself who serve as mentors for new Lyme patients. It's an encyclopedia, IMO.
It also includes new information about bacterial persistence and about "persister drugs" which I anticipate will be very useful for me to help patients in our group who are not getting better.
So far, my only complaint is that he (and most other of our LLMDs) are giving short shrift to Lyme patients who also develop celiac secondary to Lyme -- since infections of any kind can serve as a trigger for activating latent celiac in someone who is genetically predisposed to it. (Besides, the symptoms of chronic neuro-Lyme and undiagnosed celiac overlap so much that this can be a reason why folks do not recover from Lyme, no matter how many antibiotics or herbal remedies they take.)
Personally, I appreciate his style of writing, even if I do find myself falling asleep because it is so detailed, dense and concisely written. I can read only short segments at a time without having to take short breaks so that it sinks in.
I'm inclined to think that this book might be a better book to give to your Lyme-friendly PCP than any other book on Lyme so far -- with the one exception perhaps of "Lyme Brain" by Nicole McFadzean Ducharme, ND -- because it is so encyclopedic in nature.
I sense that Lyme-friendly doctors would appreciate the organization of this book which will make it easy for them to find what they need quickly when trouble-shooting their most difficult patients.
Therefore, if your book shelves are already over-crowded and you don't like this book enough to want to keep it yourself, then consider passing it along to a Lyme-friendly doctor in your area as a way of encouraging them to broaden their knowledge of Lyme disease.
Or better yet, sell it to Half-Priced Books, so that someone who cannot afford to buy new books at first price will have an opportunity to find help for themselves or for their family.