With a dysfunctional immune system, you could be more at risk for not only hormonal irregularities, multiple allergies and sensitivities, but also more at risk for other autoimmune diseases. Yet few doctors take the time to inform their patients of this, and even worse, few have suggestions for treatment or prevention other than medication.

Mary Shomon has Hashimoto's thyroiditis, where the body attempts to destroy its own thyroid gland. While researching her condition, she found a dearth of literature on Hashimoto's in particular and autoimmune disease in general. She saw a real need for a book about what causes autoimmunity, what specific symptoms are common to which diseases, and what the patient can do to work toward gaining the best possible health.

She provides many case histories describing the difficulties involved in obtaining proper diagnosis, the complex trial and error sometimes involved in treatment, and the dramatic improvement in some of these patients once these obstacles were overcome. She begins by listing the various factors involved in shaping the immune system and what can cause the body to turn against itself. She discusses the prevalence of and risk factors for autoimmune disease. These factors range from ethnicity, gender and heredity to lifestyle, trauma and work environment.

It is nearly impossible to cover every autoimmune disease as there are up to 100 distinct ailments affecting up to 50 million Americans (that's 20 percent of the population). But Ms. Shomon has detailed segments on a multitude of the most common disorders, grouping them by which bodily system they affect the most. Lupus, sarcoidosis and Sjogren's syndrome are listed under multiorgan syndromes. Each segment contains a description of the disease, a list of symptoms, how it is diagnosed, who treats it and what the treatment options are.

While I don't recommend self-diagnosis, I must admit that it was while reading the section on Sjogren's syndrome that I realized I had something more wrong with me than the fibromyalgia I'd been diagnosed with. I was, in fact, a textbook case of Sjogren's as well. Several doctor visits and a biopsy two months later confirmed this.

I find myself referring to the autoimmune condition descriptions frequently when I meet or hear about someone with one of these ailments or when a doctor decides to test me for one of them. These segments are lengthy enough for a proper overview of each ailment, yet short enough to enable one to glean the most important facts. Best of all, one does not need a medical degree to understand this book.

After the specific disease descriptions, there are more general chapters on the latest research on treatment, holistic medicine, diet and emotional health. There is a lengthy checklist of autoimmune symptoms along with the diseases most commonly associated with them. A chapter that is particularly informative is the one about how to locate the proper physician. The book ends with details on putting together your own autoimmune repair plan.

One thing I particularly like about this book is that it addresses alternative medicine yet stresses that one should never forego the treatment and advice of their doctor. Holistic methods are meant to complement, not replace, traditional medicine. In treating her Hashimoto's, Shomon herself incorporates alternative mind and body work with her prescribed thyroid hormone.

This is one of the most valuable books in my library. Had I not read it, I would likely never have been diagnosed with Sjogren's, and perhaps the doctors would have missed my celiac disease and diabetes as well. I recommend it for anyone with autoimmune disease who wants a reliable reference handy.