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Jody Berger
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Misdiagnosed: One Woman's Tour of--And Escape From--Healthcareland Kindle Edition

by Jody Berger (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 194 ratings
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A New York Times Bestseller

"Berger movingly details her journey to healing. Her indefatigable quest...underscores the fact that there is no such thing as one size fits all in medicine."—Gayatri Devi, MD, clinical associate professor, NYU School of Medicine, and author of A Calm Brain

Taking charge of your health has never been so important as it is today.

Jody Berger has discovered this first hand: at forty-three, the award-winning journalist and marathoner sees a doctor about a minor tingling sensation in her hands and feet. One MRI later, she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and told to pick a drug and accept her fate. Instead Jody starts asking questions—only to receive a different diagnosis from each specialist she turns to, from vitamin deficiencies to metal toxicity to depression.

In this powerful, witty, and eye-opening account of her misadventures from misdiagnosis to miraculous recovery, Jody offers insightful tips on how to ask doctors the right questions to get the answers and treatment you need, listen to your body, and choose health over illness. After all, while we can't always heal, we can always take control of our health and ourselves—starting now.

"In this compelling, beautifully written book, Jody Berger offers an empowering look at the importance of finding the strength and confidence to take charge of your health."—Mary Shomon, New York Times bestselling author and patient advocate

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  1. Print length
    287 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Sourcebooks
  5. Publication date
    September 23, 2014
  6. File size
    1111 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KM5F8AK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sourcebooks (September 23, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 23, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1111 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 287 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 194 ratings

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Jody Berger

Jody Berger

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
194 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Fan of Tick Tock
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, engaging, well-written
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
I loved this book. Berger writes about the frustrations so many of us experience trying to navigate our way through "healthcareland," but she never falls into victimhood or even negativity. She has a casual, breezy voice, yet still comes across as grounded and intelligent, open yet discerning ... the kind of narrator I trust and want to travel with. I agree with the Publisher's Weekly comment that "her story is told with just the right portions of introspection and useful information." It also has a nice measure of adventure—she travels to India, Kenya, Mexico, and other cool places during her quest to find the cause of her symptoms—making it an engaging memoir in its own right, rather than a predictable health/illness memoir. I've bought it for a couple of friends and they agreed. Berger's experience offers invaluable lessons for all of us, particularly about the importance of getting second, third, and even more opinions, especially if a diagnosis doesn't sit right.
2 people found this helpful
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Pjex
4.0 out of 5 stars Would recommend to everyone if the profanity was edited out.
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
Very well written, compelling story. The author is very honest and professional in her narrative and tells an important story. As a medical professional, I am very slow to accept the common medicinal protocols when given a diagnosis. That's my last resort after exploring nutrition, exercise, and emotional/energetic therapies, so I immediately identified with what the author was feeling. Sadly, I can't/won't recommend this book to my friends because of the offensive profanity sprinkled throughout. It's not a lot, but it's enough, and it's offensive and unnecessary. Certainly unexpected from such talented writer. This is an important story, and should be shared widely, once it's edited.
2 people found this helpful
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Midnightwriter51
3.0 out of 5 stars One woman's search for the diagnosis she wants to hear
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a fascinating memoir, but not for the reasons the author intended.

In 2010, a neurologist told Berger she had multiple sclerosis, based on the results of an MRI and her symptoms of tingling in her hands and feet. By her own admission, the diagnosis and the doctor's recommendation of interferon drugs were terrifying for her. She spent the next two years exploring alternative medicines and therapies and railing inwardly at the neurologist, the drug industry, and even the technician who administered the MRI. At the end of the first year, she saw a second neurologist who seemed more empathetic than the first but who confirmed the diagnosis of MS. Off she went again in search of different answers. Finally she found someone who diagnosed a different disorder that could be treated with a change in diet. Her symptoms, which she could trace back to when she was five years old, went away.

Does that mean she was "misdiagnosed" with MS? Or does it mean that she may have more than one medical issue going on here?

MS is a quirky disease that can go into remission and come back with a vengeance. I can find nothing in her book to substantiate a claim that she was "misdiagnosed" with MS and doesn't have it. This is a disease that patients can live with for decades. Sometimes things are not so bad and sometimes they're terrible. Before the author can proclaim herself "misdiagnosed," I'd say give herself ten years and see how she does.

What disturbs me about this book is that it may encourage others who don't like the diagnosis a medical doctor gives them to waste valuable time looking for a diagnosis they like better. I lost a friend who spent two years "treating" her chronic constipation with diet, exercise, and visits to an osteopath. When she finally was in so much pain that she went to a gastroenterologist, a colonoscopy revealed a malignancy that had almost completely blocked her colon. My friend died of metastasized colon cancer. Had she gone the traditional medicine route when she first had symptoms, she might have beaten it.

The author is a journalist, and she's provided exhaustive details of her quest. What she doesn't seem to realize is her own capacity for self-delusion, which makes for a fascinating story in itself.

In dismissing what "experts" tell her, she quotes a saying, "To someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Here's another saying: "Denial is not a river in Egypt." Denying you have a disease won't make it go away. Doctors aren't perfect and diagnoses aren't always correct. But denying a disease and delaying treatment can cost you your life. I really, really hope Jody Berger doesn't have multiple sclerosis. And I also really, really hope her book doesn't persuade someone else to reject a diagnosis and treatment plan that could save their life.
150 people found this helpful
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Petunia W.
5.0 out of 5 stars This is how you heal yourself.
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
I'm an RN. I've worked in a teaching hospital as an oncology nurse. Western medicine rarely, if ever, heals anyone. Rather than becoming well, we become chronically ill. We don't die quickly from our ailments but live for years with them, and so often not happily. I now work in hospice, it was originally my calling but I now know I could never work in a medical setting that pushes drugs (with so many serious side effects) and treatments but ignores the very substance that is meant to nourish and support every cell in our bodies, food. My husband and I went paleo out of desperation; he had had a heart attack at age 47 complete with quadruple bypass surgery. He was diabetic, and even on medications (all with side effects) his blood sugar remained too high. All while following a low fat diet, complete with 'heart healthy whole grains'. I decided to follow the paleo diet too, since cooking two meals would be silly. And I wanted to support him while he had to go without his favorite foods. But I promised myself a box of doughnuts after the 30 days was up. I was fearful that all the fat we were going to eat would make things worse, after all, that's what we are told incessantly by doctors, dietitians, politicians. But we didn't know what else to do.

So, three weeks later, his blood sugar dropped to normal and stayed there. After three months his lipid panel showed optimal numbers across the board. Myself, I was feeling pretty good while paleo and wasn't tempted to eat grains or sugar for six weeks. But then I did. I enjoyed a moderate serving of macaroni and cheese and realized that had there been a gallon of it I would have eaten it all. The morning after, I awoke feeling bloated, depressed, lacking in energy, and tired. I had been diagnosed clinically depressed two years earlier but had been taking flaxseed oil, which helped me cope but didn't really alleviate the depression. I was astonished at how bad I felt; I hadn't realized that I could actually be happy again, until the depression came rushing back. So I didn't touch wheat for seven months. In that time we both ate all we wanted of paleo foods, meaning we never went hungry, except fruit (even fruit sugar can be harmful to diabetics) and we avoided starchy vegetables too. We both lost 45 lbs effortlessly. I also realized that my lifelong hay fever and IBS-C were completely resolved.

I now know a few things for sure.
1. Everyone should try a 30 day elimination diet to rule out sensitivities. Just 30 days. Not everyone will be sensitive to gluten, but eggs, nuts, dairy, soy, or nightshade vegetables may be culprits for some. Even small physical problems that are not deemed serious may resolve.
2. You know your body better than anyone, especially a doctor you see for less than 20 minutes every few months. Do your own research, but disbelieve or be suspicious of over the top claims made by anyone, particularly if they are trying to sell you something. Nobody cares more about your health than you do.
3. At least in some cases, type 2 diabetes and obesity can be resolved by following a low carb, high fat diet. The trick is to focus on nutritious low carb foods, mainly vegetables, and good quality dietary fats like olive oil and coconut oil. If taking diabetic medications be sure to wean off of them under the supervision of your doctor. If your doctor scoffs, find one who doesn't.

It's a simple thing, to eliminate foods and then reintroduce them after a month. See for yourself, don't wait to be told you need pills or drugs or starvation diets or unsustainable exercise regimens.
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