Mary J. Shomon

I'm Mary Shomon, and I'm a patient advocate, author, communications consultant, and mother. I've transformed my own struggle with thyroid disease into an advocacy campaign on behalf of patients with chronic diseases such as thyroid disease, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, and weight gain, among others. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in 1995, and now research and write about these conditions and their impact on health and weight. I am a Patient Expert at HealthCentral.com, writing on Thyroid and Diabetes. For 20 years, I was Thyroid Expert for the Verywell.com Thyroid site (formerly About.com). I am editor of my popular patient thyroid news report, Sticking Out Our Necks, and the co-star in the Healthy Hormones series of programs on PBS. I also blog at the Huffington Post. In my patient advocacy role, I bring much-needed attention to underdiagnosed and often overlooked health issues. My desire to cut through medical jargon and deliver information to my fellow patients in a form they can understand resulted in my first health-related book, Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You . . . That You Need to Know, which was first published in 2000 by HarperCollins, and has gone to more than 20 printings before a 2nd Revised Edition was published. The book was a Prevention Book Club Selection, and Amazon Top-Selling health book, and its popularity launched a new series of consumer health books for publisher HarperCollins. I am also author of the New York Times best-selling book The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss. (2004) "Thyroid Diet" was also a semi-finalist for the prestigious Quills Awards in 2005. The newest edition of this popular book is The Thyroid Diet Revolution. My latest books are "Hair Loss Master Plan" (with internationally renowned hair stylist and hair loss expert Brent Hardgrave), Your Healthy Pregnancy with Thyroid Disease" (with HypothyroidMom's Dana Trentini), and "Quinoa Mac and Cheese" (with Brigitte Britton and Lisa Moretti). I am also author of Living Well With Graves' Disease and Hyperthyroidism, Living Well With Autoimmune Disease, Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia," (2004), Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough (2005), The Menopause Thyroid Solution, The Thyroid Diet Revolution, and the Thyroid Guide to Hair Loss. I've been featured in hundreds of television, radio, newspaper, magazine and web interviews, including appearances on ABC World News Tonight and CBS Radio Networks, and interviews in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Ladies Home Journal, Health, Cooking Light, Elle Magazine, Woman's World, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. My goal? To help raise awareness for overlooked and mistreated thyroid and hormonal health issues. Coaching: I also provide one-on-one personal telephone coaching to help fast-forward you up the learning curve and brainstorm answers to your health questions. Visit http://www.mary-shomon.com/coaching for more information. In more than two decades of consumer advocacy, I have never hesitated to take a stand on behalf of patients, and my independence from drug companies and medical/patient organizations that are funded by the pharmaceutical industry has allowed me to maintain an unbiased, truly patient-first advocacy effort. I welcome you to visit my site at http://www.mary-shomon.com and join me at my Facebook support pages, http://www.facebook.com/thyroidsupport and http://www.facebook.com/thyroiddiet - and take time to live well! -- Mary