The Lady’s Handbook For Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey

[RickiTarr]

I’ve just snapped it up on kindle for £2.99. I’m not sure if that price will stay low

I probably won’t get to it for a week but would love to discuss it with others when I do.

Disclaimer: I’m not Sarah, nor her publisher and I have no connection.

I feel that this book is overdue, though.

Thanks for this, just ordered it! I splashed out on the paperback as I like to hold a ‘real book’ might take a bit to get round to reading it though……
How did you hear of it?

I think I saw it reviewed jointly with something else. I had it in my basket for a few days before I bought it.

If I can retrace my footsteps to the review I’ll post the link here too.

I’ve been buying feminist legal critiques (some were recommendations from Mumsnet) so I probably found it off the back of that Googling. Sorry, my memory is shocking since lockdown.

I have ordered this and look forward to discussing it with you. I have a number of invisible illnesses and it took such a long time to get them diagnosed and to be treated seriously.

Yes, I’m raddled with autoimmune conditions that took a while (too long) to pinpoint, too @Siablue

That looks interesting, thanks for flagging. Have bought it.

I am about a quarter of the way through and I am enjoying it even though it is depressingly familiar.

What I am finding interesting is the difference between Sarah’s experience as a privaldeged American and mine. The US healthcare system has managed to monetise mystery health complaints without making you better. In the NHS you get largely ignored and have to fight very hard to get any doctor to see you and are continually fobbed off. You may not be able to work but due to the mysterious nature of your illness will not be considered to be sick enough to get disability benefits.

Sarah did not seem to have a huge problem paying for her numerous treatments but some of them clearly made her sicker.

Very interested in this book - must buy it and come back and discuss it! Thanks for starting the thread!

I’ve got a third of the way through and given up. Honestly, I find her prose style exhausting, repetitive and overly dramatic, and while I do think there is much in the topic that is of interest, she has spread her net too widely into woo for my taste. She felt terrible on a diet that consisted entirely of raw milk? You don’t say!

If I’d had bought the physical book, I’d offer to send it to someone for postage, but unfortunately I bought the kindle edition. Pity. There is a book that needs to be written here, but it’s not this one.

Thanks Sophocles - that's interesting. How does everyone else who's already bought it feel about it?

I have finished it now. I did enjoy it. I think it is a book that needed to be written but I did find her writing style exhausting and I do agree about the woo. I think she shown how when you are not getting proper medical help you are very vulnerable to all sorts of dangerous quackery. I know so many people who have gone down this route. I am autistic and I sadly know many parents of autistic children who are very down many rabbit holes.

I thought her bit about what worked was very useful. Interestingly my sister has been put put on a similar diet and can’t have dairy. It shows how hard it is to treat chronic illness. I am interested in the role of stress as I have made a significant improvement in my health since leaving my abusive ex.

Yeah, it's so sad so many people are in the same boat, not getting the treatment they need.