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Reviews
The Doctor Will See You Now: Recognizing and Treating Endometriosis by Padma Lakshmi, Tamer Seckin
booksnacks's review against another edition
3.0
A good beginner’s guide for someone suffering from endometriosis or suspecting, as well as family members or friends who aren’t sure exactly what it is. Much of it is told from patients stories and histories, which may be helpful and comforting to someone feeling alone in their journey. It also includes a helpful guide about how to go to doctors appointments and what questions to ask in regards to endo, and emphasizes finding the right doctor.
It is to be noted that this is from 2016 and research has changed since then, so keep in mind literature has been updated as you’re reading. Dr. Seckin is very experienced but also holds biases in certain areas of research that you may want to explore deeper into, or see the other side of. Also, this book is entirely about endometriosis in women, and isn’t inclusive in regards to the fact that anyone with a uterus can get endometriosis.
It is to be noted that this is from 2016 and research has changed since then, so keep in mind literature has been updated as you’re reading. Dr. Seckin is very experienced but also holds biases in certain areas of research that you may want to explore deeper into, or see the other side of. Also, this book is entirely about endometriosis in women, and isn’t inclusive in regards to the fact that anyone with a uterus can get endometriosis.
witchhazel29's review against another edition
5.0
So informative and very validating to my struggles over the past 15 years. A must read for anyone afflicted with, or anyone who loves someone afflicted with this terrifying disease.
malaikatheresa's review against another edition
2.0
The book is not bad, but states old and incorrect theories about endometriosis. Thus I would suggest people rather read ‘How to endo’ by Bridget Hustwaite, to get am accurate overview on the disease and treatment options as well as management strategies
Hysterectomy does not treat endometriosis. Retrograde menstruation does not cause endometriosis. Both are true because endometriosis cell are SIMILAIR but NOT equal to the cells of the uterine lining the endometrium.
This book might be validating for people in pain. But the information mentioned in the book is NOT up to date with current research and thus I don’t recommend reading this book, unless you want to read a lot of patients stories and how the Dr helped them get back to a semi ‘normal’ life.
Hysterectomy does not treat endometriosis. Retrograde menstruation does not cause endometriosis. Both are true because endometriosis cell are SIMILAIR but NOT equal to the cells of the uterine lining the endometrium.
This book might be validating for people in pain. But the information mentioned in the book is NOT up to date with current research and thus I don’t recommend reading this book, unless you want to read a lot of patients stories and how the Dr helped them get back to a semi ‘normal’ life.
djnattymae's review against another edition
3.0
Essential read for anyone connected to endo. Dr. Seckin does a great job of really giving understanding to the general public and empowering women to be their own advocates when they suffer from this disease.
*EDIT: After reading through community reviews, I want to make a caveat to my original review: this book is an excellent introduction to endo, good for those who want the gist of it, or comfort and validation in their diagnosis journey (like myself). I can definitely concede that Dr. Seckin's tone of self-aggrandizing can be off-putting, and that his research is out of date and his description of symptoms is limited. I found it to be a great first read about this disease, and look forward to reading more recent, scientific resources next (as opposed to this more anecdotal view).
*EDIT: After reading through community reviews, I want to make a caveat to my original review: this book is an excellent introduction to endo, good for those who want the gist of it, or comfort and validation in their diagnosis journey (like myself). I can definitely concede that Dr. Seckin's tone of self-aggrandizing can be off-putting, and that his research is out of date and his description of symptoms is limited. I found it to be a great first read about this disease, and look forward to reading more recent, scientific resources next (as opposed to this more anecdotal view).
bwluvs2read's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely a must read for anyone with this disease!
doodles_and_books's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
This was an extremely accessible read. The language and terminology is kept conversational, rather than making you swim through pages of medical jargon, and I soared through it in one sitting of only a matter of hours. I think it’s a valuable starting point sort of resource for endometriosis, whether you’re suffering from the illness itself, or you know someone who is. It does well with validating that all too common experience: doctor after doctor ignoring your symptoms and telling you it’s normal or all in your head, to the point of it taking literal DECADES to get the diagnosis. That validation is nice. It’s comforting, I think, to know that you are not alone and to read testimonies of others who shared your experiences and know what it’s like.
But.
That said, it is terribly and irritatingly written for “women,” and the writing is catered to a cishet reading audience. And frankly, I think this does a disservice to a large portion of those affected by endo who are not, you guessed it, cishet. The literal cover claims it is a disease that affects millions of women worldwide. Which it does, but those sorts of blanket statements immediately overlook and ignore the millions who have it who are not women. The book shares several patient stories but they are all cis women. The book uses gendered language: everyone with endo is “she.” “Her.” This just makes it that much more difficult for individuals who do not identify as women to have their symptoms taken seriously, and to get diagnosed, and to access appropriate care.
On that note, there is also a lot of... unchecked privilege, in the assumption that you can get a diagnosis, and immediately find yourself a specialist (as in, one who practices excision surgery) capable of dealing with this disease. I am personally of the mind that undergoing excision surgery is my best First Step. My initial diagnostic surgery was performed in 2016, and was ablation of Stage IV by a regular ob/gyn who was NOT skilled enough to handle my case. Which at the time I didn’t know, but hindsight is always 20/20. But again, finding and getting to a specialist quickly? It just isn’t realistic, for a whole truckload of reasons (mainly geographically and financially). It’s much easier to say “find a better doctor,” than it is to do. But then again, this was written by a doctor and not a patient, so I can’t say I’m surprised. And the sections on alternative treatments are extremely short and generalized, which does a disservice for those who pick up this book hoping for advice or guidance, especially if excision isn’t something they can consider their first option right away, or at all.
So, yeah. A decent, introductory-level resource, but dismally lacking in offering accurate representation and the inclusivity that endometriosis awareness desperately needs.
This was an extremely accessible read. The language and terminology is kept conversational, rather than making you swim through pages of medical jargon, and I soared through it in one sitting of only a matter of hours. I think it’s a valuable starting point sort of resource for endometriosis, whether you’re suffering from the illness itself, or you know someone who is. It does well with validating that all too common experience: doctor after doctor ignoring your symptoms and telling you it’s normal or all in your head, to the point of it taking literal DECADES to get the diagnosis. That validation is nice. It’s comforting, I think, to know that you are not alone and to read testimonies of others who shared your experiences and know what it’s like.
But.
That said, it is terribly and irritatingly written for “women,” and the writing is catered to a cishet reading audience. And frankly, I think this does a disservice to a large portion of those affected by endo who are not, you guessed it, cishet. The literal cover claims it is a disease that affects millions of women worldwide. Which it does, but those sorts of blanket statements immediately overlook and ignore the millions who have it who are not women. The book shares several patient stories but they are all cis women. The book uses gendered language: everyone with endo is “she.” “Her.” This just makes it that much more difficult for individuals who do not identify as women to have their symptoms taken seriously, and to get diagnosed, and to access appropriate care.
On that note, there is also a lot of... unchecked privilege, in the assumption that you can get a diagnosis, and immediately find yourself a specialist (as in, one who practices excision surgery) capable of dealing with this disease. I am personally of the mind that undergoing excision surgery is my best First Step. My initial diagnostic surgery was performed in 2016, and was ablation of Stage IV by a regular ob/gyn who was NOT skilled enough to handle my case. Which at the time I didn’t know, but hindsight is always 20/20. But again, finding and getting to a specialist quickly? It just isn’t realistic, for a whole truckload of reasons (mainly geographically and financially). It’s much easier to say “find a better doctor,” than it is to do. But then again, this was written by a doctor and not a patient, so I can’t say I’m surprised. And the sections on alternative treatments are extremely short and generalized, which does a disservice for those who pick up this book hoping for advice or guidance, especially if excision isn’t something they can consider their first option right away, or at all.
So, yeah. A decent, introductory-level resource, but dismally lacking in offering accurate representation and the inclusivity that endometriosis awareness desperately needs.
metafiktion's review
3.0
A quick, easy primer on endometriosis. The book draws heavily from anecdotes of women who spent years being ignored/dismissed/misdiagnosed by their doctors, and while it’s nice to be reassured you’re not alone/crazy, after the third repetitive story (out of very, very many) I want it to be less “can you believe no one believes this?!” and more about the actual disease. That being said, I’ve read a lot about endometriosis but still learnt some things about its occurrence and treatment through this book, though I may not necessarily recommend it as a stand-alone comprehensive overview as Seckin’s personal biases sometimes come through quite heavily (e.g. at the start he briefly acknowledges that the concept of “retrograde menstruation” as trigger is a controversial one, but then treats it as fact for most of the rest of the book). Seckin also quite aggressively hard-sells laparoscopic deep-excision surgery, his “gold standard” for endometriosis treatment, which I’m inclined to believe but may not be super useful for those who don’t have ready access to it. He does still provide a good amount of info on alternatives though, and most importantly advice on how to get a good doctor.
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