I purchased Dr. Vliet's book while searching for relief from a difficult gynecological and urinary tract problem. I found the chapters dealing with my problem very easy to read and could not put it down. I was so impressed, that I made an appointment to visit her office. Over 4 hours were spent at Dr. Vliet's office going over in great detail my medical history. I had these problems for almost 20 years, and other doctors had told me "it was all in my head"! Dr. Vliet clearly explained why I had these problems and we developed a successful treatment plan. The staff was empathetic and knowledgable. Her research is exceptional and I have recommended this book to other doctors and medical professionals. Very few doctors are knowledgable about hormones largely do to the misinformation in the press and the propaganda distributed by the drug companies. It has been 3 years since I first visited Dr. Vliet and I thank God every day that I found this book and my life has returned to normal.

This book is fantastic and you get a true sense in your gut that she is telling the facts. I have recommended this book to several doctor friends and regular friends, who all have ordered it. All my friends have the same complaint, that their doctors won't listen to them or won't give them the tests they want. Fortunately my dr. is very open to trying different things. What my doctor said, is it's my body and I can chose how to deal with it. One thing that is interesting, is that I asked my doctor for the N-telopeptide (NTx) test, and they had never heard of it. Also the lab where I had the test done had never heard of it either. Just goes to show you have to be your own advocate!

The only bad thing about this book, is it is not easy reading. I am on my fourth reading, trying to absorb and notate the various things. You have to read and dig out the various things that you have to do, they are not all cleary spelled out. And if you are in that "fuzzy" state in your life, this makes it even harder. But it's a definate buy!

I have bought this book seven years ago, when I was still in my thirties. My erratic hormone levels had caused me so much trouble I was at my wits' end. I read the book then, and I have read it again recently, in my early forties, when a sympathetic gynaecologist offered me a hormone replacement therapy. In between the readings, I have done my best to learn all about nutrition, healthy living, and about keeping healthy balance. Reading widely, I discovered dogmas and ideologies both in the allopathic and the alternative medicine camps. Elisabeth Vliet is in neither camp; she is quite the opposite of ideological. She knows what she is talking about, and no authority will change what she has learned through practice. My conclusion today is that Screaming to be heard is probably the best available book on the subject.

This is an informed book for an informed reader. It is RATHER FORTUNATE that "Vliet's book is aimed at health care professionals and informed lay readers", because endocrinology cannot be reduced to layman's jargon. Simplification would lead to misunderstanding and confusion, as it regularly does. But with that said, lay readers of all backgrounds please do read this book! It is also a book written by a woman for all women! And it is not as difficult as some would have it. The author writes extremely well, and she uses empirical examples (from her clinical experience) to prove her points. She writes in clear text about how women are being frequently misunderstood by so many doctors, and explains why this happens. Her points are so clear, and her explanations may involve technical details - but without writing professionally, her work would have little credibility. For instance, she explains very well the confusion created by imprecise use of the terms `natural' and `synthetic'. You see, the technical or professional language is not a jargon on itself - it is the sloppy users who create a jargon. In contrast, Vliet is very clear. Actually she tidies up others' mess, so to accuse her of `jargonism' would be unfair.

My only objection is that some of information in the book needs an update, such as info on the available products etc. Also, it would be interesting to know if the scientific community is moving closer to an understanding of women's health. So I hope that an updated version will be available in the future.