Are You Tired and Wired?: Your Proven 30-Day Program for Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue and Feeling Fantastic Again [Hardcover]

I have read this book from cover to cover. It will continue to be an important resource in the future. Already, I am implementing many of her suggestions.

What was fun about this book was deciding whether I was a workhorse, a racehorse, or a flatliner. I definitely decided I was a flatliner, after having been both a racehorse and a workhorse most of my life.

For anyone who has ever suffered fatigue, this book contains the answers. Marcelle Pick is thorough and detailed--just as are all her staff at Women to Women. I cannot recommend this book or Women to Women too highly.

Now at the age of 69, I want to get back some of my youthful energy and with this book's help, I know that I will.

"Are you wired and tired?" is probably not a bad introduction to adrenal fatigue and it's treatment, but it is by no means comprehensive and does not provide much more info that you can easily find online.

I was recently diagnosed with adrenal fatigue and reading "Are you tired and wired?" was included as part of my initial "prescription". While I think that much of the basic information and advice that Ms. Pick gives this book seems reasonable, she doesn't get into depth about ANY of it, and the information is buried amongst pages of anecdotes about her patients suffering from adrenal fatigue. Much of the information given reads more like what you would find in a medical office pamphlet or a health magazine article, rather than a 289 page handbook.

Several things bothered me about this book (in the order of somewhat frivolous to somewhat serious):

There are *two* indexes: the general and the "30 day adrenal-friendly eating plan index" - WHY? The eating plan is only one thin chapter in the book, and much of the stuff included in its special index is also listed in the general index. This is simply confusing.

The "30 day adrenal-friendly eating plan" chapter is next to useless. It is not clear what the guidelines of the plan are, and why the specific recipes meet those guidelines (there's no nutritional information given for any of the recipes, either, in case you wanted to try and figure it out on your own). Also, if you are a vegetarian, you get 8 recipes to replace 30 days of meat entrees - and the second one includes "gluten-free chicken or turkey broth" as its fourth ingredient! I would recommend Dr. Diana Schwarzbein's books for a more comprehensive (and comprehensible) description of a diet which I *think* Ms. pick was driving at (although Dr. Schwarzbein's food guidelines are not gluten-free).

Ms. Pick seems to throw in practically every alternative therapy as potentially helpful to adrenal fatigue - from rolfing to the emotional freedom technique. Is there any non-anecdotal evidence (ie. clinical studies)that any of these therapies help adrenal fatigue more than any other? How about any evidence they help at all? While I am not adverse to alternative therapies and unconventional approaches, since they are invariably pay-out-of-pocket, lots-of-follow-up-office-visits kind of things I would rather have *some* indication of where I might best spend my very limited medical dollars.

Adrenal fatigue is currently a VERY controversial diagnosis and the fact that this controversy is barely mentioned by Ms. Pick bothers me. Most traditional medical practitioners do not recognize this diagnosis as *real* (The American Endocrine Society actually published two papers in September 2010 stating that adrenal fatigue is a "myth"... which is pretty much what they said 10 years ago about fibromyalgia, now an officially legit disease) and health insurance uses that skepticism to justify not covering many services related to adrenal fatigue (ie. testing). I think it would be extremely helpful if this book had included information about WHY Ms. Pick and other integrative medicine caregivers are so convinced that adrenal fatigue is real, and what evidence is there behind their various care recommendations?

Things I do like about the book:
The "grey text box" lists of adrenal-friendly activities - simple, clear instructions of easy things to do.
The fact that most of the information given is eminently practical, and this easy to follow (except for the diet info - there really isn't any).

In summary, I think this is not a bad place to start for adrenal fatigue information, and offers many helpful suggestions of how to change one's personal habits to provide the self-care needed to heal. However, I doubt this is the book someone would reread or use for reference about adrenal fatigue treatment. Particularly, it's tedious to have to wade though of those patient biographies. Having read all the way through, I'm going to donate my copy to the local library. Check it out there before you decide to buy.

As someone who has worked high stress, high-wire jobs my entire career, I was interested to hear Marcelle Pick's viewpoint about adrenal fatigue. When I received an advance copy from Hay House as part of their blogger program, I couldn't put it down.

For anyone who is persistently run down, overwhelmed, or frequently suffering from minor illnesses like colds, you may have found your answer. Are You Tired and Wired? is very easy to read. Like Christiane Northrup, Marcelle explains the medical data in detail, and then anchors it with wonderful case studies. It's hard to believe any woman would not find herself, at some point in her life, within the examples.

If you're a slower reader, don't let the "30 day program" reference intimidate you. Each chapter uses short quizzes and tables to identify the key concepts. (Curious how to navigate the herbal supplement aisle at your favorite health food store? Check out "The Herbal Pharmacy: Digestive Issues" table on page 91.) The month may fly by while you're reading each chapter in depth, but these tools will allow you to understand the main themes and start using them immediately.

Chapter 6 provides a detailed adrenal-friendly eating plan, along with many easy recipes. I loved the use of pantry ingredients rather than a lot of specialty items. A small, but meaningful, element I noticed was the portion sizes. What a relief! (Am I the only one that thinks that most online recipe portions are huge?)

The book closes with a fantastic resource and "further reading" section. These lists alone are worth the price of admission.

I'm excited about implementing the ideas Marcelle presents. I'm rubbing my earlobes right now...

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