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Book Review: Tired — So Tired! and the “Yeast Connection”

Tired — So Tired! and the “yeast connection” by William G Crook MD is written for patients who suffer from the poorly defined illness of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and its assortment of symptoms of fatigue, headaches, myalgias, memory loss, and digestive disorders. The author gives numerous causes and treatment options for CFS and other related illnesses, such as fibromyalgia and environmental illness, with which patients can experiment. This book is written as a saving grace for patients that have exhausted the obvious treatment options and are frustrated with the “psychological” diagnosis and the lack of diagnostic tests. Crook links many CFS etiologies to Candida albicans infestations. Several candidal causes that he attributes to CFS include the overuse and broad-spectrum activity of antibiotics, indiscretionary diets, pregnancy, diabetes, and the use of birth control pills and other hormones. The author attributes other fatigue causes to postviral illnesses, parasitic infections, and exposure to environmental and toxic chemicals and molds that affect the immune, nervous, and musculoskeletal systems. Tired — So Tired! offers a vast range of treatment choices to battle these dilemmas, which are unknown to many physicians. The author recognizes that there is no one cure for this syndrome and that every patient is different, and that is why he lists so many treatment possibilities. Crook has significant pediatric experience, and he also addresses dietary options for autistic children. Crook has been practicing medicine for almost five decades and has published 13 books and over 60 medical journal publications. Several of his previous books are on the subject of yeast. In 1992, he published Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Yeast Connection, which was similar to his new title, but not as thorough in its recommendations and options. The former book focused primarily on yeast as the culprit of fatigue, whereas the majority of Tired — So Tired! is entirely new material. Tired — So Tired! is organized into eight sections, with each section containing numerous chapters. Sections I and II include an overview of CFS and patient success stories. Sections III, IV, and V include chapters on guiding one’s diet and exercise; environmental issues; yeasts and parasites; vitamin, mineral, and trace element supplementations; psychological issues; probiotics; hypothyroidism; sleep; accupuncture; and many other issues. Other sections include a patient’s candida questionnaire and suggestions by other professionals with CFS patients, as well as association recommendations for pharmacotherapeutic, dietary, and lifestyle changes. This book has several advantages such as a thorough table of contents that enables the reader to easily find information on a particular subject. Other advantages are the author’s recommendations summarized at the end of many chapters, clinical trial summaries, and some recommended doses of herbals. Also, at the end of each chapter, Crook has included Web sites, telephone numbers, and additional medical literature options as a guide for professional or nonprofessional. I found the book to be reasonably priced. One shortcoming is that many of the recommendations are repeated throughout the book and again endorsed by multiple practitioners. This volume, however, is written in an easy-to-read format that I would recommend to any patient experiencing persistent fatigue. In addition to nonprofessionals, I would recommend this book to any practitioner who has patients suffering from chronic fatigue.