MARY J. SHOMON, Author & Advocate

Welcome! I'm Mary Shomon, and I'm a patient advocate, author, communications consultant, wife and mother who has transformed my own struggle with autoimmune conditions -- chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and thyroid disease -- into an advocacy and information-sharing campaign on behalf of patients with chronic diseases.

I suffered from recurrent Epstein Barr Virus in both 1979 and 1993, which developed into CFS in 1993, followed by a diagnosis with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in 1995, and I subsequently was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I now research and write about these conditions and their impact on health, energy, weight, fertility and more. Since 1997, I have served as founder and Guide for the award-winning Thyroid website at About.com, one of the Internet's top ten destination portals. I also founded and edit the popular patient newsletters Sticking Out Our Necks: Thyroid Disease News Report, A Weight Off My Mind: Diet & Weight Loss for Thyroid/Autoimmune Patients, and The Autoimmune Report.

My patient advocacy focus brings much-needed attention to underdiagnosed and often overlooked health issues. My desire to cut through medical jargon and deliver information to my fellow patients in a form they can understand resulted in my first health-related book, Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You . . .That You Need to Know, which was published in March of 2000 by HarperCollins.

The book is a health bestseller, going into 20 printings in the four years since its publication, making Amazon.com's Top 40 Health Books list every year since 2000, and earning a glowing review from the Los Angeles Times. The book is so popular that is is being updated, and the second edition will be published in late 2004/early 2005.

My second book in the "Living Well..." series, Living Well With Autoimmune Disease, was published October of 2002 by Harper Collins, and is in its fourth printing. The book is the first patient-oriented manual to look at holistic and conventional diagnosis and solutions for a range of interconnected autoimmune conditions and syndromes.

What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You About Parkinson's Disease: A Holistic Program for Optimal Wellness, co-authored with nationally-known holistic neurologist Jill Marjama-Lyons, MD, was published in February 2003 by Warner Books.

Living Well With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, published in March of 2004, is the third book in my "Living Well" series.

I also have written and published two special guides for thyroid patients: The Thyroid Diet Success Guide helps people with thyroid conditions tackle the struggle of dieting and effectively lose weight. The Thyroid Guide to Fertility, Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Success helps women understand the impact of thyroid disease and thyroid autoimmunity on fertility, pregnancy and the ability to breastfeed.

For more information on my books, please visit my Bookstore.

I am regularly called upon by the media to comment on issues related to patients, and have been featured in hundreds of media interviews, including ABC World News Tonight, the New York Times , the New York Post , Woman's World , and First for Women , among others, as well as radio shows and newspapers in cities around the nation.

My ability to communicate important health-related information reflects 20 years of experience designing social and consumer marketing and public information campaigns while working in the advertising and public relations industry -- designing campaigns for clients as diverse as the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, furniture retailer IKEA, the World Bank, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Before health writing, I also published several humor books. I co-authored the humor book, Scratching the Net: Web Sites for Cats published by Andrews McMeel in 1998, and wrote the Washington, DC bestseller, The Single Woman's Guide to the Available Men of Washington, published in 1993.

I am one of the first patient members of the The American Academy on Physician and Patient , and am a member of the Endocrine Society .

I have a B.S. degree from Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

Members of the Media

As an experienced spokesperson for patients, I can address the topics of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, thyroid disease, autoimmune diseases, patient empowerment, using the Internet for health research and support, in television, radio or print interviews. I have experiencin doing hundreds of interviews for television, radio, newspapers, magazine and internet media. Members of the media can contact me by emailing mary@cfsfibromyalgia.com, with the subject: "Media Inquiry," or contact my publishing office at 1-888-810-9471 or 727-781-2924. (Please note, this phone number is for media only. I wish I could, but I'm not able to handle reader questions by telephone.)

Reader Mail

If you would like to write to me, you can email me at mary@cfsfibromyalgia.com with the subject "Email from a Reader." You can also write to me at: Mary Shomon, P.O. Box 0385, Palm Harbor, FL 34682, or fax me at 425-977-1175. Please allow four weeks or more for a response to your email, even more for letters and faxes, as I get thousands of emails and letters a week, and it can take me a while to get back to you. Also, please note that since I am not a practitioner, I cannot make a diagnosis, answer your specific medical questions, or offer specific medical advice, or suggest medications or treatments specific to your own situation.

Phone Consultations

If you would like to schedule time for a phone consultation with me, call 1-888-810-9471 for availability and rates. Since I'm not a medical doctor, I cannot provide medical advice over the phone, but I can guide you to sources or information that may be able to help you.

If you need professional medical advice, I would suggest you start with an online evaluation using the excellent "Online Computer Program" for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Hormone Imbalance patients, offered by one of the nation's top CFS/fibromyalgia experts, Jacob Teitelbaum, MD at his Fatigued to Fantastic site, located at https://www.endfatigue.com.

If you would like a medical coaching session by telephone, or would like specific information about creating a diet/nutrition/supplement plan customized for you, I would highly recommend you contact a colleague, Richard Shames, MD, an excellent holistic physician. For more information, see his website.

Contact Information

Mary Shomon
Publishing Office
P.O. Box 0385
Palm Harbor, FL 34682
Phone: 1-888-810-9471 or 727-781-2924 (Note: Sorry, but calls leaving messages with personal health questions cannot be returned.)
Fax: 425-977-1175
Email: mary@cfsfibromyalgia.com

All Information © 2004, Mary J. Shomon. All rights reserved.

Note: This site does not provide medical advice. The contents are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you read here. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.