We should thank the neurologist who misdiagnosed reporter Jody Berger and then refused to return her phone calls. Berger, a 43-year-old award-winning reporter, journalist and marathoner, refused to accept that the light pins-and-needles tingling in her fingertips was multiple sclerosis, even when an MRI led a respected neurologist to this diagnosis. Instead she spent two years investigating holistic medicine, including Ayurveda, chelation, osteopathy and craniosacral therapy, and found, "To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.... The doctor with an MRI machine and a self-proclaimed proclivity to diagnosing MS found MS. The traumatologist found trauma. The neuropsychiatrist found anxiety and depression. And the doctor with faith in a heavy metals test found heavy metal toxicity." However, each specialist provided clues that helped Berger track down and arrest the true culprit of her discomfort: gluten.
Misdiagnosed is a gripping mystery that begins with the MRI that first revealed the lesions on Berger's spine: "I felt my heart drop down, falling through my back, through the table I was lying on, through the floor and into the earth. I felt my heart falling through dark and quiet earth, toward what I didn't know." Throughout her journey, Berger explores the role of pharmaceutical companies in the epidemic of over-diagnosis in the United States, mind-body connections, imbalanced doctor-patient relationships and the role of food and nutrition as medicine. In Berger's case, a simple elimination diet was the cure, so she recommends that more people start with food and nutrition rather than pharmaceuticals, and ultimately learn to trust their instincts. --Kristen Galles from Book Club Classics