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Well, here we go again.
As this first week of Oprah’s “Best Life Week” series ends, we all know that Oprah has announced she is going on a weight loss and exercise plan once again (hamster wheel turning, turning…). Oh…and did I mention that she said her hypothyroid was cured?
(Wait. Do I hear a collective and worldwide SIGHHHHHHH among thyroid patients??)
Thyroid patient Mary Shomon now shares my own long-held concerns in an excellent summary pertaining to Oprah’s thyroid and weight saga. Oprah has been remarkably uninformative about her diagnosis and details, and leads those uninformed to believe they can stop taking their medication and be cured. And Oprah appears to have ignored a slew of emails over the years from all camps of thyroid advocacy!
Just as bad is a visit in the pages of O Magazine. On page 151 of the January issue, and right next to the article about Oprah’s weight gain, is a side article titled The Truth About the Thyroid. And the longest paragraph is about the use of the TSH lab test and its so-called normal range–one of the worst tests ever created to diagnose and treat hypothyroidism. Additionally, the article ends with the mention of a prescription of synthetic thyroxine–a medication which leaves nearly everyone with lingering hypothyroid symptoms.
But the disappointment in Oprah has to go farther than a general call to be educated about thyroid disease. There is a need to be specifically educated about the scandal of thyroxine treatment, about the fallacy of the TSH lab test which leaves patients undiagnosed for years or undertreated when on meds, about the rampant problem with adrenal fatigue in thyroid patients on thyroxine or those left undiagnosed (and where Oprah may be headed), and about a far better treatment with desiccated thyroid like Armour, and optimizing other areas, including ferritin, B12, and our overall health.
Let’s not give up.
Success is like lottery tickets: you have to make several attempts before that magic one makes it. Eventually, your email can be the one that finally stops her hamster wheel of “eat less, be hungry, exercise more, it’s not my thyroid” mentality. Tell Oprah about your success, others success, the patient-to-patient site www.stopthethyroidmadness, and more. And don’t hesitate to share your email below.
This entry was posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 and is filed under Celebrities with hypothyroidism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
nutralady2001 said:
Jan 09, 09 at 2:28 pmThis has really upset me. Go to the health board on Oprah’s message boards and the thyroid discussion and you’ll find there women wanting to know what Oprah did so they can do it too and stop taking their thyroid hormone replacement !!!
For a woman so open in so many ways she has been so guarded and secretive about this. I want to know why.Why hasn’t she come out and said exactly what her thyroid problem was and what she actually did to overcome it?
Mary’s critique is spot on and when you read all her summaries you realize this has been going on for nearly 7 years! 7 years people have been trying to get the message to Oprah and still she is doing nothing more than talk all around the subject
All we can do is wait for the crash (again) then maybe she will finally listen . I hope she doesn’t endanger the health of others while we are waiting for that to happen.
Amy said:
Jan 09, 09 at 6:17 pmYes, the Oprah.com message boards are flooded with viewers and patients who are frantic and confused, wondering if there is something their doctor hasn’t told them about how to “cure” their thyroid disease. The very viewers who she says brought this to her attention when the physicians missed it are the very ones she is now leaving in the dark. What gratitude!
If the patients were right before, why wouldn’t they continue to be right when they explain, as Mary Shomon has done, that you can go into a temporary remission from an autoimmune thyroid disease, but you can not “cure” it.
I don’t care if Oprah wants to flagellate herself about how the weight is all her fault and she “fell off the wagon” but don’t convey confusing misinformation to your viewers. If anything, you would think she would be worried about the affects of high blood pressure, cholesterol, and arterial plaque associated with under treating hypothyroidism.
I think timing is everything when it comes to insight. When Oprah was lost in her symptoms, confusion, and health struggle she was willing to be humble and let in the wisdom of her fellow patients.
Now, however, she is like a dog with a brand new bone. She has committed herself to the idea that her willpower and meal plans alone can save her. If we really want to get through to Oprah I think our moment will come down the road when she hasn’t had the weight loss success she expects or when her autoimmune condition reappears. Maybe she will sort through the piles of e-mails and letters then and realize how far she has been led astray by her “experts.”
Monica Koziol said:
Jan 11, 09 at 12:48 amThe following is what I placed on Oprah’s website:
Oprah:
I am deeply concerned about your issues with Thyroid disease. Our history dictates more about our illness than what most “doctors” today see as the cause of disease: sloth and gluttony. I am neither. I first noticed my problems when I was 37. Within 6 months I gained over 80 pounds. I was someone who worked in a very physical job. I danced three times a week and I walked EVERWHERE. My symptoms were too many to recount here. I am sorry that you think that a thyroid problem is something that just goes away if you exercise more and starve yourself. Hashimoto’s patients find that eating soy products, wheat, refined sugars, along with too many foods that are cruciferous – only make us feel worse. So too does synthetic thyroid. I know this because I was on T4 only for over 12 years. It was fine when I first began that treatment. However after three years I noticed that I was unable to function in my VERY physical work as a personal chef and caterer. Having many symptoms for many years which went unnoticed by health-care-professionals, they were treating each symptom as though they were separate issues; but that is how they were trained – I had undiagnosed thyroidism for a long time but over the last several years I finally said enough! After much research about Hypothyroidism from physiologists, pain and hormone doctors, osteopathic and naturopathic physicians, and myriad studies – I am able to provide you with actual medical proof that this disease is real and can be managed with bioidentical thyroid hormone: Armour Thyroid. I challenge you to read: Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic by Dr. Mark Star, M.D. And Google Dr. Ray Peat, PhD – a physiologist and professor, The HUNT study – the Framingham Study; The Heart Disease Epidemiology Study” 1948. You will help yourself and your readership to further educate yourself about how the thyroid gland affects every cell of your body! Bright Blessings
Annette said:
Jan 13, 09 at 12:54 amI too was appalled at the lack of information in O Magazine’s “tell-all” regarding Oprah’s Thyroid condition. My best guess is that she was diagnosed with De Quervain’s Thyroiditis, which is actually an inflammation of the thyroid gland and has the symptoms she talked about in her article. I had a friend who came down with this, too. And she, too, was cured, like Oprah says she is. Again, though, my concern is that the article makes it sound as if EVERY thyroid problem can be cured by “taking your medicine.” I sent an email to Oprah as soon as I read the article, but have had no response. I’m hoping that she gets enough messages like mine to make her stop and think about what she’s said regarding her health.
Joyce said:
Jan 24, 09 at 8:13 pmThe viewers have given Oprah way too much power over the years. The viewers feel that whatever Oprah says is God’s law, well,ladies, please for your own well being, do your own research, stand up up for yourselves, disregard Oprah’s statements. She is obviously unable to face her situation and consequently dances around the subject in the mean time leading those who are not aware down the wrong path. That is a dangerous situation. Remember, she was told by Christine Northrup (Oprah’s menopause guru) that she has a thyroid condition because she could not say her words, she could not fully express herself when she needed to, how ridiculous is that? Think about it!
Lori said:
Jan 27, 09 at 1:17 amThank you ladies! I see that I am not alone in my utter frustration over Oprah’s misinformation. I have written to Dr. Oz to please talk about bioidentical thyroid hormones and adrenal fatigue. I referenced this website. I bought the book and I can tell you. YOU HAVE SAVED MY LIFE! I have suffered from terrible daily pain(fibromyalgia), hair loss, weight gain, dry skin, debilitating chronic fatigue and have lived on a multitude of antidepressants. The heart palpitations is what made me realize that something is seriously wrong. Oprah has the chance to save millions of womens lives by giving correct information. I do hope that women will think for themselves and not take her words as gospel. I am just waiting for her next crash to happen for her eyes to open up. Lesson here, we have to take the initiative for our own health.
Colleen Coble said:
Jan 29, 09 at 12:33 pmOprah is doing a segment on bioidentical hormones and that might be where her cure is coming from. I discovered that lack of progesterone causes your body to become hormone resistant–to all hormones, including thyroid. When I started my bioidentical hormone therapy 2 years ago, I was taking 3 grains of Armour. I’m now down to 1/2 grain. As my body has again become sensitized to hormones, it’s using my natural thyroid again. It’s not a quick fix, but it’s an avenue most people don’t know about. I started on the program to cure my migraines (and it worked) but the unexpected serendipity of it helping my thyroid was unexpected, though my doctor said it would happen. I didn’t believe him. LOL
I love your website and send people here all the time. Thanks for the work you are doing to educate people!
Karen Black said:
Feb 04, 09 at 8:45 pmColleen–many thanks for your above post. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow after increasing my Armour from 45mg to 120mg over the last 9 months. I am seeing some improvement, but not enough. Now that I have insurance I plan to have him run a series of hormone tests. I am guessing that this is where my problem truly lies. I would love to think that getting my hormones in order would allow me to lower my Armour. But whatever it takes to make me feel better, so be it.
I agree with some of the other posts. I am concerned about Oprah’s lack of communication regarding her condition. My mother died last year. If you look at her medical records it appears she dies from a reaction to blood thinners. My belief is that her underlying, undertreated thyroid problems led to an overdose of the medication (and probably caused the clot in her leg in the first place). People NEED TO KNOW how serious and pervasive a low thyroid function can be. It isn’t just about low energy or gaining too much weight. It can KILL you.