Thyroid in the news with Oprah again

[stella5349]

I woke this morning to the early morning news - The top story is Oprah talking about her weight again and (from how I am hearing it) she is speaking about her hypothyroidism as the situation.

I know her last article she wrote about her "escape" to her retreat in Hawaii upset alot of us here - with her proclaiming "This HEALED her."

But today it sounded she had another twist on things. She is planning on going to President- elect Obama's swear in and she quotes - she is depressed because of her gaining weight - she will have to make other arrangements for her attire that was planned for the event.

Keep in mind - January is thyroid awareness month. This is the time we need to really pull as much resource information as we can to get this disease out there as a public awareness.

I suggest - if you can find the time - to write or email letters to Oprah - ( now that she is in the news about her thyroid again)

Has anyone ever written to her? Do you know the best way to get a letter through?

Get it out there people!! We need this awareness.

So many months and hundreds of posts with people talking here about undiagnoised symptoms "bad" labs and uninformed doctors about the diesease. Think about it??

Take a look at the archives here on Med help at the hundreds of posts regarding women ( and men) in the same situtations she is in with her weight!

In fact I just responded on one today that was posted days ago!

Really it is our chance to maybe turn the table a bit for us as individuals as well as millions of others! She is a Global icon for many and if she is speaking publically about this as her problem - we should respond.

I hope we can build a uniform community to make public awareness of thyroid disease in January the best for this year.

I really hope we can be proactive as a community and really impact her. Her "O" issue will feature something about this from what I am hearing - not sure if it is December or January's issue though.

Please members - assist me with this if you can.

[aa9343]

I'm writing too!! I was diagnosed in September - and I am young - 27 - and not overweight - actually I workout all the time and try and eat healthy - but everything started going wrong with me - I thought I was going through menopause...I had my menstrual cycle for 7 months - skin breaking out - exhausted - eyes itching - now blurry vision - no appetite...(no weight loss actually was working out like crazy and wasn't even gaining muscle..seemed like I was losing it) decreased sense of smell...major water retention..panic attacks..irregular heart rate..no desire to do anything..just every thing - I probably have had it for almost two years at least - oh and I am freezing all the time....I thought I was going through menopause!  Now I've been on meds for three months...still not feeling good - my doctor had to up my meds and I just went in today for labs to see if my tsh is going down - but even if it is - I still feel crappy: (  and I have gained a full five pounds and cannot lose it.  I think when everything seems to be going wrong all at once..it's probably the thyroid - and not 20 separate issues.  

[Thypatient]

I couldn’t agree more!  And you both said it so well.

Though Oprah might or might not have a thyroid issue is one thing.  But I think her biggest problem is that she is suffering (and I do mean suffering) from a chronic case of bulimia and/or other eating disorders.

One symptom of bulimia is attempting find a concrete, physical answer to what’s causing weight/eating issues.  Thyroid disease is on the list of those concrete, physical answers - so is hypoglycemia.

Before anyone gets offended…this is not just my opinion.  It’s part of the information from respected eating disorder organizations and can be verified by looking it up.

Just as I was last year, I’m pleased that if Oprah’s mentioning of thyroid disease prompts someone who might be unknowingly suffering to go seek screening…well, that’s a good thing.  But I’d be equally pleased if she could see herself in terms of the whole picture, share that part and thereby help someone in the same way.

Isn’t is curious that this whole latest struggle for Oprah went completely dormant just before she was about to endorse Barack Obama for president and has now come back to vibrancy just after he got elected?

[kipland]

I just bought the January edition of O and read her article.  She is not blaming all of her weight gain on her thyroid problem.  In fact, she's not even taking thyroid medicine anymore!   She started out hyper, then went hypo (hashi's?  she never mentions it).  She basically sums it up to her life being out of balance - needing to make more time to rest and play.  

There was one spot in the article where she talks about taking a break (we all remember this one, right??  wishing WE could do that!).  Anyway, one thing she says is that she sipped soy milk along with vitamins and other things to help her body restore itself.  I'm definitely not an expert by any means, but wasn't it said somewhere that soy milk is actually bad for you if you have thyroid problems?  I may be way off on that one, but I think I saw it somewhere.

She does, however, have a side article about the thyroid gland itself and how it CAN affect your weight.  I do believe after all is said and done, she's going to have a LOT more thyroid knowledge than she ever imagined!!

[Liz94]

I personally do not care for Oprah. I think she is searching for something to make her life "whole" and she has yet to find it.  Every month or so she is reading some book about a "spiritual journey," always spouting the self help stuff.  It seems to me like she's always latching on to the latest thing and then applying it to herself.  Maybe she is hypothyroid, I don't know.  But now she's gonna talk about it like it's the saving grace for all who are overweight and everyone in America is gonna go to their doc demanding synthroid because they are fat and tired.  I'm sorry if I've offended anyone but it bothers me. This has not been an easy journey for me. It hasn't been about weight loss or feeling tired. It's been so many other things. And I feel like Oprah is going to put it out there that it's the big "fix" for her being overweight when actually, I don't think it has anything to do with it. I think she's an overeater and looks to food for comfort. I don't think her issues have anything to do with her thyroid.  

I do think it will be good for the message to get out that all women should have their thyroid tested because many people DO have problems and don't know it.  I just think that when it comes from Oprah it kind of trivializes it and makes it something that's an "easy fix" when it's clearly NOT.

[Kipp44]

Although I agree that Oprah has great coverage I do not think all hopes should be placed on her about thyroid disease.

Lets face it - over the years she has gone up and down with weight more times than I can remember and each time states "she is healed" or knows the answer.

The Al Bundy - in "Married with Children" said it all when he described the Oprah statue which they blew up or down depending on her current weight (mind you he didn't say it so politely).

Whilst I agree - it may be a new problem - but it could just get people rolling there eyes over her "latest" cause for weight gain.

[ChitChatNine]

Hey all .. I wrote again this morning.  :)    C~

[stella5349]

Her last revoke in thyroid - ticked me off good. You know how I felt

She needs to be told to LISTEN - we need her to realize SHE can be a best advocant for thyroid.

Thanks for trying.

[Smilerdeb]

I wrote to her last year and the email wasnt even acknowledged by her. The reply was that her staff 'screen' her emails and that my email was of no relevance to her.
Since then I have no longer been a fan of hers.
I will help all I can but I am afraid in Oz...she isnt the 'celebrity' she is in the USA.
But as I said, I will try again this year.

[stella5349]

Ohhhh

pretty Cheryl....................

[ChitChatNine]

                                          .•:*¨¨*:•..•:*¨¨*:•..•:*¨¨*:•.

                                             T H A N K  Y O U !


Contact Us - Oprah.com:

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Please include the trackers in your letter to Oprah -

Thyroid Hormones Tracker
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Exercise Tracker
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                                                      ChitChatNine
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[stella5349]

I watched her show yesterday and two things stuck out entirely for me that I related too.

Her "moon face" like she was swollen

and she had that puffy sack under her eyes - clearly she had what we talk about here being hypothyroid.

I wanted to jump through the TV

[stella5349]

Try to PM all your friends as a type of chain letter here and tell them to view this post. Have them respond here as well as consider writing a letter/email to her.

Her show she is making this public starts January 5th and  lasts all week. Her show is on the ABC broadcast station here in the states.

The message has to reach her soon.

[blksapphire]

count me in family I'm writing to Oprah now

[blksapphire]

Please do a full week if possible on thyroid disease.  Your thyroid disease is one of the reasons that you have gained weight.  If you are in hypo mode, it will slow down you metabelism, thus the weight gain.
We at medhelp.com needs to put the awareness out there and what better place to put out the information. We need doctors to listen and not judge because they have letters in front of or behind their names.  We also need doctors to listen to the person and not always the test.    

I knew something was wrong with me for about 5 years, but every thing kept coming back normal.  I gained 40+ pounds in two months and I was told to excercise.   I had not gained or loss more than 5 pounds within a year before that.  I still couldnt get anyone to listen.

I had hot nodules and the radioactive iodine treatment which has left me between hyper and hypo thyroid.  It has also left me hoarse for the last year.  Imagine a 48 yo woman having to go through speech therapy to try and get the voice back to where it was.   I had 12 weeks of speech but had to quit do to cost and insurance not wanting to pay.  

First off - I am a thyroid patient - pretty much the same as you Oprah - I was diagnosed with hot nodules (hyperthyroid) in 2007 - due to the hyperactivity of the gland. I started to suffer more symptoms and eventually I had to have my thyroid ablated out (RAI) soon after the diagnoses.

That was a life changing event. It wasn't as easy as the endocrinologist said it would be. Taking that - "one  pill for life" and you should be ok. Although I was in hyper mode, i never lost weight.  I gained weight whether I was hyper or hypo thyroid.

I know about me and my thyroid family on medhelp, but think of how many others out there who has no idea that the thyroid can make their life a living hell.  I'm not an expert, but I try to read as much as I can on the subject.

Oprah, please take a moment or have one of your staff members take moment and visit medhelp and check out how we help each other through the good and bad times.   You may want to join our group as well.

We have various trackers to track the progress of whats going on with out body on a daily basis.

Please check in with Cheryl or Stella...they are our community leaders.

Thank you in advance for your time Ms. Terence (Terri)  or should you visit medhlep, i'm blksapphire

[RavingMad]

Great ideas guys, I'm going to check out her website & draft up an e mail as well. With Oprah & her thyroid being in the news & January being Thyroid Awareness Month - this is our big opportunity. I remember reading something in an Aussie magazine a few weeks ago also about Oprah & her thyroid weight battle, I'll see if I can track it down. I know there are a few celebs with hypoT & I've often wondered - with all their money & access to the best health care available - what sort of thyroid meds they're on.  

[Barb135]

Wow Stella, that's great.  That last part about "doctors telling the patient they test normal, then sending them on their way, fat, fuzzy minded and frustrated" really hits home.  That's exactly what happened to me on Monday.  I have all the symptoms of insulin resistance, but the numbers on the lab report fell inside "the normal range"; therefore, I HAVE to be just fine (right?) and there's nothing in my throat that's choking me - "it's all caused by stress" and I "need to go home and MOVE more" and I'll be able to get rid of the weight.  Yeah, that's what my dr told me - without ever having done a FT-3, anti-body testing, ultra sound or anything.  Luckily, I do have an ENT that was more than willing to do them.

No, I don't always exercise like I should because most of the time I don't have the energy!!  I'm really new at this and I want off this roller coaster - I can only imagine what it's been like for some of you that have been dealing with it for years.  

[stella5349]

I am not sure what is going on with my computer but I swear I posted what I wrote to her -

Anyway here it is

BUT OPRAH........ IT “IS” YOUR THYROID MAKING YOU FAT - AT LEAST A PART OF IT!!

Hello

First off - I am a thyroid patient - pretty much the same as you Oprah - I was diagnosed with Graves (hyperthyroid) in 2003 - due to the hyperactivity of the gland  (and boy did I look hot losing the weight from that disease) I started to suffer more symptoms and eventually almost fell into cardiac arrest from a thyroid storm. I had to have my thyroid ablated out (RAI) soon after the diagnoses.

That was a life changing event. It wasn't as easy as the endocrinologist said it would be. Taking that - "one synthetic hormone pill for life" did not cure me of anything - in fact - it almost killed me a second time.

Almost immediately I started to gain weight as my TSH levels climbed. I was concerned after a 20 pound increase within a month it was out of control. I could not eat much either. My whole system slowed down. I kept hearing "it's not your thyroid making you fat" - patted on the head and sent off with a hefty endo bill.

Not only was I getting fat - I had headaches - muscle aches - I lost all interest in everything I loved. HOUSEWORK (which I adored) disgusted me - All I wanted to do was rest.  I was an active MOM with two boys and when this hit. I lost all 4 yrs of high school with them. Depression and anxiety was HUGE, from the dysfunction of me and not knowing WHY I felt so bad - Knowing now a chemical imbalance in the brain happens to many hypothyroid people that they can't control. Anti depressants only mask the problem and makes the weight gain WORSE!!

I was near my ropes end in 2007 - no job - terrible insurance - no help from doctors, family, and friends. I had a ton of diagnoses with GI issues, IBS, Acid reflex, (oh God the list feels endless) As God is my witness I prayed daily to give me the answers to why I felt this way.  

I started searching back from the beginning researching thyroid disease, spending sometimes 10hrs a day reading about the tests- labs and symptoms - inside and out.  It started making sense. I stumbled onto a something that sounded like me. Not converting T4 into T3 hormones from a synthetic med. The med Armour popped up.  

That brought me to another battle - Finally in October 2007 after 5 different doctors dismissing the thought of trying the med - one agreed. WOW. After getting on the med I started to feel a sense of "FOG" lift from my mind. A sense of BEING returned.

NOW THE WEIGHT - still (fat) but thinking clearly again - I went back to researching thyroid disease and weight gain. The connection was insulin resistance and sluggish hormones. When fighting hypothyroidism for so long in anyone, (regardless if under treated, elimating meds entirely or having surgery or RAI - the other components of our hormonal system working too hard to "make up" what we are lacking. Cortisol for one is a prime disfunctions from being kept hypothyroid regardless of labs.  And thyroid meds won’t work with poor adrenals. Those poor glands pick up so much slack when the thyroid is being neglected that when they poop out they add a huge array of symptoms including the "pooch" stomach  = defined as a excess amount of cortisol build up around the middle portion of your stomach . WEIGHT!!

In addition a female in an undiagnosed hypothyroid state can fall early into menopause but can be viewed as perimenopausal. (Being surgically induced in a hysterectomy can burden the situation further for hypothyroid women)

Even through the labs for testing can be "normal" the ratios of levels may be off to maintain proper function of metabolism, anxiety and sexual performance. Most can find a balance simply by adding Progesterone. Others may need tweaking elsewhere.

The RIGHT doctor needs to take all the correlations into consideration before just adding prescription after prescription to "band aid" the symptom and stop masking the root cause!

Hence - doctors will still tell the person they test normal and send them on their way fat -fuzzy minded and frustrated.

Please let me tell you more - MILLIONS NEED YOU ON THYROID!!

[mudkme83]

Does Opera need some Armour?.haha. Shoot, with all that money she should be cured by the best docs already. I guess money doesnt buy everything. By the way i would never go on Opera, sorry ladies.Good luck Opera.  

[Jules77733]

By all means, if anyone else can imagine themselves on a daytime talk show chatting with Oprah, do speak up!

Don't worry Me967, I'm slow almost everyday.....

[Me967]

Well sorry we crossed.  I'm slow today.  lol  There's one for us.  Good luck Jules.

[Me967]

Who is daring enough to go onto the show for all of us?  She has a show coming up for "Did you fall off the weight loss wagon" for those that are not shy (like me....lol) it would be nice to get the information out there.  To answer the questions on there though you have to be willing to go on the show.  

[Jules77733]

I'd say it's her hormones and her love of food.....she has a personal chef to cook her anything she wants. When he was cooking her lots of really healthy, lean meals, she dropped in weight. But when she wasn't as disciplined, she gained it right back. Also, what type of foods we eat can really affect our thyroids. There's a reason Asians have a higher incidence of thyroid disease than other ethnic backgrounds...it's because they have diets heavy in salt (think sushi!).

I want to blame thyroid disease for being portly, but now that I have dropped most of the weight as a result of my metabolism turning around (thank you, Provigil!), I could still afford to lose some more, which is probably not my thyroid's fault.

I'll write her a great letter, though, anyway. They'll be unable to resist me...and then when I (hopefully) end up on TV, I'll reference all of you by your user-names--i.e. Stella5349, ChitChatNIne, etc. It'll be great! I can even make a powerpoint to show how great the Trackers are. :-D

[stella5349]

There will be more awareness in numbers.

I go back to my past here when I first started writing here on Med Help.

The "Chicken Club" was the big thing -

We'll LET THE FEATHERS FLY!!! The more we hit the websites - the more chances we will get this out.

She in a position now - since she is going public being "heavy" that she can finally look at this as more than a "stress" disease.

Her hormones are making her fat - just like some of us - maybe if this gets out there we won't be getting the DX to go on weight watchers or being called lazy anymore.

I see it as - IF we get this out doctors will HAVE to look deeper into these symptoms to get us well - because of the impact their offices will have.

Think about it??

Her last show stunk on thyroid - WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

[gimel]

Your message inspired me to write Oprah another note just now.