BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Thyroid Health Oprah program on Bio Identical Hormon Theraphy

I didn`t see all of the program today but I have heard of Bio Identical Hormone theraphy. Has anyone been treated with this type hormone replacement. How has it worked for you.

three spices,

I would like to hear more about this as well because my mother told me she heard Oprah on a recent show say she was off "all medications". I thought this was strange because according to dr.s observing the media coverage of Oprah's case, they believe she has Hashimoto's thyroiditis and treatment is usually lifelong when hypothyroidism develops. It makes more sense to me if she has switched to bio indentical replacement which some don't view as being the same as grugs or medication. She is likely on desiccated thyroid hormone (animal derived) because some animal sources are bio identical to human in both thyroid and adrenal hormones.
If anyone has more on this please let us know!

I saw that show also, so I thought I'd pop in. Oprah was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism - I honestly don't know, but I get the impression that she was misdiagnosed?? She said the treatments balanced her thyroid, but that she still didn't feel right. That's when she got the Bioidentical estrogen and instantly felt better. Here is an excerpt from her site:

"For more than two years, I hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep. I'd had heart palpitations. These are symptoms of hyperthyroidism. But even after my thyroid was balanced, I was still having 'surges'�like a rush of adrenaline throughout the night that kept me awake." -Oprah

Full article:
Oprah and Bioidenticals

Shay

Shay,

I went through a phase of hyperthyroidism with my Hashimoto's thyroiditis which afterward caused progressive hypothyroidism. Many sites out there are saying this is what Oprah has, including dr.s:
"Dr. Samara Ginzburg of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has been quoted in recent articles as expressing his belief that Oprah suffers from the thyroid disease called "Hashimoto's thyroiditis"

It's an interesting story to follow and to see what treatments she undergoes and what success she has with them. It would be nice if she or her publicity people would simply say whether it's Hashimoto's or not. Maybe they have and I just missed it.

Hm...I would personally not put too much emphasis on what these doctors say, unless they are Oprah's personal physicians and have her permission to discuss her medical conditions.

I dug around, and here is what she said: "My body was turning on me. First hyperthyroidism, which sped up my metabolism and left me unable to sleep for days. (Most people lose weight. I didn't.) Then hypothyroidism, which slowed down my metabolism and made me want to sleep all the time. (Most people gain weight. I did! Twenty pounds!)...I took vitamins. Drank soy milk. Munched on golden flaxseed. I ate only fresh foods: grilled fish, corn, tomatoes, spinach, artichokes, broccoli from the farmers' market, mangoes from my neighbor's tree. I hiked with my dogs (who daily rolled in cow poop along the grassy trails), then came home and bathed them. I actually read the stack of books I'd chosen to read by summer's end. I dozed. And drifted into the afternoons waiting for the sun to set. I watched 28 consecutive sunsets. Took pictures and marveled at how each one was so different.

After 14 days, I started to feel my self returning. Not fully�just an awareness that I wasn't as tired and rote as I had been. By the end of the month I'd given myself, I was better in myriad ways. Not only was my physical health improved, but I'd also become mentally stronger."

At this point, she had her hormones checked, and started with the estrogen.

She hasn't mentioned what meds she was on for her thyroid, but perhaps she would share whether she is on natural hormones for her thyroid, if enough people ask her to. She is very candid and if she feels it would help others, I'll bet she'd be glad to share.

Shay

I just ran across this website, which seems to reflect Oprah's situation perfectly, as she describes it. Thought it might shed a little light:

Women to Women Thyroid Health

Shay

Interesting site! Thanks for the information.
D

I agree that until Oprah herself states that Hashimoto's is the cause of her hypothyroidism, we're actually guessing. My desire to see her specify after confirmed by her doctor, comes from the fact that "thyroid autoimmunity" is a disease that results in hypothroidism but can cause a number of problems before it does so. People with Hashimoto's can develop goiter in adavance of hypothyroidism and emotional problems according the National Intitutes of Health. People can also experience "Hashitoxicosis" (intermittent and sometimes severe hyperthyroidism, before hypothyroidism occurs) and rarely Hashimoto's Encephalitis/Encephalopathy (life-threatening)which is caused by thyroid antibodies and not by thyroid hormone imbalance. On top of all this, thyroid autoimmunity places a person at higher risk for other autoimmune diseases and diabetes.
Since 2004, I have corresponded with 100s of patients and frequently hear from those who were not tested for thyroid autoimmunity and although they didn't develop hypothyroidism, they experienced fibromyalgia symptoms and after starting low-dose thyroid hormone replacement, saw near complete resolution of their muscle-joint pain. Thyroid autoimmunity is a common subject I include in many of the 150 articles I have published, most here at Thyroid Health.
The importance in people being tested for thyroid antibodies, is in confirming thyroid disease or ruling it out when people experience thyroid-type symptoms. Otherwise, doctors move onto to other testing and diagnosis (happened in my case). Part of public awareness and education on thyroid disease, includes testing for the cause of hypothyroidism (this is "Thyroid Awareness Month") and is where my desire comes from in wanting to see Oprah's diagnosis stated more specific. Hypothyroidism always has a cause and only very rarely is a cause elusive to diagnostic confirmation.
I didn't mean to ramble on in this post but wanted to express my passion in seeing for such a high profile person help gain public awareness with more specifics. Certainly she's not obligated to do this but in my opinion would be greatly benefical in helping gain public awareness for autoimmune thyroid diseases.
"While Oprah has not released information on her current thyroid diagnosis or treatment approach, what Oprah describes sounds very much like a classic flare-up of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.
... I'm not confident, however, that Oprah is receiving the best possible advice for her health."
LINK> Mary Shomon About.Com: Thyroid Disease

mygemstonebox,

Welcome and glad to see you! Feel free to join in anytime!

Thank you so much for your insight, Jim. I do not doubt your experience or your contact with many thyroid sufferers.

I don't claim to have experienced thyroid problems at this time, nor am I an expert on any level. I do understand that women experience thyroid and other hormone issues differently than men do, just because of our complicated and intricate hormonal balance.

I do understand that Oprah stands as her own PR person, and totally responds to the public demand for a universal understanding and knowledge of physical, emotional and spiritual knowledge and power. Her website encourages all questions and she will address standing concerns for her health and the corresponding health of all viewers.

I did read the Mary Shomon link you provided (I'm not sure if you read the link that I provided?...) Again, Oprah's body and health conditions are hers to reconcile with, and no one else's. Yet, as a concerned advocate, you are invited to contact her via her website at any time to voice your questions and concerns. Being that she is a high profile and virtually transparent human being (who among us can proclaim that...?) she will keep the public informed as to her health and well being. Not because it's our business, but because she is a human being who chooses to share and care with others.

Again, I caution against well meaning, yet random "Doctors" who seem to be intimate with Oprah and her conditions, but have never met her, treated her, nor have been privy to her records. It doesn't matter whether they are wrong or right. To posture on such issues is unprofessional, disrespectful and immoral behavior. I wouldn't want Dr.'s postulating about my medical conditions to the public without my consent, would you?

I can give you some exemplary information on IBS, which has been concretely identified as "incurable" by "specialists" in the field; yet mine is cured. Gone. For over a year now. My only message is that doctors and specialists are not always 100% informed - sometimes there are other answers.

Shay