Thyroid patient advocate Mary Shomon poignantly bemoans the end of Oprah’s daytime talk show and the loss of an opportunity to shed light on hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s for millions of viewers.
Oprah shelves hypothyroidism
Oprah has covered virtually every female physical and psychological health issue conceivable, yet shelved the one condition that not only affects millions of women but herself as well.
Shomon says thousands had written the show and that she had been in contact with the show’s producers and even Gayle King numerous times about raising awareness of thyroid disease. However Oprah never turned attention to the vital issues of TSH ranges, free T4 and free T4, synthetic versus natural hormones, or the fact that an autoimmune condition underlies 90 percent of cases of hypothyroidism.
No mention of hypothyroidism in fatigue
“I remember one show in particular, where Oprah focused on the many causes of fatigue in women … Did the show even mention hypothyroidism? Not once. There is something wrong with that,” writes Shomon in her blog.
Is Dr. Phil partly to blame?
Shomon wonders if Dr. Phil’s response to weight gain as a result of hypothyroidism had something to do with it.
“Personally, I blame Dr. Phil, who back in the days when he was on her show, screamed at a women some variation of “whaddya wanna do, stick a big ole sign on yer back sayin’ ‘I got a thyroid problem’ as an excuse fer bein’ fat!?'” I think it traumatized Oprah to ever acknowledge that thyroid and weight can be connected,” writes Shomon.
You don’t need to be rich and powerful to feel better
What does it say about the average woman’s chances when one of the richest, most powerful women in the world doesn’t know how to properly address her hypothyroidism?
Fortunately we don’t need Oprah’s clout to start feeling better. A simple understanding of physiology and the mechanics of hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease can begin reversing years of suffering and neglect by the standard health care model.
Treating the cause of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s
Dr. Joni Labbe goes beyond TSH if you have hypothyroidism or autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease and look at underlying cause.
We look at your thyroid condition in relation to chronic fatigue syndrome treatment, treating depression with nutrition, low adrenal function, gut function, diet and nutrition, and more.