"I Blew Out My Thyroid" Says the Daytime Diva Oprah Winfrey

Sept 10, 2007

She's a billionaire daytime diva, a magazine mogul, a radio entrepreneur, an international philanthropist, and now, a thyroid patient. Today, on Good Morning America, talk show maven Oprah Winfrey told ABC's Robin Roberts that she "blew out her thyroid" at the end of last season, due to stress.

Oprah didn't elaborate further on her admission, but this revelation of a thyroid problem is major news for the thyroid patients of America, and frankly, the world.

Some experts estimate that as many as 59 million Americans have thyroid conditions. Most are women, and most are undiagnosed. Oprah, at 53, is at the age when thyroid problems become increasingly common, and yet are frequently overlooked entirely, or misdiagnosed as perimenopause or menopause.

October 21st 2007

New York Times speaks Thyroid, hopefully
awareness of this serious condition will increase and help can be given
to those that lack the proper treatment, around the whole world.

[q
url="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/oprahs-thyroid-club/#more-72"]For
years, a “thyroid” condition was widely viewed as a euphemism for being
fat. But now, the ultimate celebrity endorsement from Oprah Winfrey may
finally give thyroid problems the respect they deserve.
 
Earlier
this week, Oprah spoke on her talk show about a recent bout with
exhaustion and weight gain that was diagnosed as thyroid disease, an
issue she also wrote about in her magazine.[/q]

[q
url="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/oprahs-thyroid-club/#more-72"]Thyroid
disorders, which are far more common in women than men, are said to be
among the most undiagnosed and misdiagnosed health problems. Part of
the problem is that the symptoms are ambiguous and likely to be written
off as stress, menopause or normal aging. The most common thyroid
problem is caused by an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), and
symptoms include weight gain, fatigue, depression, high cholesterol,
neck pain, hair loss, low sex drive and worsening menstrual symptoms.
An overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, can also cause neck pain,
hair loss and menstrual and sex-drive problems, as well as insomnia,
unexpected weight loss, chronic diarrhea, anxiety and panic attacks,
heart palpitations, high blood pressure and bulging eyes.

 
The thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck, has gotten
celebrity attention in the past. Former president George Bush and his
wife Barbara both suffered from thyroid problems, as did Olympic track
stars Gail Devers and Carl Lewis. But the reality is that nothing
compares to Oprah in terms of raising public awareness about anything,
whether it’s a favorite book, a politician or a disease.[/q]