What Oprah Winfrey knows for sure

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Thyroid Disease- Health Connection

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Oprah Winfrey, who has fought a widely published battle to control her weight.

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November 3rd  

Thyroid diagnosis and treatment is difficult and expensive, therefore the need of awareness programs and fund raising campains to help those who lack proper assistance. Celebrities have no problem getting their needs and treatments taken care of with the best doctors, best treatments, but most people struggle with this disease, many of them getting deficient medical care.

Thyroid problems in third world countries cause grave morphological changes and death when not diagnosed and treated.

Magnetic resonance imaging can detect enlargement of the thyroid gland, Radioactive Iodine used to treat  an overactive thyroid and different lab tests are some of the necessary medical procedures needed to control of this condition.

Ophah refered to her thyroid problem on September 10th.

On Good Morning America, talk show  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.

In the following article oprah gives more details of her thyroid condition.  

[q
url="http://www.nowpublic.com/health/what-oprah-winfrey-knows-sure"]"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!)

 
The thyroid,

one of many body parts I'd never given a thought to, is a small,

butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam's

apple. It influences everything from digestion to metabolism to reproduction.

When the thyroid is out of balance, so are you.

 
I craved balance. I was

desperate to be somewhere in the middle of hyper and hypo—where, obviously, I'd

been my whole life, taking it for granted because I didn't know any better. We

often need a malfunction to appreciate all the things that function.

 
I

decided to give myself July. Yes, the whole month—dedicated to myself, for

myself. To regroup. Rejuvenate. Restore my soul."

http://www2.oprah.com/omagazine/200710/omag_200710_mission.jhtml

   [/q] 

 It has been a lifelong weight struggle for Oprah and many women around the world suffering from different  thyroid conditions with their terrible symptoms. This month of September is  thyroid cancer awareness month. January will be thyroid awareness month. Hopefully awareness of these situations can help people help eachother in their life long battles. 

Oprah Winfrey can be the example, inspiration and help for millions of women that admire her. As she said:

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]