An Open Letter to Oprah's Viewers About Thyroid Disease

Dear Oprah Viewer:
I have important information for you if you watched Oprah and her guest Dr. Christiane Northrup, talk about health problems, including a condition that both Dr. Northrup and Oprah suffer from: thyroid disease. (A recap of the show, "The Big Wake-Up Call," is online.)
If you have not yet been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, but heard Oprah and Dr. Northrup mention various symptoms -- including weight gain, insomnia, inability to lose weight, fatigue and exhaustion, anxiety, hot flashes, heart palpitations, depression, hair loss, and changes in sex drive -- you may be thinking, "That's me!" And while I don't wish thyroid problems on anyone -- I'm hypothyroid myself, so I know -- if you recognized yourself in these symptoms, and that inspires you to go see your doctor for diagnosis and treatment, then that is a truly positive outcome from today's show. You deserve to feel and live well. And to that end, I welcome you here to my site for information, and am happy to be of help to you in your journey toward wellness.
But if you do end up getting diagnosed -- or, if you already have a diagnosed thyroid condition -- and you also heard Dr. Northrup say that "your symptoms are actually your soul's way of bringing deeper issues to your attention," then I'm here, as a thyroid patient advocate, to tell you that your thyroid disease is NOT your fault, despite what Dr. Northrup says. And while good nutrition, exercise, and self-care are certainly part of overall good health, they are not likely to cure your thyroid condition. (It may have worked for Oprah, but then, she was able to take a month-long vacation at her tropical Hawaiian estate, stop working entirely during that time so she could, as she put it, "actively do nothing," while eating only fresh foods. I doubt most of us could ever aspire to such a luxurious recuperation.)
Ultimately, in claiming to advocate for women's health, Dr. Northrup and Oprah both have inexplicably embraced an extreme -- and, frankly, quite unsympathetic -- view that blames women's lifestyle and emotional life for our health problems, hormonal imbalances, and symptoms.
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