Dr. Phil's Show on Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

This is a somewhat modified and edited version of what I emailed to my doctor right after the show, to say I was disappointed in how the subject was presented would be an understatement:

The show presented women who were "suffering" and were "saved" by Robin taking them to her physician, Prudence Hall of the Hall Center in Santa Monica After seeing tapes of the women draped on their couches, sticking their heads in the freezer, sighing deeply, and tossing and turning in bed (because they couldn't sleep) Dr. Hall told them how off their hormones were. In the next shot, the women were introduced to come out on the stage, they hugged Dr. Phil and Robin, and gushed and told them how Robin's book "saved their lives", Dr. Phil spoke to their husbands in the audience about how it must be wonderful to "have their old wives back" (wink, wink).

Only a couple passing mentions were made to thyroid levels (one segment was about thyroid cancer), and I will guarantee you that those message boards for the Dr. Phil show are going to light up with women having questions and complaints about how nothing was covered on how to find a doctor who specializes in BHRT, what does it cost (if I were watching this for the first time, I would immediately assume only wealthy women could afford this, unless Robin "saved them" and took them by the hand to her own doctor). I'm going back on the boards and politely politely tell women that BHRT is something that, with some careful budgeting, most women can afford.

They wasted time right off the bat going on about how when Robin entered Menopause she called her husband and children together to explain to them "what Mom was going through" and to make it "a family affair". Oh, for heaven's sake, give me a break. Even when they did get to the symptoms, it was what most women already know (if they're living on this planet, anyway): the mood swings, hot flashes, disrupted sleep, tiredness, irritability.

Of course, when they got to the testosterone for women, Robin had to inject on how it made your hair and skin so much better-----it does, but that's not why I am taking it----it's helped tremendously to build muscle tissue in my back.

They did one segment on "the male menopause" and not once did they call it by it's proper medical term of andropause.

In every segment, no matter what the subject, they show shots of Robin posing for pictures of her book, time wasted that I think could have been used in much better ways.

It gets better----near the end of the show, they had a woman DOCTOR (ER physician) sitting next to Robin, telling her how she had NEVER heard of bioidentical hormones, nor had she ever heard of a compounding pharmacy, until she saw Robin appearing on Ophah, and how it was a perfect example of "how even a doctor can learn from you". The doctor called her ob/gyn for the bioidenticals, started taking them (didn't say what and in what doses), and had bad side effects, so now she has gone back to synthetics. Robin and Dr. Phil to the rescue again, Robin is taking the doctor (her name is Natalie) to Dr. Hall's Center-------I smell a follow up show coming soon.

The last segment just about threw me over the edge, it was Robin telling women about "taking care of themselves", including "always having a pair of lightweight pajamas on hand for those night sweats". She then (to much wild applause) told everyone in the audience they were getting a free pair of her favourite cotton pjs. Next, her "little bedtime ritual" always includes a cup of hot tea----and everyone gets a free box of "Sleepytime" tea (more applause). Oh, it gets better, everyone got a free portable fan, and a free copy of Robin's book "What's Age got to do with it?"

There was so much NOT covered in this show that it would take me all day to write about it. I will be back with another post soon!