From North of the Border

Oprah takes bio-identicals, but should you?
Updated Sun. Jun. 21 2009 6:58 AM ET
By Angela Mulholland, CTV.ca News

Oprah takes them. So does Dr. Phil's wife, Robin McGraw. Suzanne Somers rubs them into her skin and injects them into places where the sun don't shine.

They're called bio-identicals and many say they just might be the fountain of youth.

Bio-identicals are being touted as the answer for women who want to relieve their menopause symptoms, reverse aging and even prevent heart disease and cancer. Click here for the rest of the story...

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By Weston Kosova and Pat Wingert

NEWSWEEK
Published May 30, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jun 8, 2009

In January, Oprah Winfrey invited Suzanne Somers on her show to share her unusual secrets to staying young. Each morning, the 62-year-old actress and self-help author rubs a potent estrogen cream into the skin on her arm. She smears progesterone on her other arm two weeks a month. And once a day, she uses a syringe to inject estrogen directly into her vagina. The idea is to use these unregulated "bio-identical" hormones to restore her levels back to what they were when she was in her 30s, thus fooling her body into thinking she's a younger woman. According to Somers, the hormones, which are synthesized from plants instead of the usual mare's urine (disgusting but true), are all natural and, unlike conventional hormones, virtually risk-free (not even close to true, but we'll get to that in a minute). Click here to read the rest of the story....



This story is getting a HUGE amount of media attention, and as I write this post on Wednesday evening, I am watching Steven Colbert dedicate most of his show's first segment to the story (in a satirical way, of course, and full disclosure, I am a big Colbert fan!), including a clip of Oprah's BHRT show with Suzanne Somers talking about injecting estrogen into her vagina daily. The story is generating a lot of controversy........this is not the way we want publicity for BHRT, but it is what it is. I'd be interested in your comments about the story, I am going to try and get a discussion started over on the Oprah.com website (that should be interesting). Leave me a comment!

Salon Magazine Vs. Oprah Winfrey

Sometimes we all need to be reminded that not every person in the world is a big fan of Oprah Winfrey. She certainly has her detractors at Salon Magazine, an article about how her show treats medical issues is featured on the front page of the magazine's website.....click here to read it!

I wrote a "letter" (that's how Salon Magazine refers to its reader comments) that is now appearing on the website under my Holyhormones name. I've been pretty blunt here on the blog that I think Oprah, Dr. Phil, and "The Doctors" TV shows have all done a substandard job of presenting bioidentical hormone replacement therapy as little more than a chance for some celebrities to shill their books. I think all four shows did little to dispel the myths that BHRT is something that is available to wealthy women and that the only place to obtain treatment for BHRT is fancy women's clinics in CA. I have answered over 80 emails in the last few weeks from women who have had very valid, legitimate concerns and questions about bioidentical hormone therapy ------------ concerns that could very easily have been covered in one or more of these shows had they not been so busy gushing over celebrities. Keep those questions coming, if the shows don't want to cover actual information like finding a compounding pharmacy, a doctor, and recommending books written BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, I am happy to do it to the extent I am able.

Salon covered how Oprah has dealt with thyroid issues on her show, and again, it was way less than complimentary. I don't watch Oprah very often (almost never unless the show is on BHRT) but I have read several web articles that indicate her message to women was not medically sound. In addition to the hormonal imbalance, I am being treated for hypothyroidism, I take Levoxyl and a compounded T3 preparation --------- works great!

Go read the article, then come back and post your opinion in the comments section. Have a great Friday everyone-------it's cloudy and humid here in Charlotte. I am off to the pool for my water aerobics class, and then I have about 10 little projects lined up for this afternoon, including catching up on a few emails for the blog.

Oprah, Dr. Oz and Thyroid Disease

I ran across this article in the About.com forum on thyroid disease. Good reading!

Oprah Show Doctors "Weigh In" on Weight Gain

Drs. Oz and Roizen, the two doctors who appear regularly on the Ophan Winfrey Show, have written and article on four of the common reasons women (and men) gain weight as they age. Click here to read the article, some of it (most of it) relates to hormones!