Oprah Winfrey

[Pixipot]

Oprah Winfrey has fully recovered from hypothyroidism that's what I want to do, I wonder how she managed to do that....spoke to hospital & was surprised by how quick he wanted the wheening off period to be..going from 50mg of levothyroxine & 2 x10 gas of liothyronine expects I me to be off the lot in 6 weeks? unfortunately dropping 10mg of liothyronine sodium my left shoulder joint has been painful so I'm taking baby steps...would be nice being tablet free...but they aren't checking my blood with this covid situation it's maybe why.

[greygoose]

I very much doubt that Oprah Winfrey has fully recovered from hypothyroidism. Where did you hear that?

Why are you coming off levo and T3? Is your endo trying to kill you?

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Oprah probably had a consultation with Megan

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Hidden]

Oprah probably had a consultation with Megan

🤣🤣🤣

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Sorry, that went straight over my head! I know nothing about such people.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

🤣🤣

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Please explain. It's obviously very funny.

[Hidden in reply to greygoose]

Sorry Gg. No offence. I thought you were joking when you said you didn’t know her. Megan Markle wife of Prince Harry - they had that controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey. It wasn’t that funny 💗

[tattybogle in reply to Hidden]

it's quite likely greygoose doesn't know who prince harry is either , i do believe she lives in a tall stone tower surrounded by a moat with no TV and only leaves to discuss important matters with the other geeses when they return from their annual migrations .

[greygoose in reply to tattybogle]

You're not far off, actually...

[Zephyrbear in reply to greygoose]

In this world, that’s probably the best place to be! I live on the side of a remote Welsh mountain where the road ends! People have to come here for a reason, not just passing through… and thankfully, most stay away!

[greygoose in reply to Zephyrbear]

Not sure I would want to go that far, but still...

[greygoose in reply to Hidden]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh lol Well, I know of her, of course. But, I don't know anything about her. Don't want to, either! I'm not a royalist.

[Zephyrbear in reply to greygoose]

Neither is she!

[DippyDame in reply to greygoose]

You sure!!! I'll try!!!

There has been a lot of interaction between Oprah Winfrey, American TV reality show type and Megan, former American soap star now the Duch. of Sussex, seeking ( it would seem!) publicity ...she, who married Prince Harry , confused Royal duty with celebrity status, found it didn't suit her and convinced PH his life would work for them in US, away from his former life...while ruining relationships with both her family and his. Ms Winfrey has interviewed Megan and allowing her " air space" and a voiceIt's a sad/ pathetic issue rather a than funny one, it fills a lot of media space ...but I can see how it would raise ridicule.

Can't believe I just wrote that rubbish!!

[Hidden in reply to DippyDame]

A succinct summary DD. Are you the Royal Correspondent on HU?

[DippyDame in reply to Hidden]

MB...Fired after the first paragraph!!

[greygoose in reply to DippyDame]

lol

[Noelnoel in reply to Hidden]

Morecambe, Love that!

[Localhero in reply to Hidden]

Too funny 😂😂😂

[Lalatoot]

Pixipot you have autoimmune thyroiditis. In the years that you have had this your immune system has damaged your thyroid thereby limiting it's ability to produce enough thyroid hormones to keep your body functioning. You need thyroid hormones and that is why you take levo and lio.I all but stopped taking thyroid hormones. Cut myself down to 25mcg levo daily. For months I felt great and then hormone levels dipped so low I became very ill. I was stuck indoors mostly in bed for 18 months. It has taken another 2 years for me to get any sort of life back and I still have to limit what I do daily.

If you lack thyroid hormones the only way to replace them is by taking thyroid hormones. If you or your endo are determined to reduce your intake then you must have regular blood tests every few months otherwise it is dangerous. I know I have done that and got the t shirt. It's a t shirt I would not want to wear again.

[Sparklingsunshine]

Hi

Why do you assume Oprah is cured? Even with all her fame, money and influence she can't regrow her thyroid or get hold of a new one. She might be on top of her symptoms, she might be optimally medicated and feeling great and all power to her but how has she cured herself?

And even if she has managed to somehow, she isn't you, she doesn't have your body or life. It's dangerous using a celebrity as some sort of health guru. She's likely to have access to treatments and supplements that you won't.

From personal experience I can tell you coming off thyroid meds is hard. I was advised to stop as I've been having some very unpleasant symptoms on Levo, itching and prickly sensations. I lasted about a week before I started to feel seriously unwell. Weak, jelly legs, no energy and breathless.

I know it was thyroid related because I went back on Levo and it went away. I can fully understand coming off thyroid meds if you're having adverse reactions but not for the sake of it. Please be careful.

[DippyDame]

Pixipot You would make yourself very ill should you stop taking necessary replacement hormones....these are essential for not only good health but, in extremis, for life.

Thyroid hormones are not drugs like painkillers, antibiotics and the like instead their purpose is to replace what is missing, not to repair something faulty..

In some people's minds they confuse the two.

Why on earth would you want to be guided by Oprah Winfrey! She may have stopped her meds and be feeling OK for a while, that can sometimes happen, but in time the level of thyroid hormone ( T3) in her cells will drop back again and if not replaced by daily medication (for life) symptoms will return....unless she never had hypothyroidism in the first place.

I know what it's like to have severely diminished cellular T3 ( the active thyroid hormone) and it's a very dark miserable place where the body eventually starts to shut down...long story. And I've experienced the difference between being medicated properly... and not!

I was wrongly medicated for a very long time.

I would not wish that on anyone so why your endo is setting you on that path beggars belief. Already you are experiencing a return of symptoms...your body is telling you something is wrong!

None of us want to be medicated more than is necessary and we would all prefer not to be hypothyroid but the stark reality is that is we do and we are...and to return to any level of good health there is only one way. Replacement thyroid hormone(s) for life!

Clearly nobody can dictate what you should do but before you take any action you need to be aware of the likely consequences.

Baby steps or a sprint you need to avoid falling flat on your face...and wonder why this endo isn't advising you differently.

Remember the old adage, " Be careful what you wish for"!

Best...

DD

PS I've just read previous responses and I absolutely agree with them

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

She has Hashimoto's, she's probably going through a stable period. This article refers:

verywellhealth.com/oprah-wi...

While the precise diagnosis has not been fully revealed in the media, experts suspect that Oprah suffered from Hashimoto's thyroiditis—the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States.1 However, unlike the vast majority of people with the disease who experience symptoms of hypothyroidism from the start, Oprah actually had initial symptoms of hyperthyroidism called Hashitoxicosis.

Besides her somewhat unusual thyroid course, Oprah also eventually announced that she had been cured of her thyroid disease and was off medication. Her "cure" confused many fans, considering Hashimoto's thyroiditis is (for most) a chronic condition that requires lifelong treatment.2 Oprah revised her statement, explaining that she still monitors her thyroid levels.

So there we have it!

[shaws Administrator]

This is an excerpt from the following link:-

" Why Oprah May Have Been Able to Stop Taking Medication

The striking thing about Oprah's thyroid journey is that at one point she announced that she was "cured." She stated: "When I said I was cured, I meant I don't have the thyroid problem anymore because my thyroid levels are all in the normal range now and my doctors have taken me off of any thyroid medication."

In the end, it's likely that Oprah was first taking an antithyroid drug for Hashitoxicosis. Then, once the hypothyroid phase of Hashimoto's thyroiditis took over, thyroid hormone production may have leveled off, allowing her to discontinue her antithyroid drug.

Furthermore, the hypothyroid phase may have brought down the thyroid hormone levels to a "normal" range, so levothyroxine was also not warranted.

If her Hashimoto's thyroiditis progresses, and the thyroid gland continues to be damaged, thyroid hormone replacement medication (levothyroxine) would eventually be necessary.

What This Means For You

verywellhealth.com/oprah-wi...

womenshealthmag.com/health/...

[Hidden in reply to shaws]

Do we know Oprah´s diagnosis? It´s possible to recover from Grave´s. That does not mean that someone with Hashimoto´s should go off thyroid meds.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Hidden]

I remember years ago that she was overweight and I don't think she stated then that she had hypothyroidism. Many people on levothyroxine seem to complain of unexplained weight gain but sometimes it could be that they are on an insufficient dose.

[tattybogle]

It is well known that some people do feel inexplicably well for a few months after stopping thyroid hormones.. and then, as happened to Lalatoot .. they become very unwell, and have a heck of a job to recover to the point they were before they stopped.

But there is another interesting explanation why some people (who have genuinely been hypothyroid) stop needing to take any thyroid hormones for a few years , and they THINK they are 'cured'.

It is to do with the fact that a few people may have an amount of the (TRab) antibodies that are associated with graves disease (Hyperthyroidism) but not know about it, and they just think they had 'normal' Hashimoto's .

There are three sorts of these antibodies..

* a stimulating kind (they make you hyper)

* a blocking kind (they make you hypo)

* and a neutral kind (they don't do much)

The balance of these can shift over time , if the stimulating ones are prevalent, hyperthyroidism occurs...... if the blocking ones are prevalent , then hypothyroidism occurs .... if they are balanced the person appears to be in remission... and may think they have "cured" their hypothyroidism. These people will (for a while ) not need to take thyroid hormones anymore ..... until the balance of their antibodies shifts again.

This probably explains a lot of the cases you see on the media where people claim to be cured .... but follow their story over decades and you may well find out different.

If you want to understand more about this i've linked to some pages that explain the effects of these antibodies, and why a few "hypothyroid" patients may have then without knowing about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thyroidpatients.ca/2020/04/... (remissions-and-fluctuations-trab)

"Stories of complete remission from autoimmune hypothyroidism circulate on internet forums.

Stories of significant fluctuations in thyroid status that allow one to reduce thyroid medication or require a major increase—these also circulate.

I suspect most autoimmune hypothyroid and hyperthyroid patients have dreamed of a full remission rather than dependency on lifelong medical treatment..........

So, how common are remission and fluctuation in thyroid status? They are more common in autoimmune thyroid disease than most people realize.

This article provides scientific evidence that these tales of autoimmune remissions and even “flip-flops” between hyper- and hypothyroidism do occur.

However, remissions and fluctuations in thyroid status do not occur for the reasons that many people say they do, namely, the reduction and/or disappearance of TPOAb or TGAb antibodies. A more powerful set of thyroid antibodies are responsible for swift and extreme thyroid status fluctuations.

In this post, I’ll share scientific information about the two TSH-Receptor antibodies (TRAb):

the TSAb (stimulating) antibody and

the TBAb (blocking) antibody

These antibodies can be found at different prevalence rates in all three subtypes of autoimmune thyroid disease: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves’ Disease, and Atrophic thyroiditis.

TRAb antibody levels can fluctuate widely and unexpectedly, and when they do, they can immediately begin to affect thyroid biochemistry. They can produce a significant change in thyroid status within weeks or months. Their effects are different from what’s known as “Hashitoxicosis.” .......

After equipping you with with understanding and examples, I conclude with tips about safely discovering whether you might be in remission while on therapy for hypothyroidism. It’s best to be aware of these antibodies’ existence in case an extreme fluctuation in thyroid status happens to you someday, or happens to someone you know."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thyroidpatients.ca/2020/04/... ( remissions-and-fluctuations-trab/2)

"Exercise caution before withdrawing medication

Nevertheless, it is not wise to experiment willy-nilly with medication withdrawal for hypothyroid patients on therapy—patients have complex, stressful lives to manage and often have concurrent health conditions that require thyroid hormone stability and optimization.

Patients should not be forced to endure the risk of even temporary hypothyroidism simply to satisfy curiosity.

Even if the thyroid is healthy, it can take a while for TSH to resume its appropriate level of thyroid stimulation. While the pituitary takes 6 weeks to 3 months to raise and fine tune its TSH secretion, a patient may suffer an inappropriately low level thyroidal secretion while underdosed.

Therefore, patients who are currently hypothyroid and on thyroid therapy should not simply cease therapy to discover whether they can live without it. You risk of health and quality of life reductions if the thyroid gland has been too damaged with fibrosis or atrophy to support health on its own.

Do a thyroid ultrasound ......."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thyroidpatients.ca/2020/04/... (overlooked-how-many-hashimotos-patients with TSH-Receptor antibodies? )

"Graves’ disease patients routinely get tested for the TSH-Receptor antibody (TRAb) when they become hyperthyroid.

Hashimoto’s patients with TRAb antibodies, on the other hand, are overlooked. Just how many of us are being overlooked in various countries?

The thyroid-stimulating antibody seen in Graves’ disease is only one of two TSH-Receptor antibodies:

TSAb stimulates the TSH receptors, and

TBAb blocks the TSH receptors.

Many Hashimoto’s patients will never get properly diagnosed because people mistakenly think TSH-Receptor antibodies are only found in Graves’ disease.

How many people are likely to experience the mysterious impacts of this antibody, such as:

*transient hypothyroidism with a partial or full remission

*severe and permanent thyroid atrophy at an early age

*wide biochemical fluctuations during hypothyroid therapy

*confusing flip-flops between hyperthyroid, euthyroid, and hypothyroid states

*and disorders and symptoms caused by TSH receptor signalling interference in tissues beyond the thyroid gland?.....

For some patients, TBAb-TSAb fluctuations are a tug-of-war that makes therapy very complicated and unpredictable: it can force them to cycle through phases of hyper, hypo and euthyroidism over months or years......."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thyroidpatients.ca/2020/04/... (the-spectrum-of-thyroid-autoimmunity)

[greygoose in reply to tattybogle]

Brilliant reply, tatty!

[shaws Administrator]

Once we're diagnosed as having a dysfunctional thyroid gland we have to take replacement hormones that enable us to feel well again for life.

Many do fine and are symptom-free on levothyroxine, whilst others cannot improve at all on levothyroxine (I am one of them) and believe we shouldn't be restricted to one thyroid hormone replacement (i.e. T4 - levothyroxine).

I had far more symptoms on levothyroxine than before I diagnosed myself - about an hour after GP phoned to tell me I had no problems at all and my blood tests were fine.

Some of us, when first diagnosed we have probably never heard of hypothyroidism (my GP had no clue at all as he phoned me to tell me 'your blood tests are fine ) he did not understand what a TSH of 100 meant! We might begin to feel symptomatic again which could be due to some small change within the replacement thyroid hormone tablet we have been taking or we need a small increase.

I believe that occasionally whoever makes the thyroid hormone replacements might have to change something within the tablet.

The first replacement thyroid hormones that saved lives was introducing NDTs (natural dessicated thyroid glands from animals) and it contained all of the hormones a healthy gland would do.

One of TUK's Advisers (deceased) stated that it was through monetary exchanges that T4 became the No.1 prescription. Levothyroxine being inactive and should convert to T3.

I believe Oprah is taking a throid hormone replacement and as it contains all of the hormones a healthy gland would provide, enabled her weight to reduce.

I think 'fully-recovered' actually means that symptoms are resolved but we are still hypothyroid as hypothyroidism is a life-long autoimmune disease.

[Hidden]

My only question is Why? Why do you want to be 'pill free'?

I agree with the others that your endo is being negligent and dangerous to allow/encourage you to wean off.

*There is no shame* in taking a tablet to replace what your body can no longer make.

Would you insist a diabetic should stop taking insulin so as to be medication free?

I am Genuinely curious. If you feel improved on hormone replacement tablets why would you expect to feel the same without it? And why would you want to stop?

[serenfach]

I would not trust a thing that woman said. And that goes for Oprah too.