Oprah missed an important opportunity

When Oprah started advertising her show on menopause my phone started ringing and my email started filling up. The reason was twofold. First, it was good to hear that Oprah would be talking about such an important topic and many people wanted to let me know about the show. Second, it was to ask if I would be part of the show because the title of my newsletters, "Let's start the conversation," was being used to advertise the show. No, the Oprah show did not contact me and I was not part of the show however, I appreciate the nod from her.

Oprah interviewed a woman who was suffering from profound hypogonadism (untreated menopause) before and after treatment for her illness. Oprah also interviewed Prudence Hall, MD who prescribed gonadal hormones to the woman and as expected, she felt much better in just a few days, which is what you would expect of appropriate treatment for profound hypogonadism.

Here is the missed opportunity.

If only Oprah had identified the illness that this woman was being treated for, profound hypogonadism, then all menopausal women, symptoms or not, would know that they have this illness and that it can be treated and they are healthier for it. Profound hypogonadism is real and it is treatable and it is lifelong. If the treatment for this illness is ever stopped, the illness will return.

You can make a difference. Talk to your friends, relatives, and neighbors. Talk to your doctor. See menopause for what it is, profound hypogonadism. It's real and it's treatable.

Let's start the conversation about menopause and this time let's call it by its real name and make it a routine part of medicine instead of what it is now.