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Aug. 25, 2025 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:38
What's Your Thyroid Speed? Dr. Oz Quiz & Therapy Explained | Dr. Oz | S9 | Ep 12 | Full Episode
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Time Text
Today on the Doctor Oshow.
Grab right beneath your Adam's apple.
That's your thyroid.
Is it super fast or is it sluggish and tired?
We've got the at home quiz to review your thyroid speed.
To find out what your thyroid is really trying to tell you.
And when a doctor says he wants to see you in person, you know it's bad.
Maria Menounos, a devastating diagnosis.
Oh, oh, oh.
Are you ready to say some lives today?
Yeah!
Oh, oh, oh I love you.
So no matter what you're doing, stop for one second, take your fingers and grab right under your Adam's apple.
Can you all do that for me?
Okay, now swallow.
You feel a little bump at your fingers?
That's your thyroid.
And today, we have the at home quiz to review your thyroid speed.
Here's the question.
Is it super fast with hormones flowing everywhere?
Or is it sluggish and tired, sort of the way you might be feeling?
Is your thyroid speed the biggest reason why you can't lose weight?
Today, thyroid therapy to find out what your thyroid is really trying to tell you.
I'm heavy today because I feel like my thyroid is low.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I blame my thyroid for these last twenty pounds that I can't seem to lose.
My belly's hanging over.
It's my thyroid, right?
Sometimes my genes get a little tighter and tighter and I tell everyone, it's not me, it's my thyroid.
I'm not, you know, 100% sure what it does.
It may have something to do with my hormones.
Does it have something to do with your metabolism?
I think it breaks down the food or something.
Thyroid therapist and naturopathic doctor Pierre Lujouchet is here.
They say a lot of us need thyroid therapy.
We may not even know it.
Right, absolutely.
I mean, because of some of the main issues that most people start to complain about is like the weight gain.
You know, we've all been there, right?
Weight gainers.
The hormones start coming on, so they're really not happy about that.
Then the next thing is about loss of energy.
So they're really not happy because they're feeling tired, they're gaining weight now.
They begin to feed into each other sometimes.
100%.
And the next thing after that is now they're not sleeping.
So they're not sleeping, the weight is going on, they're feeling super tired.
So of course, rouchy.
They're going to be in a bad mood ultimately, so very unhappy.
Ah yes.
How many of you like this right now?
Right.
Right.
Like that avatar, that's how you feel and you begin to blame yourselves.
But it's not you, it's your thyroid for a lot of times.
So why is knowing the speed of the thyroid so important?
Why is it more important now than ever before?
Right, because what most people don't realize is that every cell in our body, its regulation, is dependent on thyroid hormone.
So if your thyroid levels aren't correct, you're going to feel all those those symptoms that make you unhappy, depressed, put on the weight, tired.
So you really want to know what your levels are.
Are you all curious about this?
Let's go to the quiz to reveal your thyroid speed.
Now you all have the entire audience here, a copy, everyone at home, just go to dr. Oz.
com.
You can follow along or just pay attention to the TV set, super simple quiz.
I want you to circle the letter that relates to you in the last three months.
So come over here.
We're going to go talk to an audience member.
They want to get some thyroid therapy and get some answers with us.
So I've asked her to take a seat in her thyroid therapy chair.
How are you, Diane?
I'm fine.
Thank you.
Welcome, Ms. Jean.
Do you like the chair?
I do.
I love it.
It's nice and comfortable.
I love it.
It's like being in a therapist's office for a reason.
Because thyroid therapy requires you to sit back and just take all this in.
So what brings you to us today?
You know, Dr. Oz, I'm often asked if I have a problem with my thyroid.
And when I'm asked a question, people are always looking at my neck.
And I'm always feeling a little tired here lately.
And I want to keep up with my nieces and nephew.
I have three of them that I'm trying to keep up with.
Good purpose.
Something's going on with my body.
So you're with us today.
You're going to take the quiz?
Yes, I will be.
Okay, Pina, the first question.
Okay, here it is.
Are you ready?
Yes.
It says, How would you describe your energy level?
Possible that you don't have to I'm giving you three options.
A, high, I can't stop moving.
B, normal, can't say I'm anything special.
C, really low, I can barely get out of bed.
Diane?
I can't talk.
C, I have three nieces and nephews that I'm trying to keep up with, and school has just begun.
Yes.
So you know what that means.
I'm glad you're relaxing for a moment here.
Okay, next question, Pina.
Okay, are you ready?
What is your body temperature like?
Is it A, I'm so hot, I'mm comfortable wherever I am.
C, I'm freezing.
Someone get me a parka.
Diane?
Doctor Oz, I'm always freezing.
I can stand hats, gloves, and the parka.
So you're a C person there too?
I am.
So you got two Cs so far.
Yes.
Why is that important?
What does the body temperature have to do with the thyroid?
Well, because the thyroid actually relates our thermoregulation.
So our body temperature, how we feel cold or warm in the day, depends on the thyroid.
Like my mother in law, for example, the poor woman, we can be in the high heat of summer and she's still wearing a sweater.
Bundling up.
Yep.
All right, you all keep track so far.
There's two questions down.
You know what?
You hop up.
I'm gonna get you training for the day.
I'm going to bring in another audience member to get some chair therapy.
Are you okay?
Don't go too far.
Okay.
Thank you.
All right.
Now we have Rita over here.
How are you, Rita?
I'm fine.
Thank you.
How are you guys?
Have a good time.
Get comfortable there.
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
What do you get for the first two answers?
I have A. And C. C. Okay.
Question number three.
What is it?
All right.
Well, I'm sorry to have to ask this, but what is your bathroom routine like?
What are the consistency of your bowel movements?
How awkward to ask that question to Rita.
She just sat back.
She just went to the doctor show.
How could we not?
She just got into your thyroid therapy chair.
Thyroid therapy chair, you're supposed to relax.
Okay, here they are.
Ready?
A, it's loosey goosey.
B, well formed, no problems there.
Or is it C, it has been days, maybe longer.
You don't have to, you know, remember, the thyroid therapy chair is a safe place, you don't have to answer the question if you don't want to.
Well, doctor Oz, I would have to say, it's well formed.
So B. Give yourself a B there.
I'm a B too.
I like that.
Let me see the Bs out there.
Bs.
There are a couple of Bs out there, not as many as I expected.
Why is it so important for the thyroid?
So it's really interesting.
Many patients come into my office with the initial complaint of something wrong with their bellies.
And so after I go through the history of that it's not dietary, like lack of fiber, dehydration, a really important thing to know is that, again, how is your thyroid functioning?
Because that can either make you high or low on your thyroid, either be constipated or have loose stoles.
Okay, fourth question.
The final question.
Okay.
What health issue do you most identify with?
Is it A, I'm always anxious and can't get sleep because I have a rapid heart rate sometimes.
B, I get tired if I don't sleep enough and I get jazzed up when I drink coffee.
C, my skin is so dry., my nails are brittle, my hair is spinning.
It's like a poem.
Rita.
Oh, what letter?
Oh, my goodness.
Doctor Oz, it has to be C. C. Yes, my nails are brittle.
You're brittle.
Oh, my goodness, they are.
They're brittle.
They're not what you want them to be.
And they've changed since you got them.
Yeah.
They do.
Okay, so that's it.
This is pretty annoying.
The quiz is really important because in medical school we learned about all these symptoms, but none of us knew about it before we got there.
So I wanted you all to take this quiz with me so you'd be on the same page.
So we're going to tally up the results.
And I want you all to look at the letter you circle most often.
Okay?
So just look at your results.
Everyone at home do the same thing.
Are you mostly A's?
Are you mostly B's?
Are you mostly C's?
And to help answer the question of what category you're in, I have brought in a couple of surprise guests.
Are you ready?
If you answered mostly A's, then your thyroid speed is too fast.
It's sort of, well, imagine a rabbit running around as fast as you can, teeth anxious to go wherever it can, all over the place, right?
And many of you sort of feel like this, don't you?
That's what happens if you're an A. Your thyroid is a little too active.
B's, on the other hand., you know, I'll be, I'll pretend I'm the B, because I actually feel pretty good right now, but I'm not always here, but right now that's how I feel.
The C's, you guys, you're sort of like this.
Slow, turtleish in your movements.
Now you put the bunny rabbit against the turtle and life is not going to be so fair, right?
So let me see a show of hands.
How many A's are there?
Bunny rabbit fast thyroids.
All the A's, hands up.
And let me see a show of B's who think they're normal.
Good.
And let me see some Cs, the slow thyroids.
A slow, oh, we have a slow thyroid here.
How are you?
Celeste.
Celeste.
Hi.
So that resonated with you, huh?
Yeah, it did.
Did you sort of feel like this?
Yeah, like this guy.
Like you feel like this guy, not moving along?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you want to feel more like this guy, don't you?
Definitely.
When you run around this much, you can't put weight on, you don't have normal bowels, you can compete with anything, keep up with the kids, whatever's going down.
So our goal today is to take you from Turtle to Normal, or if you happen to be a bunny rabbit, take you Normal there, because you need to be a human when it comes to your thyroid.
Okay, what should you do if your thyroid is sluggish?
So basically what I always recommend is that basically it's like you're doing too much.
And so what you want to do is home hone back into your body and see what it needs.
Whether I always recommend meditation to become more insightful and slow yourself, I always recommend good quality, high nutrient food so that you're absorbing all the nutrients that you're supposed to.
So those are the quick, easy things that you could start doing to start boosting up your thyroid.
Now they all seem pretty straightforward.
Take a little effort.
When we come back, I'm going to tell you exactly, exactly what to eat based on your thyroid space.
So stay around.
What's the Powder Butter Run?
Get out of my shoe.
My daughter interviews me.
I'm my new br project and a True Crime Tuesdays warning for us all.
Deadly and tainted of all.
They fall out, rob, rape, or they're killed.
This is not happening at top notch hotels.
True Crime Tuesdays on Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Today is all about thyroid therapy.
Do you feel like your thyroid is super sluggish?
Like this guy here, this turtle, right?
You sort of feel like you've got no energy, that losing weight is not going to happen.
And if it does, it's going to be so slow because you're turtling through life.
Well, we just discovered our own thyroid speeds at our at home quiz.
And the thyroid therapist and naturopath Peter Le Judiche is back with what you need to eat for your thyroid.
So let's start with sluggish thyroids.
For the many members of the audience here and at home who answered mostly Cs on our quiz, what kinds of symptoms they typically have?
Well, the typical symptoms are what you see here.
They are feeling forgetful, they can't remember things, they're gaining weight, they have dry skin and hair, they're constipated, and the worst part is they're very depressed and have really low mood.
So there's an element that I'm going to discuss that you've all heard of but haven't thought much about.
It's zinc.
Why is zinc so important for the thyroid?
So zinc is one of the few nutrients that produce thyroid hormones.
So you absolutely need it for your thyroid hormone to be produced.
So you really need that zinc to keep your thyroid levels up.
So let me ask Benita to join us.
She's from the audience.
She took the quiz.
She's dancing her way over here.
How are you?
I'm good.
Thank you.
So I understand you answered C quite a few times in the quiz.
Yes.
So describe some of the symptoms you have.
Well, doctor Oz, I suffer from insomnia a lot.
I am constipated a little time sometimes.
And you should be honest about that.
I should take a lot of vac laxatives.
I would say I have a bad mood when I do lose sleep and I don't get enough sleep.
So pretty much all of those things are I suffer from.
And you're not alone.
You check a lot of those boxes, which is why we're here today.
Because the thyroid problems have become endemic around this country.
So, you know, walk us through a zinc plan that might actually work.
I'm actually going to give you some real foods.
I'm going to make it super simple for you.
So you can begin to incorporate these into your diet every day.
How much do we need?
So what I always recommend is between thirty and forty milligrams of zinc a day at minimum.
So you could obviously easily take it as a supplement.lement, but as a naturopath I always recommend getting your nutrition through food.
And so here's a simple plan of how you could add foods that are higher in zinc to your diet.
Okay.
So we got breakfast here.
We're going to start with breakfast.
So to your eggs, you could definitely add some spinach to it and you get a couple milligrams of zinc in there.
Or even if you're making a greens drink in the morning, you could add spinach to that as part of your.
What do you normally have for breakfast?
Donuts, bagels?
No.
Most Americans do, right?
No, sometimes I skip breakfast a lot.
Okay.
And I skip everything.
Wouldn't that be an interesting paradox?
Here you are trying to do the right thing.
You think, you skip breakfast, but you don't get any zinc because you have nothing in your body.
Without the zinc, your thyroid can't work the way they're supposed to.
The hormone is not made.
You feel all these symptoms and you end up gaining weight.
Right.
And I skip breakfast because I can't get up in time to make breakfast because I didn't sleep the night before.
Vicious cycle.
Vicious cycle.
Okay.
So that's breakfast.
We've got we're going to conquer that one.
Lunch, what do you do?
Yes.
So lunch, what I always like to make is you could add any type of legume, any beans to your salad.
So here we have chickpeas.
You could add kidney beans.
And it's a nice vegetarian option because it keeps your stomach lighter so you do have more energy in the day.
So again, adding a simple beans to your lunch will give you a few more milligrams of zinc.
I like that.
Snacks, my favorite, you picked there.
Yes.
I'm a personal fan of cashews and nuts as well.
Again, any nuts or seeds are also going to have a amount of zinc in it that you can get through your food.
Okay.
And so on and so forth.
You have a salad with ground beef, your dessert you could even get in there, right?
Absolutely.
So actually, this is cocoa powder.
And believe it or not, cocoa powder has a nice amount of zinc in it as well.
So you could add it to pudding or add it to any other type of dessert to get extra zinc.
And even with the beef, you could choose any type of protein, whether you want lamb or anything else to get more zinc.
Right.
So that's one big issue, zinc.
And this is probably not enough for some folks.
You're going to have to take a supplement, but it's in your multivitamins.
So as long as you're taking one, you're in good place.
But there's one other thing I want you to do do if you have a slow thyroid and you guys have gotten into these sort of cool designer salts, some of you have to switch your salt.
Take a look.
What kind of salt do you use?
Thanks to cooking shows and websites, we all know now kosher salt and sea salt makes food more flavorful.
And some of us have cut down or given up salt altogether for our health.
But no table salt means less iodine, a key chemical that regulates your thyroid.
So if you've accidentally lowered your iodine intake by cutting out table salt, you could be triggering your thyroid to, the slowdown, and the weight to pack on.
Now some of us took the thyroid quiz and we found out that we actually have fast thyroids, especially if you answered a lot of A's to the quiz.
So it's typical symptoms of an overactive thyroid.
Right, so you're going to get some opposite symptoms here.
So what you see here, a lot of people initially start with their heart racing.
They feel like, why am I having palpitations?
So they'll start to feel that as an initial concern.
Also, not being able to focus because basically they feel hyped up.
Weight loss, interestingly, is a symptom.
You can't give yourself hyperthyroidism for that biological reason.
Right, now don't try.
Many of you are thinking right now, if I can become hyperthyroid.
Yeah, no, because then you don't want those palpitations because it's not good for your heart.
And then, of course, lastly, it's the fatigue.
People still feel very tired when they're hypertyreoid.
An interesting opportunity here is to eat foods that actually are called goiterogenic.
Yes.
Goiter were these big thyroid glands that you may have heard about when you were kids, when your neck gets a big bulge in there, that's because your thyroid wasn't getting enough of what it needed, so it had to get even bigger to do its work.
But I want you to explain what these goiterogenic foods are and why they might actually sedate your thyroid so you don't feel like a bunny rabbit all the time.
So one of the other main nutrients that's helpful for thyroid hormone is iodine.
So, but when you're hypertyreoid, you want to actually block iodine.
And that's exactly what a goitrogenic food does.
It actually blocks your iodine levels.
So you have foods that are in the Brassica family, like cabbage, coliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli.
They have these things called thioglycosides that actually will block that iodine levels.
And then other foods like kale and turnips, cassava, millet have something else called cyanogenic glucothiocides that Oh my goodness.
I know.
Just remember, those foods are going to slow your thyroid down.
But if you cook these, right.
It does lessen the goitrogenic amount very, very much.
So they would be okay.
So when you eat it raw and you're hypothyroid, you don't want to do it.
So you want to cook your food.
You know what I love?
Cauliflower with a little salad dressing.
This is to die for.
And if you want to do a little something for your thyroid, it's not a bad way to go.
For a full list of foods that can help your thyroid, go to dr oz dot com dot That's a good tips there.
Next, two words you love, no matter the season.
Pumpkin spice.
The bunny rabbit likes it.
It might be the thyroid solution that has your favorite flavor in it.
Stick around.
Two powerhouse moms, Hilaria Baldwin and Daphne Oz, share their sugar busting plan.
Here's how easy it is to do, guys.
The big mistake that led to a major breakthrough.
That's coming up Wednesday on Dr. Oz.
*Muchas cheering*
Now that you know your thyroid speed, I have two surprising words that can help any thyroid stay healthy.
Are you ready for this?
Pumpkin spice.
I'm about to introduce you to our first ever pumpkin spice smoothie for your thyroid.
I know, I know, you guys were all saying I love it.
Good night.
It's another pumpkin spice food, though.
You've had so many already.
But this one is actually good for you.
It's not crushed with sugar and other stuff you don't want to have in your body.
So I brought in the master of smoothies, JJ Smith to help us out.
How are you?
Every year, without exception, this time of year, we start hearing about pumpkin spice this, pumpkin spice that.
It's everywhere, but where are you?
And this might be the salvation for our thyroid.
Yes.
I'm so excited about this particular smoothie because, of course, it's great for the fall.
It has pumpkins in it.
Sure.
But the ingredients actually are very good for the thyroid.
So I want to take you through some of them so you can take a look.
Okay.
So we love spices.
We're going to start with the spices.
It has cinnamon and ginger, which are natural anti inflammatory.
And it's very important for thyroid function.
But here's the main ingredient I that gets excited about is the pumpkin seeds.
Not only is it going to give it its flavor, but the pumpkin seeds are very high in iron and selenium.
They will take the inactive form of thyroid and make it more active.
And then we have a couple more.
You have mango in it because you need that natural sweetness.
Whenever you do a green smoothie because of the greens, you need to add mango, pineapple, something to give it a little sweetness.
And then of course, we have the pumpkin.
The pumpkin.
It's all about pumpkin season, right?
And then I like almond milk.
A lot of times I'll use water.
But when you add almond milk, it'll make it a little creamier and richer than when you use water.
I think you're much better off with almond milk generally.
Or hemp milk is the best.
You know what?
I like hemp milk.
So we're just basically taking dumplings, right?
So we're going to basically I always like to put in my liquids first.
So we're going to put in the almond milk.
This is unsweetened almond milk.
No need to add unnecessary sugar.
And then we have baby spinach.
What I like about baby spinach is the most pleasant taste.
You know this, right?
Not bitter.
Not bitter at all.
So it'll taste really good.
So let's go ahead and get in our you're going to help me get in some of these.
We got our ginger and our cinnamon.
That was vanilla.
That's in there simply for flavor.
And here are the pumpkin seed.
When you have a great high quality blender, it will blend right through those seeds.
It will be nice and creamy.
And then basically Lick the spoon for whatever's left over.
Always lick the spoon.
And then we put in our mangoes, which is going to give it its sweetness.
And then we're going to blend it up.
A little more pumpkin spice.
It's easy to blend up.
You're going to do a little sam sam with it.
Okay.
Then we blend it up and we get these.
Now, yes.
We have some of our bike club members here.
I want to see if the pumpkin spice smoothie can win them over because they have very discriminating taste buds.
Three pumpkin spice fanatics who are also bike club members are joining us.
So, unless you've been hiding under a rock, everybody, you all know about pumpkin spice.
But just in case., just grab a taste, my dears.
No, not the smoothie, the pumpkin spice.
What do you like about that?
Oh, I love it.
I like the fact it feels warm and it's spicy, it's sweet and it's just tasty.
It's comforting.
Comforting.
Mm.
Yeah.
Season for the season of fall.
Okay, so are you ready to taste the smoothie, JJ's most recent concoction?
Go ahead.
We're all going to taste together and I'll let you guys vote.
Now, they are hard to please.
Oh my goodness.
They look like they like pumpkin spice.
I think they're going to love this one.
I don't know.
They're so peaceful looking up there now, but I've been on the wrong side of that.
Oh, oh.
Okay.
The verdict.
The verdict from the bike club.
It's amazing.
I love it.
Yay!
I like the smoothiness.
It fills your mouth.
And it actually feels like you're having a pumpkin pie.
Like it, right?
It's creamy.
Yes, very creamy.
It's like a pumpkin pie, but in a smoothie with all these nutritious ingredients.
And with your thyroid where it needs to be, you'll be able to do all kinds of things.
You'll be out trick or treating for pumpkins season.
Okay.
The recipe I'm going to put on dr. Ross dot com because it's so dark good.
It'll be on my bike club page.
Join the bike club, by the way.
It's a fun group of folks.
Don't forget to check JD Smith's new book.
It's called Green Smoothies for Life.
Live it the right way.
We'll be back right.
Cheers.
Next up, you all know Maria Menunos, but what you might not know is that she's recovering from a brain tumor while her own mother fights a brain cancer battle of her own.
Maria is here speaking out.
Stay with us.
We all know Maria Menunos as a television host, actress, and journalist.
But this summer she made headlines when at ages just 38 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Her diagnosis came just months after finding out her own mother was fighting a brain cancer battle of her own.
Maria underwent surgery and today she's here speaking out about the diagnosis that changed her life.
forever.
I want to welcome you very much for being here.
Thank you.
And I know you look wonderful, but there's a lot that's going on inside you since you visited us a few months ago.
When your doctor first told you that you had a brain tumor, take us back to that day.
What went through your mind?
What did you feel?
Well, I did chuckle at first because Chuckle.
Yeah, it just sounded so surreal and so unbelievable that I kind of just laughed.
I wasn't at first shocked because I was preparing myself.
When a doctor says he wants to see you in person, you know it's bad.
and I called the doctor or emailed him and I said, please call me.
I know what you're going to tell me.
I can handle it.
Just call me so I know.
And then he called me and told me that I had a meningioma and that I needed to schedule an appointment with a neurologist.
And at that point I called Dr. Black's office and they were confused.
They're like, you're calling for your mom, right?
And I'm like, nope.
It's for me.
Well, let's talk about your mom.
Maybe this was on your radar because you had just a few months earlier been with your mom when she was diagnosed with a grade four brain cancer.
How's she doing, by the way?
She's doing well.
I mean, for anyone who's dealing with glioblastoma, they know it's a very scary type of brain cancer and just doing, you know, what do you do?
Everything we can.
Your family has been coping with this bravely.
What do you say to John McCain's family?
They're also in the public eye.
They're trying to support the man they love.
Of course.
You know, for me, it's so important to share hope with everyone because there are long term survivors.
It's a very scary thing when people start rattling off statistics.
And luckily, I didn't go there at first.
I never looked on Google.
Thank God.
But it's individual.
It's individual.
And at the end of the day, it's going to be different for everyone.
But you have nothing without hope.
Now to protect your loved ones, your mom in this case, you don't want to give them bad news.
How did you tell your mom that you also had a brain tumor?
Well, I didn't, and that's how I protected her.
We waited until three nights before surgery, and so I didn't want to burden them any more in that moment.
I had Kevin, thank God, and I had my best friend, and we just kept it really quiet.
So you mentioned your fiancé, who's joining us, Kevin.
And I may speak, if I can, as a husband or boyfriend.
You know, our charge is to protect the people we love.
And this is a situation where we you can't do it all yourself.
How did you cope with trying to protect Maria from something that you were witnessing or going through?
Yeah, like you said, so it's counterintuitive because as a guy, you're a protector.
And there's nothing you can do in that area.
So all you can really do is try to keep busy, you know, doing something.
But then just staying by her side and can't say enough about staying ahead of the pain.
You know, so she could really.
There's one thing you can control.
Yeah.
Which is just a simple thing.
Yeah, that's it.
What you can control.
There's a phenomenon I've noticed as a doctor where people sort of know something's going down.
They know it's not quite as perfect as maybe a doctor even tells you the first time.
What symptoms led you to see a doctor and to do something as drastic as getting a brain scan in a 38 year old?
Yeah, well, it's interesting.
I remember going to the doctor in February because this was the second time I was experiencing an enormous amount of pain in my ear.
And I was like, oh, maybe it was an ear infection and it passed by itself, the body heals.
And so this time it came back.
I'm like, this is so weird, how embarrassing a 38 year old with an ear infection.
So I went to the doctor and this amazing doctor, his name is doctor Aronin, was very thorough.
And after he checked my ear, he's like, your ear's fine.
He's like, what else are you feeling?
And he was very thorough.
So it's like, well, since I'm here, I haven't been getting lightheaded on set every day, been getting headaches, and that doesn't normally happen.
My speech is going slurred.
I'm like, I think, I know you're going to say I'm crazy, but I think I have a brain tumor like my mom.
It just like all started clicking in my head as I was giving him the list of things.
And he's like, I don't think you're crazy, which was amazing because sometimes they do make you feel like you're crazy.
And let's get a scan.
Oh my goodness.
So listen to your bodies, ladies.
We put ourselves last, and we always shush our bodies, and we tell them to just shush.
We're busy.
We have to listen to our bodies.
Very well stated.
Up next, Maria comes face-to-face with a tumor that changed her life forever.
A new season of True Crime Tuesdays.
And now, True Crime Thursdays.
The cases that have kept you up at night only on on dr oz I'm back with Maria Manunos.
She woke up from sur the surgery to find out that the tumor was benign.
So if it's okay with you, I'm going to show you what they found and where they found it.
Of course, absolutely.
Let me grab onto you so I don't trip on anything.
Falling right now would not be a good thing.
No, it would slow your recovery.
So I got you I got you some purple gloves.
Cool, we're like an anatomy class.
This is great.
Now they made an incision.
Okay.
Sort of behind your ear.
Yeah.
Like right back in here.
I called it my cap scratch.
It was like from here to here, but you would never have even known.
It was kind of unbelievable.
And my Dr. Black and Dr. Chew.
So my brother in law is a neurochirurg, Mike Lamolle.
Yeah.
He actually operated on Gabby Gifford when she was shot.
Oh yeah.
So he's accomplished.
And I was talking to him about your case.
So I thought this might illustrate it for you.
I'll share some of his insights.
So this covering on the brain, do you recognize this?
This is called a meninges.
Yeah.
And your tumor started in this very thin little tissue.
That's why it's benign.
Because it's not actually deep in the brain.
It's on the surface of the brain, pushing it on the brain.
But if I can just turn this up and down, I'm going to show you why you had those symptoms.
It's a pons, right?
Very good.
Heh heh.
Do you want to teach this?
My doctor was very impressed.
I was like, I'm a reporter.
I need to know everything.
Of course I researched this.
So this is the Pons here, which controls your breathing.
And this is your spinal cord here.
Yep.
But what I want to point out are these little white things here.
I mean, they're so small, I don't know if folks at home can see them.
But these little nerves here, they control the sensation to your face.
Is that the trigeminal?
Yes.
That's very good.
It's really little.
Yes.
It's little.
You had to I'm going to quit my TV life and go into neurochirurgy.
I'm actually, why not?
She's done everything else.
Do you have any numbness on your face or anything?
It actually finally went away.
But I do have lingering effects from that because my jaw, it's difficult to chew on the right side.
And I think it may have shifted.
I might have to see, you know.
It may have shifted, but you also may still have some numbness, so you won't feel quite normal.
And the tumor was the size of this.
It's a little numb.
This is.
It could be the reason.
And this golf ball is about the size of your tumor, so it's sitting right there, everybody.
Now imagine all these little structures that we're showing, a big ball is pushing, and it's not just lying there comfortably, it's pushing in like this.
Because it's pushing like that.
So I want you to hold the heart, the brain, if you don't mind.
Is this like a human brain or is it?
It's a human brain.
A goat brain or something?
No, this is a human brain.
This is a human brain.
And you can, if you feel, those structures, you see how delicate they are.
And you realize how little it would take to damage them permanently.
Well, and that's what's crazy is when I went to get the vision test, it was early in the morning, and I think that the tumor wasn't pushing on the optic nerve at that moment, and that's why my vision was coming back clear.
Because I was like, this doesn't make any sense.
When I'm on set and I go like this, I can't see.
So.
Can I ask another question?
And I can just kind of.
These tumors often, because they're growing around these structures, they don't take it all out.
They take most of it out knowing it's benign.
Yeah.
And then they go back and they can fix it later if they need to, radiate or whatever.
Were they able to get it all out?
I told Dr. Black, get that sucker out.
I don't want to do any radiation.
I don't want to do anything.
And so he got most of it out.
I mean, there's like a smidge in the Mekkel's cave, he said, but other than that, I'm not.
That's why I asked you about Mekkel's cave.
Yeah.
Well, this is you'll get your graduate degree, good bad bit.
Come over here.
I'm going to show everyone.
Thank you.
Or where this does.
And oftentimes, you won't really have meaningful symptoms.
You mentioned stress symptoms, yeah.
pretty typical, but this is your actual scan.
And if everybody, there's her eyes.
And this white thing is not supposed to be there.
You all see that pretty clearly?
It's large, located right in the center of the brain, right next to the nerves that go to the eyes.
So, you know, the nerves go like this.
And when you're pushing on it, you dent this in.
So it causes the problems of the teleprompter, the visual changes, other sensations, some of the soft things you were talking about, ear problems because there's pressure in there.
And sometimes people don't pay attention to these.
Yeah.
Take it for granted.
Absolutely.
It's wild because also because of where it was placed, that's why he said my surgery was more complicated than my mom's.
And, you know, when it's wrapped under there, like he had to go in through here, skirt through the brain back into that area.
It's a dance.
Yeah.
He did it beautifully.
Yeah, he did.
Thank God.
Next up, how does a healthy woman in her thirties get a brain tumor?
Could you be at risk?
Be right back.
A True Crime Tuesdays warning for us all.
Deadly and tainted of all.
They pass out, rob, rape, or they're killed.
This is not happening at top notch hotels.
True Crime Tuesdays on Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
We're back with Maria Munoz, who's here opening up about the brain tumor she feelsared would take her life.
Now she'd been quoted as saying, This tumor was a gift.
That is very complimentary words for a tumor.
How did it change your life for the better?
Well, I believe that life is happening for us, not to us.
Thank you to Tony Robbins and all the great work I've been able to do with him.
So when you get dealt with something, if you really believe that, then you have to think about what are the positives here and what's going to come of this.
And for me, you know, I felt like I had been working towards making changes, but now it was like, okay.
It's definitely going to happen.
And I'm so much happier because of it.
I have a very clear direction.
And I want to help people that are going through this, the same kind of thing.
And so, you know, I've said it before, out of everything bad, there's always something good.
You just have to look for it.
You're very evolved.
Thank you.
I really appreciate that you're sharing your story.
I know you're doing it because you want people to understand the symptoms.
Yes.
They're subtle.
And in your case, very treatable.
So come on over.
I brought a world expert in.
Perfect.
Doctor John Bukvar is joining us.
So I would love just to get some perspective on this.
How does something like a brain tumor happen happened to a young, healthy appearing anywhere, and I think you actually are healthy.
I was.
A woman like Maria.
And walk us through some of the risk factors for brain tumors.
Well, first of all, you have to remember that three percent of women, middle aged women, young women, may have a meningioma.
That means three out of a hundred women will have a meningioma and may not know it.
So in this audience, we're two hundred people.
Six people, six women would have a meningioma potentially?
Potentially.
That's the number.
Oh, so I didn't realize I thought that number is higher than people know, and that's why cases like Maria's are important to bring this awareness to the general population.
increasing age, of course, any exposure to radiation, ionizing radiation.
And of course, there are examples, not in this case, of a family history of brain tumors.
Well, your tumors are different.
Yeah, ours are not connected.
Correct.
And we've heard about the symptoms that Maria had.
So, like before, walk us through symptoms that would actually alert you that it's more than just fatigue, more than just stress.
Right, so I want to hear about your headache.
And a headache diary is always a good way for me to understand about chronology, frequency, duration.
How bad is your?
We all get headaches.
But if your headache changes, particularly a morning headache, a headache that's wor something you should keep an eye on.
Okay.
Weakness or numbness in your face, arm and legs, hearing loss, vision loss, speech problems, like you described.
These are all things that should alert you to seek medical attention.
And of course, seizure activity.
Doctor Bogart, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Now, before you go, I have a little surprise for you.
Okay.
I couldn't send you out without giving you a little bit of praise from more than me.
Okay.
So you asked if you could speak to some of the support groups, because there are a lot of people who are fighting glioblastoma.
And there are people who are looking for hope, as you are with your family, John McCain's family, and many other families in America.
So we reached out to the glioblastoma group.
And they're all here.
This whole part of the audience, come on, come over here.
Seriously.
It's you have ten thousand members on Facebook.
Come on back over here if you don't mind.
Hello.
Hi.
Thank you.
So come over here for one second.
We're going to talk to you.
Jessica, this is Jessica.
Hello.
She actually has gluoblastomoma and there are many other support members in her family and group, but also other patients here as well.
So you have something you want to say.
First of all, thank you.
What a superstar.
Thank you from all of us, right?
Thank you.
I was diagnosed completely out of the blue a year and a half ago.
I was hiking upstate and I started to feel really weird and I tried to tell my friends to stop and it was like one of those dreams where the words don't come out and I had a full blown seizure.
And two days later I had a brain surgery.
Wow.
And a week after that, I got the diagnosis of a glioblastoma.
But a year and a half on, I have no intention of going anywhere.
I love you.
You look amazing.
God bless you all.
I'm sharing the glioblastoma support group on my Facebook page where we want to help raise awareness, find a cure.
And what I love most about this, Kevin's crying.
Yeah, I know.
He's crying more than you.
That's true love.
And I'm seeing that from all the people you're here.
God bless you all.
We'll be right back.
Thank you.
Two powerhouse moms, Hilaria Baldwin and Daphne Oz, share their sugar busting plan.
Here's how easy it is to do, guys.
The big mistake that led to a major breakthrough.
That's coming up Wednesday on Dr. Oz.
*Cheering*
Take a look at this hot new trend of stress relief.
It's called adult swaddling for relaxation.
It started in Japan where it's known as Otonamaki.
People there are wrapped for about 20 minutes in this breathable sheet.
in clothes that are sort of comfortable.
So I've got some audience members, very brave folks, and they're here trying it out.
I'm going to show you how to do it as well.
It's supposed to make you feel like you're back in the womb, right?
Supposedly helping with anxiety and flexibility.
And some people say they feel, well, like they're in zero gravity.
So Cindy, I don't recognize you dressed like that.
How does it feel?
You know what?
It is relaxing.
It is.
Do you feel like a cauliflower?
You look like one.
No, I don't actually.
I'm comfortable.
All right.
And Diane, do you feel like you're zero gravity, that you think you can float?
I feel pretty good.
Probably if there was a little airflow it would feel even better.
So you're suffocating?
It's warm.
How's that?
No air in there?
Yes, thank you.
That's good.
So would you recommend that I try it?
Absolutely.
Because I wanted you guys to go first.
You guys want me get, you want me in one of these things?
All right.
So on your recommendation, because you're honest about the suffocation, which I was concerned about as well, I'm taking my shoes off.
Yeah, it's a little warm.
A little airflow would be really good.
Here, hold that up so you can breathe.
That's good.
Just hold your breath.
I'll be right back.
All right.
So I'm going to have two audience members who've never done this before swaddle me.
We're going to see how that works out.
All right?
We're going to find out if I can fall asleep and relax.
I'll throw my shoes off here.
Should I trust you guys?
Yeah, I think so.
Are you sure?
What are your names?
Michelle.
Michelle and Diane are helping me.
So you sit, you put the victim in the middle and then you gather the two ends.
First, you gotta put them over your head.
Oh, over my head.
Oh, scoot up.
I gotta scoot up.
I was a bad patient.
Okay.
All right.
Now, if I don't come back for the show tomorrow, call 911.
Send him over here to the studio the studio.
Okay, so you're tying me up and, oh, fairly tight actually.
Not yet.
Not yet, that is so tight.
I can still breathe, so I'm a little better off than one of the other audience members who succumb to this.
We're not going to suffocate you.
Like we did then.
So I just sit here like this.
Oh my goodness.
It is tighter.
Yeah, it is tight.
It is sort of cuddly in here.
Yeah, it's a bit more.
Okay, well here, I'll bow my head.
Okay, I'm too late.
It's too late.
Now do I lean back?
I think so, yeah.
I feel like a ghost.
Like I'm gonna become a ghost.
Oh my goodness.
There.
What do you all, how do I look at everybody?
All right, everybody, try whatever it takes.
Stress the number one ager of all.
And remember, happy and healthy, it starts at home.
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