Halle Berry describes the unusual method she discovered she was in perimenopause.
During Propper Daley’s fourth “A Day of Unreasonable Conversation” event on Monday, the actress discussed menopause and women’s health candidly with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
The 57-year-old revealed that she discovered she was in perimenopause when her doctor misdiagnosed her symptoms as herpes. Perimenopause is the time when the body begins its natural transition to menopause, which signals the end of a woman’s reproductive years.
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“First of all, my ego told me that I was going to skip [perimenopause],” she said. “I’m in excellent shape. I am healthy. I’ve been off insulin and managing my diabetes since I was 20 years old. So that makes you think, “Oh, I can handle menopause.” I’m going to skip that entire thing. I was totally unaware of it at the time.”
Berry revealed that at 54, she met the “man of my dreams” and began dating Grammy-winning guitarist Van Hunt. The Oscar winner shared specifics about her sex life, including feeling terrible discomfort after intercourse one day and immediately visiting her doctor.
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“It feels like I have razor blades in my vagina.” I run to my gynecologist and exclaim, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on?’ “It was terrible,” she recalled, joking that she has “no shame” in sharing her tale because it can help other ladies. “He told me, ‘You have the worst case of herpes I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, “Herpes?” “I do not have herpes!”
Berry claimed she immediately confronted Hunt about it. The couple later tested negative for the sexually transmitted disease (STD).
“I realized after the fact, that is a symptom of perimenopause,” the actress said, noting that dryness is a symptom of the transitional period. “My doctor lacked information and did not prepare me. That was when I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to use my platform. I need to use all of who I am and start making a difference for other women.”
Berry concluded the conversation by urging the audience to “help us change the way culture views women at this stage of our lives.”
Back in August 2023, the star spoke with Women’s Health on menopause and stated that she will not give in to society’s expectations about it.
In fact, Berry said she’s “challenging all those stereotypes about how you have to look a certain way or feel a certain way” while she’s “smack dab in the middle of menopause.”
“I’m challenging everything I thought I knew about menopause. Things like ‘Your life is over.’ ‘You’re disposable.’ ‘Society no longer has room for you.’ ‘You should retire.’ “You should pack it up,” she said at the time.
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