NEWS
Halle Berry Says Doctor Mistook Perimenopause Symptom For Herpes
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Halle Berry shared details about her experience with perimenopause, including a time when her doctor mistook the signs for a severe case of herpes, a sexually transmitted infection.
The “Catwoman” star, 57, shared her story during a conversation about women’s health with first lady Jill Biden at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit at the Getty Center in Los Angeles on Monday.
The actress revealed that she was surprised by perimenopause, when the body begins its transition into menopause at the end of a woman’s reproductive years.
“First of all, my ego told me that I was going to skip [perimenopause],” the Oscar winner said. “I’m in great shape. I’m healthy. I managed to get myself off of insulin and manage my diabetes since I’m 20 years old. So that makes one think, oh, I can handle menopause. I’m going to skip that whole thing. I was so uneducated about it at that time.”
But she wasn’t the only one. Berry’s doctor also didn’t realize at first that she was experiencing the symptoms of perimenopause.
Berry said that when she was 54, she met the “man of my dreams” and began dating musician Van Hunt. When she experienced severe pain after sex one day, she made an appointment with her doctor.
“I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina. I run to my gynecologist and I say, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ It was terrible,” she said, adding that she has “no shame” sharing intimate details of her sex life if it can help other women. “He said, ‘You have the worst case of herpes I’ve ever seen.’ I’m like, ‘Herpes? I don’t have herpes!’”
Her first reaction was to confront Hunt, but they both tested negative for herpes.
“I realize after the fact, that is a symptom of perimenopause,” Berry said. She pointed out that vaginal dryness is a symptom of the perimenopause.
“My doctor had no knowledge and didn’t prepare me. That’s when I knew, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to use my platform. I have to use all of who I am, and I have to start making a change and a difference for other women.’”
Berry asked the audience to “help us change the way culture views women at this stage of our life.”
“Changing the way women and men feel about women during their midlife and how they feel about this — which used to be a dirty little word — menopause, perimenopause, and we in this room have to change that,” Berry said. “It can’t just be the doom and gloom story. This is a glorious time of life.”
TMX contributed to this article.
