Entertainment
Halle Berry shares health announcement as she fights to end ‘shame’ after herpes misdiagnosis-Rebecca Sayce-Entertainment – Metro
The star is among many opening up about this health issue.
Halle Berry has been candid about her health in recent months (Picture: Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Lionsgate)
Halle Berry bellowed ‘I’m in menopause’ on the steps of the US Capitol in order to raise awareness of ‘this stage of life.’
The actress, 57, joined a group of senators to push for legislation that would give $275million (£219.4million) toward research and education surrounding menopause.
Menopause is when a woman stops having periods as her hormone levels lower, and usually happens between the ages of 45 to 55 but can happen earlier.
‘I’m in menopause, OK?’ the Moonfall star announced. ‘The shame has to be taken out of menopause. We have to talk about this very normal part of our life that happens.’
She added, ‘Our doctors can’t even say the word to us, let alone walk us through the journey.’
The Catwoman star told how she was initially given a false diagnosis of herpes, before finally discovering that she was in perimenopause.
The Catwoman actor shouted that she is in menopause outside the Capitol Building (Picture: AP)
She joined senators to fight for essential funding and legislation into menopause care (Picture: AP)
The actor said she first noticed the symptoms of perimenopause, which comes before menopause, after having sex with boyfriend Van Hunt.
‘I have this great sex. I wake up in the morning, I go to the bathroom, and guess what? I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina,’ she recalled during a conversation with First Lady Jill Biden at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation event in Los Angeles earlier this year (per Yahoo Entertainment).
The John Wick actor previously revealed how she discovered she was experiencing perimenopause through a herpes misdiagnosis (Picture: Instagram/Halle Berry)
She continued: ‘I run to my gynaecologist and I say, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ It was terrible … He said, “You messed up again … you have the worst case of herpes I have ever seen.”‘
After Halle and her partner were tested for the sexually transmitted infection, she realised that the symptoms she was experiencing were actually due to perimenopause.
She admitted that she believed she would ‘skip’ menopause due to her ‘ego’ and healthy lifestyle.
The Hollywood icon said sex with her partner Van Hunt led to the health discovery (Picture: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)
‘First of all, my ego told me that I was gonna skip [menopause],’ the Monster’s Ball actor said.
‘I’m in great shape. I’m healthy. … So that makes one think, Oh, I can handle menopause. I’m going to eat right, exercise, and I’m gonna skip that whole thing. You don’t skip it. But I was so uneducated at that time. I wish I knew then when I know now.’
What are the symptoms of menopause?
According to the NHS, the first sign of perimenopause and menopause is changes to the normal pattern of your periods, such as becoming irregular, before stopping altogether.
Mental health symptoms include:
Changes to your mood, like low mood, anxiety, mood swings and low self-esteem
Problems with memory or concentration (brain fog)
Physical symptoms
Common physical symptoms of menopause and perimenopause include:
Hot flushes, when you have sudden feelings of hot or cold in your face, neck and chest which can make you dizzy
Difficulty sleeping, which may be a result of night sweats and make you feel tired and irritable during the day
Palpitations, when your heartbeats suddenly become more noticeable
Headaches and migraines that are worse than usual
Muscle aches and joint pains
Changed body shape and weight gain
Skin changes including dry and itchy skin
Reduced sex drive
Vaginal dryness and pain, itching or discomfort during sex
Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
Sensitive teeth, painful gums or other mouth problems
Halle is one of many celebrities who are talking openly about menopause in the aim of raising awareness and helping other women navigate their symptoms.
Drew Barrymore has invested in Evernow, a menopause telemedicine company, while Naomi Watts has founded Stripes, a company offering holistic menopause solutions such as vitamin blends and hydrating creams.
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