Halle Berry just shared the mistake that led to her discovering she was in perimenopause.
At a multi-day event called A Day of Unreasonable Conversation hosted by Propper Daley, which brings together changemakers and those in the television industry to discuss the ways media can better reflect society, Berry, 57, sat down with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to discuss women’s health.
Menopause, the Oscar winner admits she thought was a matter of lifestyle. She thought she could outrun menopause, she told the audience. “First of all, my ego told me that I was going to skip it — I’m very safe, I’m healthy, I managed to get myself off of insulin and manage my diabetes since I’m 20 years old,” Berry began, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
So at 54 years old, when she, after having sex with partner Van Hunt, began experiencing pain in her vagina, she had no idea what to attribute it to. She described feeling like there were razor blades in her vagina, according to People. Berry immediately consulted her OB-GYN who mistook her symptoms for herpes, saying she had “the worst case” of the virus he’d ever seen.
At the event, Berry launches into a description of the aftermath: “Herpes? I don’t have herpes!’ Berry recalls saying. She and Hunt got tested came up clean for sexually transmitted infections.
As it turns out, Berry was in perimenopause. It was vaginal dryness, according to People, a typical symptom, that was responsible for the excruciating pain. “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 difference for other women,” Berry said per The Hollywood Reporter.
Perimenopause is the transition period that occurs before menopause begins. During this time, your ovaries will begin to produce fewer hormones, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Perimenopause can occur up to seven years before menopause…
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