Halle Berry, 57, Says Doctor Misdiagnosed Perimenopause Symptoms as ‘Herpes’
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Halle Berry, 57, opened up about a health scare that helped her learn she was experiencing perimenopause.
Her ob/gyn mistook Berry’s symptoms for “the worst case of herpes.”
The actress joined First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at Propper Daley’s “A Day of Unreasonable Conversation” summit to discuss menopause and women’s health.
Halle Berry is not shy about aging as a woman. In fact, she’s been open about menopause on Instagram. The 57-year-old is so committed to refocusing the conversation about what is, in fact, a very normal (and unavoidable) part of life for those with a period, that she continues to speak on the topic. Now, the star is revealing the perimenopause symptoms (the early stage of menopause), that her ob/gyn mistook for “the worst case of herpes.”
Berry joined First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at Propper Daley’s “A Day of Unreasonable Conversation” summit to discuss women’s health. During the conversation, Berry opened up about her experience with perimenopause. Berry explained that at 54 years old, she started experiencing painful sex, which prompted her to schedule a visit with her ob/gyn.
“I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina,” the star said of the pain. “I run to my gynecologist and I say, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ It was terrible,” she explained. To Berry’s shock, her doctor told her that she had “the worst case of herpes” he had “ever seen.” Berry recalled replying: “Herpes? I don’t have herpes!’”
After she and her beau tested negative for the sexually transmitted infection, she realized that painful sex and the vaginal dryness she was experiencing were symptoms of 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 also admitted that due to her “ego,” she thought she “was going to skip” perimenopause altogether. “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.”
In closing the conversation, Berry called on the audience to help her “change the way culture views women at this stage of our life.”
Berry has long been a champion for women’s health. Last year the star sat down with Women’s Health to discuss aging and menopause.
“I’m challenging everything I thought I knew about menopause, like: ‘Your life is over. You are disposable. Society no longer has a place for you. You should retire. You should pack it up,’” she said. “I’m challenging all of those stereotypes: ‘You have to look a certain way, you have to feel a certain way.’ No, that’s not true. I’m my best self now that I reached 56 years old.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
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