The “Die Another Day” star recently sat down with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in Los Angeles at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit— bringing television writers and producers together with those working to impact social change on conversations around politics, race, education, and health – in an effort to ensure more authentic storylines. During the event, Berry opened up about a visit with her gynecologist that she will never forget.
The actress went to her gynecologist after experiencing severe pain she described as feeling like “razor blades in my vagina.” And after a series of tests, he told her she had herpes.
“He said, ‘You messed up again. You have the worst case of herpes I have ever seen,’” Berry said.
Knowing that she and her partner, R&B singer, Van Hunt, had been tested, the news knocked Berry off her feet. Fortunately, she was eventually able to confirm that what she was experiencing wasn’t herpes, but perimenopause—the period of transition from a woman’s reproductive years to menopause.
Actress Halle Berry is out to educate people on the reality of perimenopause, and she’s doing so by sharing a very personal story about a terrifying misdiagnosis of her own.
According to Johns Hopkins, perimenopause can last between two and 10 years until a woman’s final period. During that time, women can experience a variety of symptoms, including mood changes, night sweats, headaches and joint pain.
After that terrifying doctor’s visit, Berry decided to use her platform to educate others. But while her story is both terrifying and frustrating, Berry isn’t alone. Women and people of color are between 20 and 30 percent more likely than white men to be misdiagnosed by their doctors, according to Dr. David Newman-Toker, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Berry said she hopes sharing her story will change “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… it can’t just be the doom and gloom story. This is a glorious time of life.”