Halle Berry, 59, experienced symptoms that doctors initially assumed were related to an STI – before the real cause of her discomfort was understood.
Berry has opened up about a deeply personal and rarely discussed health journey. She shared that she was once wrongly diagnosed with an STI, only to later discover the true cause of her symptoms.
This occurred early in her relationship with Van Hunt. She began experiencing pain during sex and discomfort while urinating.
“I tried to go to the bathroom and I couldn’t go,” she recalled on The Drew Barrymore Show, according to VT. “It was so painful when I tried to let a little bit out. It took me almost 10 minutes just to empty my bladder.”
She described being “so swollen” that she “couldn’t even put [her] legs together to drive.” After an exam, she was diagnosed with “a really bad case of herpes.”
Berry admitted that the news put both her and Hunt in a difficult position, leaving them to question how the virus could have been transmitted. But the story took an unexpected turn: her doctor called back to say that neither Berry nor Hunt had herpes after all. The real cause, she learned, was perimenopause, which Mayo Clinc describes as “the time before menopause when your body is getting ready to stop having periods. Perimenopause is sometimes called the menopausal transition.”
Perimenopause symptoms
According to the Mayo Clinic, this stage can bring irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep problems, mood changes, changes in sexual function, vaginal and bladder problems and physical discomfort. For some women, like Berry, it also leads to vaginal dryness and pain during sex – a condition referred to as “vaginal atrophy” or “dry vagina syndrome.”
“My doctor had no knowledge and didn’t prepare me,” Berry said, according to VT. “That’s when I knew I have to use my platform to make a difference for other women.”
Since then, Berry has focused on raising awareness about women’s healthcare. In March 2024, she joined First Lady Jill Biden at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit in Los Angeles.
“I want to change the way women and men feel about women during their midlife,” she said, emphasizing that many women are left confused and unsupported when perimenopause symptoms first appear.
Her honesty has resonated with women worldwide who have faced similar confusion or embarrassment. Experts note that perimenopause is often misdiagnosed as anxiety, depression, or even STIs. By sharing her story, Berry hopes to normalize the conversation. “We have to talk about it. This is something every woman goes through, and no one should feel ashamed.”
READ MORE
- ‘Frank’s Sign’ on Trump’s ear could be huge indicator of potentially fatal health condition
- Woman thought she was a pedophile until she received shock diagnosis of medical condition
