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The Independent
26-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Halle Berry reveals the ‘defining moment' she had when doctor misdiagnosed her with herpes
Halle Berry has shared the 'defining moment' she had after her doctor misdiagnosed her with herpes. The 58-year-old actor recalled the incident when experiencing menopausal symptoms, during Tuesday's episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. She shared that after one morning when it 'took 10 minutes to empty her bladder,' she decided to go to the doctor. 'I thought, 'What is this?'' Berry explained. 'And [the doctor's] doing the exam, looking up there, and he said, 'Yep, I know what this is.' And I'm like, 'What?' He said, 'It's a really bad case of herpes.'' Following the appointment, Berry said that she and her boyfriend, Van Hunt, 'spent the next 72 hours kind of doing the blame game.' 'We were trying to figure out who gave it to me, who gave it to him,' she continued. 'And then a couple hours after that, my doctor called me and said: 'You do not have herpes.'' The Catwoman star questioned her symptoms before her doctor's response encouraged her to do more research. 'This was a defining moment for me. I'm like, 'What is this?' He said, 'I don't know, that's what it looked like,'' she added, referring to her doctor's misdiagnosing her with herpes. 'That sent me on my own reconnaissance, my own researching. And that's when I came up with dry vagina syndrome that women have when they're in perimenopause.' Berry acknowledged that she had all the symptoms of perimenopause, although 'nobody had really had serious conversations' about those symptoms when she was 54. According to John Hopkins Medicine, some symptoms of perimenopause include vaginal dryness, hot flashes, headaches, night sweats, changes in sexual desire, and night sweats. The Die Another Day star has previously shared how she was misdiagnosed with herpes. While appearing at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit in Los Angeles in March 2024, she shared her desire to shift the often negative narrative surrounding menopause – the life stage after a person's menstrual cycles end. She said that menopause and perimenopause cannot 'just be the doom and gloom story' and that it is in fact 'a glorious time of life.' Berry then began to explain how she discovered that she was perimenopausal, first quipping that she thought she was going to skip the experience: '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.' The Gothika star once again acknowledged that she had to do her own research, after being misdiagnosed with herpes, as she and Hunt both tested negative for the disease. '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, who is the founder of Respin Health — a company that redefines menopause and female longevity — said.
Buzz Feed
26-02-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
Halle Berry Revealed The Shocking Comment Her Doctor Made After He Mistakenly Told Her She Had Herpes, And It's Infuriating
Halle Berry is opening up further about the time her doctor mistook her perimenopause symptoms for herpes. As board-certified OB/GYN Dr. Mary Claire Haver previously explained to BuzzFeed, 'Perimenopause is when you begin to notice some of the symptoms when your body is starting to register that something's changing in your hormonal life. It can take 7 to 10 years until your period stops.' In other words, it refers to the time that the body naturally transitions into menopause. Last year, Halle — who is now 58 — recalled feeling like she had 'razor blades' in her vagina after having sex with her partner, Van Hunt, 54. 'One day, we're having sex like normal. 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 said at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation event in LA. Halle noted that she immediately went to see her doctor, who mistakenly told her that she had 'the worst case of herpes' he'd ever seen. 'He says, 'Halle, you have a new guy, right?' I said, 'I do, I'm really excited.' He said, 'You messed up again... You have the worst case of herpes I have ever seen,' she recalled. 'Neither one of us has herpes...I realized, after the fact, that [the sensation] is a symptom of perimenopause,' she said. 'My doctor had no knowledge and didn't prepare me. That's when I knew, 'Oh my gosh, I've gotta use my platform. I have to use all of who I am and I have to start making a change and a difference.'' Indeed, Halle has continued to use her platform to educate people on perimenopause, even recently launching the brand Respin, which is described as 'an empowering community redefining menopause and female longevity.' Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show this week to discuss her advocacy for perimenopause care, Halle shared more details about her shocking experience at the doctor's after she started experiencing perimenopause symptoms. After being told that she had 'a really bad case of herpes,' Halle revealed that she and Van spent days playing the 'blame game.' She told Drew, 'We spent the next 72 hours kind of playing the blame game — trying to figure out who gave it to me, who gave it to him. And then, a couple hours after that, my doctor called me and said, 'You do not have herpes.'' 'I'm like, 'OK, then what is it?'' she said before revealing her doctor's infuriating response: 'He said, 'I don't know. That's what it looked like.'' Noting that this was a 'defining moment' for her, Halle said, 'That sent me on my own reconnaissance and my own researching.' Halle also candidly shared that she and Van 'struggled' with making sex 'more enjoyable' for months. 'I did have about six months or seven months, we struggled with finding a way to have sex again, getting rid of the dryness, making it more enjoyable — because it got pretty rough for a minute,' she said. Meanwhile, Drew noted, 'If I may give a description, it feels like sandpaper.' Halle agreed, 'Razor blades.' Drew, who is also open about going through perimenopause, went on to discuss the tough "mental game" that comes with it. She said, 'There's also a tremendous mental game that goes with that, which is, I don't wanna put myself through that. Well, that's very hard for partners because they don't know what you're going through, and they don't know why you don't wanna engage in physicality, which can put a giant chasm in your relationship.' Drew added, "And that's why we need more care, more conversation, more attention — in the government, medically, insurance-wise, on commercials — so that we can talk about this and make it benign." Halle agreed and said, 'Conversation is key. Men have to also understand what's going on. We as women have to have the courage to talk to our partners about it.' Halle and Drew are receiving heaps of praise for their refreshingly honest conversation. One person commented on YouTube, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you for talking about perimenopause. So many women are struggling!!' while another added, 'Love this episode! Women need to know these stories!' 'Thank you for sharing this and having honest conversations,' someone else said, with one more person writing, 'Thank you ladies for talking about this topic so freely!.. We need empowerment to talk about women's issues without feeling self conscious about it. Our health matters!'
