Halle Berry has opened up about a pivotal moment in her life, stemming from a harrowing misdiagnosis of herpes by her physician. During Tuesday's episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the esteemed 58-year-old actress recounted the harrowing ordeal that unfolded when she sought medical attention amidst her menopausal symptoms.
Berry vividly described a particular morning when it took her an excruciating ten minutes to empty her bladder, prompting her to seek professional help. "I thought, 'What could this be?'" she pondered. During the examination, her doctor looked upwards and solemnly declared, "I know what this is." When Berry inquired further, the doctor dropped a bombshell: "It's a severe case of herpes."
For the next 72 hours, Berry and her boyfriend, Van Hunt, found themselves ensnared in a blame game, trying to piece together how either of them could have contracted the virus. However, their turmoil was abruptly halted when Berry received a call from her doctor, reversing the diagnosis: "You do not have herpes."
The Catwoman star expressed her bewilderment, questioning her symptoms until her doctor's erroneous initial assessment spurred her to embark on her own investigative journey. "This was a transformative moment for me," she emphasized. "My doctor admitted, 'I don't know, but that's what it looked like,'" referring to the misdiagnosis. Berry's own research eventually led her to discover vaginal dryness syndrome, a common issue for women during perimenopause.
Berry acknowledged that she exhibited all the telltale signs of perimenopause, yet lamented that serious conversations about these symptoms were lacking when she was 54. According to John Hopkins Medicine, perimenopause symptoms include vaginal dryness, hot flashes, headaches, night sweats, alterations in sexual desire, among others.
Berry has previously shared her misdiagnosis at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit in Los Angeles in March 2024, voicing her aspiration to reshape the often-negative perception surrounding menopause—the life stage following the cessation of menstrual cycles. She insisted that menopause and perimenopause should not solely be synonymous with doom and gloom but rather celebrated as a magnificent phase of life.
With a touch of humor, Berry recounted her initial belief that she might bypass the perimenopausal experience entirely due to her healthy lifestyle and diabetes management since the age of 20. However, her misdiagnosis once again highlighted the necessity for self-research, as both she and Hunt tested negative for herpes.
"My doctor was unaware and unprepared," Berry admitted, now the founder of Respin Health—a company dedicated to redefining menopause and female longevity. "That's when I realized, 'I must leverage my platform, utilize my full potential, and initiate change for other women.'"
