Halle Berry has spoken candidly about her experience with perimenopause, which she revealed was misdiagnosed as the "worst case of herpes."
The actor shared her health scare during an appearance at a women's health discussion with first lady Jill Biden at the "A Day of Unreasonable Conversation" summit in Los Angeles on Monday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"First of all, my ego told me that I was going to skip (perimenopause) — 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," Berry said. "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."
Perimenopause refers to the time before menopause, including the transition and the year after a person's final menstrual period. It usually begins a few years before menopause, which typically happens between the ages of 45 and 55.
Berry revealed that she discovered her perimenopause inadvertently when she started experiencing "extreme pain" following sexual activity. Despite seeking medical attention to address the matter, the "Moonfall" star explained that the symptom was mistakenly diagnosed as the sexually transmitted infection herpes.
"I run to my gynecologist, and I say, 'Oh my God, what's happening?' It was terrible. He said, 'You have the worst case of herpes I've ever seen.' I'm like, 'Herpes? I don't have herpes!' "
Berry and her partner, singer-songwriter Van Hunt, were later examined for herpes, but the couple 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,'" she added.
Berry later took to Instagram to share photos of the discussion and to praise Biden for her "groundbreaking work for women's health issues."
"So grateful to continue the conversation on a topic that is near and dear to my heart and one that affects half the entire population," Berry wrote.