An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution
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00:00Right now, one billion women around the world are experiencing menopause.
00:05It comes in the middle of the night, like a ghost.
00:09And it's called perimenopause.
00:13Despite its impact on half the global population, menopause has remained a taboo topic.
00:19I don't know why nobody else be talking about this.
00:24Nobody talks about it, and they should, because it lasts 10 years.
00:28Women have felt ignored and invisible, while suffering from a long list of symptoms.
00:36Anxiety.
00:36Bloating.
00:37Constipation.
00:37Body odor.
00:38Breast soreness.
00:39Depression.
00:39Just depressed.
00:40Difficulty concentrating.
00:42Menopause brain or brain fog.
00:44Do you think you're losing your mind?
00:45Hair loss.
00:46Here's the hair I lost in the shower.
00:49Heart palpitations.
00:50Hot flashes.
00:51And these boys that are my age, honey, they lay in the bed next to a woman and thought,
00:55is that steam coming off of her?
00:58It's hot.
00:59Irregular periods.
01:00Irritability.
01:01Itchy skin.
01:02Libido changes.
01:03Memory lapses.
01:04Mood swings.
01:04Pain during sex.
01:05Sleeplessness.
01:06I couldn't sleep.
01:07Forget sleep.
01:08Weight gain.
01:09Vaginal dryness.
01:10Everything is as dry as the desert.
01:12Tonight, a frank, honest, and sometimes shocking exploration on a misunderstood health issue
01:18that impacts all of us.
01:19I had no estrogen, no progesterone, and no testosterone.
01:23And that makes you real bitter and angry.
01:26I didn't even know what menopause was.
01:29The mood swings and not wanting to, you know, be intimate.
01:34And it was like, I married a monster.
01:37I refuse to have that be my reality.
01:43Welcome to the Menopause Revolution!
01:47And I say revolution and also liberation because for generation after generation, the word
01:56menopause was barely even whispered.
01:59But I know you all can feel that there is a radical shift, right?
02:03There's something happening around menopause, and that is why we are here.
02:09If you live long enough, menopause is coming for you.
02:15New research says that even women as young as 35 can start showing symptoms of paramenopause.
02:23So instead of suffering in silence or wrapping it in shame about getting older, we can stop
02:29the stereotypes and we can change this conversation around mental health, around sleep, around
02:36weight loss, or gain, or losing your hair, sex drive, your brain, and longevity.
02:43So much has changed for the better.
02:46You can make a vibrant, healthy, exciting life.
02:49You can have that in menopause.
02:51I know this to be true.
02:53And I remember when I was 48, I was around 48 when I started getting heart palpitations
02:59and for two years straight, y'all, I did not sleep.
03:04I went to five different doctors in Chicago.
03:08I found a cardiologist and she gave me an angiogram and put me on heart medication that I knew
03:16the next day was not working for me.
03:19So I ended up wearing a heart monitor for weeks and never once, not one time, did a doctor
03:25ever mention to my 48-year-old self that this could be paramenopause or menopause.
03:31So every night for a solid two years with just horrible heart palpitations, I thought I was
03:38going to die.
03:39I didn't.
03:41One day at the office, I picked up a book and the pages opened to palpitations, your heart's
03:47wake-up call, and that was the first time that I learned that those were symptoms, that
03:54the change was coming.
03:56Now, we just saw clips of comedian Leanne Morgan, who is one of the funniest people on
04:01this planet, from her hilarious Netflix special, I'm Every Woman.
04:05I love the fact that you've been able to help us laugh so much around this subject that is
04:14really serious for a lot of us.
04:16You were affected, too.
04:17How?
04:18Um, probably in my late 40s, I started having the heart palpitations and could not sleep,
04:24and I thought something was really bad wrong with me.
04:27And I went to my precious doctor, and I loved him, and he was good for a sinus infection.
04:32But I said, I'm constipated, I'm losing my hair, I can't sleep, I don't feel good, I kept
04:37putting one foot in front of the other, I have no energy.
04:40And he said, you're depressed.
04:41And I said, yeah, I think I'm depressed because I'm constipated, I'm losing my hair.
04:46And then, it was so lucky that I found there was a nurse practitioner in Knoxville, Tennessee,
04:51where I live, and she said, you're in perimenopause, that's what's wrong with you.
04:55And I was so thankful somebody listened to me.
04:58That's the problem, people can't get people to listen to them, doctor after doctor.
05:03So, I have to tell you, we're so excited to have my next guest, because she is an Academy
05:08Award-winning actress.
05:10I was there the historic night that she won that Oscar.
05:13She's also a Hollywood sex symbol.
05:16And she decided that she is going to flip the script and turn menopause from a dirty word
05:22into a flirty word.
05:24Check out Miss Halle Berry.
05:25I'm here because I'm standing up for myself, because I know that when a woman stands up
05:47for herself, she stands up for all women.
05:50And all women go through menopause.
05:53At age 54, Halle went to see her doctor after experiencing extreme pain after sex.
05:59I had razor blades in my vagina after a great night of sex.
06:04And I went to the doctor and he told me, oh, this looks like the worst case of herpes I've
06:08ever seen.
06:09And I thought, well, hold it, what?
06:11After testing negative for the disease, she discovered her symptoms were actually a sign
06:16of perimenopause.
06:17This lit a fire inside Halle.
06:20I'm in my paws!
06:22Okay!
06:23She's been to Capitol Hill, advocating for more research and education.
06:28It's a privilege to age, and we should see it that way.
06:31We should feel like the crowned jewels of our society.
06:35I love that term, crying J.
06:37Welcome, Halle Berry!
06:40Yeah.
06:42Oh, good to see you.
06:45So, you know, our mother's generation and the countless women before them, they just
06:53buckled down and they took it, and you could have just kept it to yourself and been like
07:00every other star and avoided any talk about it, but you didn't.
07:04I think it was, and I've got a bad voice, I'm so sorry.
07:08I think it was because I was so shocked when I found out that my symptoms were perimenopause.
07:15I was alone.
07:16I was afraid.
07:17I thought I was going crazy.
07:19And I thought, my God, if I felt like this, I can imagine that millions of other women
07:24felt this way.
07:25And I was compelled to do something.
07:27And this felt like a moment to stand up, use my platform, use my voice for something
07:32that really matters.
07:33And I think...
07:34To make sure my daughter arrives at a better place than I do.
07:36And I think because, you know, you know you're a sex symbol, right?
07:40I'm not telling you something you don't know.
07:41I think it's because you are Halle Berry, and the fact that you are willing to say it
07:46out loud has really changed it from being a taboo word, a whispered word, to something
07:53that's flirty.
07:54I mean, because Halle Berry has it, I want it.
07:58Right?
07:58Right.
07:59And I want to know, though, when you went to the doctor, and the doctor said that this
08:02was the worst case of herpes he'd ever seen, did you go home and say to your partner,
08:08what the hell?
08:09Oh, no.
08:10Van was in the car, in the parking lot.
08:14I went out to the car, and I was like, so, you got herpes?
08:19He was like, no.
08:21I said, well, let me be the first to tell you.
08:24You have herpes, because my doctor just told me I had herpes.
08:27So then he got tested.
08:28He got tested.
08:29He didn't have herpes.
08:31And I thought, oh, wow.
08:33Then I guess I have herpes.
08:36So then I get a call two hours after his call, and I didn't have herpes either.
08:40And I said, this was my aha moment.
08:42I thought of you, honestly, because any time somebody says aha moment, who do we think
08:45of?
08:45Oprah.
08:46OK.
08:46And I said, OK, doctor.
08:47If it's not herpes, then what is it?
08:49And he said, I don't know.
08:52Wow.
08:53And that wasn't good enough.
08:55OK.
08:55And I heard, too, that one doctor wouldn't even use the word menopause.
09:00Yeah.
09:00Yeah.
09:00That was my eye doctor.
09:01Yeah.
09:01My glands were drying up in my eyes.
09:04And I...
09:04Which is another symptom.
09:05Everything gets dry.
09:06Dry eyes, dry mouth.
09:08I have dry mouth, too, right?
09:09I said, and why?
09:11And he said, well, I mean, you know, just...
09:13I said, why?
09:15He couldn't say it.
09:16And I said, doctor, is it because I'm in menopause or perimenopause?
09:20And he said, yes, yes, but I couldn't say that to Halle Berry.
09:23Look at you.
09:23I can't tell you you're in menopause.
09:25I said, if you can't even say the word, how can you treat me?
09:29How can you give me the care I need when you're too afraid to say the word?
09:31Yes, yes, yes, yes.
09:32So last year, you joined forces with U.S. Senator Patty Murray.
09:36Yes.
09:36Right?
09:37That was to create a standalone bill that all the funds go to menopause research and clinical trials.
09:42Because why?
09:43Nobody believes it's a thing.
09:45Nobody has believed that it's worth studying.
09:47All the politicians on our federal level just have felt like, well, it's just a time of life you just have to go through.
09:54And now you've launched your own platform.
09:57Yes.
09:57I have.
09:58Respin.
09:58Respin.
09:59Yeah.
09:59We're respinning what we knew about menopause.
10:02And it's a platform that's the three Cs.
10:04Care, content, and conversation.
10:07Right?
10:07So it's about having a community.
10:08That's the conversation.
10:09Because I know that women do better when we have other women to talk to.
10:13That's right.
10:13Just talking to you here, having this conversation.
10:15We're all going to leave here feeling better, more informed.
10:18What has been the thing that actually has surprised you most about this phase in your life?
10:24I think that nobody brought it up to me ever.
10:28I thought I was going to skip it.
10:30You thought you were going to skip it?
10:31I thought I was going to skip it.
10:32I thought I was superwoman that way.
10:34I thought if I eat right, I exercise.
10:35I don't do drugs.
10:36I thought I live healthy.
10:38I'm just going to skip that whole thing, whatever that is.
10:40That's not happening to me.
10:41Right?
10:41I just, that's how ignorant I was.
10:43Okay, and what age were you when you first started the symptoms?
10:45How old were you?
10:46Do you remember?
10:47Just after I had my second child, I was probably 48 years old.
10:50Okay, 48.
10:5148.
10:52But I didn't find out for sure until I was 54.
10:54Wow.
10:55And do you find, too, after I got over all of the physical symptoms, something happens
11:00to you emotionally, too?
11:01Yeah.
11:02Does it not?
11:02For me, I had no concern about what anybody thought anymore.
11:06And there was a liberation that came with that, right?
11:08And a liberation when I figured out that I was in perimenopause, and I knew that I didn't
11:13have to stay stuck in this very scary, very alone, rageful place.
11:18Then I felt the power.
11:19I said, wow, I feel like I'm the best me I've ever been.
11:23Yeah, that's what happens.
11:25Yeah.
11:25That's what's on the other side.
11:27Hallie is staying with us.
11:28We're just getting started.
11:30You may be one of the millions who follow her on social media.
11:35OBGYN Dr. Mary Claire Haver is here, and she's the author of the best-selling book, The
11:40New Menopause.
11:41Be right back.
11:44And I said, I'm in menopause, and I'm old, and should I just leave?
11:48And he was like, we're both old, and there's one other line in the book, which I'll save
11:54for the reader, or you can tell it.
11:57He had gray hairs on his...
11:59Dr. Mary Claire Haver is a board-certified OBGYN.
12:08Over 6 million of you are following her on social media, and she's the author of the
12:14New York Times bestseller, The New Menopause, navigating your path through hormonal change
12:21with purpose, power, and facts.
12:23I love that power.
12:24Before we get started, let's watch a tape that Dr. Haver did for us that explains what's
12:30going on inside our bodies.
12:33Watch this.
12:33Females are born with all of their egg supply.
12:37At birth, we have 1 to 2 million eggs.
12:40By the time we're 30, we're down to about 10% of that egg supply.
12:44And by the time we're 40, we're down to about 3% of the original egg supply.
12:50We lose those eggs through the process of ovulation.
12:53About 10,000 eggs die to get one egg to ovulate each month, and also we lose from the aging
12:59process as well.
13:00In a healthy pre-menopausal woman, the menstrual cycle follows a predictable pattern driven
13:06by four key hormones, estrogen and progesterone from the ovaries, and LH and FSH from the brain.
13:13The hypothalamus detects low estrogen levels and signals the pituitary gland to release
13:18LH and FSH.
13:19These hormones stimulate the ovaries to produce estrogen and progesterone.
13:24This cycle is repeated month after month until we reach perimenopause.
13:29What happens in perimenopause is we reach a critical low level of egg supply, where signals
13:35from the brain no longer work.
13:37There just aren't enough eggs to respond to those signals.
13:41What used to look like this every month for six months now kind of looks haphazard.
13:46Because the ovaries can't respond, the brain keeps sending more and more and higher and
13:52higher signals to the ovaries to force the ovulation.
13:55Ovulations are delayed, the progesterone levels never quite reach where they used to
13:59be, and the estrogen levels fluctuate wildly.
14:03That is why we call perimenopause the zone of chaos.
14:07Dr. Haver, what you're saying is that literally when you stop producing as many eggs, that is
14:13the onset of perimenopause.
14:15We start out with a lot, and then we have this process called atresia, where it's a survival
14:20of the fittest for the healthiest eggs.
14:22And then we ovulate, and we lose a bunch more in that process.
14:25So perimenopause begins when we reach critical low threshold.
14:29So the signals coming from the brain, the ovaries become resistant.
14:33So the brain has to really work harder and harder and harder, and that's when we see
14:37the mental health challenges, the cognition changes, well before your period stops.
14:42Well before.
14:43Okay.
14:43Okay, so we heard you explain why you call perimenopause the zone of chaos, and what does
14:50that chaos actually do to our bodies?
14:54So the brain likes to know what's coming, and in a regular and orderly fashion, we work
14:59better as humans that way.
15:01And when the hormones start fluctuating wildly, we see neurotransmitters change like dopamine
15:06and norepinephrine and serotonin, and that's where we see about a 40% increase in mental
15:12health changes across the menopause transition, so through perimenopause, and we also see the
15:18brain fog, the cognition changes, and what we're now calling the new onset of ADHD as well.
15:24It affects every cell in your body.
15:28You list over 60 symptoms in the new menopause.
15:30That's why we're not going to get to all 60 here in this hour, but I think what's really
15:36important is for women to know, information is now available, and information is power.
15:43Okay, is what happened to Hallie common?
15:47So when I was in residency, a four-year OB-GYN residency, we had six hours total in my entire
15:53curriculum in menopause training.
15:56So it's not the fault of the individual clinician.
15:58It's not their fault, but they actually don't know.
16:01I confess, and if any of my former patients are out here, I am so sorry, but I probably,
16:08no, I was a terrible menopause doctor for most of my career.
16:11Until you went through it.
16:13And sadly, it took me going through it.
16:15Is it true that black women and women of color experienced perimenopause earlier?
16:20Yeah, average age of menopause is 51.
16:22That's for women who look like me.
16:23For women of color, it is about 18 months sooner, and we have about a 10-year window of what's
16:29normal, but we're not taught that.
16:32Wow.
16:32You know, it was like 51, and I remember going through menopause at 48 and thinking,
16:37it's too soon.
16:38I'm too young.
16:39Well, Sarah is here.
16:41Yeah.
16:41And I hear that you started symptoms, what, at 39, and you're 43 now?
16:46Yes.
16:46So I started experiencing symptoms like rapid waking, sleepless nights.
16:52And so part of it was that I couldn't figure out why because I'm Hispanic and basically
16:55was getting misdiagnosed.
16:57So how do we speak up as women to advocate for ourselves when there isn't much research
17:01for women like myself?
17:03So educate yourself as much as possible.
17:06It is six to eight average visits before the menopause is actually diagnosed for most patients
17:11when you look at the data.
17:12So it's not reasonable to walk into your amazing OBGYN's office who delivers your babies and
17:17did great care and expect for them to have been taught.
17:21I had to step outside of my training, outside of the box.
17:23So the Menopause Society, menopause.org, has a great list of providers.
17:28There's wonderful new education community platforms like Respen that are being formed that are just
17:33going to be sources for you to advocate, but you're going to have to do some legwork and
17:38be the CEO of your own health care.
17:40What did you want to say?
17:42I think as women, you know, we don't think that we have the right to switch our doctors.
17:47So we stay stuck and we stay with doctors and we accept subpar care.
17:51All of our doctors should understand what's going on with our body.
17:54And when they don't, we have the right to say, okay, thank you very much, but I'm going to
17:58move on and find someone who can give me the care that I deserve.
18:01We have to stand up for ourselves.
18:04Pamela is here.
18:05I hear you started an online community for women of color in menopause.
18:08What's your experience?
18:09Yeah, so I'm 51 now and I started experiencing my first symptoms around 43.
18:15And I'm actually having a hot flash right now in real time.
18:19And I was pretty frustrated because I'd had a decades long relationship with an OBGYN and
18:24I had never, ever heard the word perimenopause.
18:26So in true Gen X fashion, sent me to Google and I wasn't seeing any images or stories that
18:33looked like me.
18:34So to your point around how women of color experience menopause differently, it's been
18:38eight years that I've been in perimenopause.
18:41Longer sufferings.
18:42Yeah.
18:42Long.
18:42You suffer longer.
18:43Hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, rage, which was pretty bad.
18:48And I wanted to help other women.
18:49And so I started blogging about my experience and really emphasize the stories and experiences
18:55of women of color who are going through menopause transition.
18:58Thank you, Tamela.
18:59So let's talk about all the confusion around hormone replacement therapy or HRT.
19:07The Women's Health Initiative conducted a landmark clinical trial of estrogen and progestin,
19:14also called HRT.
19:17In 2002, researchers held a press conference to announce they were halting the study because
19:22they believed hormone therapy could increase a woman's chances of getting breast cancer,
19:26as well as cardiac events, strokes, and clots.
19:29We got a 26% increase in breast cancer, and that's why we stopped the trial.
19:34The 26% increase in breast cancer risk was misleading, creating confusing headlines, leaving
19:41doctors uninformed and panicking their patients.
19:45Rates of women taking HRT plummeted.
19:49The increased risk of breast cancer from the study was overblown and turned out to actually
19:54be less than a tenth of one percent per year, a very slight risk.
20:00In a years-long follow-up study published in 2024, the Journal of the American Medical Association
20:06found that HRT is effective for treating moderate to severe menopausal symptoms.
20:12The findings support that the benefits of the drugs outweigh the risks for most women under
20:18the age of 60.
20:19So the bottom line is, the study happened, they talked about the risk.
20:24They underemphasized the safety, overemphasized the risk, made this big, splashy news story.
20:29And then when they walked it back, nobody actually paid attention to that.
20:33Yes.
20:33So now the message everybody has gotten is...
20:35It still has.
20:36Somehow HRT, the natural estrogen that your ovaries made, is somehow going to try to kill
20:42you.
20:42Yeah.
20:42And that turns out it's not true.
20:44It's incredibly protective of multiple organ systems in the body.
20:47But is estrogen safe for every woman?
20:50The vast majority of women, it is safe.
20:52Yeah.
20:52But I think every woman needs to do your own research for yourself.
20:56Okay, when we come back, we have superstar actress, the daring Naomi Watts, whose menopause symptoms
21:01started when she was 36, right when she wanted to start a family.
21:06But my husband and I met and I was so cute and I was little, I had on little britches and
21:16my thyroid was functioning and I felt good.
21:21And he was so enthralled with me and so in love with me and pursued me and bought me presents
21:27and vacuumed out my car and did all kinds of things for me.
21:32And we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this year.
21:37Thank y'all.
21:41Thank y'all.
21:42And now I truly believe he would not pull me out of a burning vehicle.
21:46That's Leigh Ann Morgan from her hilarious special I'm Every Woman.
21:55Leigh Ann, I hear Dr. Haver actually helped you improve intimacy with Chuck, your husband.
22:02Yes, that little thing, I bet she's going to regret that I have her phone number.
22:06Because I'll say, what about testosterone?
22:09Do you think I ought to get a pellet?
22:11Because all these women are on pellets and then they wear their little husbands out.
22:15And I know women that are on testosterone pellets and they're on fire and then their little
22:21husbands look weak and beautiful.
22:24So if you go to your doctor, how do you know if you need testosterone?
22:28So we recommend testosterone for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder or what
22:34a lay person would call low libido.
22:36Okay.
22:37If you want to do it more.
22:39If you want to want to do it more.
22:41If you want to want to do it more.
22:44You need testosterone.
22:46It's helpful.
22:47Okay.
22:48All right.
22:49Testosterone.
22:49Very good.
22:50Thank you, Leigh Ann.
22:51The lovely and talented Naomi Watts is daring to share her own menopause journey with us
22:56tonight.
22:57Watch this.
22:59A master of her craft.
23:01Ethereal.
23:03No!
23:04Fearless.
23:05I said no!
23:06Naomi Watts has been a star for more than two decades.
23:09She's a Golden Globe, Emmy, and two-time Oscar nominee.
23:16It is no surprise this fierce mother shines in her latest role as a pioneer in the movement
23:23to help demystify the stigma of menopause.
23:26In her widely anticipated new book, Dare I Say It?
23:30Everything I Wish I'd Known About Menopause, Naomi writes about the confusion she felt at
23:35the onset of menopause symptoms.
23:38Let's share the wisdom and let's share the conversation and throw the ladders down to
23:42the younger generation so they can be better equipped.
23:46Welcome, Naomi Watts.
23:48Your book, Dare I Say It?
23:51Everything I Wish I Had Known About Menopause, New York Times bestseller.
23:55Congratulations to you.
23:58You posted this.
23:59Over the course of my career as an actor, I've outrun tsunamis.
24:03I've come face to face with King Kong, but nothing prepared me for early menopause.
24:08Wow.
24:09What was your experience?
24:10Well, at 36, when I was trying to start a family and not getting pregnant, I asked my
24:17doctor what was going on.
24:18He took some blood work and the results came back and suggested that I was, quote, unquote,
24:23close to menopause.
24:25And, of course, I was shocked.
24:28You actually, you wrote in Dare I Say It, you wrote, you were more than shocked.
24:32You cried.
24:32Yes.
24:33You felt shame.
24:33You felt all these.
24:34I was filled with panic and loneliness and shame.
24:37And, you know, and I called my mom.
24:39That was the first call straight away.
24:41I said, why didn't you tell me more?
24:42And she said, well, these are the conversations I never had with you because my mother never had them
24:46with me.
24:47And you actually wrote a chapter on shame because you said you grappled with, you know,
24:52self-worth.
24:53Why did you think menopause affected your sense of self-worth?
24:58Well, because it's this branding that it's all over, that once your reproductive, you know,
25:03organs are no longer in use or working in the way that they started to, that's it.
25:09That is the end.
25:10Go to the corner, pull out the knitting needle.
25:12That you're not really, yeah, pull them out.
25:14Yeah.
25:15And rocking the chair.
25:16Yeah.
25:17I'm like, no, thank you.
25:18Your husband is the Emmy-winning actor.
25:22And in the book, you share a story about the first time you all were going to go to bed
25:27together.
25:27And you shared it in the book.
25:28So share it with us here, if you don't mind.
25:31Poor Billy.
25:33Yes.
25:34It was a moment.
25:35I was, we were getting down to business and I had to excuse myself.
25:39I remembered that I had my estrogen patch on and if anyone has worn one or knows anything
25:44about them, they leave a very sticky, nasty mess.
25:48And...
25:49Where do you wear them?
25:49Right here.
25:50Okay.
25:51In the groin.
25:52Right where you're going to...
25:53Okay, okay.
25:55You can't miss it.
25:56So I slip out and say, just excuse me for a second to, you know, get it off.
26:01You're going to pull the patch off.
26:02Why did you want to pull the patch off?
26:04Because I didn't want it to be seen because that would announce the fact that I was in
26:07menopause and thinking this is going to be so unsexy and turn him off in a second.
26:13Yeah, because he's got to say, excuse me, what's that patch?
26:16Yeah.
26:16And, you know, who knows what he knew about menopause.
26:21So I slipped away, came out sort of frantic after having scratched and scratched and left
26:27a horrible red, nasty mark.
26:29So I came out and he saw that I was flustered and he said, are you okay?
26:34Are you not in the mood?
26:35And I said, no, no, it's just, well, you know, I got menopause.
26:40I'm in menopause.
26:41I'm getting treatment.
26:42I have to wear these patches.
26:43And I said, I'm in menopause and I'm old and should I just leave?
26:48Because you probably don't want me, you know, like who knows what they're thinking.
26:53And he was like, hey, this is, this is good news that you're getting treatment.
26:58Thank you for telling me.
27:00And by the way, we're both old and there's one other line in the book, which I'll save
27:07for the reader or you can tell it.
27:10He had gray hairs on his.
27:13He said it.
27:18He said, Billy, forgive me.
27:21It's in the book.
27:22He said, I have gray hairs on my and you said.
27:26That is the most romantic thing I've ever heard.
27:30I know.
27:31And thank you for your compassion and empathy.
27:36And that was the beginning.
27:38And, you know, seven years later, we're married.
27:39I think that that is the beginning of true intimacy.
27:41That's it?
27:42Yes.
27:42It really is.
27:43Yes.
27:44Yes.
27:44So you also created something called Stripes Beauty.
27:47Yes.
27:47Tell us what that is.
27:48I called it Stripes because we've earned our stripes, ladies.
27:52We should feel good about ourselves at this point in time.
27:56We provide education, community.
28:00We've got hair products, body products, vaginal products.
28:03Everything you need.
28:04Yes.
28:05All that you need.
28:06Okay.
28:06Did you all know this?
28:07Two out of three Alzheimer's patients are women.
28:11That's a sobering statistic.
28:14Think about that.
28:14Two out of three.
28:15Is menopause connected to our brain health?
28:18We talk about that next with Maria Shriver.
28:25Dr. Pellen Batur is a top women's health specialist.
28:29Nice to see you.
28:30You too.
28:31At the Cleveland Clinic.
28:32Talk to me.
28:33How can I help?
28:34About a year ago, I started experiencing hot flashes, fatigue.
28:40Everything just hurts all of the time.
28:42There are 6,000 women going into menopause each day in the United States.
28:47That equals about 63 million women in the U.S.
28:53In response to this overwhelming demand, Cleveland Clinic launched the Women's Comprehensive Health
28:58and Research Center, an innovative and holistic program that reimagines health care for women.
29:05Menopause impacts so many cells in our body, and everybody's experience is so unique.
29:10So people are really at a loss for who to go to.
29:13About half of American women are not happy with their sex life in some regards.
29:17So please speak up.
29:19There are vaginal hormones available, including a vaginal ring, for example, that you leave in for three months.
29:26Just gives a tiny dose of estrogen.
29:28We have non-hormonal treatment options, too.
29:30We have a daily medication that can be taken.
29:33We have injectables that can be used.
29:35The center's chief visionary and strategic advisor is women's health and Alzheimer's prevention advocate, Maria Shriver.
29:43You must be determined when it comes to your health.
29:47You must be a fighter.
29:49You must fight for what you deserve, and you must see yourself as a loyal partner with your doctor.
29:56Maria Shriver is here, my friend.
29:59And I'm so proud of you because you helped co-found that whole clinic.
30:03I know you worked for years to make that happen.
30:05Yeah, that's a revolutionary center, and I'm hopeful that these kind of centers will begin popping up all across this country,
30:12because we need to be revolutionaries when it comes to women's health in general at every decade of our lives.
30:18Absolutely.
30:19You know, Maria and I have been saying for years, you cannot outrun, outfox, out-yoga, out-meditate menopause.
30:26It's coming for you, no matter what.
30:28So what do you want to say about this moment now for women in menopause?
30:32Well, I want to say to women, first of all, that it's a blessing, because it means you've lived long enough to actually go through.
30:38Can we just emphasize that more?
30:42Because I think when women deny their age and lie about their age, you are denying time spent here on Earth and everything that you've learned and everything that you've gained.
30:51Well, it's understandable, because we need a radical reshift about women's aging, right, in this culture, because women aren't valued, they aren't seen, they feel invisible,
30:59they feel that when it comes to their health care, and this is a moment, not just for menopause, that's great, but it's for Alzheimer's, it's for osteoporosis, it's for endometriosis, it's for aging, it's for all of these diseases that disproportionately impact women.
31:15I love what Hallie was saying earlier, too, about this will be a different story for her daughter.
31:20She knew absolutely nothing, but it will be a different story for her daughter.
31:23I know you have two beautiful daughters now in their 30s.
31:26Are you all having conversations about it already?
31:28They're like, stop, please, could you please stop?
31:32I'm talking to my sons, and they're like, I don't want to know any of this.
31:35I said, yes, you do.
31:36And to my brothers, I talk about it to everybody, because my mother never said a word to me about anything.
31:42What we're now finding out is that women didn't connect the dots between their brain and their vagina.
31:47No, we didn't.
31:48They did not, and people don't make the connection between their brain and their body at all, and that is my work.
31:53So when I discovered that women were at the front and center of Alzheimer's, I started the Women's Alzheimer's Movement to fund research into women's brains because nobody was looking at women's brains.
32:04They thought Alzheimer's was something that just happened.
32:07So we have funded research to be able to view what actually happens, how it changes, starting at perimenopause through menopause.
32:17We can now see that.
32:19Dr. Rhonda Boskel is a neurologist for the UCLA Comprehensive Menopause Care Program.
32:27Welcome, doctor.
32:28What happens in our brains during menopause?
32:30So our brains are affected by the loss of estrogen, just like loss of estrogen is bad for skin, bone, vagina.
32:39Lo and behold, it's bad for the brain.
32:41And by that, we hear about brain fog.
32:43Those are the clinical symptoms.
32:44They include not being able to think of a word, that they include losing train of thought.
32:50There are these very discreet problems that occur, and they undermine confidence.
32:54Women get to this certain stage in their life.
32:56They're 50.
32:56They're at the top of the careers, and then they're undercut with confidence because they have these focal problems.
33:02What it's not is it's not decreased IQ.
33:05The women are just as smart as they ever were.
33:06It's also not just because they're not sleeping.
33:09I agree.
33:09Sleep is very good for cognition, not having it as bad, but it's more than that.
33:13Why is it more than that?
33:14Because we see it on neuroimaging.
33:16There are structural and functional changes in the brain that occur with menopause.
33:20So women who have been menopause for longer periods of time, over 10 years, versus shorter periods of time, less than five years, they have atrophy in areas of the brain.
33:28The bottom line is atrophy of areas of the brain are more when they've gone through menopause for a long period of time.
33:35Wow.
33:35Now what it's not, it's not whole brain atrophy, it's not global anything, and that's why it's all been missed.
33:41Because it's cognitive domain specific problems and it's regional brain problems, and this needs to be fixed.
33:47Okay, and you say it's crucial to see menopause treatment after the first hot flash or first symptom of menopause, right?
33:58Absolutely correct, as is the case with any neurodegenerative disease.
34:02As a neurologist, I can tell you it's very difficult to let things happen and try to repair them.
34:07You've got to go in early, and perimenopause is a good point.
34:10Okay, yeah, the other thing that I think is something we should talk about is that at the same time that women are going through perimenopause, they're dealing with a lot of other things that are on their plate.
34:21They're caregiving for parents, they're raising children, they're working full time, and so they may mistake what they're going through in their life for depression.
34:31And so doctors need to begin to ask them questions.
34:35Is it perimenopause? Is it menopause? What is actually going on that you're dealing with?
34:43Listen to this. According to a Mayo Clinic study, menopause costs American women almost $2 billion in lost working time a year.
34:52Keita is here. What's your question for Dr. Bustle?
34:55Well, I've been a litigation attorney for years, and of course in that role, I have to be able to think on my feet during arbitrations and trials.
35:05But I started experiencing symptoms that included brain fog, lowered ability to tolerate stress, and that's devastating for a litigation attorney.
35:15My question for you, will I ever get back to where I was before when this is over, perimenopause, when it's over?
35:23Well, thank you for the question. I see so many women like you. They're lawyers. They're teachers. They basically have to be able to speak.
35:31They can't lose their train of thought in the middle of a sentence. And will it get better?
35:35I'll tell you, the hot flashes will go away in three to five years, but these cognitive changes, these structural changes in the brains don't suddenly get better.
35:42So what can be done is to, first of all, get on it early, but the second thing is the cognitive exercise and the physical exercise is very important.
35:49I will say, though, as Oprah said, we can't exercise our way out of this. They say, oh, just go exercise more.
35:53It's like, whoa, this is a serious problem. I do think it needs a drug, and I think for those who can take HRT, we need that help.
36:00You need both. You need the hormone and you need the exercise.
36:04Okay, and I heard, too, that 73% of women blame menopause for their divorce.
36:10That's a lot.
36:11That is a lot.
36:1354-year-old Lynn is in our audience and says that this is her story. Lynn?
36:18Yes. Menopause was a very difficult time for me, and my mental health really, I struggled with my mental health during menopause.
36:28My lows were very, very low.
36:30Meaning you were depressed?
36:32I was very depressed. I went through lots of rage.
36:36Lots of rage?
36:36Roller-coastered. So one minute, I would be rage crying, yelling at my husband that he didn't understand.
36:44My male gynecologist was really dismissive.
36:48The only thing that he told me about menopause was when I talked with him about sex hurting,
36:54was that I should use a lubricant, and that was the extent of our menopause discussion.
37:01I ultimately got suicidal.
37:04Really?
37:04For the first time, yeah.
37:06Oh, I'm so sorry.
37:07And, um, gratefully, uh, I found my way through that, and I switched doctors, and the female
37:15gynecologist that I went to, she spent an hour and a half with me at my visit.
37:19What do you want to say to women like Lynn, Dr. Haber?
37:23This is such a common story.
37:25We see a 40% increase in mental health disorders, and, you know, for me and for many of my patients,
37:33menopause has become a necessary time to circle the wagons around yourself.
37:37For the first time, you have to put yourself first.
37:40Yep.
37:40Or you're not going to survive.
37:41And maybe that means leaving a relationship that wasn't serving you.
37:45And I'm sorry that it took so long for you to find the right help that you needed.
37:51But you sitting here looking so vibrant and beautiful and brave to share your story is everything.
37:56Because there are women right now, tonight, listening to you, and it is resonating with them.
38:03And you're going to give them hope because they're not alone.
38:08And it's just everything.
38:10So thank you.
38:11Yeah.
38:13That's why this, thank you, ABC, for allowing the show on the air, because I think it's so important.
38:19You all can even see sitting here in this audience to educate yourself so that when you or somebody you know is going through it,
38:26you don't think that I need to kill myself over it.
38:29You realize that you just need to get information and get yourself to the right doctor.
38:34We're so glad that you held on.
38:36Yeah, me too.
38:37You kept going.
38:44This is what we talk about all the time.
38:46The thermostat.
38:49And I'll just be honest with you.
38:51We fight.
38:51We fight about it.
38:52Well, I say that.
38:53I beat him down.
38:55I beat him down.
38:56But I want to keep it on 68 because I want to live through the night.
39:03He wants to put it back up into the 70s.
39:05And I know he's cold and I feel terrible over it.
39:09I know he's cold.
39:11And I have that on 68.
39:12I have a fan coming this way and I have a fan coming that way.
39:16And he's just, his hair is just blowing in the wind.
39:19Every woman.
39:25I'm every woman.
39:26That's Leanne Morgan.
39:27Two fans.
39:28We all need them, don't we?
39:29Thank you, Leanne.
39:32Naomi, I'm going to let you have a last word.
39:36I would say to the younger generation, you do not have to fear it.
39:39We are the last generation that has had to suffer in silence and flail our way through.
39:46They can feel empowered.
39:47And in the book, I say the five T's.
39:50So watch the timelines.
39:52Don't fear them.
39:53Just pay attention to them.
39:54Be tender with yourself and others.
39:57Find good teachers, people you trust, whether that's a doctor or a mentor of some kinds.
40:02Or us.
40:03Or us, yes.
40:04Yeah.
40:05And find your tribe.
40:07We are nothing without the strength of community.
40:10And then lastly, truth.
40:12Expect truth from others and yourself and just share that.
40:18All right.
40:19Ms. Halle Berry.
40:21I would like everybody to leave here with an action item.
40:24Because I think part of dealing with menopause is we have to change culture.
40:28Right?
40:28We have to de-stigmatize it.
40:30And so I think a really good way that we can all take from this moment.
40:34You know how we all have baby showers?
40:36We have wedding showers.
40:37We have bat mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, bachelorette parties, sweet 16s.
40:42Imagine a world that when a woman realized she was in the menopause, 365 days of that period
40:50gone, your family was responsible for throwing you a siesta.
40:55I love it.
40:58So that gives you something to look forward to where you are celebrated in a big way, small
41:05way, whatever your family thinks would be perfect for you.
41:08But you get a siesta.
41:09And I think if your family doesn't want to do it, siesta your damn self.
41:14I love that.
41:19There's so much more to talk about on menopause.
41:21If you or someone you know is going through it or will be going through it, that means
41:25all you men also.
41:28Thank you for the men in our audience.
41:29I can see y'all are learning a lot.
41:32Come on over to the Oprah podcast.
41:34We have some in-depth episodes on menopause coming up.
41:39But I thank all of my guests today and thank you for being such a great audience and all
41:43of you watching who joined us for this revolutionary conversation.
41:49Go well, everybody.