Over the last few years, prominent women have spoken out about their experiences with menopause. I’m having perimenopause symptoms in my early 40s and I really appreciate that it’s no longer a taboo topic. I learned so much from women’s health summit that Halle Berry participated in.
Bryce Dallas Howard, 45, was at the opening of the Lucas Museum when she spoke to People about being in perimenopause. She said that she’s doing hormone replacement therapy and is grateful that it’s an option for her. While there’s no evidence of this yet, I suspect that Bryce has an endorsement deal. No shade!
Bryce Dallas Howard is exploring a new chapter of her life. While catching up with PEOPLE at the opening night gala for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 19, the 45-year-old actress shared a bit about the “new” experience of navigating perimenopause…
At Saturday’s star-studded gala, the Jurassic World star — who attended with her father, Ron Howard — told PEOPLE she is “doing great” amid the transitional period.
“That’s been a new exploration for me, and it’s been very, very positive,” the actress says. “I’m very grateful to be part of a generation of women who are being treated.”
Bryce additionally shared that she has been using “hormones” to manage the symptoms that accompany perimenopause, which lasts several years and is accompanied by hormonal fluctuations…
Of seeking medical advice and treatment for symptoms related to perimenopause, Bryce told PEOPLE that “there’s been a generational shift, I think, that’s really, really powerful.”
It does feel like a generational shift in how we talk about menopause. When I was younger, I knew about hot flashes, weight gain, insomnia, and out-of-control emotions, but had no idea about many of the other symptoms. I always thought you’d have to suck it up and be hot and miserable for a decade. Getting a diagnosis and treatment can be such a challenge. A friend struggled for two years before she finally found a doctor to prescribe her HRT. She had to pay out-of-pocket for the visit, but says it’s been life changing. It’s ridiculous that women still have to jump through hoops to get treatment for something most of us go through.
I see women asking about symptoms and treatments online all the time. On a Reddit thread about Bryce’s comments, women were sharing their symptoms and commiserating. Celebitchy says that the r/menopause subreddit has helped her a lot. She also wanted me to mention that we should credit Gen X women for destigmatizing menopause.
photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon
I’m Gen X and we’re creating a multi generational coalition of women who are standing up for our medical rights. Whether it’s HRT, postpartum depression, endometriosis-all of it. I want women flooding the medical field and US politics. Enough of this insanity. Highest rate of suicide for American women is age 45-55.
finally the science caught up. when I started menopause my gyno was iffy about HRT because at that point in time we were told that it gave you blood clots, breast cancer, etc etc etc. my neurologist finally wrote me a script because my every 48 hour migraine attacks were career threatening.
now here we are 25 years later and ERT is the cure for everything!! I still use it
but menopause brain IS a thing? and estrogen helps! along with every other cell in our bodies, we need it!!!
Gen X is de-stigmatizing everything about women’s health. I’m teaching my 12 year old daughter, who just got her period, that there is no shame it. Half the world’s population gets it, and we don’t need to hide it. I tell her, talk about it with your friends. Share your experiences. Some of you will get head aches and cramps in school, or need an emergency pad, and you need to know how to support each other.
It’s so crazy what my body is going through! I’m going to have to make an appointment with my doctor for help with these hot flashes. It’s brutal!
Bryce looks fantastic.
When I went thru menopause it was a night mare! All I could think was, “Why didn’t I know all this? Why has it been such a secret?” Now, I’m like “girls”, pull up a chair… I’ll tell you anything and everything you ought to know!
Nobody needs to be caught unaware of all the &$@- that can come with it!
My mother, who was born in 1944, never talked to me about it. The only thing ever said was my dad joking about how in the middle of the night suddenly all of the covers would fly through the air and land on him,
And one of my grandmothers fanned herself through my entire childhood.
When you realize how women are not only ignored medically, but also socially trained to never make men uncomfortable.
I see people say men are lucky we want equality and not vengeance.
I think we should give vengeance another look.
Of course my hot flashes just ramped up again and I’ve lost the ability to do simple math in my head.
So I’m just angry.
Oh man shortly after turning 50 the hot flashes and nights sweats began. I’d put on a lot of weight (but some was because of the two year shutdown). I still don’t like to use the word. I still shrink from the stigma of not being viewed as young and sexually viable. But I’ve been happily married for 25 years – and maybe e enjoying the bedroom benefits less frequently than as newlyweds but still worth bragging about, if I do say so myself.
But I LOVE women of younger generations who just shout from the rooftops about enjoying sex, about experiencing perimenopause, about still thriving as humans in a new stage of life. I mean it’s crazy that retirement is 65-70 years old but we’re not considered young and viable. NAH! My years of best productivity are still to come!!
Opie’s daughter is old enough to be going through menopause? I’m getting old!