Oprah Winfrey is sharing her personal experience with menopause in a new special. The media mogul says she felt like she was “going to die” during this time in her life. Winfrey, 71, revealed that she suffered from heart palpitations and a loss of concentration.
The symptoms were so severe that she had to temporarily stop leading her book club. “I love reading so much, but I let go of the book club because I could not concentrate when I was reading,” Winfrey told ABC News. “I could no longer finish a book.”
She said she brought the book club back after starting estrogen treatment.
This helped her regain her ability to concentrate. Winfrey said she did not have night sweats or hot flashes. However, she was unaware that heart palpitations were a symptom of menopause.
“When I was going through it, there was nothing. There was nobody,” she said. “I felt literally like I was going to die every single night.”
Winfrey’s own experience motivated her to host a new special called “An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution.” The program shines a spotlight on this common life change that impacts millions of women each year.
Oprah tackles menopause struggles head-on
The special features Winfrey’s story, as well as others who have been public about their own experiences. This includes Maria Shriver and Naomi Watts.
Menopause is a natural process that occurs when a woman has not had any menstruation for 12 months. It happens when the ovaries produce very low levels of estrogen and progesterone until they eventually stop. This causes a woman’s menstrual cycles to end permanently.
The average age for menopause is 52. Only about 1% of women in the U.S. experience premature menopause before the age of 40. Symptoms may include hot flashes, mood changes, depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, urinary incontinence, irregular periods, vaginal dryness, infections, and changes in libido.
Winfrey says she experienced symptoms for around two years before realizing what was happening to her body. She wants to encourage other women to seek medical care when they first experience symptoms, instead of waiting. “Because it affects every cell in your body, the first time you have any of the symptoms, that’s when you need to go find a doctor who will listen to you, hear you and take action for you,” Winfrey said.
“An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution” airs March 21 at 10 p.m. EST/PST on ABC. It will be available the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.
