Halle Berry reveals perimenopause was misdiagnosed as the 'worst case of herpes'

Halle Berry is opening up about an unpleasant health scare that led to a shocking discovery about her body.

Berry reportedly got candid about her experience with perimenopause during a women's health discussion with first lady Jill Biden at the A Day of Unreasonable Conversation summit in Los Angeles Monday, according to The Hollywood Reporter and People magazine. THR is a media partner for the invite-only event, which seeks to connect television content creators and cultural changemakers to encourage more diverse media representation.

"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."

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Perimenopause refers to the period of time leading up to menopause, or the menopause transition, and also includes the one year following a person’s final menstrual period. Perimenopause generally starts a few years before menopause, which has a typical onset age ranging from 45 to 55.

Berry, who is dating singer-songwriter Van Hunt, said she unwittingly became aware of her perimenopause when she began experiencing “extreme pain” after sex. While the “Moonfall” star subsequently visited her doctor to look into the issue, Berry said the symptom was misdiagnosed as the sexually transmitted infection herpes.

"I feel like I have razor blades in my vagina," Berry recalled. "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!’"

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Berry and Hunt were later examined for herpes, but the couple tested negative for the disease.

"I realized after the fact that is a symptom of perimenopause," said Berry, referring to the vaginal dryness that was misdiagnosed. "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.'"

Afterward, Berry took to Instagram to share photos from the discussion and give a shoutout to 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.

Contributing: Delaney Nothaft, USA TODAY