Known for her incisive wit on late-night television, Samantha Bee, 54, is not shy about broaching topics that others may find taboo, which is why it wasn’t surprising to hear that she would be talking about perimenopause during a panel last Friday, September 13, for hey perry, the first perimenopause community via free app.
“I was the oldest on my staff,” Bee told panel moderator Stacy London, “constantly having to explain what I was going through. It was a huge sea change for me, and I felt I really needed to talk about it.”
Understanding the perimenopause transition
Perimenopause marks the transitional phase before menopause, often ushering in a host of physical and emotional changes. Typically commencing in one’s 40s, some women may experience it earlier, driven by fluctuating hormone levels that manifest in diverse symptoms.
During this time, many women will experience shifts in their menstrual cycle, mood swings or sudden physical changes like disrupted sleep, hot flashes or joint pain. These are common indicators that you might be entering perimenopause.
Bee’s openness isn’t just about personal catharsis; it’s about shedding light on a topic steeped in unnecessary secrecy. “I felt angry, really shaken by my own lack of knowledge about my body. Nobody told me anything about it.”
The unpredictability of it all
From erratic periods to unpredictable mood swings, the first woman in late-night television to openly discuss her journey through perimenopause expressed frustration over her unsettling symptoms. A particularly revelatory moment for Bee occurred on the set of a Dove commercial when she unexpectedly experienced the heaviest period of her life, an incident that starkly highlighted the intensity of her perimenopausal changes.
“I was wearing all white, and I was sitting on the sofa, and it was like an industrial commercial, so it wasn’t for air, but I was like, ‘I’m feeling something so weird in my lower parts. What is going on?’ And I went to the bathroom, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m dying. I’m going to die right now. I’m hemorrhaging.’”
One of the key sources of Bee’s anger stemmed from the stark lack of information available to her, noting the glaring absence of straightforward communication about perimenopause.
A ‘three-act opera’ of emotions
“No one ever says, ‘Hey, you’re going to go through puberty again, but in reverse, and this time you’ll be juggling far more responsibilities than when you were 14,'” Bee says. “Now you’re a breadwinner, and you’re doing all these things. That combination of factors makes every emotion an opera. That’s how I phrased it to people, you know, like… every feeling is a full, three-act opera for you.”
Bee explains that when she’s sad, she feels it intensely, and when she’s happy, she’s often brought to tears of joy. Navigating these emotional highs and lows was challenging, particularly as she was the first among her friends to experience them. Reflecting on her healthcare journey, Bee highlighted the inconsistent medical responses she received along the way.
Changing the dialogue around women’s health
“It can be sheer luck to find a medical practitioner who hears you,” she says, recounting her relief at finally being diagnosed and treated for her symptoms. “We’re talking about 50% of the world’s population, and yet, it’s a conversation that was nearly nonexistent until recently.”
Her frustration is well-founded, particularly in light of the fact that women may need to visit their doctor up to 10 times to receive a formal diagnosis of menopause. A study published by The Independent disclosed that nearly five million hours of general practitioner (GP) time are squandered each year on needless menopause-related appointments. This inefficiency is largely due to a pervasive lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals about menopause.
Bee’s story is more than a tale of personal struggle and awakening; it’s a call for change in the dialogue around women’s health, urging for a more informed, compassionate approach to understanding the transitions women face. Through her candor and humor, Bee invites us all to engage more openly and supportively in these essential life conversations.
“I grieved the person I was, but I love the person I became,” she reflects. “Emerging from this chrysalis, I found a resilience and a voice that I never knew I had.”