Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a whole song about the wonders of being a girl. Girls grow up to be women, and with that comes its fair share of struggles. There is still so much to learn about women’s health that sometimes even medical professionals are baffled. Oprah Winfrey’s doctors were at a loss about the cause of her heart palpitations and put her on medication.
Oprah eventually discovered that her heart issues were a symptom of perimenopause. She is working to make sure other women do not suffer the same unknown diagnosis fate she did. She gathered Maria Shriver, Drew Barrymore, and Gayle King as well as medical doctors Sharon Malone and Heather Hirsch to have an open discussion about all things menopause.
Oprah opened up about her menopause journey. When she was 48, she began to have problems sleeping and experienced intense heart palpitations. She went to five different doctors, who could not find a cause. They put her on medication.
Eventually, Oprah discovered the cause of her heart palpitations after reading The Wisdom of Menopause by Christiane Northrup, MD. It turns out that 40% of women report experiencing them during perimenopause or menopause. This inspired Oprah to talk openly about the subject, and she dedicated several shows to it. She continues to talk openly about the topic because she believes that it is important to do so.
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Her latest online class, “The Life You Want,” can be found on Oprahdaily.com. It tackles the subject of menopause head on.
Oprah benefited from hormone replacement therapy. “I wasn’t vibrant. My whole world dulled down a couple of notches,” Oprah recalled. “I got my first click of estrogen and I was like, the sky is bluer! I would have been headed for depression if I had not been on estrogen.”
