Melinda French Gates is a guest on Norah O’Donnell’s new Healthful podcast in an episode that’s coming out today. (As of publication time, it’s not on YouTube.) People Magazine has a preview. Melinda told Norah that she went to three doctors before she found the right diagnosis and treatment for perimenopause in her early 40s. She was surprised it took so long since she knows she’s privileged and has access to the best healthcare. Here’s part of People’s writeup and the clip is below.
[Melinda French Gates] shared she was in her early 40s when she began experiencing symptoms of perimenopause, the time leading up to menopause when women can experience a range of symptoms, including irregular periods, hot flashes and bone loss.
French Gates said that although she “knew what to watch for,” getting the right help wasn’t easy.
“It was kind of unbelievable to me that, even in this, you know, unbelievably privileged situation I’m in, where I feel like I can get some of the best health care, it took me three doctors to really diagnose what I was going through and to get the right treatments for where I was,” she said.
She went on to explain to the CBS News senior correspondent that the delay “wasn’t because anybody was doing the wrong thing.”
“It’s because of what I now know, which is only a third, one third, of OB-GYNs in this country are trained in menopause,” she said.
French Gates didn’t disagree when O’Donnell, 52, asked if conditions like menopause could be preventing some women from achieving senior leadership roles.
“It could be one of the things holding women back,” said French Gates, a longtime advocate for women and girls. “We know that one in ten women step back from the workforce during their years of perimenopause or menopause because of severe symptoms that they’re experiencing.”
As Melinda mentioned, it’s much harder to work when you’re going through this and can’t always concentrate. I’m grateful every day that I work from home and have a flexible job. As for Melinda’s situation, it sounds like she got off easily. I don’t mean to be dismissive but I’ve heard many similar stories about health issues and especially menopause. Remember when Halle Berry said her doctor told her she had herpes and she was just dry down there? I often think about how Catherine Zeta-Jones said it took doctors months to notice that Michael Douglas had a walnut-sized tumor under his tongue. He had been complaining of ear and throat pain but it took several doctors to figure it out. (Douglas had stage 4 throat cancer in 2010 but went into remission and is doing well now at 81.)
I’m 53 and had a hysterectomy two years ago. While I kept my ovaries, the transition to feeling “normal” again involved so much trial and error. I’m on the Dotti .1 estrogen patch and use progesterone cream. No doctor told me how to do this or mentioned the work it could take. I read the menopause subreddit for months and tried several things until I came up with the right treatment. Luckily I have a supportive gynecologist and GP. It’s not really luck though, I went to a handful of gynecologists for over a decade to find a decent one.
Melinda and her boyfriend, Philip Vaughn.
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