Kelly Ripa Says ‘I Love Not Getting My Period’ After Menopause

Kelly Ripa says there are benefits to the menopause she went through during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I love not having my period. There – I said,” Ripa, 53, said on Tuesday’s episode of her podcast, Let’s talk in front of the camera, where she spoke with Dr. Erika Schwartz — a patient advocate and Ripa’s own hormone doctor — about the societal stigmas that still surround menopause.

While “half the population” will experience menopause, Ripa says “people still whisper the word menopause,” saying “the information is still so hidden.”

“We’re still in the dark ages,” says Dr. Schwartz, adding that doctors are “completely uninformed” about menopause. “It was like a bad secret.”

Dr. Erika Schwartz.

Dr Erika Schwartz Facebook

Celebrities who have talked about menopause

When Dr. Schwartz says that her older patients will often lie about going through menopause, Ripa agrees, saying that she has older friends who “will routinely tell me that they still have regular periods.”

“They talk to me, like an open book, and I still can’t bring myself to talk about going through menopause. It’s too scary to admit,” she continues.

Ripa says they think menopause is “embarrassing, but I don’t know why it is in this day and age.”

“Because, in this day and age, there is still much from yesterday’s day and age that has permeated society and culture,” Dr. Schwartz replies. “And we think that aging after menopause is no longer useful.”

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“The moment you’re no longer fertile, you’re not useful,” continues Dr. Schwartz. “I think you are very useful. Then you have information, experience. You have so much to bring to the table, so I think every woman should feel great.”

Ripa says she was referred to Dr. Schwartz by “a famous person,” telling her, “I always stop that person and thank them when I see them [because] if I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I would be like now.”

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelous.

Paul Morigi/Getty Images

The Living with Kelly and Mark host says: “I could barely sit up and I said, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me,’ and she said, ‘You’re probably perimenopausal,’ and I said, ‘No, I’m on my period all the time,’ and she said, ‘Yeah , it’s perimenopause. That’s part of it.’ ”

The irregular periods Ripa mentions are a symptom of perimenopause, “the natural transition to menopause,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Along with changes in the menstrual cycle, these include symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep problems, mood swings and bone loss.

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It can also cause a change in sexual arousal and desire, which Ripa has also talked about in the past, admitting that she wanted a break from sex with husband Mark Consuelos during menopause.

And while menopause has its downsides, Ripa jokes, “You can wear white pants and not be freaked out.”

“My first Memorial Day through Labor Day after menopause … it was the summer of white pants because I never had to worry about wearing white pants,” she says.

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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education