Valerie Bertinelli Says Her Postmenopause Years Have Been ‘the Most Challenging’ for Her Mental Health

Valerie Bertinelli and Drew Barrymore openly talk about all the difficulties before, during and after menopause.

The Food Network alum (and new The Drew Barrymore Show collaborator) spoke with Barrymore about the effects menopause has had on her life, and continues to have. The talk show host asked Bertinelli, 64, about her experience with menopause, and she joked, “Oh, I’m menopausal.”

Bertinelli explained that it’s been about eight years since she went through menopause, which lasted about “10 or 12 years.” And she felt all the symptoms for more than a decade.

“Hot flushes? I understood – she said. “The brain fog I would crawl into Hot in Cleveland?”

Betty White and Valerie Bertinelli in ‘Hot in Cleveland’.

“Hot in Cleveland: pun,” Barrymore, 49, interjected. Laughing, Bertinelli continued, “Trying to remember lines, all the best mistakes are because Valerie was going through brain fog.”

But Bertinelli — who joined as the newest member of the “Drew Crew” in September — said the emotional and physical difficulties of menopause haven’t completely disappeared.

“I’m a little confused, which is why I’m so happy that you have these doctors with us today, because now I’m at the point where I’m eight years out, but I’ve probably had the biggest challenge, a difficult, heartbreaking eight years of my life, in my entire 64 “years old,” Bertinelli said, adding that it’s “worse” than how she would feel before her period when she was premenopausal. “Now I’m wondering, ‘What’s going on with my mental health?'”

Valerie Bertinelli Reveals The Surprising Reason She Quit Drinking Almost A Year Ago (Exclusive)

Barrymore nodded sympathetically. “And no one talks about how menopause might be harder to deal with than periods,” she added.

Bertinelli told PEOPLE at the inauguration Classic food and wine in Charleston on Sept. 28 that talking about health is one of her favorite parts of being on Barrymore’s show.

Valerie Bertinelli joined the “Drew Crew” in September.

The Drew Barrymore/Ash Bean Show

“Drew tackles topics I wish I’d heard about 10 years ago, like menopause itself,” she said. “She deals with subjects that not a lot of people do, and she does it with such grace and such vulnerability and authenticity that we can all relate to. I love being there.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Being so open on a talk show, she said, helped her become informed about her own experiences with menopause.

“I love being able to talk about it because things are happening to my body. I ask my doctor, but he just says, ‘I don’t know,'” Bertinelli said. “So it’s fun to talk to other women who are going through the same thing and we can relate and we can say, ‘Oh my God, don’t feel alone.'”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education