On today’s special hour of “Tamron Hall” dedicated to exploring individual journeys with menopause and informing women about what to expect, supermodel and entrepreneur Beverly Johnson joined Tamron to share her own experience. During the candid conversation, Johnson detailed her hysterectomy, which, after receiving no warning from her doctor, caused her to enter menopause at the age of 47. Johnson opened up about how the surprising transition into menopause affected her both physically and mentally.
Beverly Johnson on undergoing a hysterectomy at the age of 47, which, to her surprise, caused her to enter menopause:
“Well what happens is, when you realize you’re going to get a hysterectomy…I really didn’t even tell anyone I was going in for it. And actually my doctor at the time never said that you get full-blown menopause after. So I was just like…hit by lightning after. And it was so interesting, I remember my mother having menopause, but we thought ‘Oh, what happened to her?’ You know my mother’s a very sophisticated lady – she cursed and we were like…and now we realized she was going through menopause. So it really changes your personality, not only the way you feel, but also your personality. You become really kind of, well in my case, really grumpy.” She added, “It was very interesting because I get this hysterectomy, which is life-threatening because I didn’t tell anyone – it’s a major operation. Tell everybody you know. You need support, you need a woman there or a man with you to advocate for you because it’s a major operation.” She continued, “But it’s a major, major operation and I didn’t realize that. I was just like ‘Oooh, I’m not going to have my period anymore. Party!’ And I thought…I was going to have so much fun. And then I wake up and I’m like my bed is soaking wet. I’m like, ‘what happened? Did I go to the bathroom on myself?’ And I realized, I went to the doctor, and he says ‘Oh, it’s menopause.’ Excuse me? What? Menopause? I said, ‘No, you pause.’”
Beverly Johnson on how menopause changed her both physically and emotionally:
“It affected every part of my life. I was no longer the woman that I was before I went in for this operation. Just like everyone says, the weight gain…you actually see changes in the way you look, but more so in the way you feel. You’re just not yourself and you can’t put your finger on it.”
