Michelle Obama has opened up about what it was like to go through menopause while she was First Lady, revealing she was suffering from severe hot flashes while giving important speeches.
The author, 61, spoke about the difficulties of her body changing during the latest episode of her IMO podcast. Michelle explained that she started to feel the symptoms of menopause during her husband, Barack Obama’s, first term as president.
‘It comes [suddenly], you wake up one day and you’re having hot flashes,’ she dished.
‘It had to be in my mid-late 40s. I woke up one day and started having these severe bouts of heat flashing and sweating. I was like, what happened? I woke up and was different.’
Michelle admitted that she told herself, ‘I can get through this,’ instead of calling her doctor.
But balancing her job as First Lady and doing public events while suffering from heat flashes was extremely difficult.
‘I was the First Lady so I’ve got speeches to give, I’m on planes, I’m [dressed up] and have my hair done,’ she continued.
There was one trip I had about 40 hot flashes, and I was like, I can’t live like this.
‘I can’t get off this plane soaking wet, I can’t factor in the time to change clothes and redo my hair during a day of speeches.’
She joked that she worried people might see her sweating while giving speeches and assume that she’s nervous because she’s lying.
‘It’s like a hot furnace is lit inside you,’ she added of what the hot flashes felt like.
‘It’s like your organs are hot coals. And then you burst with water, you’re dripping, your clothes are soaking wet, you have to change your clothes.’
In the end, Michelle said she used hormone replacement therapy, which helped immensely.
‘We need to talk about the symptoms because a lot of women aren’t even taught to be aware of what’s happening to their bodies,’ she stressed.
‘I want women to embrace tradition, because that’s still something we struggle with. We view transition as something negative, but we are always evolving and that’s a good thing.
‘If we’re alive enough to have a transition then we’re blessed and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it. I’m trying – because it’s something you never stop working on as a woman – to figure out all the good and not get sucked into what I didn’t have or didn’t do because there’s still time ahead.’
The former First Lady said she wasn’t afraid of aging, and revealed that her 60s have been the ‘best time of her entire life’ – despite ongoing rumors that she and Barack are having marital issues.
‘The best time of my entire life is right now. It really is. I do not wish to be 20 again, not in any way shape or form,’ she said with a laugh. ‘There is some real freedom about this time in life.’
‘And I’m already thinking about my 70s and 80s, I want to be able to do some of this stuff in my 80s.’
