Melissa Joan Hart, 50, is speaking about her menopause experience, which began with night sweats. She is partnering with Bayer and Dr. Diana Bitner on a campaign about hot flashes and says she plans to discuss the drug Lynkuet with her doctor.
Melissa Joan Hart, 50, is speaking openly about her experience with menopause. She gave an interview to People on Tuesday, November 3, to promote a prescription medication meant to treat hot flashes and night sweats. In it, she said women need to talk with friends, mothers and daughters and share information about menopause.
Symptoms and worries
Hart says her first sign of menopause was night sweats and hot flashes. She described waking in the middle of the night and kicking off the covers. She said night sweats affect her most because they wake her from sleep, and that having to stop sleeping meant hers were severe. Hart said her hot flashes have become more frequent, including at her kids' school events and football games. She said she is fearful of one happening while she is on set or in a work environment.
The campaign and Lynkuet
Hart is partnering with Bayer on the "Life Doesn't Stop for a Hot Flash" campaign, which raises awareness about Lynkuet. She has also teamed up with OB-GYN and menopause specialist Diana Bitner, MD, on the effort, which aims to help women walk into their doctor's office prepared. Lynkuet (elinzanetant) 60 mg capsules is an FDA-approved, hormone-free prescription treatment for moderate to severe hot flashes due to menopause. Hart is not yet on Lynkuet but plans to get cleared at her next appointment. She has been talking with her own doctor about treatment options.
Dr. Bitner says 50 percent of women experience moderate to severe hot flashes in their first year of menopause. She also said ten percent of women leave the workforce during menopause.
Generational change
Hart said she grew up in a home where menopause wasn't talked about. Until partnering with Bayer, she said, she didn't realize there were treatment options. She recalled seeing her mother sticking her head in a refrigerator and thinking it was normal, and said having treatment options now is amazing. Hart said she feels women are in a better place than the generation before.
