Laura Wright, the Emmy-winning actress known for her role as Carly Spencer on General Hospital, recently shared her personal health journey, shedding light on her experiences with perimenopause and menopause. Her story underscores the importance of self-advocacy, the need for greater awareness and education about menopause, and the power of embracing change.
Unforeseen Challenges: Perimenopause and its Debilitating Symptoms
About a year and a half ago, Wright, a seasoned actress with a career spanning from Loving in 1991 to General Hospital since 2005, began experiencing debilitating symptoms that she initially couldn't understand. Despite maintaining an active lifestyle that included playing pickleball four times a week, regular gym visits for weight training, daily three-mile dog walks, and a clean diet focused on veggies, egg whites, and protein shakes, she faced unexpected challenges.
Wright recalls a specific incident during a scene with Maura West, who plays Ava Jerome on General Hospital, where she kept forgetting her lines-an unusual occurrence for her. "I remember doing a scene with Maura West (Ava), and I kept going up - and I don’t go up," stated Wright in regards to a term that means losing lines. These weren't just simple memory lapses; they were accompanied by a host of other troubling symptoms, including hot flashes, severe anxiety attacks, and insomnia. “It wasn’t just the hot flashes; I couldn’t sleep at all; I was jolted awake every hour by a hot flash that triggered intense anxiety." At work, Wright found herself struggling to maintain composure, experiencing panic attacks and feeling overwhelmed. "At work, I’d have to keep walking offset, thinking I was going to start crying. I had panic attacks, and if you asked me what I was afraid of, it was not in my mind. It was all physical.”
Adding to her distress, Wright began to gain weight and experienced rising cholesterol levels, despite her healthy lifestyle. “I was baffled by the sudden weight gain and rising cholesterol levels." The turning point came during a week off from work in January when an overwhelming anxiety attack left her unable to leave her room for two days. "I was getting up to make my bed and go to the gym, and had such an anxiety attack hit me that I didn’t leave room for two days,” she shares.
Misdiagnosis and the Path to Finding Answers
Driven by the severity of her symptoms, Wright sought the help of a menopause specialist, a decision that she says "transformed her life." “That’s when I got myself to a menopause specialist,” she shared. “And it changed my life. Through this process, she discovered that she had been misdiagnosed in the past. She had undergone two surgeries in 2020 and 2021 to address severe hemorrhaging, but these procedures were ultimately unnecessary because her underlying issue was hormonal imbalance related to perimenopause. “I’d had severe hemorrhaging and problems,” Wright explains, “and because my gynecologist wasn’t specialized in menopause and mid-life care, I was given the exact same surgery two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021, when it was actually a hormonal problem. To make matters worse, she realized she had been experiencing undiagnosed perimenopause symptoms since the birth of her youngest child, who is now 24.
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Wright's experience highlights a critical gap in women's healthcare: the lack of specialized knowledge and attention given to menopause and perimenopause. She emphasizes the need for increased testing, education, and awareness on this topic. “We need way more testing, schooling and education around this,” she says. She points out that OB-GYNs typically receive limited training on menopause, as their primary focus is on childbirth. “Your OB-GYN has had maybe a month of menopause training, because they specialized in being able to bring a baby into the world." Wright argues that failing to properly address menopause is a disservice to women, as it is an inevitable phase that significantly impacts their health and well-being.
The Importance of Self-Advocacy and Finding the Right Treatment
Wright's journey underscores the importance of women being proactive in their healthcare. She encourages women to be their own advocates, seeking out doctors who listen to their concerns and take their symptoms seriously. "But if you are suffering, you have to be your own advocate to keep going,” Wright adds. “And quite frankly, if your doctor doesn’t get it, find a new doctor that listens to you, believes you, and doesn’t just want to stick you on an antidepressant. She also stresses the importance of finding a healthcare provider who is knowledgeable about menopause and can provide appropriate treatment options.
For Wright, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been a game-changer. She takes progesterone and testosterone, which converts to estrogen in her body. “I take testosterone and progesterone. Testosterone converts to estrogen in the body, and it gives me enough estrogen to calm my hot flashes. I’m actually sleeping! It’s also a mood enhancer. It makes you happy, gives you energy. This combination has helped alleviate her hot flashes, improve her sleep, boost her mood, and increase her energy levels. Wright acknowledges that HRT is not a one-size-fits-all solution and that different women may require different approaches. However, she believes it can be a valuable tool for managing menopause symptoms and improving quality of life.
Embracing Change and Preparing for the Future
Wright emphasizes that navigating menopause requires a significant lifestyle shift. "How you live your life before menopause is not how you can live it after or during if you want to thrive,” Wright says. She advises women to start preparing for menopause early, even in their 20s, by educating themselves about the process and building a support system. She even advised her daughter, who is 26, to start preparing her menopause plan because it can hit you hard, and having someone to talk to will be invaluable.”
Wright has come to accept her body and the transformations she has experienced. She is now more open about her experiences with menopause, even on the set of General Hospital. “Now, everyone on set knows, because I’m like, ‘Hot flash coming! Take this coat off me right now!’” Wrights shares. She hopes that by sharing her story, she can help break the stigma surrounding menopause and encourage women to embrace this stage of life. “We were taught to make fun of menopause, laugh at it, be afraid of it, shame it.
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Additional Strategies for Health and Well-being
Beyond hormone replacement therapy, Wright emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through diet, exercise, and self-care practices. She continues to play pickleball, weight train, and walk her dog regularly. She also incorporates meditation and reading into her routine. In the past, she has also spoken about her positive experiences with the Beachbody program, even becoming a coach.
In addition to Tamsen Fadal, Wright encourages women to seek out mid-life medical specialists. This one-time New York City news anchor put her investigative skills to work when menopause stopped her in her tracks. Her upcoming book, “How To Menopause”, will be released in March, with preorders already open.