Shark Tank India’s Namita Thapar On Her Struggle With Perimenopause

Discussing women’s health on a public platform does not happen quite often, and rarely do we see celebrities talk about it on social media. But recently, Namita Thapar, executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, discussed her experience with perimenopause in one of the episodes of Shark Tank India. Talking about a terrible phase in her life, she revealed that she bled so much during the time that it was impossible for her to sit down for long hours.

Namita Thapar shared that she was quite lucky that she never faced any issues during her periods, but it was not the same when her perimenopause started. She stated that people usually assume that the problem only concerns teenagers and younger women, but during her perimenopause phase, she faced heavy menstrual bleeding. The issues were there even as she was filming for Shark Tank. One of the fellow colleagues on the show Anupam asked, “What is perimenopause?” Namita then went on to explain, saying that it is a phenomenon that takes place a few years “before Menopause begins and your periods absolutely stop in menopause.”

Highlighting the problems she faced and the struggle she had to undergo, Namita recalled, “I became so anaemic that my haemoglobin went to 8 and we have an injectable that we take through IV, Ferric carboxymaltose. I had to take that injection for 5 months. It is a 45-minute process. That is how I am sitting here today. There can be such serious issues with women’s productivity.” She thanked the founders of Matri, who manufacture an electronic device that offers relief from menstrual pain for pitching their idea on such a platform as taking note of women’s issues.

Moreover, Namita shared the video of her talking about the issue of perimenopause on her Instagram, and along with it explained the various other symptoms one can face. She stated, “Perimenopause usually starts in your mid 40’s. You experience mood swings, insomnia, hot flashes & many other symptoms. Most women are not aware of the symptoms, treatment options & it can be a very rough & disruptive phase in their lives.”

Netizens were quite happy that such issues were being addressed openly on social media. A user praised Namita for starting the conversation, saying, “Oh my god , you just said this on national TV; hats off to you, we need more women like you,” while another person expressed gratitude and commented, “Thanks Mam for saying n doing conversation openly, especially for teaching a new thing.”