Naturally Speaking

“I consider myself pretty tough. Menopause got me and brought me down to my knees,” says Dini.

Dini Petty has an extraordinary life. As a media icon, Dini has been in the public eye for over 35 years. She is a true maverick who has never been shy about sharing her personal experiences including her highs and lows with her audience.

Dini started her media career as the "Pink Lady," logging over 5000 hours flying the infamous pink whirlybird helicopter while relaying traffic reports for CKEY radio in Toronto. From there, Dini went to Citytv where she hosted Cityline, was a reporter and then an anchor for City News and went back to hosting her own show again. In 1980, Dini made television history in an award winning documentary that followed her on camera throughout her pregnancy and birth of her son Nicholas, which sought to demystify pregnancy and childbirth. In 1989 she moved to CTV to host The Dini Petty Show which became the longest running talk show in Canadian history.

Dini has been through a lot in her life; however nothing prepared her for the “hell” she experienced with menopause. “I consider myself pretty tough. Menopause got me and brought me down to my knees,” says Dini. “I tried everything...menopause literally took over my life.”

Hearing Dini describe her experience with menopause is enough to scare any woman who has this “rite of passage” before them. She started menopause when she was 50. “I had 10-15 hot flashes each day that would last over 2 minutes. The night sweats were so bad that I had to get up two to three times during the night to change my soaked pajamas. I literally had a pool of water that I could stick my finger in between my breastbone. I experienced extreme mood swings, heart palpitations and urinary urgency." If that wasn't enough she says she had zero libido. "Are you out of your mind?" she says. "No one was coming near me and if they did the dryness was so painful that sex was out of the question."

Dini was no stranger to alternative remedies so there was is any surprise that she embarked on the "natural" path first in order to deal with her menopausal symptoms. She tried one herbal remedy after another for over 3 years, but nothing worked. She finally made the decision to go on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). "I couldn't see any other option," she says. "I just knew I couldn't live like this anymore." She was on HRT for close to six years. Then, in July of 2002 a report was released warning of disturbing increases in the risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease in women taking hormone therapy. Immediately after hearing this Dini made the decision to go off HRT.” “Within four months I was back to full fledged menopause. I was literally on my kitchen floor curled up in a ball. I just couldn't live like this and was ready to go back on HRT despite the health risks. I had no life left in me."

Meanwhile Dini’s friend and herbalist, Marion Marshall was busy chatting it up in an online herbal chat room when she ran across a remedy she had never heard about. “She phoned me up and told me it,” says Dini. This was the end of the line on the herbal frontier and she decided to try just one more time. "I got the product and after two weeks I actually slept through the night and the hot flashes started to reduce."

It has now been four years and Dini is better than ever. Marion and Dini decided to team up to promote the product that Dini credits for "saving her life." By sharing her intimate and graphic experiences, she hopes that other women can avoid what she went through.

At 64, Dini looks better than ever and is currently performing her one woman play called "A Broad View," to theatre goers across the country. What's next? Who knows with Dini, but now that she's got menopause licked there's nothing stopping her.

Interview by Martine Carlina of Organic Lifestyles Magazine