Wendy Williams Opens up About Fighting Graves’ Disease in the Midst of Menopause

Wendy Williams is opening up about her health for the first time since taking a break from her show to focus on her hyperthyroidism and Graves’ disease.

Before returning to The Wendy Williams Show on Monday, the talk show host discussed how she’s putting her own health first from now on in a clip from Monday’s episode of Good Morning America.

In the clip, Williams explained how women have an “unfortunate” tendency of taking care of everybody around them before they care for themselves.

“We, as women, particularly if — we have families, you know, we’re taking care of children, we’re taking care of, you know, home, our husbands, we take care of everybody but ourselves,” Williams told Amy Robach.

“And it’s really unfortunate. And that — that is something that has no socioeconomic thing to it. No matter what — no matter what the woman’s status is, it seems like we’re all in the same boat,” she continued, adding, “I’m not doing that anymore.”

“Wendy first,” she said.

Williams revealed to PEOPLE Sunday that she was first diagnosed with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, as well as hyperthyroidism, 19 years ago. She told the publication that she’s finally feeling much better since taking some time for herself.

“I feel a hundred percent better than I was a few months ago. I had a storm going in my body is the best way I can explain it,” said Williams.

“It came from me neglecting my six month endocrinology appointment. I have Graves disease and hyperthyroid. If you have one you don’t necessarily have to have the other, but I have both, and I was diagnosed with both 19 years ago,” she added.

Williams revealed that she canceled the doctor’s appointment, originally scheduled for December, in favor of attending a business meeting.

Although Williams said her health “was pretty bad” before she took a break from the show, she hadn’t necessarily thought her symptoms had anything to do with her thyroid, saying she thought her mood swings were being caused by her menopause.

“With the menopause I wasn’t pointing a finger to any particular thing. I was just feeling like ‘All right, well I’m 53 and this is I guess how it’s supposed to be,’ ” she added.

“Even in October when I passed out on Halloween, that particular day when the EMTs got there I had high blood pressure, which I never have high blood pressure,” she continued, saying, “My blood pressure is always either perfect or low. It’s never high. But it was high and the lack of sodium so they were filling me with electrolytes, just fill, fill, fill, fill. I can’t believe that I got up after the commercial break and closed out the show.”

“I love doing the show, but I love me more. So I’m going to take care of me, so I can be there for them,” she added.

Photo credit: The Wendy Williams Show