DoctorOz: Kristin Chenoweth on Performing with Meniere's Disease

So excited. My next guest is a Tony and Emmy Award-winning Broadway legend. She dazzled as Glinda, the Good Witch in Wicked, which is very dear to my heart, and starred in The West Wing and Pushing Daisies. Actress Kristen Chenoweth is here, finally, opening up about how she endured a medical mystery that caused a lot of drama and the secret source of her infectious energy. Here she is now. Kristen. Hi, darling. Now, before we go out... Since you're always doing big shows, what is your backstage ritual? Teach me, I can do it. Hey, there's two things I do. I pray, and then I do a lip trill. You can do it. Just go, you know what, never do that again. We'll Come on, let's go surprise them. Let's go say hi. Oh, my goodness. Here she is. Here she is. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the show. be right back. Well, they love you, like we all do. And that's why I find there's so many things that make you special to me. I met Kristen years ago. I really was just starting out. We were at an event with Oprah. Yes. And she spoke so highly of you. In private, by the way. You didn't even hear this part. What? And I went over. I was enamored. I had seen you on Broadway. Of course, the show Wicked's about The Wizard of Oz. Which is your name. Exactly. Actually, it's about you. It's about me, sort of. I'm just kidding. But when you're recording an album. At that event, you're in the Tabernacle Choir. You have so much infectious energy. Where do you get that from? Thank you so much. You know what? It's not everyday perfect, rainbow glitter, you know, unicorn. But my mom, I have great people around me that give me a lot of support and love, and I have great friends, and I think that that helps me. Your mom, this is what I've been told. Please correct me. Oh, sure. Apparently, it would push on you the fact that you need to be kind, but you need to be truthful as well. And those don't always go perfectly together. No. Why both? I think if you speak your truth and in kindness, people might not agree with you. But they can not get too mad at you. They forgive you, too, if it happens to be that it's not what they wanted. Yeah, not all of us agree on everything, right? The real truth is often between our truths. Amen. So let's get into a deep truth that you shared with the world, which, again, I treasure you for doing because it sheds light on these illnesses. There's a health issue that is, especially as a performing artist at your level, could be critical. And it's something that affects your hearing. It potentially creates vertigo. Yes. It messes with your balance. I mean, lots of stuff. When doctors found what this was a problem for you, what did they tell you? How did you react? And why did you decide to share it with all of us? It is called Meniere's disease, and I know you're aware of it, obviously. I didn't know what it was. I was performing off-Broadway at the Lincoln Center, and I couldn't walk. The world was spinning, and I don't drink. That's right. So I was like, well, what's going on? Finally, I went to a specialist in her ear, and he said, you have Meniere's. Thank You will start losing your hearing a lot of it is DNA it's just you know it's passed down and that is in my family history um a sister to it is epilepsy so I'm lucky you that I don't have that as well but triggers are lights flashing lights paparazzi um spotlights so interesting since that of what I much. do with my living right it's like someone designed Someone thoughtful designed this perfectly as a sniper shot at what you do. I know, a sniper from the side. But again, my mom said, well, Kristen, and actually my doctor worked with me a lot. What I do is I sleep on an incline, laying flat. For some reason, it doesn't work so good. I do a nasal douche. Excuse me, nasal rant. I can't hear it. Well, I didn't know they existed, but I was about to ask. A nasal douche. So where do you buy those? My mother is going to be so proud of me right now. Is it your own line of nasal dishes? I wish. Let's start one. No, I get it at Rite Aid. It's NeilMed, like the name NeilMed. And it's like a neti pot. And I also go to my inner ear specialist. And he does exercises with me. And there are some days that I just... Here's the thing. If I had flames going across my face, you all would say, oh no, is she okay? If I had a neck brace or a cast, you would say, something's really wrong. But when it's in your inner ear, people think you're having an episode or you maybe are drinking or whatever. And that's the part that's been frustrating. I've constantly felt the need to say, I have Meniere's disease, and people don't really know about it, you know? Have you ever not been able to perform? And that's been the biggest. heartbreak from you because I love what I do. But I have gotten out there many times. For example, I did a Broadway show with Sean Hayes. I did Promises, Promises with him. And I said, I have vertigo real bad. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do Act Two. He said, I've got you. And do you know that he literally stood and held me up the entire Act Two so I could finish the show. You've got another health issue that you've allowed me to talk about that is life-threatening for a lot of people and definitely limits their ability to do simple things like breathing, much less singing and performing and running around on stage. Asthma. Can you believe it? It's like, here you go, Kristen, have another thing. That sucks for being a performer. I do have asthma. I control it with, obviously, rest. We don't talk enough about it. You do. Rest, hydration, and I do have an inhaler. Flying is not either good for Meniere's or asthma. What I have found on flights, besides the hydration, hydration, is I don't know if meditation, how y'all think about this audience, but meditation helps. It helps. We adore it and talk about it. Slow down. Slow down. Come on for a second. I'm going to show everyone this asthma animation that I made. I'd love to see. Okay. So. Here's the basic deal. This is what asthma in the lungs looks like. So a normal airway looks nice and beautiful. You go down through the trachea into the little branches of the lungs. You see that it's pristine. The lung tissue is here. The airway is clean. Not a lot of junk in there. But it gets hypersensitive. So sometimes if you take, for example, pollen, like that's a bit of pollen right there, goes into your lungs, could be dander, a bunch of things, to airways that are irritated. That material takes those same beautiful airways and now it causes them to spasm shut, they close shut. They can get mucus in there as well, making it hard for you to breathe, your heart beats faster, right? And you can actually feel chest pain from this as your heart's racing inside of you. You can? Oh, I didn't know that. Thank you. I'm so happy I taught you something. You did. Thank you. All right. Now, up next, Kristen's latest product is something you will all be obsessed with this time of year, holiday movies. And she's really good at them. We break down why they're so darn addicting. Stay with us. I hit that, and you were just here. Uh, hello? I'm sorry. I didn't know I ordered. A ride share? No, I didn't think I ordered that either. Um, I can just shove these down here. They'll be fine for a few minutes. Everyone good? Good? Good. It's a good thing you didn't have more of these. Wings? Oh, is that what they are? Don't tell me you've never donned a pair of wings before. Not since kindergarten. Really? Me neither. We're talking with Emmy Award-winning actress Kristen Chenoweth. That was a clip from her Hallmark movie, A Christmas Love Story. Now, I noticed this year holiday movies are rolling out even before Halloween had occurred. Now, everyone's binge-watching them. Why is it that we all adore these holiday movies? I don't know. In Hallmark, nobody does Christmas better than Hallmark. It's like Christmas threw up, you know, for two months on Hallmark. But I think holiday in general just makes you feel good. I mean, no matter, you know... So a Christmas love story, without giving it all away, why is it so addictive? Well, Christmas love story stars myself and Scott Wolf, and Scott Wolf's eyes is the number one reason to watch the movie, because they're so beautiful. That's all. It is, obviously, it centers around a love story, but it is the first time that Hallmark has tackled this subject matter, which is very, very close to my heart, which I can't give away. So I hope that y'all will tune in and watch it, part of my history. And I wrote the title song with my buddy Shelly Wright for it, too. Oh, it's perfect. Yeah. A double dose of you. A double. All right, let's break down the science of why holiday movies are so addictive. Because it's been studied, because we all acknowledge it, and it's part of the culture. So my med team broke down the formula. First, renewal of spirit. Good example, Scrooge. You know, you've got to change your heart, right? It actually benefits your actual heart. There are studies on this. So how do you renew your spirit? Because you go through a lot, and ups and downs happen. Well, first of all, thank you for asking me, because I want people to understand that I know that I'm very grateful and thankful for my life. But if I have a bad day, first of all I do is I let myself have a bad day. If I'm having a bad moment, I go, okay, I'm going to have this moment, and then I'm going to move on. I'm going to go to Baskin-Robbins, I'm going to get an ice cream cone, and I'm going to call my mom, because my mom is the one that keeps saying, my mom keeps saying, Kristen, so many people struggle. If you struggle, you have a good... Life, you just. Keep going forward and being happy. Just do it. Mom, for all the folks in Norman, Oklahoma, we're giving you a big kiss from the stage here. I love you, Mom. I miss you. So second part of the formula, I'm putting it up behind some prescription, guys. It's a touch of romance. Like in Kristen's latest movie with Scott Wolf, right? There's a love that occurs, and when that love happens, you release dopamine. Dopamine hits your brain, gives you a heightened sense of happiness, a sense of fulfillment. Do you believe in happily ever after? Heck yeah. You do? Heck yeah. I do. I mean, that doesn't mean to say that I think that everything's perfect. I am still that little girl from Oklahoma. I'm still little, actually. But I'm still that girl from Oklahoma that thinks, yes, happily ever after exists. All right, come on over. Part three of the formula. need a sprinkle of magic, right? Oh, I love this. Like Santa. Or how about snow? You want some snow? Oh, I love snow. Oh, let's go into the snow. Oh, good news! And you put on romance, renewal of the spirit, and a sprinkle of magic. Oh, a little scarf. Thank you so much. A little scarf, look at this. I love it. The only thing we need to really make this magic is hot chocolate. Is there any hot chocolate? Oh, please. This will really make the magic. Oh, ready? Thank you very much. Are you serious? And we can toast this. I love you dearly. I love you. Now we got magic. Oh, I'm happy. And snow. And it's good. Kristen Chenoweth, I know it's hard. She's in a Christmas love story on the Hallmark Channel Saturday, December 7th. Tune in and don't miss her in Christmas with the Tabernacle Choir on PBS and BYU TV. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss out on new videos to live the good life.