Rosie O'Donnell: How Hormone Injections Changed My Life

Rosie O'Donnell wasn't always so rosy.

The 49-year-old actress and talk show host credits hormone injections for improving her outlook on life and enabling her to "function more normally."

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"I had, like, zero estrogen," O'Donnell tells Oprah Winfrey in the October issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. "And since I got [hormone injections], I've been able to function more normally. I've stopped being so angry. You know, I think I had a lot more rage than I was aware of. But I've gotten back access to my other feelings. I'm not cut off from my emotions anymore."

The mom of four says she's always known she wanted to be a parent. "The truth is, I'm a little socially awkward -- with adults, I still need Relationship 101," she says. "But I was always comfortable around kids and always wanted a family of my own." 

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O'Donnell was married to Kelli Carpenter from 2004 to 2007; the duo are parents to Parker, 16, Chelsea, 14, Blake, 12, and Vivienne, 9. In 2009, O'Donnell was seen with her new girlfriend Tracy Kachtick-Anders, an artist. In February, Anderson and Kachtick-Anders reportedly split, but in April, O'Donnell confirmed on her radio show that their relationship was intact. "We didn't really break up," she said. "She just has six kids... And I have four. It's insanity." 

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The Harriet the Spy star's new talk show, The Rosie Show, premieres on OWN Oct. 10.

Read Oprah's full interview with Rosie in the October issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, on newsstands September 13th.

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