To be absolutely furious at bloody incompetent GP?

Wow, that's a huge difference. I chased up with my GP practice last week, they looked into it and said if I hadn't heard anything before 21st May, I could chase it up then and see where I was on the list. Starting to think I've been forgotten

YANBU OP. It’s a cream ffs not a life time prescription to class A’s. And I also agree… I don’t like getting my vag out at the doctors funnily enough, once is enough!!

Mine was sent in January, I was seen at the start of April- it varies hugely by area, it seems.

And I thought that repeated UTIs was just one of those things. A GP should be able to spot it very easily. An atrophic vagina has tissue which is pale and shiny. A woman with thrush has tissue which is red and swollen.

Just to answer your question regarding how long a gynaecology appointment takes....my referral was sent off last July. I'm still waiting.

Vaginal atrophy where the skin of the vulva & vagina thins & tears, causes UTIS, frequent need to wee and can lead to the clitoris disappearing affects around half of all menopausal women

I had no idea what it was when I got it & thought it was thrush at first…

This was 100% your fault for not letting the GP examine you. How could they judge if the hydrocortisone cream was working if you didn't let them examine you (with a chaperone of course)? For this reason YABU and wasting NHS GP appt slots ontop of that.

Itching can be thrush. But it can also be caused by decreasing hormones which makes you dry and uncomfortable.

I thought itching was thrush?

I tried them and they didn't agree with me. The only thing that I seem to be able to tolerate is KY.

I'm on HRT, but it doesn't seem to be quite enough - Femoston 1mg. It did work for a while, but the last of my own hormones have obviously run out. Currently waiting for gynae appointment. (I have other symptoms as well. Had a D&C two years ago, but was told to go back if the problem reoccured.)

I'll look into it.

Because it’s an online service and you don’t expect the same level of medical attention when you essentially self-diagnose. I would also assume that because those doctors haven’t seen the patient, they wouldn’t be liable for missing signs of any other gynaecological conditions that could be causing discomfort. There is probably also a disclaimer to visit your own GP or a right not to prescribe if there is anything in the questionnaire they are unhappy with and you’s be referred back to your GP. They don’t have to exclude other more serious conditions before prescribing because they don’t have the same responsibility or accountability a GP does when someone is sitting in their surgery.

I get your point with the rest of your comment, but it’s not about “bothering to write notes”. Each GP wants to make sure they are prescribing for the right thing. Clinical medicine is subjective and each GP will do things differently, hence wanting to check.

Women really are treated appallingly by so many on the NHS. Especially depressing when it's female GPs being so unnecessarily unsupportive.

@ItchDrivingMeInsane my Dr just gave me the oestrogen cream when I asked, no exam.

Also agree that it has helped me enormously. No more UTIs. No more lower pelvic aching for no apparent reason. No itch, no dryness, no feeling shrivelled up. Don't find it particularly messy tbh as you're only using a tiny amount and you insert it high up using an applicator. And the small amount of discharge is well worth putting up with for the benefits it brings. Fully expect to be using this for the rest of my life - once you have stopped producing your own oestrogen which has caused the atrophy, you are suddenly not going to start producing it again.

I had v.atrophy diagnosed by a nurse at a smear test. I was prescribed estriol cream with a follow up appointment with her to see how I was getting on. I had 3 weeks to use it every day and now use it twice a week. It has made a huge difference to my life, honestly. The nurse at the surgery has put it onto a repeat prescription. I don’t know why you would have to wait for a gynaecology appointment. It seems like they are making this unnecessarily difficult for you.

I had similar op. I thought it was thrush that wouldn't go away. There is a reason pharmacists query thrush medication in over 60s and that is because of the possibility of vaginal atrophy. I knew nothing of this. My GP prefers phone appointments and kept prescribing me courses of canesten pessaries.

I saw a young GP locum who was terrible. He examined me and complained I had not covered myself up with my coat. I was given nothing to cover myself with. He made me feel ashamed. He said he did not know what on earth it was but it was not thrush. I suggested VA and he seemed baffled. He sent off some tests but when I rang for results would not speak to me and said I had to wait 3 weeks for a telephone appointment - during which he helpfully told me he was baffled. I again suggested VA. He replied he thought it was and prescribed estradiol. I could not get on with this, it is very messy so be warned here op.

I went to see a pharmacist who went through a questionnaire and I got Gina. This took some time to work but I feel a whole lot better. I just get it offline now from a reputable pharmacy company. I did make an appointment for a 12 month checkup with a female GP. Waited four weeks, then they cancelled, and no other appointments for 4.5 weeks. Told me they had rung me but no message on my phone.

I do hope you get sorted op.

Can’t you buy this? I tortured myself over the G.P’s refusal to prescribe HRT. I had no idea you could get it from Boots.

If it were men it would be free and easily available.

Could be Lichen Sclerosis. Has this ever been suggested?

I'm sorry to hear you don't have this access in Scotland , I think it's your absolute right to be able to access your own Information.

@Nonewclothes2024 mine go back to the 70s , I like looking through as you forget over the years what you've been for or been tested for etc

Mine only goes back to 2016?

Ah thank you. As @Maltybiscuit says we don't have this in Scotland.