Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Menopause

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Vagifem - anyone used? Any side effects?

164 replies

Oldisthenewblack · 10/06/2016 16:19

I've just been prescribed Vagifem tablets. I asked my GP for something to help with what felt like dryness 'inside' - difficult to describe but something that I never used to feel. Having just read the enclosed leaflet, it sounds like HRT! I didn't realise. I thought it would be just some kind of fancy lube Confused I'm now a bit concerned as this sounds like serious stuff, and I'm not sure about putting it in my body. I'm not menopausal yet (as far as I know) though I do hav a whole host of symptoms, but that's more to do with other issues sigh Has anyone used Vagifem and did it have any negative side effects?

Thanks in advance Smile

OP posts:
Footle · 03/02/2019 09:56

Yes, JinglingHellsBells, I'm all too well aware of full blown allergic reaction as mentioned by Theladyisok, urticaria/angiodoema and all.
The symptoms I've had so far, and dared to call 'allergic', are soreness and swelling in my mouth, mainly in the palate , and unexplained sneezing and running eyes.
I've read the Vagifem information leaflet , and TheLady's previous post, and wondered what evidence there is to link them to Vagifem.
I'd hate to stop using the stuff, it would mean the end of my sex life and I'm not ready for that.

Theladyisok · 03/02/2019 10:27

Footle is this the only HRT you are using? As said previously by someone there is a tiny tiny amount of estrogen in the pessaries. I doubt very much it causes an lergic reaction but is easy to e

Theladyisok · 03/02/2019 10:29

Damn cat... Sent that too soon while fighting him off. It would be easy to exclude for a few weeks. Good luck

JinglingHellsBells · 03/02/2019 11:15

It won't be the Vagifem.

New allergies can start at any age and given the huge upheavals caused by loss of estrogen, it's more likely it's the menopause that has created the 'climate' for allergies to take hold.

See your GP and ask to be assessed at an allergy clinic if it's really troubling you?
Sounds like you are reacting to dust/pollen/ moulds/ spores/ or something you are eating if it's mainly in your mouth.

Keep a food and drink diary and see if there are any correlations.

Footle · 03/02/2019 12:00

Thanks both, menopause is long gone and I'd had no reason to suspect Vagifem, but was interested in TheLady's increased histamine production, which I thought was being put down to Vagifem. Glad it isn't.

Kmom53 · 03/02/2019 13:52

Ok I will give it a couple of weeks - I just started it the night before I posted and woke up scratching my arms. Hopefully this works I am 3 years post menopausal and the vaginal atrophy is creating so many problems. Thank you

Maybees2 · 25/02/2019 21:59

Hi I've just been prescribed Vagifem for burning, pain and dryness how long does it take to work ?

Footle · 26/02/2019 07:29

I started with two weeks of using it every night, then twice a week ever since. The first couple of weeks made a big difference. If I miss a dose now I do notice it.

Maybees2 · 26/02/2019 18:56

Hi did anyone else experience slight discharge when starting Vagifem. Did some research and found discharge could be old cells of lining of vagina being shed.

JinglingHellsBells · 26/02/2019 20:46

If it's not smelly, itchy or a nasty colour, it's normal.
It's the effects of the estrogen- we are supposed to have discharge, it's what keep s the vagina healthy and moist. Women with VA have no normal discharge.

Kirkly · 27/02/2019 09:22

wondered if anyone using vagifem has also got lichen scelersis and if so has it made it worse. Just started using vagifem and the lichen flare up is terrible.

Nicki64 · 05/03/2019 12:36

Hi, I’m new to Mumsnet, great to find people talking about menopause, & specifically Vagifem. I’m probably @ 4 years into menopause, only real issue dryness, with sex drive having driven off & left me - very annoying, as I’m finally with the absolute love of my life, after too many shattered dreams. I’ve done everything I can to avoid artificial hormones, bad track record - supplements, natural creams, finally gave in to Ovestin, now on Vagifem & very relieved! Big question - we’re a very green household, & I hate that each dose has its own plastic applicator, straight into our beautiful earth. So, does anyone know if there’s another equivalent to Vagifem out there with a reusable, washable applicator? I’d be so grateful - thanks x

Footle · 05/03/2019 12:47

It's blimming ridiculous isn't it? I've invented a cardboard applicator for them but it's imaginary. One of these days someone will get round to it. Write to them. I have.

SalliSunbeem · 05/03/2019 13:08

How is Vagigem used? Is it a pessary to be inserted using an implement or a cream?

Footle · 05/03/2019 13:17

Small pessary ( though my phone prefers 'peasant' ) that you insert. A pill, really.

SalliSunbeem · 05/03/2019 15:07

Thanks

MrsGK · 08/03/2019 13:05

I'm 58 yearsold, 8 weeks post op after hysterectomy & bladder/bowel repair. All going reasonably ok but quite a lot of discomfort in stomach area - especially struggling by the end of the day, feels very heavy & bloated (& is bloated) nursing it like a pregnancy! Anyway consultant has prescribed Vagifem which I was quietly nervous about until I read the info here. My problem/concern, is that the last thing I need is to feel anything that might assist in my sexual awareness. I am post menopausal by a good few years. My darling partner was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and after 25 years of happy marriage & satisfying sex life now we have no sex life at all. Not possible (he's not even remotely interested or capable). So my slightly weird concern, now that I have (sort of) come to terms with a sexless life, is that introducing Vagifem might re-introduce a desire that I have tried to put to bed (ha ha!). Is it going to do me any favours regarding the discomfort and is the benefit going to outway the other relief in symptoms that I don't notice or suffer?

JinglingHellsBells · 08/03/2019 13:14

Sorry to hear about your husband - must be hard for you.
Vagifem will do nothing for yours or any other woman's libido- if it did it would be flying off the shelves. It simply changes the atrophied vaginal tissues into plump ones that do not irritate , chafe, or bleed. Nothing else. It's not absorbed into the blood stream.

dementedma · 09/03/2019 17:59

I take vagifem as does my 84 year old mother. Its a real help with bladder and urine infections. Does nothing to stop hit hot flushes though.

trickyex · 12/03/2019 18:43

Nicki you can ask for Ovestin with a reueable applicator to save on plastic.

Jmc21 · 13/03/2019 22:52

I am 55 and have been using Vagifem for around 5 months and have found my hot flushes have come back and also my hormonal acne. Has anyone else found this?

JinglingHellsBells · 14/03/2019 08:07

am 55 and have been using Vagifem for around 5 months and have found my hot flushes have come back and also my hormonal acne.

There is zero connection. Using vaginal estrogen for one year is the same as taking ONE pill of HRT ( 1mgs) which is a low daily dose.

Your flushes have come back because they were going to anyway and the acne. It's your own hormones still fluctuating.

Footle · 14/03/2019 08:28

Jmc21, no i haven't.

Jmc21 · 14/03/2019 09:06

It just seemed to be too much of a coincidence, my skin has been clear for 5 years. I will continue and see how I get on.

JinglingHellsBells · 14/03/2019 09:16

It is a coincidence.

If it was having any effect, your flushes would have disappeared, not come back, because it would be in your system and acting like 'full ' HRT.

Swipe left for the next trending thread