Vaginal atrophy - Lets mention the unmentionable

[roseenglish1969]

So, it happens to 50% to 60% of women at or around menopause time yet very few women approach their doctors about it suffering in silence with painful sex and all of the other horrible symptoms.

The sad thing is once the damage is done you can’t reverse that damage and your bits do shrink.

The clitoral hood often shrinks back exposing the clitorus which can lead to extreme pain and sensitive as you walk about or move. So tight jeans are a no no.
The inner labia shrinks sometimes to nothing and the inner labia has glands which provides moisture to the outside of the vagina. So no labia no moisture equals dry itchy broken skin. Pain in and outside the vagina, burning to the skin around the vulva and bottom,.
VA also affects the bladder causing leaks, urgency, increased frequency and nighttime trips, so Tenna pads ARE avoidable, we don’t have to accept incontinance as part of getting old.

The difficult part is getting your doctors to
a) understand what your symptoms are
b) give a damn
c) prescribe it as they think vagifem is HRT. It isn’t

Most GPs know next to nothing about VA or menopause so it’s up to you to take some printed information off and ask for vagifem.

A years worth of vagifem amounts to just two full HRT tablets. That’s how little oestrogen is in it. And most of that is absorbed by your reproductive organs as it’s a pessary not a tablet and designed that way for that very reason.

What are your symptoms?

I do wonder if some women are confusing increased libido (sex surge) with VA, I know I did, I thought the sudden sensations to my vag was some new meno symptom which it was but it was because my skin below was thinner and the nerves more exposed and sensitive. I felt arousal below out of the blue, no thoughts of sex at all and it was a very confusing time for me. It’s not a common symptom and I fell into a rabbit hole of health anxiety which I’m still not over... I thought I had some rare nerve disorder that effects the vagina. I literally wanted to die rather than live with the condition. Thanks Google.
Videos of women having 100 involuntary orgasms a day haunted me and I was sure that’s where I was heading.
As I say, still very raw to me as I’m trying to accept I don’t have the condition and have VA.

So I wanted to reach women who perhaps had symptoms and were too afraid or shy to ask,
Pm me if you wish .,,

Tried it a few times only using half the application but it’s very messy even with use at night 😌

You do need a panty liner!

Omg that’s what I’ve got, I think!

The air bubbles, the watery discharge, the rubbing on my tights when I walk.

I also had the uti like symptoms. I got sent to a urine nurse. I’m sure that wasn’t actually her job title. She said to drink less tea.

I just assumed all the above were peri-menopause symptoms.

I’ve had oestrogen breast cancer though so should I use hormones? I was told not.

I’m embarrassed to go to the gp though.

Even with that feels uncomfortable and wet all the time 😩

I went to the GP, she had a look to see the state of my undercarriage, she said it looks fine but I feel it's beginning to go. I feel less "padded" IYSWIM, need lube for sex, bladder a little more sensitive and more difficult to get aroused and orgasm. It's all a bit vague and not a major issue yet, BUT I want to prevent detioration, not try and fix it later, do you think this is a valid approach? Should I try and convince the GP to prescribe cream? She taken a blood sample to see if I'm menopausal ( no periods due to Mirena), I'm almost 51 and had some post childbirth prolapse issues which have been OK for years. Grateful for advice.

Yes definitely try and get something from GP or even try an over the counter product. Like you say better to get now rather than if things deteriorate later !

Wiggly
That is exactly what I was referring to when I started this thread.
They ALL say “looks fine” but they’re looking for advanced stages of atrophy as evidence, pale shiny skin, broken cracked skin, loss of pubic hair... by the time it becomes “visible “ the damage is done.

You can only go off symptoms so tell the doctor exactly what you wrote here. You should’nt have to wait till it’s advanced and sore chapped and raw before you can receive treatment

Take a copy of the nice guidelines (scroll up) and YOU decide whether it’s fine or not

Golden
So did I.
I knew the air bubbles meant the vaginal walls were thinning and discharge being watery was just part of getting old and they weren’t bothering me but then one day it Did bother me.
VA mimics UTIs it’s the uretha and bladder drying out,,feels like cycstitus but it often isn’t,
Another sign is cloudy urine... cloudy urine means there is blood in it which is a common symptom of bladder atrophy.. the lining and uretha is bleeding a bit from irritation.
Domt wait until your in agony , prevention is better than cure x

Does anyone know, if you're not allowed hrt because of cancer risk, can you use vagifem or the cream?

I have all these symptoms ... bubbles, ache and pain, lack of lubrication, itchy dry skin down there, including my anus ... I didn't realise they found all be menopause related.

itsthe I'm no expert, but yes, I'm fairly sure you can because the amount of hormone in vagifem is tiny compared to other forms of HRT. I think someone mentions the actual amount somewhere near the beginning of the thread.

It really does the job of sorting out all those symptoms you have, so talk to your GP.

Thanks. I have some left but since have been told the lining of my womb is thickened and i can't take hrt, so I've not used the vagifem either, am now often itchy or in pain in that whole area.

I was reading an article about this recently that mentioned a technique of 'double lubrication' for sex. Tried to find it again but can't. Does anyone know of it?

Does anyone know, if you're not allowed hrt because of cancer risk, can you use vagifem or the cream?

What do you mean by cancer risk?
If you have an abnormal lining (endometrium) it has to be treated - usually with a drug called Norethisterone- to make you have a bleed.

What treatment are you having and what age are you?

If you are still having periods, even if irregular, the endometrium can be thick a lot of the time because it's not coming away each month. This is perfectly normal and not a cancer risk.

What's been happening?

Yes, you can use vaginal estrogen.

The 'bubbles' people are talking about are usually caused by prolapse/slackness of the vaginal walls. it's not exactly anything to do with lack of moisture, but air escaping due to the tissues being slack.

Vagifem is very low dose. A year of using vagifem is equivalent to two HRT tablets ! So my GP says

The 'bubbles' people are talking about are usually caused by prolapse/slackness of the vaginal walls. it's not exactly anything to do with lack of moisture, but air escaping due to the tissues being slack.
I’m getting a bit freaked out now. Why have I got a slack vagina?! I’m 47 and (I think) peri menopausal. The gP gave me antidepressants due to (hormonal?) rages. My periods are erratic and can last for 10 days. I flood in minutes when I first come on.

It’s using a tampon that causes the uti like symptoms, but I can’t not use on as I need that and a massive pad. I wear a tampon and a Tena nappy at night when my period starts to stop the mess.

I always assumed my problems were age related and having a baby with a huge head and an episiotomy.

And having had oestrogen breast cancer I’m not sure I can he anything hormonal. And I don’t have anyone to ask because I’m discharged from the cancer clinic as I’ve been clear for over 5 years.

Sorry, that was a panicked rant!

Sounds as if there is a lot going on Golden.

One by one...

The 'bubbles' I think some posters have mentioned are (often called) 'fanny farts'. Imagine the vagina like a concertina. When the walls touch or are squeezed, or you move, sometimes the air that's trapped in the vagina comes out. If you had a baby with a large head it's possible the walls aren't as tight as before. Pelvic floor exercises - 30 times a day might help.

Most women who have had BC are able to use vaginal estrogen. One year of it is the same as 1mgs of estrogen in a pill ( a low daily dose for HRT.)

There is also a lot of debate at the moment on whether even estrogen-receptor breast cancer is affected by using estrogen.

You should see your GP about perhaps an ablation for heavy periods, or using a Mirena coil for the same.

Joining in with you as this is a concern to me. Post menopause, 57 years old. Finding sex increasingly painful and always need a lubricant.
This thread has given me the confidence to go talk to the GP about it. Will keep in touch.

Read this (very informative) thread last night and have been worrying about the air bubbles. I occasionally get these involuntary fanny farts, usually when standing up. Is this a sign of VA?

Bump.

Over the last year I have had problems with my underwear irritating me. Wearing pads during my period has become too uncomfortable to bear.
I've started suffering with stress incontinence. I began a pelvic floor exercise programme and have been finding that I just can't do the exercises!
My libido hit the deck.
Then I noticed one day that my labia and clitoral hood have shrunk. Particularly my labia minora, which have almost disappeared! I asked my husband to check and he agreed that visually the difference is very noticeable.

I went to the GP on Friday to discuss this. I am 43. He didn't examine me, but he did spend time really listening to me. He says I know my body better than anyone else and with no hesistation he has prescribed me Estriol cream.

Has anyone had an external imporvement from treatment? Will my labia plump up again? If my clitoral hood shrinks any further I don't think I am going to be able to cope with the discomfort of my underwear rubbing me there!

I must be one of the lucky ones! Use ky jelly and the hormone tablet about once a week. Not really noticed much else. Not a lot of sex but then DH is getting on a bit.

Am 68 btw

I am in my late sixties and have been using pessaries for VA seven years. I am in France so have Trophigil which is similar to Vagifem I think (no nifty applicator though). I had discomfort sitting and walking and then several bouts of thrush and UTIs. My doctor worked out what it was and I have been on the pessaries ever since. It took about four months to get back to normal, I use three a week and have not had any problems since.

Bumped earlier so I could RTWT.
On estriol first then a big step change once on Everol patches.
Had all the previously mentioned symptoms but vastly improved.
Do not have a lot of sex , do not orgasm with it . Do have an orgasm with self love.
A previous helpful poster directed me to Jo Divine.... dilating aids, lubricants, helpful blogs .
My symptoms were so bad , I would have been happy never to have sex again.