On fire down there

[Jojo2347]

Well everyone talks about hot flushes, mood swings and difficulty sleeping but oh my god I didn’t know that menopause can increase chances of getting UTIs and discomfort.

Sorry to be graphic bit I feel like my labia is on fire and has fine abrasions on it / I’ve not noticed that I was particularly dry there and I am on hrt - I’ve tried canestan everything but nothing over the counter is giving me relief everything just burns and I’m not seeing GP until Tuesday / I’ve tried natural yoghurt and ice pack - I haven’t tried sudocream - what can I do to relieve the soreness ?

help !

Epaderm cream can be bought in pharmacy and can be slathered on externally. Sounds like you may benefit from some vaginal oestrogen when you see the GP next week.
can you tell this was me a few years ago😂

I feel your pain. Its agony and relentless. Mine has gone away for the moment, I had a eureka moment that it might be caused by friction by my work clothes which is a boiler suit along with the dryness that the menopause brings. . So I started each day with a layer of vagisil and bought a week's metronidazole tablets and the combination has actually cleared it. I'm not sure if you can get those tablets it in the UK it I really recommend trying.

Sounds like you have vaginally atrophy, the skin gets thinner hence the cuts. Ask your doc for some Ovestin, it will definite it help.

In the meantime you could try a warm (not too hot!) salt water bath - I use about a cup and a half of table salt in a full bath. Can be quite gentle and soothing.

Sorry your experiencing this.
Your description fits Vaginal Atrophy.

I had been on HRT a few years before the VA symptoms started.
My GP prescribed a topical estrogen cream and moisturising creams such as hydromol.

The combination really helped me.

I use vagifem vaginal pessaries plus Ovestin cream on my vulva. This just about keeps it in check most of the time.

it gets worse if I wear jeans and sit a lot like when working from home 😣

ideally I’d be wearing a dress/skirt and no knickers…. No good in the winter.

You definitely need to go to your doctor and get ovestin or Vagifem pessaries. I use both. It wouldn't do any harm to also get swabs done while you're there in case there is anything else going on also. I was getting secondary infections due to vaginal atrophy. I also use multi-gyn Actigel and it is really soothing. Make sure you wear 100% cotton knickers.

THANK YOU! I had no idea this was a thing. I feel like crying I am so relieved. Have a lovely day lovely folks ❤❤❤

@Jojo2347 Adding one point...when you get the estrogen cream or pessary, they are for life.
Ignore anything your GP says about only for a few months (some still spout that nonsense) because the updated guidance is it's used forever, as long as needed.

If you stop, it will all come back.

You can also use it more the twice a week- as often as needed.

Don't fiddle around with OTC stuff as some contains a local anaesthetic which can calm the pain but can make the root cause worse.

I just went to the pharmacy and they don't have other only wosrrogen patches which I tempted to buy and rub on but he said that was a crazy idea 😀 Have booked ogun for Monday Morning to get a prescription for the pessaries. My lovely pharmacist said its not hard to get but only prescribed in hospitals. Thank god for corporate medical insurance!

I tried the local anaesthetic canastan.may as well had inserted a lit fireworks 😀

I think something's gone missing in 'translation' or rather the auto correct on your phone or whatever! :)

wosrrogen?

Are you in the UK? Maybe not!

you don't need to go to a hospital for vaginal estrogen .
You don't need medical insurance for it either.

The reason my spelling is so bad is because I have a new phone (a fold if you need to check on that as well) and it's slippery and really hard to type.

Gosh @Peterpatter - @JinglingHellsBells is well known for her sound and sympathetic advice on the menopause forum. So she couldn't work out what autocorrect had done - no need to be so abrupt about it.

Sorry, didn't realise it was a clique
.should have known really. Thanks for the advice anyway

Not a clique at all.

Thank god for corporate medical insurance!

If it covers menopause. Ours doesn't...

Mine does. It covers everything globally
Except STIs and cosmetic surgery. No referral no question, just scan my card at any private hospital in the country I am on or an approved one abroad and they direct bill. What would be the point of insurance that didn't cover everything?

Out of interest why make the comment about insurance? Obviously mine does or I wouldn't have mentioned it. Is it suspecting a lie, making a friendly point to others or what? Because it's a bit weird to go to the effort to type that.

Gosh @Peterpatter are you always like this? Honestly, stop. People are genuinely helpful on this board and it's far more weird that you're leaping in anyone who offers an opinion.

And no- private insurance does not cover anything to do with the menopause. Not here in the UK.

Out of interest why make the comment about insurance? Obviously mine does or I wouldn't have mentioned it. Is it suspecting a lie, making a friendly point to others or what? Because it's a bit weird to go to the effort to type that.

Because lots of people read the threads, not just the OP, and it's important for people to know it often isn't covered.

Plus I am weird. 😀