Perimenopause and burning vulva

[NaturalScientist]

I've been to see GP recently about perimenopause symptoms. I've been getting hot flushes at night for last few months and also noticed a lot of hair fall. My period were also a lot heavier than normal and really crampy. Last month period was a lot lighter and only last a few days and this month I've only had spotting. Spoke to GP again after blood tests and she did they didn't tell her much and as I'm only 41 she doesn't want to start me on HRT yet.

Problem is for past few days I've had burning pain in my vulva and the area feels swollen and raw. I thought it was possibly thrush without discharge so tried pessary and oral tablet which made no difference. I've also tried BV gel even though there is no odour just a clear/yellowish discharge that is sometimes spotted with blood. The BV made the burning worse. Could this be vaginal atrophy? Can it come on so suddenly to extent hurts to sit down because vulva is so raw?

I can't see GP until Monday now either so is there anything I can try to use to calm down the burning?

Or lichen sclerosis? Also very common in menopause and bloody painful!

The pain is getting worse. I spoke to pharmacist in Boots and she said all she could give me was moisturiser for intimate dryness but thinks it likely is vaginal atrophy and to see GP to talk through my treatment options

Yes this is definitely a common perimenopause symptom and can be cured really quickly with a pessary called vagifem which you use twice a week. Ask your GP for a prescription.

Ovestin cream worked for me like a miracle

Vaginal oestrogen. You can buy it, use it every day for at least 2 weeks - lots of women need it more often than the twice a week it says to drop down to.

Then if it works you have your answer and can tell your GP.

The replenish moisturiser has done nothing to help. Woke up in so much pain this morning was nearly crying and is nearly unbearable to pee. Considered phoning NHS 24 but is almost impossible to get to hospital for appointment on a Sunday so taking strong painkillers and have ice pack on to try and calm until can see GP tomorrow

Im so sorry OP, vaginal atrophy is awful. Replena won’t help, you need YES VM - you can get it online plus vagifem or ovestin cream

in the meantime, I found that a tepid bath with bicarbonate of soda can help with the burning. Hugs too you - it’s horrible

This is an on going symptom for me. I take Cystitis Relief Sachets, stops the burning in around half an hour. Boots, Tescos etc all do their own brand sachets. I've had exhaustive tests, where damage to nerve endings was said to cause the burning sensation, however the sachets work without fail.

I feel your pain & can't offer much other than to say never, ever let any soap or bubble bath go near that area, wash only with tepid water and nothing else.

Hey there - hopping on as in EXACTLY the same position. I'm 45; started with itching, burning, raw, swollen feeling about 5 weeks ago. Treated for thrush; no difference.

Began using vagirux pessaries 3 days ago, and I think things are a little better - burning down, though everything still feels extremely dry, almost like when your mouth is dry: everything sort of tacky and sticking together. Walking any distance is REALLY uncomfortable, which is a concern, as we're off on a long awaited trip to NY to see my MIL in 3 weeks. All very stressful; more so because I'm still sort of questioning what it is, as it started so suddenly. But I do feel as if things are easing slightly with the vagirux; get the go to prescribe tomorrow if you can..?

I think you'll find that over the course of a couple of months of using topical oestrogen, your symptoms will improve significantly.

How are you doing today, @NaturalScientist? Another thought, for the short term: I'm using the Curable app to deal with this experience - for me, it's quite (in the parlance of our times) triggering, because I went through a bout of bladder/vulva stuff in my early 30s (not the same as this, but certainly in the same region!). It's been very helpful in terms of calming me down/giving me some options around my relationship with pain. May be totally irrelevant to you, but thought I'd mention in case.

And thanks for your comment @CeciNestPasUnPipi - very reassuring!! Was that your experience? My burning is still in abeyance, so I'm hoping that shows things are moving in the right direction..!

Quick update. Managed to get an appointment and just seen GP. She took one look down there and agreed its vaginal atrophy. She has prescribed hydrocortisone to calm it down along with oestrogen pessaries. She's also prescribed the HRT patch to start on and see if everything settles down

That's great, to have got a quick diagnosis!! Hope everything calms down fast. My burning has come back over the course of today; seeing a meno specialist in a week, and hoping to get a clear diagnosis, so I'm confident the pessaries are the right treatment. It's soooooo painful!! Actually - if it's not too weird to say - a relief to hear you describe how I'm feeling so exactly (burning/raw/swollen!) and to hear the GP was so confident! I feel like everything is so dry it's papery, and the dryness is causing the burning. Desperate to sit in a bath, but I gather that can make it worse!!

@UnsureOfOutcome I had a bicarb of soda bath last night and did help soothe a little. Wasn't able to try pessarie as one I was prescribed was out of stock but daughter picked up alternative so trying that tonight and hoping for some relief

I am on Vagifem and still occasionally get this burning and I use Vagisil for immediate relief of it.

I'm so relieved to have found this thread ! I've been getting this itching and burning of my vulva since March and have recently been having mood swings. I did think that they could be menopausal symptoms but after speaking to my GP last week she said not ( telephone consultation) . I have now requested a face to face appointment with a different GP to discuss my symptoms .Op, I am glad that you got this sorted quite quickly