Who knew your fanny shrivelled up and ran away when you hit mid 50s!?!

[shrumps]

I certainly didn’t and I miss it! The only part of my body to become skinny and Im absolutely pissed off. Why did no one tell me about this?? And now I feel I can’t tell anyone else in case it’s just me.

Wasn’t that Frank Sinatra?

I only learned a few weeks ago on a thread here about vaginal atrophy -never heard of it and am mid 60s.
But absolutely made sense because when I started having sex again last year after a 6 year drought it was initially extremely painful and I had repeated UTIs for about 6 months that started 36 hours after sex.
Am really annoued now that the doctor (young male) prescribed antibiotics for the UTI -no mention of oestrogen (I was already taking vagifem twice a week and did actually ask if it would be beneficial to take it more often /he said definitely not -but I did anyway as thought it must help promote better liberation and it did. )
I didn’t realise the external cream existed till I read about it on Mumsnet!
Have now bought some Ovesse online and seeing the doc next week /wiill insist in it!
Am just so grateful that I haven’t yet lost my clitris and this may save it 😃thanks Mumsnet!

I’m 60 and been on HRT over 10 years which really helped with the hormonal anxiety and waking up for hours of a night
Sex then got really excruciating painful in my mid 50s, lube helped then stopped working. I got an appointment with the Menopause Clinic in my local hospital, they said it’s because the skin inside becomes so thin, they prescribed vagifem, a tiny tablet you insert twice a week. OMG the pain has totally gone. Would 100% recommend.
i think your GO can prescribe it, so doesn’t have to be menopause clinic.

Any bleeding/blood after sex is something to get checked by your gp.

I went to an OT as I was worried about my pelvic floor and was offered the topical cream, I'm 45 and very excited to get on it!! She was saying that all woman should be offered it in their 40's due to UTi's being so dangerous when you're much older.

You can buy it online or even over the counter in a pharmacy- it's called Gina.
Ovesse is a cream version @Bluenose1966

How long does it take for the predators or cream to make a difference?

And another thing if anyone gets frozen shoulder that can also be related to menopause. Also dry, sore eyes. I put Blephoderm cream on every morning and stopped the eye infections I was getting.

Pessaries 🙄

It's actually quite sad that this isn't more well known.

3 years ago there was a lot of publicity on this - was in all the papers- though most called it HRT and it was all 'HRT available to buy' - which wasn't correct as many argue that it's not HRT as we know it.

The headlines were because topical vaginal estrogen was licensed for over the counter sales - for women over 50 (under 50 the licence doesn't apply so it's a GP appt needed.)

Agree what you say,not sure what iam looking to expect!

That'll be because your pelvic floor is weak. You need to get on Squeezy.

God I’m sick of bodies being crap. I have had terrible eczema shrivelling me from head to toe all my life and now I’m told menopause will dry out my fanny too. I worry I’ll hit 50 and go up in a puff of dry skin cells.

Is the oestrogen topical fanny cream better than oestrogen pessaries?

I have the pessaries which help with soreness and atrophy, but I think my clitoris has shrunk and orgasms are becoming a bit meh and I'm wondering if the cream might be better

They dont disappear, more deflate, like an old helium balloon.

I had a smooth, symptom free menopause and blithely assumed that it was all over and done and I didn't need HRT because, well, it was all over. I'm not currently having sex so I didn't notice that my poor fanny was suffering, until I did a long distance walk and there was a little bit of blood and I was sore. Then I took up horse riding and cycling again and got VERY sore, and when my smear test appointment came round I couldn't bear the thought.

On here I was told all about the miracles of topical HRT and I got Gina through private prescription (because, with the length of time it would take to see a GP I would have shrivelled up completely) and now I add to that with Ovesse cream slathered all over.

While I'm not quite back at my finest, at least I know I am doing my best to keep UTIs at bay and I'm no longer feeling that my fanny is glueing itself together during a long run or ride.

Squeezy?

I was experiencing very slight pain during sex, and symptoms of UTI (urgency) but never an actual UTI.
I use replens daily (replens was gloopy to start, but after about 6 weeks it resembled normal discharge) and I use Ovesse (which I buy myself from Boots or Lloyds) once a week. If I use Ovesse more often than once a week, it all feels a bit too plump 😂
I also take a bladapure capsule bd morning and night.

You need both. Cream (or pessary) inside and cream outside.

It's an app for pelvic floor exercises. It's good and easy to use.

Pelvic floor exercises can help. But vaginal atrophy often feels like constant this and cystitis and your clitoris can shrink. No amount of exercises change that.

can confirm

i use oestrogel nightly and insert the cream twice weekly. i thought that now i am single i would get rid of a problem that was a real problem. my skin on my vagina is thinner despite all the above and when i had sex i would tear easily. getting rid of my ex i thought it would be the end of the issue but the other day i decided to have some me time with a vibrator and guess what? yes same problem ffs cant even have fun after the menopause

What happened to my husbands penis if I have used oestrogen cream? He gets a dose? I haven’t told him, and see no sign of his feminine side appearing but we don’t have sex as much as we did 20 years ago!

I’m really concerned by the use it or lose it philosophy, I’m single .