Replens moisturiser - very worried need advice possible TMI.....

[dementedworrier]

Have namechanger as so, so embarassed . I am 48 and after a few months of being generally uncomfortable saw some stuff about vaginal dryness and started using Replens. Ive been using it for a month now and it has stopped the itching but instead I am shedding clots and clots of off white lumps which look like matted tissue . It doesnt smell at all and is deffo not thrush. In the leaflet, the manufacturer does say that 'you may notice an...residue which is the gel clinging to old skin cells...and with prolonged use the vagina will return to normal'.....well this has been going on for a month now and I am beginning to panic. Has anyone else used Replens and had the same effect? Please?

I genuinely don't understand why anyone would use Replens unless they cannot use vaginal estrogen. (and that is a tiny % of women.)

It seems to give weird effects. If it's actually exfoliating dead and dry tissue , it's not actually repairing the vagina (and it won't) .

I have used Ovestin with is a very weak estrogen cream for around 14 years now, once or twice a week. I also use full hrt.

I have never experienced any skin shedding or anything similar to what's being described here. All I have noticed is that it creates more (welcome) discharge as I'd have when I was fertile.

Interestingly you might like to know that my gynae suggests using vaginal estrogen in post-menopause women for 2 weeks before a smear test to enable more cells to be collected and, of course, to make it all less uncomfortable.

I am 47 yrs old with vaginal dryness, have been fully menopausal for one year now. I know this thread is old, but I’m here searching for answers to the Replens discharge and it has been helpful. I am horrified by the large balled up pieces of sloughing cells coming out of me, mostly during sex! My gynecologist today told me to stop the Replens and use a vaginal estrogen instead, which means I will be taking two types of estrogen HRT. I am on low dose patch Estradiol 0.0375 mg for hot flashes and now she is adding Yuvafem 10 mcg vaginal insert tablet. So yes, doctors will prescribe two types of estrogen, find a new doctor if they won’t!

@JinglingHellsBells

Replens is not recommended by specialists.

If you need something, it's best to go for vaginal estrogen which actually reverses the changes rather than adding 'slip'.

if you still want slip, they recommend YES products.

This is untrue. My hospital's vaginosis specialist recommended Replens by name.

Vaginal moisturizers are not intended for "adding slip." That's a vaginal lubricant, which is not the same thing as a long-lasting moisturizer (though some short-term lubricants' packaging are deceitful in trying to trick the consumer into thinking it is in order to get more sales). Vaginal moisturizers are not intended for sexual intercourse- they're for moisturizing the internal skin of the patient and allowing proper vaginal shedding so that the vagina can be healthy. It was recommended to me as part of treatment for recurrent yeast infections because it is suspected that my body does not produce enough day-to-day lubrication for the vagina to properly clean itself out and thus builds up too many sugary proteins, and the yeast that feeds on them, because they're not being properly flushed out with natural lubrication and cell shedding.

Estrogen also does not "reverse" changes. It is not a time machine, but another treatment option. Non-estrogen treatment options are just as valid. It is about the nature of the condition, personal preference of the patient, and what works best with each individual's bodies.

I would agree with that statement. The Replens helped tremendously with added “slip” or lubrication during sex. Only problem was the additional “shedding” that occurred during sex. I was mortified as I am not married and have been with a new partner after years of being celibate. Not to be disgusting, but that stuff was all over my sheets! Thank goodness we were at my house… So far the Yuvafem vaginal tablets have not helped, but my gynecologist warned me it could take six weeks or longer before it would. Using Uberlube until then.

@PinkAnon Well, it's good that Replens is helping you. But you did say you had vaginosis, which isn't all the full VA that many women suffer from.

It might help if you- and anyone else- takes a look at this Powerpoint presentation by gynae Nick Panay.

www.menopause.org/docs/default-source/agm/panay-n-2017-slides.pdf

On page 8 there is a comparison between Replens and topical estrogen. Replens actually comes at the bottom of a table for pH value . I've read elsewhere that most gynaes favour YES.

When estrogen is put back, that reverses the cells to pre-menopausal thickness. It's called changing the vaginal epithelium. They change from being thin and fragile to plumped-up and tougher (so they don't tear and bleed during sex.)

You can see from the tables comparing Replens and estrogen, that Replens did not change overall vaginal health, but it can add moisture.

@GinaMichelle Give it time. Also, the dose of Vagifem is now only 10mcgs. It used to be 25mcgs. This means that many women find it takes longer to work or they need to use it 3-4 times a week, not just twice.

@JinglingHellsBells Thanks for the information, I especially find the ph values interesting.