severe vaginal atrophy

I hope someone can give me some good advice. I have had painful sex for years. It is so severe now that it is impossible. I have gotten 2 paps in the last few years at my regular doctor. When I told him about the pain, he said I wasn't dry and I should either "Use it or Lose It" ( I'd like to see a guy" use it" with that much pain) So I kept trying to use it, but it was so painful, I would sob afterwards and eventually during. When I bled after sex, I finally went to a gyn. who told me I have vaginal atrophy. It is pretty severe. He couldn't believe my doc couldn't tell I had this problem. What to do? He said he didn't know if the therapy would help or not now. I start taking Vagifem semi weekly. ( 2 or 3 x) I'm pretty upset. I have been avoiding sex like crazy in the past until our sex life is nonexistant. My husband has been pretty good about it, but I am somewhat relieved that their is a medical reason, I was afraid he was thinking I just didn't want to have sex anymore. My question is....Is there any hope for me? The gyn said that this has been going on at least 10 years. Has anyone ever had it this bad?

There is no way any of us can predict how your body will respond to the medication.

Vagifem is suppose to show results in 2-7 weeks. If there is no improvement after two months, I would talk to another doctor. There are other brands of estrogen to try. Sometimes an oral dose is more effective for this type of problem, than a topical application, but there are more risks associated with it. Your doctor is probably being cautious in his prescribing and if Vagifem is not working for you, he can give you something else to try.

I'm glad to see you decided to get rid of Dr. UseitorLoseit for you care. How unprofessional.

I do hope that your doctor informed you of the side effects of this medication. If not, Google it and see if you want to take the risks.

I would also have an open talk with my spouse about this problem since it affects both of your well being.

I hope for the best for you.

dilly dally, Oh boy, I looked them up. Gad! I don't know what is worse, the problem or the side effects. I would be fine to not taking the Vagifem, but my better half would like to have sex again.

Vagifem has worked well for me. Also helpful are silicone based lubricants, such as Pink, Swiss Navy, available on the internet. I have not seen them in stores. They last much longer than KY or Astroglide. My gyn recommended these and it's made a world of difference in my love life.

Coco2008 I too have Vaginal Atrophy. It took me a year and three different doctors and this web site to figure out what I had. If I didn't experience pain and bleeding during sex I had burning and pain afterward. It got so bad I could barely walk and sitting 8 hours at work was unbearable. I started out on Vagifem but still needed to use Replens (vaginal moisturizer) in between dosages and still didn't get the relief I needed. It wasn't until my gyn prescribed Estrace Vaginal Cream that I am finally back to normal. I insert 1gm of Estrace Cream every other night for a total of 4 to 5 gm's a week. My doctor told me that because Estrace Cream is used directly in the Vagina it doesn't cross the blood stream and that makes it much less of a risk as say HRT orally.

Go into http://www.menopausematters.co.uk:80/ and read what the Doctors have to say about Vaginal Dryness. It may relieve your worries about the HRT risk.

Cindy

Hi--I am reading the messages on vaginal atrophy with interest. Have had many uti's in past 5 years, finally cannot have sex without getting one. Doctor trying Vagifem but it causes abdominal pain immediately. I am so dissappointed. It is so hard to discuss this problem..in my case the doctor is so young, a urogynecologist. Does anyone have any experience with "natural hormones"? I was trying to find something on this, but this particular doctor went back to the vagifem, which I have already tried with no good results. I get "infections" in both vagina and bladder...really frustrating. I guess I am pretty old, had no problems really til age 60. Any comments would be great. Thanks

Annabelle, you might want to look into the product I linked.

Here is a link that might be useful: Probiotics

I have had this since 2001, in the beginning it took 122 days to see any kind of relief. The pain was intense, I couldn't even walk. My doctor had me try 26 different drugs. It was nuts. I have been on HRT since them, and that really helped. However I find when I am super stressed out, or something traumatic occurs, it flares up. I have tried every pill, cream, ointment known to man, the ONLY thing that WORKS like a charm is
VITAMIN E suppotories. Those, saved my life! I buy them off the internet. Boxes of 24. When I start to feel burning pain, I use one each night for 2 weeks. Never has failed.
When I think the amount of $$$$ I spent, the gross stuff I have drank, all the pills I have taken, and the messy creams I have indured......these work!
BTW..I still have periods..very scanty and off & on. A lot of times the dryness will bring this on, so I use the VITAMIN E right after words. Also get yourself NON latex gloves to use with the Vitamin E.

Hi, I also suffer from vag. dryness & atrophy for years. I tried a bioidentical estriol cream. however when I inserted it wow. it burned for 15 minutes. The next night the same. It also irritated me. Has anyone else experienced this with the bioidentical estriol crream. Now I don't know what to do. They say this is so helpful.

I have the same problem i stop having sex for many years now but last month my papsmear was due i had to see my GP
the procedure was so painful and the result was unsatisfactory and she prescribe me ovisten vag.cream but i got to many side effects irritation,headache,night sweats
so i stop using it. Now im using natural herbal cream called wild yam cream i don't any side effects but i have to wait for the result yet i hope i will work.

Hi my fellow sisters in pain! Well reading your stories doesn't give me much hope. I am post menapausal..went off HRT when I was given an Estr-ring as the creams and Replens did nothing to help my plight. I have now gone back on HRT as the same nasty menapausal symptoms returned. The combination plus suppositories to help with dryness makes sex bearable for only a short time and then I need almost a month to heal again. I am miserable...but husband still doesn't really understand what I go through and he often thinks I am just making excuses. I feel like a failure ...I would be quite happy to never have sex again and he just can't understand that. Why isn't there some sort of surgical intervention, a vaginal transplant...or replacement like for burned skin or something? They can do sex changes and help errectile difficulties why not help us or are we just not important enough and should just suffer in silence? I really feel alone, and miserable because of this. I also have a male gyni who told me to use it or lose it....I told him straight out that he should feel what I feel when I do...he just laughed...IMAGINE! I am currently looking for a female gyni! Doctors don't seem to want to talk about this and everyone just seems to sigh and expect me to live with it. I could but what about my husband? Please, can anyone out there give me hope for a happy ending to this story? Some hope that this is not the end of my sexual life? Being an empty nester should be a golden time for my husband and I to reconnect and enjoy a new sexual feedom...now what?

Hi cate54 omg sounds exactly like how I feel, I do use Replens and Vitamin E suppositories that do help but the pain is horrific and then need to heal for a month, I feel your pain, doctors have told me the same need to use it more, ha ha. I am mortified about hormonal creams as I have read so many blogs about causing weight gain in abdomen and hips, don't need that too. My pastor's wife has gained prob. 15 lbs on bio=identicals in month or so. Any information would be helpful, I am constantly trying new things, having the sex drive back would be great too. Thanks...

So glad I found this sight. I am having the same problems with vaginal atrophy. Etrace causes horrific abdominal pain and cramping. Without it all my bladder/UTI problems return. There has to be an answer to this. Going to a Uro-Gyn soon. I've been going to my OB/GYN for years and she never even mentioned or thought of atrophy. They just keep pushing antibiotics. What is wrong with these Dr's??

This makes me so mad hearing what these doctors say!! Where are they getting this carp, since they all seem to say the same catch phrase?! My doctor said he didn't know why I was having this problem. THANKS A LOT!! I want to have sex and I can't figure out why I can't get an effective treatment. So many women on these boards complain of this problem, I can't understand why my gyn. looked at me like I was a hypochondriac!! You ladies are so right, if these male doctors had such pain with sex you can bet your bottom dollar the researchers would be all over it and they would not be told "use it or lose it."

Hi everyone, It is awful the pain you are experiencing. I would first and foremost get a female OB/Gyn. Men Dr. don't have a clue what we are going through. I also have experienced this but mildly and a few problems with my Bladder and UTI's. I got some Nature's Bounty Triple Strength Cranberry Fruit 1680 mg plus Vitamin C. If you have any symptoms of UTI's this stuff really works and pretty fast. In addition, I also take Omega 3's 2000 mg., Vitamin D3 2000 mg., Calcium w/ Vitamin D 1200 mg. and last but not least Botanic Choice Thyroid Complex.

I know it's alot of pills , but I feel so much better in general. I just had fasting Labwork done, and my Cholesterol levels were excellent as well as my Thyroid and Blood Sugar, so all of these supplements are helping in everyway.

Good Luck and hope you all find some relief!!!

It's probably not atrophy, it's a disease. I always thought my problem was atrophy until one gyn told me differently. She said she has 5 year old patients who have the same thing. When I squatted down to pull weeds or pick up something on the floor I would feel myself tear. It is not curable, everything including surgery has be tried to correct the damage. I use something called clobetasol ointment. No discomfort at all now.

i recently was diagnosed with vaginal atrophy, for the past 4-6 months i have been unable to have sex with my husband. My ob/gyn first thought it was an infection and then when i had tears she said i was having an HSV outbreak. i had been diagnosed with HSV 25 yrs prior and had never had an outbreak that lasted 3 wks but i went along with the treatment that didn't releave the symptoms. Once things cleared up i tried to have sex and was sore for 3 weeks. A friend mentioned that maybe i had become allergic to my husbands semen so we tryed to have sex with a protection which only made things worse. I went to my ob and told her how much pain i was in during and after sex and she examined me and told me that due to my having a complete hysterectomy over 10 years ago that my vaginal area was similar to a women in her late 60's, the dryness and shrinkage would only get worse if we did not treat it now and she did recommend that once the cream started working to use it more to help keep the muscles and skin flexible. she has started me on premarin cream along with my taking premarin pills as a HRT. I am hopeful that this helps. The pain and soreness has made it difficult to sit for long periods of time, to wear panty liners or even underwear. I am open to any other suggestions that can help to alleviate this pain.

I know this blog is about vaginal atrophy but there is also mention of frequent UTIs which also seem to follow this condition. I found a wonderful cure about 10 years ago for the UTIs. I am now struggling with the atrophy at age 64. Order a product called Clear Tract by Discovery Nutrition. I have used the powder form and it works like a dream. It is now available on Amazon.

I can relate to many of the post reagarding the atrophy, I had a severe problem with atrophy and thought the decrease in my premarin was causing all the issues, I would tear and have severe pain when having sex, dryness (where I need lots of lubrication lotions) and sex was not enjoyable, when not able to get wet, doesn't do alot for romance. I did talk to by GYN and he gave me estrace cream, let me tell you ladies this is a miracle cream, I used 1.5 - 2 grams 3 times a week for 3 weeks and then 2 times a week and am now down to once a week, i can get wet without lubrication and there is absolutely no pain whatsoever, no tearing or soreness, I do believe it has even helped with the sex drive. I think all the positives out weigh the negatives, had I not started thia program I think I would have been sexless for the rest of my life. Give it a shot what do you have to loss.......side effects hey with all of the chemicals is water and food and pesticides this is at least prcoess in a lab. Try it please it really works........Good luck..........sex is good and to get wet and drip as we do in our younger years it is fabulous....I did have a hysterectomy 20 years ago so this just goes along with all of that.....Good luck ladies, glad I could share my positive story, I do get sore from too much sex but a little vitamin E oil rubbed on clears up the sorenes within a day and your ready to go again, but the foreplaay helps to.....let me know how it works.........my doctor is male and just wants to help...so all male doctors are not bad...Get with the program or find a doctor that will prescribe,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Good Luck

I just stumbled on this thread. It is so sad to see the pain that so many people are having. My understanding is that Vit. E is a miracle in restoring the vagina in this situation. I have not tried it because I am so out of a relationship for the past many years- but I quite believe it because a few years ago before I separated from my husband, when this started and I had no idea of the reason, I used vit E at the vaginal entrance to ease the burning and pain. It indeed worked wonders overnight. Repeatedly. So I can believe it works interiorly also. I am about to try it as I am about to enter into a relationship with my estranged husband. They also sell them in low doses in a coconut oil base as a suppository. Carlson's Labs. Any health store should have. God bless you ladies.

I posted in the thread below this, titled something about a race. It explains what may be wrong. The disease Lichen Sclerosis is usually diagnosed as atrophy. Every doc I saw called it atrophy even gyns. I hope it is not your problem, it's not curable.

I am considering entering into a relationship after 13 years of enforced abstinence. I have been trying some of the above suggestions and an apparatus to try and open myself up in preparation. Every time I do this I end up with a uti. I have been very gentle(mainly because of the pain) and am worried that when the real thing arrives in May I may not be able to do anything. Help! My doctor has prescribed an oestrogen cream I have been using for weeks but so far I am still in pain.I have tried various vaginal lubricants and wondered if any one has tried the the DHEA inserted vaginally.

If you are getting urinary tract infections from an apparatus, the apparatus is contaminated and/or you are using it wrong....

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