Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Suzi Q]

Thank God its not just me Taz I didnt like to say anything
Here in Ozz we are told (I checked again today) we can use it indef
My Avon lady Anne came around today shes on it like me every other night
Shes been on it all the time for 2 years?
Why the diff Why the diif rules???
Suzi Q
Yes it does seem bloody stupid to me that it takes 6/7wks to get better
So you have another 6 weeks being well then its F again
AV or VA doesnt get better EVER it stays if you can keep it just in control thats all you can hope for
Thats why sometimes like today it gets you down knowing it will never go but hey in this case THERE is someone worse off not right!

[Taz2]

It is only recently that the UK advice has changed Suzi - and it is still only recommended to be used twice a week after the initial every night for two weeks.

Taz x

[Suzi Q]

Same here too but Gp says cos mine was so very bad severe he said
I know though I cant use it like this perm Im just going to do it till the weekend see how it goes then if its ok yesss
Im going back on the 17th (we go away on 21st) see if he can give me anything even Ortho to use on the days I cant use Vagifem
Suzi Q

[Taz2]

Hi suzi - I don't think you will able to use ortho on the days when you aren't using the vagifem as they contain the same amount of oestrogen so you will still be "overdosing" your system if you know what I mean. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100001954.html  is the ortho information and http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002706.html   is the vagifem information. Sorry 

Taz x

[rebecca]

I use Ovestin and just spoken to Customer care at Organon Laboratories in Cambridge about usage.
In the paperwork with the cream it states that ' your doctor may want you to stop from time to time (every 2-3 months for a period of 4 weeks' I asked why it cannot be used continuosly like another similar product (Vagifem, but didn't say the name). He said it is only licensed to take it with a break ffrom treatment and only a doctor should make that decision whether a break will be needed.  He said he could see my concern. He also said that it would also depend on the trials that were done on the other product, why you did not have to have a break from it.

I'm off to doctors next week to check as I have been using Ovestin for a while now and when I tried to stop I was in agony in 2 days so I know 4 weeks stoppage will be out of the question.  If the doc wants me to take a break I may ask if I could go back on Vagifem this product seems to be less risky to me as I understand it if you can take it forever!!!

Confused Rebecca 

[Crescent]

Thanks ladies for advice on the Vagifem    did print off some advice off about the change of advice, Taz and took it into doctors but she barely looked at it and said I still think the month off is advisable.   As she's the one that signs off the prescriptions I felt a bit stuck as I don't want a stand up row about it. I was quite assertive though
I do have some Ovestin left over from last year but  haven't used that, it's my emergency supply and it's sore but bearable at the moment.
I may email as you suggest Taz but they may say something like the other manufacturers have just said to Rebecca about your doctor making the decision.

Interesting about your phone call, Rebecca.
You know what bugs me is that we are (obviously) all quite intelligent women     And yet look at the trouble all of us are having getting ourselves sorted out, it's a minefield!!

[Night_Owl]

Hello All

I've suffered with v.bad dryness, loss of fat in the genital area and some vaginal atrophy.  Currently I'm back on the Vagifem twice a week but I wanted to tell you all about an amazing product I've discovered, recommended on another board. 

It's Vitamin E suppositories.  ***NOT*** to be confused with Vitamin E capsules.

The suppositories are hard and bullet shaped and insert easily and they really do help with the dryness if you use every other day, along with the Vagifem.

The only drawback is that you can't buy them in the UK, I order online from America in boxes of 24, the brand is Carlson (google Vitamin E suppositories + Carlson) and I thoroughly recommend, I've tried so many things and spent a small fortune - but these DO work in terms of keeping things moisturised.  Surprised that UK chemists / suppliers don't stock them, there would be such a great demand - me, I'd buy a shelf full!

I look on it that I'm moisturising my vag in the same way as I do my face!

Hope this helps some of you out there suffering with this awful meno symptom.

Night_Owl
x

[Crescent]

Very interesting, Night Owl - wonder if they are available in pharmacies in the US.  I'm going over there in May so may have a look round for some.
Thanks for the info.

[Night_Owl]

You're v.welcome, Crescent.

I'm so impressed with this simple product.  The suppositories also help keep things lubricated during intimacy.

Of course we're all different and the twice weekly use of Vagifem is obviously helping too (Ortho-Gynest didn't seem to produce results). 

I never anticipated that I would have to work so hard using remedies to stop my vag from becoming unbearably uncomfortable - and susceptible to thrush and UTIs due to the massive changes.  As I'm sure you all know, the more you keep it moisturised, the less likely it is to pick up infection. 

The hospital consultant gynae I now see every three months hasn't mentioned having a break from Vagifem.  (I'm on Estraderm patches 75mg + Utrogestan natural progesterone for 12 days pcm, so I am having the effect of the prog shedding the uterine lining.)

Hope you manage to find some Vit E suppositories in the US.

Night_Owl
x

[terriw]

I've used the Vit E capsules inserted, I wonder what the difference is?

[mimi la chance]

Hi Night Owl
Do you use the Vit E supps on the same day as the Vagifem or on the "days off"?

And when you say suppository, are you popping them up your fanny or up your bum?

Sorry- what a rude question to ask someone you have just "met".... Hi My name's Mimi and I also suffer form dry Bits!

[Night_Owl]

As an aside, I would also say that if you're suffering a hideous (early) meno (as I have) then I would urge you to ask your GP for a referral to see a NHS gynae consultant specialist - and if you're not happy with the first one you see, then ask for a further referral and so on.

Strange how so many gynae consultants seem to be men - I prefer to talk to a female about the complexity of meno symptoms, how can a man even begin to relate?

In retrospect, I can now see that the various GPs I saw when I was at my lowest most vile ebb, only had general knowledge re: meno / HRT.  Each woman's HRT requirement needs to be tailored - and this is something "General Practitioners" (as the name would suggest) do not have the expertise to administer.  My GP admitted that she would never have thought of the current combination of HRT I am trying out.  Admittedly I'm not great and restord on the HRT - but I'm still 100 times better than I was off it.  The side effects have to be balanced against the benefits.

Every three months I have a 'treatment review' appointment with the gynae consultant.  I keep a diary of the effects of the HRT, how I'm feeling etc etc, and then the treatment is reviewed / tweaked from there.  I've been told that I can go on seeing the consultant until I find the right combination for my body chemistry.

GPs simply just don't know enough about this cr@p meno to treat the symptoms effectively.

Night_Owl
x

[Night_Owl]

Hi Anifanny - no definitely NOT vit E capsules - ***they don't work*** - the suppositories are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

Ingredients: coconut and palm oils and natural source vitamin E.

They are white, hard-ish and bullet shaped with one end pointy.

Hi Mimi - your post made me chuckle, please do ask away, am pleased to pass on this useful info that has really made a difference for me.

I use the suppositories on the "days off" from Vagifem - and they insert easily into the vagina, can easily push right up without an applicator and they disappear quite high up (or low as the case may be with my fast dropping bits).

Worth a try I'd say in the battle against the Dried Out Quim.

Gynae consultant also recommends Replens but I haven't tried yet as I like the natural suppositories.

Night_Owl
x

[mimi la chance]

The Dried Out Quim.

I'm going to start a Punk Band and call it that...

[Crescent]

Been reading up on the Vit E suppositories since N Owl mentioned them earlier, it seems that you can use them in either ie vagina or rectum    Can't find them listed at pharmacies in the US so think I'll order some and have them sent to my family over there ready for when I arrive, won't tell them what they are    Am just praying that I get through this blinking month off Vagifem ok and don't get any infections as that is the original reason I went on it.  The atrophy started after that.
As you say Night Owl, I am sure GPs knowledge isn't enough generally which is why mine is so insistent on the break.   I've been off HRT for years now as I'm post meno, so don't really want to see a gynae.