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[jorainbow]

Ive been prescribed the above for vaginal dryness and my anxiety levels have rocketed! GP said this was non systemic but if  it it's a cracking coincidence!  I'm on day 13 of the first 2 week and then reduce to fortnightly. Dryness improved which is good. Is this just a coincidence? Just driving back from holiday and I'm staving off anxiety attacks which is bloody exhausting. 

[honeybun]

I really do think it's a coincidence to be honest. If there is any uptake then it is absolutely tiny and not enough to cause anxiety.

It's a horrible thing though and you have my sympathy.


Honeyb
X

[countrybumpkin]

Could using a new drug have maybe tipped your anxiety? I know that I hate using any new medicine and this always makes me more anxious until many weeks after i have started it and realise I haven't dropped dead

I am at end of 3rd week of vagifem - the only slight side effect I have had is that my hot flushes increased during the two week loading time and then the first time I went down to twice a week the next day I had more hot flushes. This was explained as being due to the miniscule increase in oestrogen that you get for a few hours after using the vagifem and then when this miniscule increase goes down this triggers a few hot flushes. Made sense to me.

[Kathleen]

Hello jorainbow.

I don't use anything for vaginal dryness as I'm on patches HRT and this is supposed to help ( though frankly the jury's still out on that one ). I did however want to sympathise with you concerning your anxiety and how exhausted it can make you feel as I find  everything a huge effort when I am in the grips of such feelings.

I am now off to a family barbecue which I have been dreading because I feel so on edge. Menopause sucks.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

P.S Re your pessaries, does the patient information leaflet mention side effects at all?

[jorainbow]

Thank you for your support! I got home ate and fell straight to sleep. I agree with coincidence I think as I was pretty much ok last week when at home. I wrote a list in the car (distraction) of recent stressors and along with new job was son deciding to live in Oz. And I am scard of planes. Where we stayed last week was somewhere I took him and his brother when they were little so I had mixed emotions. My peri symptoms at present are limited to VA but I was wondering if anxiety depression may increase having had PND and a couple of agitated depression episodes.  Re the side effects a nurse friend of mine gave me some good advice. Read them once then throw them or you'll end up attributing every last twinge to the drug!!!  going to keep a diary of things keep on with the pessaries and hope son changes his mind! (Just kidding 😁😁😁)

[jorainbow]

Little update - I stopped the 14 day treatment the day I came home a week ago and decided to not take the two a week last week. Anxiety levels and depression levelled and felt back to normal    Forgot to take Sunday evening so used yesterday morning and by mid afternoon had awful backache, cramps, headache and light bleeding. Felt anxious this morning though that could be my overactive mind!!! I seem to recall this as side effect - anyone experienced the same???

[Hurdity]

Hi jorainbow

If you are peri-menopausal and you have anxiety as a symptom then it is almost certainly due to your own hormonal fluctuations especially as you are peri-menopausal and still having periods (are you?) then all your symptoms are exactly what can occur and as others have said - coincidence that you are trying Vagifem.

The feelings will be nothing to do with Vagifem and the backache, cramps, headeache and bleeding surely are due to your own cycle ie a light period?

If your periods are very irregular then you might find a low dose systemic HRT helpful to top your oestrogen levels up. If you have had PND then you are clearly sensitive to low oestrogen and this could be the cause of your symptoms.

I would suggest you go back to the doc to discuss whether HRT will benefit you - better still be referred to a menopause clinic if there is one, and depending on your GP - perhaps find out which doc in the practice is sympathetic and knowledgeable - even if not your regular doc?

Hurdity x

[jorainbow]

Thanks Hurdity.  Had a quick look on vagifem.com and they are listed as common side effects that should ease. Periods are still regular, probably lighter and longer if anything but this was spotting - very light and unperiod like (if you get my drift) and lasted about 6 hrs - it was gone by this morning. Im not looking to start any hrt as yet I don't think as periods are still predictably 28 days (next due 7 days). From reading I'm thinking this would be the main reason to start??  I've found an app where I can track symptoms moods etc - it's a period tracker but will give me some solid info for next visit to gp. Flipping minefield 😆😆😆!

[Annie0710]

I did read cramps were a side effect when I started using it.  But it really is a tiny amount of orstrogen but usually enough for that area.  I have no uterus but when I insert (I do 2 a time twice a week) I get an instant niggle where it's landed then it goes as quick as it came on

Keep a diary logging everything like the vagifem then your feelings/symptoms and see if a pattern is forming, it may just be coincidence

Before peri I never looked up side effects but this process drags you through the mill over and over and now I always look up side effects as I just cannot bear anything else added to my mile long list of symptoms, but sometimes, the meds are worth some side effects, it's a personal thing


Annie xx

[jorainbow]

Thanks Annie I'm going to keep a good track of everything!

[Annie0710]

Thanks Annie I'm going to keep a good track of everything!

Couple of days ago I got a free app diary for my phone , only I can access it and I can put everything down each day/visit to the diary, I've never done this before but I'm interested to see if patterns form and if I'm still fluctuating hormonally, although I don't think I am. 
As I don't have periods I can only go by sore boobs as an ovulation guide and that last experience was sept last year

Annie xx

[jorainbow]

Just had my six week catch up call but sadly not with the gp who prescribed as she's broken her foot.  Cramping and spotting nothing to do with pessaries it will be my irregular periods. Advised gp periods are regular and spotting stopped when I stop using pessaries. Completely not interested attitude.  So that's that then! !!!

[jorainbow]

Pleased to say I managed to speak to GP this morning (foot not broken) and she confirmed cramps and spotting can be a side effect. She wants me to not use it to see if that stops them both and use replens instead. If not they'll investigate more.