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[Optimist]

Thanks hurdity. Should I do the vagifem 2 week reload or just go back to x2 weekly? I'm a bit worried about starting it again. Also those other options you mentioned above is it a different type of oestrogen? Should I ask to try that instead? I'm feeling a bit wretched at the moment after feeling so good for a few months. Flat, mood swings, sore breasts etc not sleeping well again. I shall go back to GP and have a chat x

[CLKD]

Some people can be sensitive to the fillers or coating in medications which is true of Vagifem.  I use Ovestin1mg for VA which is the other option.

What was the question again 

[Hurdity]

Hi Optimist - I would do a reload.

Thanks Maryjane - I had rubber in my head!

Other vaginal preparations - the estriol cream and ovestin is a different type of oeestrogen ie estriol. Does the same job for VA but different preparation - some find it too messy. Estring is estradiol like vagifem. All the HRT types except for the PRE types are estradiol. Good luck with your doc and hope you get some relief soon

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

My GP warned me that 'it might be messy' but quite honestly, used at night, it's no messier than my own secretions ;-) and quite honestly, if it does the job I don't care HOW MESSY 

[Optimist]

Thanks ladies good to know there's another option. Beginning to wonder if it was my own cycle overiding the HRT -(as you suggested Hurdity) but still think the vagifem bought on the bleed. Changing patches to oestrogen only tomorrow and mood lifted a bit today....maybe the Rick Astley concert helped 😬💗 x

[CLKD]

Oh Get You  .......... did you need a fan ;-)

[Hurdity]

Glad you are feeling better Optimist.

The vagifem would not bring on bleeding from the endometrium ie a period. This can only be due either to progesterone ( a proper period) or if the endometrium gets overthickened from oestrogen as can occur in anovulatory cycles during peri-menopause - and the lining comes away sporadically.  However as you on HRT even if you do not ovulate you should get a withdrawal bleed towards the end of the combi patches or just after returning to the oestrogen only. Vagifem would have no effect on this - it really is the minutest amount of estradiol which does not affect the endometrium! However sometimes women  get spotting due to trauma to vaginal walls from the Vagifem applicator for example.

I hope you are still feeling improved!

Hurdity x

[ancient runner]

Your undercarriage will thank you 

[Elizabethrose]

Sparkle, you'll be      in no time!  x                                       

[babyjane]

seriously Sparky, well done.  Be patient if you get a few side effects for the first few weeks.  My hot flushes did get slightly less and were not so strong but I didn't notice this until I had used it for about 2 months. I just kept persevering because the alternative was not an option.  I got a bit of cramping the first few weeks but on the whole nothing that would have caused me to give up.  Once I had done the 14 day loading things settled down quite quickly.  I have used it for 6 years now and use one every other night.  that is the right dose for me, you might be different.  Twice a week is not really enough now that we are given the 10mg pessaries. It used to be 25mg 

[Lazydaze]

I am throughly confused about the merits of using Vagifem. I have discovered that it should only be used for 3 months and then stopped and only restarted if symptoms are bad.  There is no evidence about long term use, it is a complete unknown beyond one year, and i am not even convinced there is enough knowledge about that.  There is a lot of controversy about oestrogen dominance, and although we are told the vagifem will not cross into the blood, why then are side effects experienced?  Why does it increase the risk of some cancers?  My GP said nothing about side effects or an increased risk of cancers when she prescribed Vagifem for life. I hate the idea of using this stuff for the rest of my life.  Previous to using it I had many of the symptoms described by others on this site, constant UTIs or feeling like i had them, painful sex, urinary urgency etc etc   I just cannot believe that all women suffered this in the past.  There were no antibiotics, so what happened?  Surely this must be a lifestyle thing?

No one on this forum seems to have found an alternative to using Vagifem which has relieved symptoms I have read on another site that honey (thumbnail amount) inserted in the vagina twice a day is very helpful!  It is sticky and messy but I am willing to give it a try...   I really hate the idea of taking Vagifem for life and putting my health at risk.   

[CLKD]

What rubbish - where on Earth did you get that info from?  Please: let us know!

Ladies have been told - and I am sure that those here will verify - that localised oestrogen can and should be used vaginally for as long as necessary, i.e. LIFE!  It is rare that the product is absorbed further than locally.  Why would it be? it is designed to soak the vagina with oestrogen to plump up tissues to ease atrophy.  Some ladies have to use other products in order to keep the area moist and some ladies have such bad atrophy that the vaginal skin has fused  .

UTIs are ONLY diagnosed when a fresh sample is sent to a Lab..  Dip sticks cannot show any 'bugs'.  Sadly atrophy does mimic bladder infection-type feelings, which is why oestrogen is prescribed to ease those feelings.  For me it was like razor blades up there  and I could not have continued with that.  Fortunately my GP was aware of what my bladder irritation might be caused by >Phew<. 

I don't understand your comment: I and other ladies use Ovestin1mg, another oestrogen replacement delivered with an applicater; initially every night for 2 weeks followed by twice a week.  Some find that they also require moisturisers - I use KY Jelly or Savlon - to keep the outer lips moist or they get dry and itchy  .  Also going knickerless if possible can make a huge different (apparently  ) and only wear cotton pants.

Honey is a natural healer, it's the only food stuff that can't go off.  However, thrush (Candida) thrives on sugars so I wouldn't recommend it to be inserted into the vagina !!!! because it can crystalise so may dry and cause itchiness.  Swapping 1 problem for another  .

If you want Quality of Life you have to ignore what you read elsewhere!  This Forum is medic led by a Consultant who is dealing with menopause in her job.  Recent guidelines have shown that studies done years ago were flawed so that any cancer risks at that time, are less likely to occur.  I had breast cancer in the 1990s and if I had half the symptoms that some ladies suffer I would INSIST on HRT.  As it is, using Ovestin is a given, my cancer was never mentioned but living an easy life has been bettered by it.  Also, 1 doesn't use much doseage anyway.

What is your biggest concern?

[babyjane]

Hi Lazydaze and 

I think we can overthink things sometimes and see pitfalls in everything.  I am a naturally pessimistic and negative 'what if' personality and it has robbed me of a lot of joy in life over the years.  Now, in my 60s, it is more about quality of life than miles on the clock and I choose comfort over constant UTI type pain, thrush, burning, stinging and feeling like I have inserted a razor blade.  Time will tell whether or not I have made the right decision but none of us know what the future holds, we all only really have now.

I do tend to believe that women in past generations probably had the same symptoms but were schooled in the 'shut up and put up with' mindset as women were not encouraged to be heard and also did not live as long as we do these days. Certainly women of a certain age were committed to hospitals and asylums with 'funny turns'.

[CLKD]

Do read the replies that Member Hurdity has posted half way down your thread?  Your symptoms sound more like rheumatoid arthritis than anything reaction to HRT.  Have a chat with your Practice Nurse and ask for appropriate blood tests.  I have had various HRT treatments - years ago - as well as in the last 2 years and they have done what it said on the packet. 

Sometimes The Change is exactly that and lots of problems seem to arrive at the same time  including auto-immune problems.

Also - I often say that 'the bus' might be along quicker than any cancer through HRT can take hold, i.e. I might be un-lucky tomorrow and would have suffered up to that point whereas by accepting any possible risks I have a Quality of Life. 

[Elizabethrose]

Sparkle I had started producing mucus overnight after my first night. I was amazed in the morning! x