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[Joy55]

Bladder spasms and Vaginal Atrophy, I'm 62,  needing help in the worse possibly way, the bladder pain is horrible at times and so far all that has been offered to me is premarin or a new medicine called  Intrarosa Vaginal Inserts(prasterone) I am not able to use the meds vaginally as precribed because it causes me so much irritation and bladder pain and pill form makes me very ill.
I say no to anything with estrogen and I dont understand this new med, so I've not tried it ....Are there any other options please to rid this horrid pain that doctors call  bladder spasms. At times I feel like Im going through labor again, its thats bad. Im scheduled for an urologist later this weekto see what he can advise. My anxiety is off the wall! I also suffer with recurring UTI's , yeast infections, have had Bacterial Vaginosis twice , then right back to UTI's again, its a never ending circle of infections and antibiotics and my body is now resisting the antibiotics. I'm a total wreak and losing all hope of ever feeling normal again.
Does this EVER get better???  I asked my GYN that question and she said no..... I totally lost all hope at that moment.
This nightmare has totally ruined my life. 

[Kathleen]

Hello Joy55 and welcome to the forum.

I am so sorry to read that you are suffering and although I don't have your particular problem I can completely relate to the despair at feeling awful all the time and the fear that it will never end. Infact I believe many of the ladies here will also feel the same way.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge of your condition will be long to advise you and there may be other ways of managing the problem such as Pregabalin for pain relief.

Sending hugs and I hope you have some answers soon.

Take care.

K.

[Daisydot]

Hi joy why the no to oestrogen I’m wondering.I was in exactly the same situation as you so I understand your fear and pain and sadly one feeds off the other.I became so allergic to antibiotics I thought they’d kill me i not only had them for Uti.s I also suffered from recurring pleurisy so needed them for that until I found alternatives.
Here’s what I did.maybe boring maybe helpful you can decide.
First of all get the VA under control don’t be afraid of estriol cream or even vagifem vaginal tablets they will give you so much releif and it’s well known that VA is often mistaken for Uti,s,are your samples infection free? Mines were and only showed blood because of the VA,I was red raw with it due to antibiotics causing thrush and scratching myself raw.it was like the most painful paper cuts everywhere down there.my bladder was red raw inside and urethra pain was horrible when I peed like acid burning me.
You need to get your ph balanced as your probably too acidic so google bladder friendly food/drinks.stop all coffee tea fizzy drinks and calm your bladder with herbal teas and water with a wee bit of lemon in it to neutralise the acids in your urine.it can take months to heal your bladder so be kind to it as it’s a long slog but worth it to get pain fee,if your like me you’ll be terrified to go anywhere as you dread a bad flare up but that will also stop in time if you follow this regime.to get immediate relief you could go to Holland and Barrat and buy some cold pressed organic coconut oil and smear underneath it’s so cooling and antibacterial it’s only 2 quid for a small jar( it’s a blue colour).i found it a godsend in the beginning it’s antibacterial and very good for killing thrush.I think that’s enough info for you to absorb right now so when your ready fire away with any more questions There’s a  lot more knowledgable ladies than me on here but it’s a start for you.your gynie had no bedside manner what she should have told you was it can’t be cured but it can most definitely get better with proper management and advice.keep posting and updating then the ladies can help you more you can beat it.good luck xx

[CLKD]

Good advice.  Sorry that you are suffering, 4 me it was like razor blades up there  .  Over the Counter pain relief can help, i.e. Nurofen: I have taken 2 x 200mg and 90 mins. later another tablet which has helped me.

My GP recognised the symptoms in that none of the urine samples 'grew' any bacteria to necessitate anti-biotics though they did initially, ease symptoms.  However, locally applied Vagifem or the 1 which I use (name escapes me  ) really can help.  There are other products that ladies find helpful, i.e. Sylc - if you put the names of the products into the 'search' box you will see which combinations help.

Some ladies don't use any bath oils etc. or soap down there.  My Granny swore by bicarb of soda in the bath water  .  It is important to keep the whole area as supple as possible!!  Even LIVE yoghurt, applied gently - it is soothing, best done on a large bath towel ;-). 

[Joy55]

Thanks everyone for your replies, Im new to forums and still dont understand how to reply to everyone individually, so please forgive me till I learn. BTW I'm in the U.S.
 
Daisydot, I dont want estrogen because when I tried just half a dose of what was prescribed for me I woke up at 3AM in severe bladder pain, completely doubled over in agony and since I live alone the only thing I could do was call the ambulance for the hospital ER.
They eventually got the pain under control and I was sent home. Every since that experience I'm now petrified of anything remotely related to estrogen.

 I'm hoping when I see the urologist this week he will have a better alternative solution for me.
I also have a 8cm cyst on my left ovary they are keeping an eye on. I dont know if maybe that cyst is causing all my issues or not. I say this because when I had a cat scan in August it hadnt changed in several years, yet the most recent cat scan shows it has grown from 6cm to 8cm, so as I said I'm not sure if that would have anything to do with this or not.

GYN did a blood test to determine how likely I was for ovarian cancer and it came back as low risk.


 (thats always been a fear of mine, ovarian cancer, we lost my maternal grandmother to it many years ago, God rest her sweet soul)

[CLKD]

We do have several State-side members who hopefully will join in.

What does your doctor suggest to ease the bladder pain? 

[Joy55]

Hi Sparkle, no one has said a word about removing the cyst besides me.  I'm hoping the urologist will agree with me and its taken care of it asap.

[Joy55]

Hi CLKD
 so far Ive only thing  given to me for the bladder pain has been Tramadol. I did not want to become addicted to it so I did some research on my own and found that baking soda and water along with a few ibuprofen and heat helps ease it. On my worse days, nothing eases it.

[Joy55]

Thank you Sparkle, I will try my best to locate this lady named Maryjane. Im still trying to learn my way around forums :-)

[Jenna]

Hi Joy,

Maryjane's story is in this MM magazine starting on page 12.

https://menopausematters.co.uk/pdf/magazines/issue48.pdf

[CLKD]

Tnx Jenna

VA mimicked repeated urine infection-type symptoms.  Once I began the correct treatment for VA symptoms eased.  PHEW!

[Joy55]

Thank you Jenna
   I see Jane Lewis is in this magaizine too , I belong to her group on Face Book for AV. :-)

[CLKD]

How's your weather?  Deep snow? 

[Jenna]

Thank you Jenna
   I see Jane Lewis is in this magaizine too , I belong to her group on Face Book for AV. :-)

Yes, Jane L is Maryjane, so you already know her. 

[Joy55]

Hi Jenna,
     I dont quite ynderstand your last response, are you saying once you stared treatment for the atrophy the UTI's ended?