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[Katejo]

This might be the guidelines you're looking for
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/evidence/full-guideline-559549261
(page 120)

There are also other links on our homepage
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/index.php#nice

Thanks Emma. I will have a closer look later.

[suzysunday]

I have  VA and began on vagifem then later to ovestin which I found better, but we  are all different. The main thing is that it's a really slow process. It was maybe a year for me to really benefit. It's very stressful but you just have to plod on.

[CLKD]

We have to take control, if we require more of the product then GPs should accept that fact.  We know our bodies! ;-).  If symptoms niggle then use it more often. 

[Nxdavies]

I totally agree CLKD but I suspect my nice GP won't give me more Vagifem just on my insistence, he'll want it prescribed by my gynae.

I think it's limited just how much control you are able to take sometimes unfortunately.

[Tinkerbell]

I use Vagifem every day, found a GP who is happy to prescribe whatever helps to make me comfortable, my named GP is a stickler to the two a week prescription so I avoid him.
I saw a gynaecologist a couple of years ago and she was involved with meno clinics and said it was quite safe to use every day.

[CLKD]

MayB your GP will want it prescribed by a Gyane due to the cost to his Practice?   I haven't seen a Gynae since 1998.  My GP or Nurse Practitioner are good at making suggestions and following through with prescriptions.

[Katejo]

I am yet to see the response from my GP. I am going to try to arrange a phone call tomorrow when I go for my flu jab appt.  and check my urine test result. My discomfort from the weekend has calmed down a bit since inserting a Vagifem this morning so I will wait and see how it is by tomorrow. It may still be the effect of the painkiller. I will do it daily for this week if it continues to improve.

How many of you order treatments like Sylk or Yes online? Just interested. I have always held back from  ordering any prescription medication online.

[Joaniepat]

I have always ordered Sylk and Yes online. They don't require a prescription so it's not a problem. However, I believe both can be prescribed on the NHS if your GP will do it.
JP x

[Dierdre]

I'm not taking more than my gynae has prescribed me and 2 boxes of vagifem last me about 7 weeks on repeat prescription. I also get the YES products on prescription but have also ordered on line before the VM moisturiser was on NHS. I wouldn't be able to go to work on two vagifem a week, I wouldn't be able to sit down and i still struggle sometimes on the daily dosage. People probably managed on 2 a week a few years ago when the dosage was 25mcg a tablet but not now it's only 10mcg.

[Katejo]

I have always ordered Sylk and Yes online. They don't require a prescription so it's not a problem. However, I believe both can be prescribed on the NHS if your GP will do it.
JP x

I had assumed that  they required a prescription as for Vagifem. Do you order them from Boots online?

[Joaniepat]

I expect you could get them from Boots online, a click and collect order might be the quickest way to get them. However, I have always ordered directly from the Sylk and Yes websites.
JP x

[Nxdavies]

I went back to see the gynaecologist a month ago after three months on vagifem, three times per week.

At the time I told him that things were feeling a fair amount better but not completely resolved. He told me to keep to the three times per week and to use Yes OB (the oil based version) every other day.

A month in and I'm still uncomfortable in (what I think is my bladder) with spasm type feelings and discomfort. If anything it's gone worse.

I'm not sure whether to back and see him or to try my GP to see what they recommend as I'm fed up of the constant discomfort. Perhaps I should just do vagifem daily for a couple of weeks to ‘prove' that it would resolve my issues or not.

Also, do any of you find that constipation makes your bladder and urethra symptoms worse?

Sorry for a bit of a ramble!

[Katejo]

I went back to see the gynaecologist a month ago after three months on vagifem, three times per week.

At the time I told him that things were feeling a fair amount better but not completely resolved. He told me to keep to the three times per week and to use Yes OB (the oil based version) every other day.

A month in and I'm still uncomfortable in (what I think is my bladder) with spasm type feelings and discomfort. If anything it's gone worse.

I'm not sure whether to back and see him or to try my GP to see what they recommend as I'm fed up of the constant discomfort. Perhaps I should just do vagifem daily for a couple of weeks to ‘prove' that it would resolve my issues or not.

Also, do any of you find that constipation makes your bladder and urethra symptoms worse?

Sorry for a bit of a ramble!

Hi Nxdavies  I saw your question over lunch and wanted to reply. You might have seen my other recent comments about seeing a urogynaecologist. I am currently trying Vagifem daily to see how it goes. I took it daily for 2 weeks with good results. I then returned to twice weekly or alternate days (due to insufficient supply). A GP had agreed to daily over the phone but, when I requested a further supply, I wasn't given enough so I had to ration it.
I found that it helped the day after application but the effect wore off the next day.

Last week I had the urogynaecology appt. The doctor  willingly agreed to supply enough for me to try it daily for up to 4 weeks (a bit reluctant to go further) and gave me a prescription. I went to the hospital pharmacy to get it but wasn't allowed any. The hospital  authority (not my home one) has decided that its pharmacists are only allowed to prescribe Ovestin, not  Vagifem. The doctor who saw me was new there and it seems that she didn't know this. I have written her a short letter to let her know.  I have to go back to my GP and persuade them to let me have more. I have the  prescription document from the doctor but I suspect that I will have problems with it.

In the meantime I am using it daily but have only been doing this for 3 days. Too early to see if it is going to help. I don't know about Juliet so can't help there.

[Nxdavies]

Thanks for replying Katejo. How frustrating! They don't make it easy for us sometimes do they!

[suzysunday]

I am frustrated reading these struggles with gp/gynae/prescriptions. The stress only makes this condition worse.  I have had bladder problems since being off hrt following post meno bleeding, triggered by a boutique of cystisis.   I am just using ovestin now and still struggling and you just can't get on with your life.  The gynaecologist I saw seemed to think I could have a break from local hrt "when symptoms abate".  What a prat!  If I stop they will get worse  again and it will take months to get any normality back.  I can't express what a moron this man was.  I'm  back in the care of my gp, so hope not to have future problems about adequate prescribing. Yes, constipation will make bladder symptoms worse.  I always keep prunes in the cupboard now just in case!  Oh the glamour of my life!  Also scared to have red wine, coffee,  a bath or sex until things settle down.