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[lillith112]

Been suffering for a few years from peri symptoms, still have regular periods but on patches and utero for the last 2 months. Over the last few years my sex drive has gone to zero, literally nothing, my ahem love button  has totally disappeared, there's nothing under the hood if you know what I mean. Orgasms are totally crap and pretty non existent. The big problem is my partner has a very high sex drive    I feel bad that I have no urge to have sex and he does. Is there anything that can bring it back or make my love button appear again lol .

[Tc]

Lillith. Hiya.  When the tissues of vagina atrophy so can the clitoris and labia minora.   It has happened to me after ovary removal. And I find it realy  distressing so I sympathise. I also had a concurrent  loss of sensation too.

Might I suggest firstly  A local vaginal eastrogen like ovestin which you can rub into the vulva to help re estrogonise the tissues.  It takes a few weeks to work.

I felt a very evident decease in blood flow when aroused which might also mean clitoris doesnt seem to become as erect as before and therefore feels smaller. This lack of "engoregementv" also translates to a lack of sensation for me.  Topical eastrogen should help somewhat with blood flow as do pelvic floor exercises and sex and or  masturbation but the latter advice is not much help when you dont  feel like it in the first place.

So   possibly you could  introduce testosterone gel into your regime as it can help with  libido and sensation.

I found a,slight increase in sensation gradually returned.  But I put that down more to the eastrogen rather than testosterone as i dont think I've got the level of that right yet as I've found no increase in libido.. I only  still "try" in the interest of the "use it or lose it " idea as the desire is still non exsistant. 

But other ladies find they do see improvement in libido with testogel so it might well be worth a try for you.

As for size of love button though. I'm still waiting and hoping its apparently diminished size is reversible. Let's hope someone can tell us it is. 🤞 (please).   

Xxx

[lillith112]

Bless you Tc, thankyou for your reply, I was really hoping the estrogen patches would be the magic wand to help with my sex drive but to be honest I think it's worst than ever. I'm on Estraderm 50, and utero days 15-26 of cycle. Do you think it might help to ask Dr for a higher dose patch ?.
  Regarding the atrophy I kid you not, my clitoris has completely gone, there is nothing there anymore, I keep joking with my partner about it but truth is it's really upsetting but I feel too embarrassed to tell my Dr about it. I feel the same as you and notice lack of blood flow to that area, I take ages to get aroused, then the build up results in no orgasm or a tiny split second like its starting, then disapears to nothing.
  I have seen a few posts about testosterone, but I have polycystic ovaries so I'm quite hairy as it is, I wonder if this would make matters worst.
  I didn't know you could get an estrogen cream so that might be worth thinking about. 
  Yes lets hope someone can give us a bit of hope, fingers crossed !.
    xxx

[Tc]

Lillith.  I'm sorry,  I know just  how upsetting it is. 

But if you could find a way to tell your doctor you might then be able to discuss options. Of whether to increase patch  or add testosterone and how progesterone fits into the picture. 

Many times I've left the surgery without bringing myself to say it and in tears. But eventually it is better to tell doc all your symptoms particularly the ones bothering you most so they have a clearer picture what to advise.

 I would think your doc would want to do a blood test for testosterone before giving it as you have POs.Maybe someone here who has POS can advise better than me. ?

Effective treatment for VVA is available.  Some of us find that systemic eastrogen like patches and gels dont  seem to reach those bits.  The topical creams are low dose and  little is absorbed into bloodstream, the effect is local.  Ovestin and estriol 0.01 are available. There is also a vaginal tablet called vagifem, again low dose.  The creams can be used inside the vagina and on the outside vulva. But the tablet is  internal so you would also need one of the two creams for the outside area.

It's not necessary to have a vaginal exam to be prescribed them but might I suggest it maybe worthwhile to get your doc to have a look?

I hope you get more replies, particularly around POS in regard to menopause symptoms and HRT.

Xxx

[sheila99]

You should give hrt 3 months as some people just need oestrogen. If your other peri symptoms are under control I think you're on the right dose. If it's no better after this then I would ask for testosterone. Just tell them you have no libido, no need to go into detail. You may need a referral to a meno clinic for this. I used to apply it to my thigh and it did make it hairier. Now I put it under the arch of my foot where it seems to work just as well and as I'm not a hobbit there are no hairs. 

[lillith112]

Just an update, spoken to the Dr about this and she wouldn't give me any testosterone or estrogen cream, she suggested upping my estrogen patch first to see if that helps before going down the testosterone route. I feel a little deflated but that's what I have to try. 

[sheila99]

Are your other symptoms being controlled? If so increasing the dose is probably not the right thing to do. Ask for a referral to a menopause clinic. Few GPs will prescribe testosterone themselves as there isn't a product available in the UK licensed for women.

[lillith112]

Hi Sheila, no my symptoms are all still here, I'm 3 months on the HRT Estraderm mx 50, and 12 days utro, and it's made no difference at all, no side effects, and no benefits.  I still can't sleep a wink, constantly irritable, skin dry as a bone, joint pains, zero sex drive, no sensation, bladder issues etc. I wonder if I am even absorbing the estrogen at all ?.

[sheila99]

You could well be right. Do you get hot flushes? They're a good indicator as they're quick to get under control. Other symptoms take longer, my insomnia took 3 months. I'd agree with a higher dose or a different form of hrt, gel or oral. Do you think you have VA? I don't so can't help much but it does need topical oestrogen, there are many threads on it you might find useful. I know it's not good timing when everything's shutting down but if you think your gp doesn't know enough to help a referral to a specialist would be the way to go.

[lillith112]

No I don't suffer from hot flushes, never have, just all the other symptoms. I definitely have atrophy down there as my clitoris has totally disappeared and I have zero sensation, cannot climax anymore, very dry and get regular episodes of feeling like I have a bladder infections. I think all the Drs I've seen are pretty clueless to be honest. 

[sheila99]

Sadly that's a common problem. The NICE guidelines have been helpful when doctors want to prescribe ads instead of hrt. Might be worth a look for VA, they need a good reason not to follow their guidelunes. Sometimes you need to be forceful! Some surgeries have hrt experts though mine wasn't much use. I would ask for a different hrt, a higher dose, a referral (waiting lists can be long) and topical oestrogen. Get as educated as you can be and be prepared to fight your corner. Bad temper was one of my symptoms so I found this easy  . Good luck.