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[MrsMitch]

Hello ladies I wrote this out in full earlier and lost the whole post!!
So I thought if I made a separate thread, it may help someone and won't get buried this way.
Saw a lovely lady today. Basically I'm going to be on 6 pumps of oestrogel and x2 utrogestan.  The trade off is I will bleed due to increase in oestrogen but at least my womb lining won't thicken. I can, if I get fed up with spotting every day, miss the last 3 days oer month of utrogestan and force a bleed. But at least it will over and done in one go.
Then VA, which it no longer is. Apparently its actually VVA vulvovaginal atrophy. But now, as it can offend (don't get me started on that one) it's called Genitourinary Syndrome in Menopause GSM. Did you also know you can have clitoral atrophy too? Of course I've also got that! So she's happy with my daily estradiol and has increased ovestin to 2 tubes per month. So the CA is treated with testosterone would you believe.  Symptoms are lack of sensation,  lack of arousal and difficulty having an orgasm.
So I've had a blood test and she's confident in two weeks time I'll be having testosterone too. There are a few different ones to try so she said I have to give it 6 months but most women get the benefits much sooner.
She also gave me 2 websites to read. I don't know if I'm allowed to post links here, so let me know if I am. What I've read so far is about how women should be treated differently than we are when we present with Menopause Symptoms and in particular statistics to show that maybe the patient isn't too young to have issues (me at first then). That we should be routinely be asked by all health care professionals in particular nurses carrying out smear tests, if we have any vaginal dryness or other problems - even when we are seeing the GP for something else. We should not be pushed to have intimate exams if we dont want them in are in pain but rather sent away with estradiol and come back after 2 weeks to try then. (Wish I'd had that option on the numerous exams i endured)That lack of visible signs of VA does not mean we don't gave the condition (also me) so we should be prescribed estradiol anyway. Its really talking about a whole different approach and if the NHS starts to take this on board then things will improve for us all. 70% of menopausal women have VA but only 7% get the treatment they need. That is disgraceful. 
Ooh and my hip pain? Yep, typical Menopause Symptoms she's seen before and HRT in the correct dose for me should get rid of it comply.
So ladies a huge thank you again fir your advice and support. I finally feel like I'm making progress.  Love to you all.

[Ayesha]

What a breath of fresh air it is to read your post. I will be copying it because it vindicates the advice given here about the use of VA treatments.
So glad you had a great consultation and a great outcome.

[MrsMitch]

I really hope I'm allowed to post the link to the website recommended to me Ayesha. Reading through it is amazing. All the things we say on here are in there in print! How we should be treated, different types of HRT,  the fact it can take time to get treatment right and also the fact that women's quality of life can be seriously affected by VA.  That it can be so bad that women often can't sit down, walk, wear underwear and carry out normal life!! Also that we should disregard the patient info on the estradiol pessaries as it is out of date!!
Someone please force all GP to pledge to read and take notice of the webpage!

[CLKD]

U can post a link as long as it isn't selling products.  So the names of the website should be enough for those who want to investigate further.

As many of us know, every night use of VA treatment may be required to keep symptoms under control. 

[Jules]

I had most of that and after remarking on her observations making me feel like a freak, the GP said it's normal. It's only through reading some experiences on here that I sorted some treatment out and after 8 months things have improved. I think if id left it any longer it would have been beyond saving.

[MrsMitch]

Just Google: GSM BSSM
and PWHCF - then vaginal oestrogen comparison table. She told me to sign in as health care professional as its the only way to view it. I've done so.
First website is the best.

[MrsMitch]

I think if id left it any longer it would have been beyond saving.

Mine was untreated for 12 agonising years. So just to encourage you all, consultant said it is entirely possible to restore your vagina/vulva to its original state pre Menopause. Said it will take time and obviously if there is shrinkage/loss of tissue etc, that will not come back. But with the x7 estradiol she expects me to be pain free and with all the other related symptoms diminished/diminishing in around 6-12 months.
So it can be done no matter how severe.

[Jules]

I think if id left it any longer it would have been beyond saving.

Mine was untreated for 12 agonising years. So just to encourage you all, consultant said it is entirely possible to restore your vagina/vulva to its original state pre Menopause. Said it will take time and obviously if there is shrinkage/loss of tissue etc, that will not come back. But with the x7 estradiol she expects me to be pain free and with all the other related symptoms diminished/diminishing in around 6-12 months.
So it can be done no matter how severe.

How can it be restored to its original state if there is loss of tissue, which there is with atrophy? Did she mean only those women who act before there is shrinkage can return to their original physical state?

[Northerngirl]

MrsMitch, I'm so glad you've had some positive news and professional advice from someone who obviously knows their stuff.....at last!!!!
Was this a NHS or private consultant?

[CLKD]

Vaginal atrophy is due to a loss of oestrogen which is the bodies elastic - hopefully with appropriate treatment the vaginal walls will soak up the product and feel less itchy/sore ......... which will lessen the constant need2P!

[MrsMitch]

[/quote]
How can it be restored to its original state if there is loss of tissue, which there is with atrophy? Did she mean only those women who act before there is shrinkage can return to their original physical state?
[/quote]

No if you have a look at the sentence I wrote, she said that lost tissue/ shrinkage is the only thing that cannot be restored. 
Sorry I should have put that in a separate sentence!
Reading the website I linked, it seems it is recommended that women are given estradiol etc at the earliest opportunity even if their only symptom is vaginal dryness. If the NHS actually do that it would be incredible but I'm sure I read on there that the recommendations were put in place in 2014!!!! 10 years later and we're still not being treated !

[Ayesha]

In my case I can confirm that I have a complete reversal of the wasting away, pain and extreme discomfort that I had three years ago, its the one part of my body that now looks as if its not aging, unlike the rest of me!

[MrsMitch]

That's encouraging Ayesha.  I'm so glad you're well in that department! It really does take over your life, doesn't it?

[Jules]

MrsMitch, thanks for clarifying. I had a shimmer of optimism when i first read your post.  I'm somewhere between that and where Ayesha is in that I have some recovery but not back to how I was before.  I don't have any discomfort though which is a blessing however it's not been plain sailing with the frequency of treatment and I'm still having to be careful. I only set off on my own treatment plan after reading Ayesha 's post. It's so bad we aren't alerted to the potential for physical changes and the signs of it.

[MrsMitch]

I hope I didn't get your hopes up Jules. I will never be back to where I was before VA because the gynaecologist ( who insisted my pain was not connected to menopause) removed quite a but of tissue that was paper thin and prone to bleed. I'll never see those bits again!
But I'm encouraged by you and Ayesha that recovery is possible and we can be pain free. I agree you do have to be very careful all the time and keep on top of things. I'm concerned at the moment because the meno consultant told me I will have bleeds due to needing high oestrogen doses, wearing pads will cause more pain like they used to. I've tried lots of so called natural and they're still the same.
I hope you stay well and pain free.