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[Toasty123]

I started oestrogel 6 days ago(1 pump) I have had vaginal atrophy for five years with a stenosed cervix, burning vagina, pain on urination (usual symptoms). I haven’t had a period for 6 months and use local vaginal oestrogen and it was doing okay. I started using the oestrogel and within a few hours my vagina started to burn, like really burn, I went through two ice packs. It hurt to pee so I got my urine tested - all clear, it doesn’t feel like a UTI - I tried thrush treatment, didn’t do anything. I am wondering if the oestrogel is mending it because it feels like a thousand paper cuts in my vagina. It also feels ‘overactive’ and throbby. Has anyone else experienced this? I’m due to start utrogestan in a few days on a 14 days a month regime. The discomfort has been 6 days straight now am feeling a bit worried. I know it’s not an infection etc because it totally feels like vaginal atrophy but really dialled up. 

[CLKD]

Paper cuts are typical - which VA treatment are U using and how often? 

Where R U applying the oestrogen?

[Toasty123]

I’ve had VA for five years - I’ve tried everything and settled on a regime of topical oestrogen and vaginal moisturisers - I did have it under control until I started systemic HRT. I’ve been on oestrogel for 6 days and the VA has amped up and I don’t know if it’s making it flare up.

[CLKD]

So give yourself a break and stop the Oestrogel to C if the VA improves.  In the meant time up the VA treatment to heal the paper cuts.  Which moisturisers?

[Ayesha]

The only way to find out is to stop the Oestrogel and see what happens.
Just a thought, I had the worse flare up in three years when I had the Covid vaccine recently, totally messed with my body including hot flushes returning.

[Dramy3]

This is one of those moments where it becomes so obvious we know very little about women's bodies (sigh).

I suffered for 4 years with VA and localised oestrogen only improved things by about 30%. However, when I started systemic HRT (plus continuing the localised treatment), my symptoms are 90% resolved. But it took about 6 months at the right oestrogen dose (1 pump oestrogel for me).

The only reason I can think of for your symptoms flaring is that more nerves grow/expand in a low oestrogen environment. It's weird, but when oestrogen drops, the tissues freak out and grow a bunch of nerves to try and rescue things. When oestrogen is replaced, the nerves thin out. So just when the tissues are drying up because of low oestrogen, we're getting more nerves there so feel it way more than we ordinarily would. Cruel I know!

So, I think maybe your nerves are just freaking out and need to recalibrate to the new oestrogen-rich(er) environment. But I appreciate you can't live in pain either so maybe dropping the oestrogel is the right choice. I wish we knew more!

[Jjumper]

Dramy3 that is absolutely fascinating. I did not know that more nerves grow/expand when Estrogen drops. How do you know this?

It might help explain why I am having very limited (if any) success with three years of trying HRT (different products and doses). My problems are largely neurological with my most troubling symptoms being a delayed swallow reflex, mood and muscle twitching. In my first couple weeks of starting estrogen in 2022 I felt relief of symptoms for the first time in years followed by rapid worsening of symptoms and since then I get fleeting, if any, relief for maybe a day a month despite going up in dose etc. Anyway, based on what you’re saying, maybe the doses I have been taking have just never been enough to thin out the nerves, and by constantly changing products/doses I’m encouraging more nerves to be created thereby exacerbating the problem. Anyway food for thought!

Sorry to hijack this post. Please go back to taking about VA : )

[CLKD]

Jjumper - who is over seeing your HRT?

Some ladies require both systemic and localised replacement to get relief. 

[bombsh3ll]

The only reason I can think of for VA to get worse after starting systemic estrogen is if you have reduced or stopped your vaginal treatment.

One pump of gel systemically is such a low dose that you cannot rely on it to address VA and should continue using whatever local therapy you were using, as often as needed.

[Jjumper]

CKLD I’ve been with Newson Health since 2022.

[CLKD]

That's good Jjumper.  Do U feel supported?