Hi Lime
The cream I use is body topical - I use it the same as others would use the estrogen gel - on the insides of the arms and legs. It's called Emerita BiEstro and the corresponding ProGest progesterone cream. I don't believe it did anything for my VA really - maybe a little relief at first but that was short lived.
The bladder issue I had was urgency. I would go to the toilet for a wee and within a couple of minutes, it felt like I had to go again. Just like back when I had cystitis in my early 20's. I never had pain while urinating or as I finished. I did get some nasty bladder spasms though - it felt like my bladder would urge and sometimes a little bit of wee would escape. That was usually as I went from sitting to standing.
It is much better with the Vagifem and again better after getting rid of that glabrata thrush strain. I still get some irritation around my bladder entrance and around the outside of the labia which seems to go away when I use coconut oil on the vagina entrance and Prohydrate gel (similar to 'Yes') on the labia.
The irritation seems to build up a bit through the week and then one day per week, I use a boric acid pessary to get rid of the irritation. I'm not sure if the glabrata isn't fully gone or quite what the issue is with the irritation. I also find that Sudocrem zinc oxide works well with the boric acid (though on the outside) to get rid of irritation.
I found with the Estriol cream (which is the 0.1% version) that it irritated my skin, both inside and outside. It doesn't sting - it goes on fine but after a day or so, my bladder and the skin around the vaginal entrance gets sore.
But there are plenty of people who get relief from using it so perhaps it's worth a try, if you can get your hands on it from overseas?
