Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Postmenopause => Topic started by: MrsMitch on August 14, 2025, 11:20:11 AM
-
I thought I'd start a separate thread about my experience with Intrarosa in case in future someone is looking for the information & it'll come up in a search. ( I really hope this doesn't come across as self centred, my intention is experiences for others).
So for those who aren't aware after many years of untreated GSM I've been using estradiol pessaries nightly & estriol cream externally for getting on for 18 months & have still had flare ups. My GP told me, after I enquired about Intrarosa because I'd read good things about it, that it isn't licensed in the UK. So I bought it online.
Day 1: no noticeable difference the morning after. Late evening had sharp shooting pains that seemed to go from the middle of my vagina to high up. Surprised me because even at my worst I've never had that before.
Day 2: Woke up to those shooting pains but now more frequent. I'm more sore externally, which considering I'm having a flare up currently again surprised me. I had to work for a couple of hours & by the time I'd finished I was in awful pain inside & out. In the past I've never noticed any internal pain unless we attempted sex.
So I used an applicator to put lidocaine high up inside my vagina, another half way down, emptying it as I pulled it put & another big blob externally. It hasn't touched any of the pain which again has never happened before. It normally works brilliantly.
This is very unnerving I have to say. Surely the Intrarosa couldn't gave caused that so quickly? I've missed the odd dose of the pessaries in the past when I've been really tired going to bed but it's never made any noticeable difference.
So I suppose I'll have to continue to see what happens. I know as soon as I started the pessaries & cream initially things improved quickly. I'm going to look up the ingredients in case there's something I could be allergic to.
-
Day 3: definitely was aware of the pessarie tonight. I didn't fall asleep quickly & as I hadn't applied any lidocaine since middle of the afternoon I could just feel a growing burn internally. It didn't get too bad so managed to drop off.
Day 4: woke up feeling uncomfortable internally. This is very new so has to be the Intrarosa. But I think I have BV probably after all the antibiotics I've had recently. I'm not certain the Intrarosa is compatible with using balance active that usually gets rid of BV for me. I'll see if it is & then treat that. If it isn't I'll have to stop Intrarosa for the next week.
This is frustrating. What on earth is it about Intrarosa that could cause such a sudden reaction, I wonder.
-
It never gets any easier MrsMitch does it !!!!
Can't really advise you what to do next as I've never used it....but hopefully things improve soon for you.
Shouldn't be this hard should it :foryou:
-
Aww thank for the bouquet 🥰🥰
-
If I was doing this I would be solely using Intrarosa not adding lidocaine or anything else.
How are you going to get a baseline as to what is going on with Intrarosa otherwise ?
-
Because if I hadn't used the lidocaine the Intrarosa would be in the bin by now! The pain was so intense on day 2 that all I could do was lay on the bed with no underwear on until the lidocaine finally kicked in.
Obviously I know I'll have to stop using lidocaine at some point to see what's going on - my intention was after the weekend.
I have been doing as much reading online as I could about other people's experiences. There's not a huge amount out there but it does seem in some cases it can take up to 6 months to take effect. What I have to decide is, is it worth it as I'm already worse off. I'm thinking not but I also want to try a work out why I've have such a fast intense reaction to it. I'm really not sure at this stage.
-
Day 5: things improving! Not needing quite so much lidocaine & definitely feeling more comfortable.
Day 6: no lidocaine & all seems OK which is jolly good. So whatever the cause of irritation was, it appears to have gone. Just perhaps a little sensitive at the entrance to my vagina but nothing more than usual.
Hopefully things are looking up.
-
Well my menopausal brain for has lost count so I don't know what day I'm on 😆
But I'm actually pretty comfy tbh, still have the sensitivity in the same place but marginally better.
The only thing is that about 3 times the remains of the pessaries has ended up in the loo when I poop first thing in the morning which is frustrating as I'm assuming to be fully effective it needs to be in place until dissolved.
Anyway, I won't update now until I've been on it for a few months unless there's anything to report!
Hope I haven't bored you lovely ladies.
-
Just one thing I forgot to mention. I've had quite a substantial discharge since 2008 when I first had very slight symptoms of VA. It's always been really annoying & enough to mean I have to wear panty liners. I've had countless swabs come back negative for any infections over the years so knew it wasn't anything like that.
It's almost disappeared now. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be free (almost) from that!
-
Terrific to hear that the Intrarosa is not causing you pain anymore. Good that you stuck with it! Thank you for your updates.
-
You haven't bored us at all MrsMitch, I think ladies will find it informative especially if relevant to their story.
Good luck with it all and I really hope your symptoms continue to improve 🤞
Keep us all updated x
-
Oh MrsMitch so pleased you may have a good news story here, long may it continue!
X x
-
Great to hear the Intrarosa seems to be helping you - long may it contunue :)
You are not boring us at all - please keep posting & updating x
-
Thank you ladies. I must say I'm so comfy this evening I'm almost tempted to get fruity with hubby 🤣🤣
-
Well I'm almost 2 weeks in now. I have to say things seem pretty good. I'm more comfortable than I have been in years. So at the moment I'd say things look positive.
However, I noticed the other evening my vulva area seemed to be a bit itchy. So being that I'm supposed to have LS, I applied a little Locoid cream & I've done this 2 days in a row. This morning I'm a little sore so that definitely tells me I cannot tolerate any steroid in that area. Prior to that I had no idea what would cause it. I know I can't use the dermovate the GP gave me for LS she said Locoid isn't as strong.
So I won't be using that again.
The best bit is I'm not wearing panty liners any more. It may sound like nothing but to me it is the best thing ever!! Even though I use natural unbleached ones they do irritate me & are uncomfortable because the adhesive on the natural ones isn't very good. Combined with wearing trousers at work & being very active, they wrinkle up & cause more irritation & rubbing. So it's truly amazing not to need them because I no longer have any discharge & I'm dry down there!
No change re my bladder as yet even though I'm taking Solifenacin (apparently a bit early for that to work) but it does look positive so far!
-
Should you need pantyliners again, I highly recommend trying period underwear instead. I had stress incontinence after I had my second child for quite a while and eventually switched to period pants instead of pads and so much more comfortable. I’m still wearing them daily, just as back up, even though I don’t really need them. (I can still loose a few drops when jumping on a trampoline or sneezing while walking up stairs, so the back up is nice) I never know when I might start spotting in peri, so back up for that is great too.
I’m really happy for you that intrarosa is working well. I don’t think it’s available here (Netherlands), but I have been meaning to ask the specialist about it.
-
Thank you for that suggestion, Konijntje. I have tried those & the washable pads too. The problem was, although they helped protect my trousers, they didn't absorb like liners do so I always had that damp feeling which then caused more irritation. Liners seem to wick that away & keep it inside the liner. Frustratingly difficult to find the best thing!
-
For me, different brands definitely have different quality and some have a better top layer than others. I mainly wear EU brands myself, but I have some pants from UK brands Wuka and Luna’s Cycle, that seem pretty good. (But to be honest, I mainly wear them now as backup, so I’m not entirely sure what happens with those if they get really moist. German brand Femtis keeps me pretty dry).
Well, hopefully you won’t be needing liners again at all, so just sharing for others that might read.
-
I will take a look at those brands because I've only ever bought ones on Amazon so perhaps they aren't the best quality. It's always good to have a back up because this menopause journey seems to change almost daily! Thanks 😊
-
Well I'm around 6 weeks in now. The positives are about 95% reduction in discharge which is a wonderful feeling. To be able to just wear a pair of knickers & rarely a panty liner is truly amazing!
My vulva & the skin around the entrance to my vagina & my perineum are no longer sore. Whether that's due to not wearing panty liners, I have no idea. I've found during the day I've no awareness of any soreness or itching & feel relatively normal. It's been really lovely.
But unfortunately internally things are not at all good. For me the only way I've ever known how my vagina feels is to have or at least attempt to have sex. Aside from when I recently had thrush which was accompanied by a dull stabbing pain high up in my vagina, trying to have sex has always been the only time I've felt internal pain. Even putting the pessaries in at night I've never been aware of any. For the last few weeks it's been harder to get them high up in my vagina almost as if things may be swollen, but no pain on doing so. But when we got a bit fruity the other night it was impossible. The dreadful burning stabbing pain was there just inside my vagina, very low down near the entrance. I've not had it that low down since before I began with estradiol pessaries. Prior to starting Intrarosa the only pain I had during sex was very high up inside & with plenty of lube it was often barely there if I'd used extra pessaries for a few days before.
So unfortunately I'd say internally things are back to being as bad as they've ever been. Obviously I gave two choices now: carry on until I've used up the 3 month supply of Intrarosa I bought or go back to the estradiol pessaries & do 2 per night for a week as I've done in the past during a flare up.
I'm thinking that if in 6 weeks things have got worse internally rather than staying the same, it's an indication it will continue to get even worse. Its just that the online pharmacist advised me to try it for three months to see if it works. I think that is probably too risky.
What do you think, ladies?
-
Hello. I’m new here and have been contemplating Interosa after no joy with Ovestin and Vagifem together. Sorry it isn’t helping you. What will you do next?
-
Have you seen a women’s pelvic physiotherapist for assessment ?
One I saw years ago who did myofascial release could press & tell where nerves are affected ….just a thought.
Might form another part of your ‘jigsaw’ as to what is going on.
-
Some years back when I saw a gynae pre GSM treatment she asked me if I would consider a referral to one, Minusminnie. She'd got to the stage of not knowing what was causing my pain after many different treatments failed & dismissing my idea my symptoms could be menopausal. She said because I tensed my vaginal muscles when she interted her finger to see what my muscles would do, I would benefit from it. TBH after she explained what a physio would do I couldn't bear the thought! Could you tell me about your experience seeing one, if you don't mind, please.
HJP54: how long have you been using the treatment & how often? Prior to starting Intrarosa I use both cream & pessaries every night. The only reason I tried Intrarosa was because I couldn't completely get rid of the pain even if I used 2 pessaries at night 3 nights a week. But I wonder now if what Minusminnie says might help. Although if I wanted to have sex I would use lidocaine & then it was jolly comfortable up there!
But I really don't know what to do now. I really expected at some point as long as I used nightly treatment I would be pain free.
I know I'm not alone on here - not able to be pain free no matter what.
-
I have been on Ovestin for three months and Vagifem for three years. Started with the two together daily plus non hormonal lubricants because my episiotomy/3rd degree tear tissue from 20 years ago became sore and felt like a lump there plus bladder urgency was dire. I’ve seen Drs and pelvic physio. Diagnosed with hypertonic pelvic floor but convinced have prolapses. Also trying pumpkin seed for bladder and have a pelvic scan next week. Feel like I’ll never be Okay again. On systemic HRT and could increase but then bleeding starts 😩