Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Ajcxx on November 05, 2025, 12:28:35 PM
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Please can anyone help me. I 6hought I had a UTI about 6 weeks ago so I have literally had 4 urine tests done which where all totally clear of everything including blood. I was asked by the doc5or if I wanted to try espidiol as im 44 so I said yes. 3 weeks on it and im still suffering burning urine which is my only symptom really. Im so worried its not menapus3 and something more serious.
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:welcomemm: morning.
At least your GP is wise enough to suggest something other than a urine 'infection'.
Vaginal atrophy usually caused with oestrogen levels fall, mimics urine infection-type symptoms really really well. I'll need to look up 'espidiol' :-\
VA can be treated appropriately with regular use of vagifem, or estriol, or vagirux .......
Read the various threads on bladder issues and atrophy, make notes ;-)
What R your periods up to?
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Hiya. Thanks for reply. My periods are regular still. Usually last 3 to 5 days 😊
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What preparation are you using exactly? Vagifem or something else? And have you been using it daily for 3 weeks or less often. Usually there is a loading dose of daily and then twice a week, but for some women that is not enough.
Another option: during my last pregnancy, I did have a UTI, but after the antibiotics, I also just kept having a burning sensation when peeing. This turned out to be a fungal infection (I didn’t have many other symptoms beside the burn, unlike a previous fungal infection way back when) that needed constant treatment until the end of my pregnancy, and then it resolved (hormones during pregnancy make you much more susceptible). I think some women in perimenopause do get more fungal infections due to changing hormones. Can’t hurt to try a treatment for it yourself. During my pregnancy, I had a test, because my dr wanted to rule out other types of infections and I definitely didn't recognize it as a fungal infection.
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I just use a pessary atm i used it every day for 3 weeks and im just starting my twice a week one my first day was yesterday. I actually used caneston pessary over a week ago and nothing. Still having the burning sensation. Mainly after urination but sometimes down there will just randomly sting. So weird. As I have health anxiety im convinced its bladder cancer. Maybe im being stupid and haven't let the pessaries work for long enough yet. I don't have any dryness either.
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Read up all you can on GSM, the link below will help you understand the condition more. Sometimes using a pessary alone is not enough and the need for an oestrogen cream to smear on the outside helps.
The leaflet in the Vagifem box is out of date and five pessaries a week is fine to use if you feel twice a week is not working. Its really trial and error until you find a regime that works for you, but do read the document in the link.
https://bssm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GSM-BSSM.pdf
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Ok. Thankyou very much for the replies. I will read the leaflet for sure. :)
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And get rid of the Canestan? 1 pessary had me sitting in a cooling bath for several hours :o. 4 me thrush is intense itching high up with no discharge, I had it after stopping The Pill in the 1980s and again after emergency surgery.
LIVE Greek yoghurt eaten and applied can help too, cleansing the digestive system from top to bottom: 1 large tablespoon 3 times a day!
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Thankyou so much for advice !!! ... I will be buying some at the weekend :)
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In response to your next thread, you have advice here about vaginal atrophy.
Also mayB speak to your Nurse Practitioner to check that there isn't a prolapse and physiotherapists with womens' health knowledge are worth contacting too. U can continue on this thread so that responses don't become lost ;-)
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Thankyou so much for advice !!! ... I will be buying some at the weekend :)
Are you using some estrogen cream along with the pessary? I've had all sorts of issues and the pessary alone wasn't enough. I have to put estriol cream externally around the vulva but specifically around the uretha. Estrogen pessaries should plump up the tissues internally and help support the bladder but they don't help on the outside.
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Thanks ladies... I have never had children so I don't think a prolapse would be a problem ? They didn't even ask me anything about that at the GP office.
2nd response I only use the pessary at the moment and I have only been using it a month ? ... Did you get similar symptoms to me or ?
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I had sensations of needing the loo and as though I must have a UTI. You will have to see if the pessaries help if you've not been using them long.
I don't know about the prolapse. Childbirth certainly is a factor.
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Only been using around 7 weeks. I went back to doctors today because I am really down with the worry. They have referred me to a urologist I have my appointment 3rd of December. I just hope they can help my symptoms
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I was also referred. I had a cystoscopy which was fine and I also saw a gyny- urology man who prescribed estrogen pessaries.
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If everything comes back clear increase your dose of Vagifem and ask for Estriol cream to smear on the outside. Use treatment every day until you feel better then reduce the dose if you want to. Treatment takes a very long time to take effect but hope it goes well for you.
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They didn't try pessaries before your referral?
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Thankyou I only use twice a week atm no creams. I hope all comes back clear. My health anxiety is killing me at the moment. Put me off work 😪
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They didn't try pessaries before your referral?
No. This was about 7 years ago. Unfortunately at that time I read the leaflet and the supposed risks and didn't use them. I wish I had. I do now but started too late.
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Thankyou I only use twice a week atm no creams. I hope all comes back clear. My health anxiety is killing me at the moment. Put me off work 😪
You're not using enough treatment, you really should at least try to increase the dose, its the only way to ease your anxiety about it all, when you start to feel better.
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Ayesha is right. I started on twice a week with no cream. They didn't even tell me that you should apply estrogen externally back then. I thought it was all about the inside. By the time I realised it wasn't, I'd started with visible signs of vulval atrophy. It happened very quickly too. I requested some estriol cream after reading Ayesha's story. My GP at that time wasn't too keen on my using both but prescribed it and I use it twice a day now.
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My doctor told me 3 weeks everyday then twice a week. He never offered me any cream at all. Im sitting here crying atm because 1 im in discomfort down below and 2 it's getting me down bad. I was told they don't recommend using bith ? I don't know what to do. Maybe wait until I see urologist on 3rd December?
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I've been using both for 2 years and at present I'm using extra estriol cream as I have some sensitivity. Did your doctor think you intended to use both internally?
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I was told they don't recommend using bith ? I don't know what to do. Maybe wait until I see urologist on 3rd December?
They don't recommend it because they don't know, not enough research has been done with some GP's knowing very little about the condition, although I do think things are changing mainly due to nurse practitioners taking more of a role in HRT training.
When I changed surgeries my new GP questioned why I needed both Vagifem and Estriol cream every day, once I explained my history and the fact the cream lasted me three to four months he was happy to prescribe what I needed.
Try and be more proactive, difficult I know when feeling so down but being in great distress because of your symptoms it should give you the strength to start demanding more treatment for your condition, its what I did when Vagifem alone wasn't working.
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I don't know how you manage to eek out a tube of cream for that long Ayesha. Mine lasts about a month. Maybe I'm using too much.
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Jules I was only given the pessary no cream was given.
Yes I know Ayesha... I eventually got up showered etc. Can't let it beat me. Im hoping the urologist next week will help me alot, depending on results ! Ill definitely have peace of mind if nothing else.
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Jules I was only given the pessary no cream was given.
Yes I know Ayesha... I eventually got up showered etc. Can't let it beat me. Im hoping the urologist next week will help me alot, depending on results ! Ill definitely have peace of mind if nothing else.
Yes I know, you did say that. I just wondered why your doctor had mentioned not using them both And whether he was referring to use internally? I don't know. I've just dropped off a urine sample, my lovely GP is sending it to the lab because I've had that feeling down there. I think it could be my atrophy though. But he did say they get false positives and they also get false negatives and miss treating someone. So I suppose we have to know our own bodies too. As someone has said, ask for what you think you need to feel better. Don't be out of.
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This is true .... mine have been sent to lab 3 times all negative. They will not prescribe antibiotics if they show no signs of infection here in England anyway im not sure where you're from? ... Hence the urology referral. I will ask the urologist if I can be prescribed cream aswell at my appointment if it all points to atrophy
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I'm in England. I hope you get a good outcome. It's horrible suffering these things. I envy my friends who don't suffer any atrophy and can forget about their private parts.
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Thankyou. It's absolutely awful. I've never suffered nothing like this. I've had UTIs in the past but have all cleared with antibiotics and this is like torture. You get the same symptoms but no relief. Well I haven't yet with 7 weeks of pessarys... Hopefully they will kick in anyway. 😊 thankyou.