Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Stellajane]

I thought I'd share this as it may help others, also I'd be interested to hear other people's experience.

I started using VF to try and combat my annoying irritated bladder symptoms (intermittent cystitis type frequency without the pain). Systemic HRT hadn't really done much to improve matters. I hadn't experienced any sensation of dryness.

First few times I tried, I found the tablets actually seemed to create more irritation. I was up and down to the loo all night after inserting. I thought I may be reacting to the fillers in the tablets since I'm very allergy prone.

Fast forward a few months and I read on here someone's experience with VF and the need to really persevere to get the full benefit re bladder issues. I therefore determined to push on through a 2 week preload after which I'd drop down to alternate nights.

By the end of the preload my bladder was starting to feel a lot more comfortable. The irritation after insertion had subsided and I was back to getting up to the loo only once during the night max. This benefit continued whilst I did two weeks on alternate nights. However, dropping down to 3 x weekly I found I was getting the irritation following insertion again and was once more up and down to the loo all night.

In conclusion, for me anything less than alternate nights isn't effective. In fact because of the irritation from the tablet itself if my tissues aren't plumped enough, using it 2 or 3 times a week actually creates more aggravation!

I've told my GP about all this and he didn't disagree. For so many, the standard 2 x weekly dose is just pointless. They need to know!

[suzysunday]

I have been using Ovestin alternate nights for 5 months now and a non hrt gel for the other nights and I don't feel ready to reduce yet. It's for VA and wee symptoms. I don't use any other hrt.  I still have days when things don't feel right down there.  Still too scared to resume my sex life for fear of return of cystitis.

[dahliagirl]

I don't have a problem with using it less frequently than alternate nights now.  I have been using it for about 5 years, I think 

Sometimes I get away with forgetting it for a few nights before I get problems (not recommended).


I prefer to use it every 3rd day.  Since I am also on sequential hrt, I like to use it alternately for the week before I expect a bleed, to get me over the few days of using tampons - I have not found a way to do both.

[CLKD]

I had pessaries initially which were then withdrawn  so my GP prescribes Ovestin.  If I go more than 7 nights without using it symptoms begin.  Worse when I am constipated  .  Regular use as well as Nurofen when necessary keeps my bladder and vagina happy.

[Maryjane]

Lots of the ladies in my VA group need it more than twice a week myself included.

[Eviepf]

If you did want to reduce your usage at some point, maybe you could consider inserting the Vagifem in the morning, rather than at night? That obviously wouldn't stop any irritation happening, but the distractions of the day might take your mind off it. Speaking from personal experience, there's nothing like lying in bed at night for making you horribly aware of whatever symptom is getting you down the most!

I've always used Vagifem in the morning, with no problem (no dropping out!) - the tablets stick to the vaginal wall and the vagina isn't vertical when standing, anyway.

[kimmyi]

I use 2 x weekly inserting in the morning, I agree with things going on during the day taking your mind off things, like our poor vaginas 😔

I do have good and bad days really...it's the most bothersome thing sometimes, and the anxiety that goes with it is most horrid. Xx

[CLKD]

Once I found that the Ovestin worked it stopped being bothersome.  My GP was on the ball 

[Jemp]

My experience matches yours StellaJane. My GP is quite happy for me to take it daily.It's so tempting to slacken off when things are OK but I have realised there is no alternative- I certainly could not go back to how things were before Vagifem. I have also found that certain foods and drinks make it worse-sadly white wine, coffee and fish.

[CLKD]

How is your over all liquid intake?  The kidneys will work harder = more urine passed at night.

After I have had a bad panic attack I wee a lot.  Every 10 mins in large quantities for about 2 hours 

[CLKD]

There is a hormone that encourages the kidneys to shut down over-night, I think it's a hormone  occasionally it stops working.  It's probably got a really long technical name 

[anais]

Yes, CLKD. We produce less of this hormone as we get older. 

My local HRT regime is Vagifem on alternate nights and Ovestin on the outside 2x per week. These days I'm a lot more comfortable. I do a 2-week reload of Vagifem every 3-4 months. My bladder is much improved. I had a very irritable labia minora on one side. It didn't respond to antifungal creams like canesten or daktacort but it responds very well to MultiGyn actigel, within 1-2 hours the swelling is gone. It's always in exactly the same place. Whenever I've had an exam I'm told I look normal 

[CLKD]

From the 'bladder and bowel community' web-site [Southam, Warwickshire, England]

"Hormones – your body makes a hormone at night which slows down kidney function while you sleep, so you normally make much less urine during the night. As you get older less of this hormone may be produced and so your bladder continues to fill at its daytime rate.  This means you need to pass water more frequently.

"Circulation – the kidneys filter your blood as it passes through them and collect waste products and excess fluids from around your body. As the waste products and fluids are collected the kidneys produce urine, which then passes to your bladder, where it is collected.

"As you get older, your heart and circulatory system may become less efficient, so that some fluids are left behind in the body's tissues, especially around the ankles, because it is harder for the circulation to pump fluids from there. When you lie down at night it becomes easier for the circulatory system to work. The fluid is absorbed back into your blood and filtered out through the kidneys, which then send it to the bladder as urine. This means that your bladder fills as you sleep much more quickly than it normally would".

ADH
This hormone is a chemical messenger from the brain to the kidneys which tells them to slow down making urine. It's called ADH (anti-diuretic hormone).

One of the reasons most of us get a good night's sleep is that our ADH levels go up at night, so our kidneys produce less urine.

The Dry Night - BladderBowel.gov.au
www.bladderbowel.gov.au/assets/doc/drynight.html

[CLKD]

My symptoms of VA begin with a feeling of heaviness in the belly above the bladder ....... a warning sigh which needs me to up the dosage of treatment.

[Hurdity]

I don't have a problem with using it less frequently than alternate nights now.  I have been using it for about 5 years, I think 

Sometimes I get away with forgetting it for a few nights before I get problems (not recommended).


I prefer to use it every 3rd day.  Since I am also on sequential hrt, I like to use it alternately for the week before I expect a bleed, to get me over the few days of using tampons - I have not found a way to do both.

When I am having a bleed I switch to vaginal estriol - the generic 0.1% cream. Whenever I insert a tampon I squirt a whole lot of cream around the tip and that ensures I get a good dose of local oestrogen still. In fact if I don't do this. I get incredibly dry and sore as inserting tampons dries everything out. GP is happy to prescribe the estriol cream for as and when, in addition to Vagifem, for this reason.

Hurdity x