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[Bridge48]

 Hi,
Thank goodness I've found this blog. Months of misery before I realised that thousands suffer from the same problems as I do.
I had to change GPs in the end and then was lucky enough to find one who said the simple words "You are suffering from an oestrogen deficiency. Within days of starting Ovestin, my symptoms (pelvic pain, cloudy urine with no infection, irritation, soreness and pain in vaginal and urethral area, inability to sit down, stand up or walk for any length of time) improved - it was like a miracle, I got my life back. BUT after six months on Ovestin and feeling so much better, I stopped the cream for one week and to my horror my symptoms came back very suddenly. I got up six times in the night,cloudy urine,  pain and  soreness in vaginal are, everything just like before.
I went back on Ovestin immediately one week ago and things are slightly better,but it seemed to work much faster last time. This times I am still very sore, can't do sex for fear that it will get even worse and hurt too much, and feel miserable. Does anyone know if it's normal to take longer to get an effect? I can be patient but am feeling really depressed. I'm an my late 60's and have a man friend I don't often see because he works on the other side of the Atlantic. Time together is precious and it's now! Has anyone got an encouraging word or any advice. Is it normal to get the symptoms back so quickly, and will they go away again? Help, please.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM
Once urogenital atrophy becomes a problem then local oestrogen treatment is essential and needs to be used for the rest of your life on a regular basis. Vagifem may be an easier way to use local oestrogen but stick with the cream if you like it.  Do use local moisturisers as well - SYLK or the YES products are best and use these at a different time of day to the local oestrogen.
Lots of extra lubrication can really help for sex - Durex ‘Perfect Glide' is great and you could buy this and the vaginal moisturisers online. .  DG x

[Hurdity]

Hi there Bridge48

Also some women find they need systemic HRT as well as local oestrogen to keep vaginal atrophy and associated symptoms at bay. It may be difficult at your age though,  if you have never taken HRT and are a long time since menopause. Do remember that the starting treatment for any local oestrogen is AT LEAST two weeks of daily treatment followed by AT LEAST twice weekly application as a maintenance dose to prevent recurrence of symptoms. If you stop and symptoms have returned - you may well need to repeat the starting treatment ie daily use, again for a fortnight. Also some women find they need more than twice weekly as their maintenance dose - some even use it daily.

Do also read Dancinggirl's thread "The Burning Club" in the Private Lives section - there will be lots of helpful tips and also lots of threads on VA and treatments.

Hurdity x

[Bridge48]

Dancing Girl and Hurdity,
Thank you so much. I had a hysterectomy at 38, menopause at 41, then started HRT at 45 but stopped in my mid 50s. I was away
in Asia, forgot my patches and thought "I'm fine, don't need that anymore...." After a gap of several years without anything physical and divorce, my first encounter with my new friend was a painful shock, but nothing compared to the months of suffering last year before diagnosis, at 69! I thought I was dying of some horrible illness and the pain was like arrows shooting up me, quite apart from getting up 9 times each night and being too sore to stand up or sit down or sleep! If only I had known that this was a common problem. Thank god we have internet so can find out what docs don't tell us! Finding you girls on this website has been amazing - and the more we can share information, the better. Bridget x