Print

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

[Tingly]

Hi there
Back in may i had a constant feeling of waterworks problem
I was on estradot 100 patch and utrogestan 200 for 12 days
My doctor prescribed me oral hrt...2 x hormonin and to carry on with the utro
It didnt help at all so after 4 weeks i begged her to give me some kind of cream but she refused and said i had to give the tablets 8 weeks to take effect cos this is how lomg it takes the skin inside to regenerate
Out of desparation i went to a private docot who gave me ovestin which helped a bit...it wasnt agony any more ..about 8/10 pain day and night

I was referred to a specialist who eventually yesterday has told me to stop the hormonin  and utro (i had a scanlast week and my ovaries, bladder and endometrial lining wereall ok)
-- she suggested we just start again with vagifem

I tried the vagifem last night for the first time, anid i feel diffrent this morning...the pain isnt there as much and im not desperate for the loo
The thing is this is the first moments peace ive had since may so i am scared to come off the oral hrt. When i asked the gynae if she was sure i should come off she says "yes cos how will we know which treatment is working" but i am terrified
Advice anyone please?

[Taz2]

If you are only taking HRT to relieve bladder problems then it seems right to go with what the specialist says. After all she is the "specialist". Obviously if you are taking HRT for hot flushes, joint aches etc. then these symptoms might return when you stop HRT but you can then restart if these become a problem. I found Vagifem excellent for waterworks problems.

Taz 

[Tingly]

Taz
Are we saying then that the hormonin doesnt work on bladder problems?
This is where i am confused
Doctor 1 swore blind it did and said it takes 8 weeks to work, and refused to give me cream or pessaries
Doctor 2 private doc said i needed cream as well and gave me ovestin and sent me to specialist
Specialist seems to say (by inference) that it doesnt work on bladder and to come off it and that utrogestan can sometimes irritate vulva etc

I am totally confused but have to say after 1st dose of vagi last night, i didnt rush for the loo this morning, my bladder doesnt hurt, its just my vulva is a bit stingy.

Dare i hooe for a recovery?

[Taz2]

Which type of bladder problems did you have? Sometimes we can say bladder when we actually mean the urethra which is what usually gets irritated during menopause.  I don't think that Hormonin is licensed to be prescribed purely for the relief of VA and if you didn't have any other meno symptoms then it may be your specialist thought that it was silly to give yourself higher doses of hormone which may not be required? By using Vagifem you are targeting the specific area and absorbing a negligible amount of oestrogen.

I don't think that Hormonin actually works on the bladder itself but it should give some relief from VA. I know it is very confusing!  I found within a couple of doses of Vagifem everything was so much more comfy for me so hopefully you will be the same. Have you been told to use it every night for fourteen nights and then twice a week after that?

Taz

[Tingly]

Hi taz
To start with my whole vagina hurt inside and out with dryness that bad i found tampons impossible to use and cystitis like feeling with vulva feelingit was in pincers.
The hormonin 6 weeks in made no difference
Ovestin was then started which coincided with vagina feeling much more comfortable and an easily identifiable pain of urethral tightness and urgent bladder. This has now stayed the same
Yes they told meabout the 14 day loading.
I am really scared that i will be like this forever/ do the wrong thing and go back to square 1.
I wish doc 1 had not changed my patches and just given me vagifem like i asked then i might have been further forward

Luv tingly xxxx

[Taz2]

Sounds as if your specialist gave the right advice then. Let us know how you get on.

Taz 

[Hurdity]

Hi tingly

You do seem to have had a rough time.

Personally I wouldn't stop the HRT for now if it relieved all your other meno symptoms (can't remember if you still have periods?). if Vagifem does the trick then brilliant. Also stopping suddenly can have a disastrous effect.

As I've said before - there are several of us on full HRT and vaginal oestrogen to act locally.

If you were happier on Estradot and utrogestan then once the Vagifem has started working ( fingers crossed) I would work towards going back to that - if it helped your other symptoms and made you feel better than on Hormonin.

Estradiol (from systemic HRT) will act on all the oestrogen receptors throughout the body - which includes the bladder - but it seems that in some cases we also need an extra boost from local oestrogen to really maintain the health of bladder and vaginal tissues.

Hurdity x

[Tingly]

Thanks Hurdity
That was my instinct too
The specialist said lets start again and make things simple by just using the vagifem, then if that doesnt work re add the hormonin or estradot and utrogestan
She said utrogestan can sometimes cause vulval irritation.

If all this fails she is gonna send me to have my urethra stretched (ooo  errr😥) and for bladder pressure tests

I did feel different this morning tho after 1st go with vagifem last night.
Please god let this be the beginning of the end.

Thanks hurdity
Xxxx

[Tingly]

I know its been mental
If i could have just bought the vagifem i would have done...cant understand the reluctance
This is my fourth night on it and although my vulva still stings abit and i am a bit achey where it has gone in, the bladder thing has improved massively...now going around 7/8 times a day instead of 11 plus... It also doesnt hurt so much before n after peeing

The soecialist said the utrogestan might be irritating ...hence wanting me to stop
So yesterday i did so , thinking i might have a bumpy ride shortly

To be honest i cant stand much more .. So maybe drastic action is whats required
And i spose ive got to come off it some time anyway..i have been on it 6.5 years

Just gonna have to take life 1 hour at a time!!!

Luv tingly
Xxx

[Hurdity]

Tingly - you don't have to come off HRT if you don't want to!

Re stopping the Utrogestan - are you due to stop it re your cycle? Are you still on the hormonin? It is important to finish the course of progesterone to enable all the lining to be shed, that has built up due to oestrogen stimlation. Also if you stop the utrogestan then you would have to replace it with a different progestogen, if you are still taking the oestrogen  - but would have to be a progestin unless you chose something like Cyclogest pessaries (also progesterone) - which some specialists prescribe.

Glad the Vagifem seems to be working. Maybe once your tissues have stabilised you will find utrogestan OK? Like Stellajane, it does make me need to pee a little more often but not in any way that is bothersome.

Hurdity x

[Tingly]

Hi there
Thanks hurdity and stella jane
Had a endometrial thickness scan last week and its v thin..which according to specialist is as it should be.

I was 5 days into the new round of oestro when i stopped...so not much chance of anything building up i hope
The specialist didnt ask where i was with it at all ... Praps cos of my thin endo.

I have been on hrt for 6.5 years and utrogestan since jan 2011

Specialist thought hormonin was a ridiculous thing to put me on, apparently its really really old fashioned and not really used these days.

Am trying to be positive.
The specialist said she cant see any atrophy ... So then i worried what else it could be... But i spose the hormonin could have been working on the vagina by then and not reached the bladder as such

Am also trying to tell myself i would have had to come off the hormiones one day, and being as vagifem can be used without progesterone (which i hate amd makes me feel ill 5 days out of 12) at least ive now tried the vagifem out

So even if the problems turn out not to be va after all at least ive cornered it if i get it later... And i must say, without being rude, i have had secretions down below for the first time in about 5 years

I spose my worries are
1.What if it wasnt va after all
2. What the hell else could it be..( please god let it not be interstitial cystitis) and what kind of thing varies so much in the course of a day.. Vaginal burning, then freezing cold feeling, then pain disappears , then bladder starts etc etc
3.If it is va , how long willl it take for burning to go... Today no bladder thing so far and no urethra but hot feeling vaginally....just not right
I hope doctor 1 was right when she examined me saying i was under oestrogenizes... Or did she just pick up off my suggestion that i might be?

Hey Ho, ive jsut got to keep going and try  not to panic and get depressedalthough i am!

I wonder when hormone withdrawal will kick in...

Luv Tingly
And thanks again for bothering to answer... It really does help
Xxxxxxxxxx

I

[Tingly]

No honestly, not bossy at all Stella Jane...
Just big thanx for answering at all!!
I have jsut been so confused by the totally opposite thoughts of the doctors...one to double the dose, one to come off it
Still ive done it now...i think im gonna end up with psych problems soon if i dont stop worrying! N
Luv Tingly
Xxxx

[Suzi Q]

Just carry on with Vagifem and if it feels better and omproves things greatly then sod the tests if you dont want them or see a need just use Vagifem im s glad its helping xxxxxxxxxx

[Tingly]

Well today is day 6 post vagi and i didnt wake up in the night to go to the loo----hurrah!!

Please may it continue
So i am guessing the vagifem is working therefore it must be va otherwise it wouldnt work
Hasnt completely gone yest, still feel abit odd down below, but much improved
I pray it continues
Love
Tingly

[Hurdity]

Hey tingly
Great news that you are feeling better!
Long may it last!!
I amost always have to get up in the night even with full HRT and vaginal oestrogen!
Hurdity x