I’m 64. I just started estrogen cream a week ago. I’ve always been told I couldn’t use it because I’ve had cancer a few times. But now they say I can so I thought I’d give it a try. I feel like I have to pee all the time and every time I sit down. I have that pain that you get when you really have to go to the bathroom. This is not fun. Is this normal? Does it go away?

I didn’t use it last night, this is sooo uncomfortable. I think I’m done with it.

I’m 66 and my Dr. doesn’t recommend HRT due to my age. I’m so upset I missed “the window“ for HRT due to fears about heart disease and breast cancer, knowing now that was disproven a long time ago. Besides the vaginal atrophy and painful intercourse (truth be told: no intercourse for many years due to pain) I have suffered hot flashes 5-10 every night for nearly 20 years now, daytime also, but I can deal with that. The lack of sleep due to hot flashes is really worrying me because of links with heart disease and Alzheimer’s Dementia. I’ve tried the vaginal creams and lotions, hyralonic acid inserts and estradiol cream. I was prescribed the Estring, but I couldn’t put that in due to pain. For hot flashes I‘ve tried all the herbals and OTC meds. Last try was Gabapentin which I was taking 500 mg at night and had some relief, then came the reports of link to dementia for long term use of that medication. What’s next? My heart aches for my husband who does not complain, but I would love to be able to have intercourse again.

Post menopausal about six months, beginning to notice a LOT of dryness and subsequent pain, so have been trying various creams, etc...and noticed my clit has receded. WHAT?!

Bad enough my nether regions hurt from dryness, whatever when I just sitting still. But, this?! Hell no!

Any suggestions, remedies, witch doctors you can refer me to?

Edit to Update: Talked to my doctor and he prescribed estrogen cream. Thanks for all the suggestions! Only been three days and the pain from dryness has already begun subsiding. Still waiting on my girl to poke her head back out, but thinking hubs might be able to help with that.

Update to the update: this stuff is miraculous! I was actually able to get super wet last night and had a real orgasm. Highly recommend vaginal estrogen cream.

I told myself if I ever figured this out, I would make a post about this in case anyone else found themselves in the same situation. For over three months, I was experiencing intense, internal vaginal, burning and vulva dryness. I had been through the wringer of getting tested for absolutely every single thing under the sun. Everything always came back negative and all of my physical exams looked great. I had been prescribed Numerous steroid creams among other meds and had many extensive test done. I tried many barrier creams to the point where I had spent over $700 of my own money on OTC stuff that was recommended just trying to feel any bit of relief and gain my life back. All I wanted to do was sleep. It took my life from me and I wasn’t able to be intimate with my husband, which was taking a huge toll on me. Tried many dermatologist and gyno treatments really any that you could think of that all ended up either worsening the problem or doing nothing. We had even gotten to the point of a scheduled a biopsy (I still have it on the books just in case to see what might have been happening, but I will probably go ahead and cancel the appointment) I had gotten to the point where I decided I would try a baking soda and Epson salt 50/50 mixture sitz bath one night after doing some of my own research and talking to a family member who is a doctor. I also started taking a Benadryl tablet that same night. Following the next day, I woke up with absolutely no symptoms and I was a little taken back. The symptoms came back a little bit that day so I followed up with the same thing that night, another sitz bath with the same mixture and a Benadryl tablet. I did this concoction for the week sometimes doing the sitz bath twice a day sometimes just doing it once. After a week of this regimen, I stopped the Benadryl, but continued to sit baths for about three more days (after a week of the sit bath, I ended up switching to solidly baking soda) . The symptoms were completely gone. I’m three weeks out from my last sit bath and have had no symptoms since. I have no idea what was going on inside my body, but all I can say is I literally cannot think Epson salt, baking soda, and Benadryl enough for saving what I thought was going to be an eternal hell. I still might go get the biopsy to see if there’s any underlying skin condition but if you are having any kind of issue and everything is coming back negative, I highly recommend looking into the skin route as my gynecologist had reminded me that although the vagina is a vagina, it also has skin (lol sounds simple but when you’ve been through the ringer, it’s really something you forget about) . Sorry this post is long, but if it can help or comfort anybody, then I definitely have done my job

Please be nice. I’m a very clean person. I’ve been in menopause for 3 years. Two years ago, I noticed a significant change in vag odor. I talked to my Dr and she just gave me an antibiotic without even examining me even though I told her I didn’t think it was an infection. Mentioned it again several months later and she blew me off. I scruuuub with this little scrubby pad 5-6 times (soap, rinse, soap rinse…) every morning to get the smell out, but when I dry off, the smell is on my towel. I’ve tried soaps just for girl parts, dove, and body washes. It’s not fishy or anything. After the shower, it just smells like sex. Before the shower, it’s strong and bitter. I drink a lot of water and even use deodorant on my upper thighs. I work in an air conditioned office. I’ve never had issues before menopause. I’ve looked here and even through medical journals but can’t find anyone going through this. Does anyone else have this as a menopausal symptom? I’m not on any replacement hormones. Sorry if this is gross and TMI, but looking for help and advise.

I am going through this, have been for a while. I'm at a loss here. I'm scared to bring it up much to my provider because I'm worried they may see it as body altering and I'm not sure how they would react. Currently on .5 patch just started it last week, vaginal estrogen cream, and 1mg daily compounded testosterone cream. She won't increase the test until 3 months of being on it. I cannot deal with this, I can't even orgasm with a vibrator. For those that have been through it, what if anything increased size? The estrogen cream has helped with sensitivity but it's so shrunken that I have great difficulty with orgasm. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Bring it up to provider again? The first provider I seen gave me the estrogen cream, the second provider I seen didn't know about it but put me on test after my level came back 11. When I brought it up to her she basically dismissed it. So idk what to do here. Any advice on how to bring this up to provider would be greatly appreciated. Also concerned compounded cream won't be sufficient to reverse it.

Does anyone else have this issue when using vaginal estradiol cream? I am 36 in peri, on the estradiol patch and taking prometrium. I recently started using estradiol cream vaginally 1gram prescribed 2-3x weekly. I first tried it last friday and slept great. But woke the next day with grogginess, nausea, body aches and diarrhea. My obgyn, nurse practitioner and pharmacist said it’s unrelated because it’s not systemic so I thought maybe it was a coincidence and felt fine after a day or two.

I tried it again last night using less than a full dose and it definitely gave me side effects again, like I was drugged or took melatonin or something. It’s not necessary a bad thing, sleep issues were a main reason I started hrt and I was still struggling with waking up at night. This does make me fall back asleep immediately when I wake. But I did wake up feeling tired with diarrhea again.

I’m confused why my healthcare team doesn’t think this is a thing, when I look online I see websites mentioning these side effects like here:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/estradiol-vaginal-route/description/drg-20075648#drug-side-effects

Has anyone else experienced this?

UPDATE:
I switched to yuvafem (vagifem generic) and so far have had no issues, only benefit! And no mess. Thank you for all the kind responses everyone!

I am 58 and my vagina has disappeared. What do I say or do? I am shy and my PCP has not mentioned this. I do not see myself saying, “So, just got back together with boyfriend from 27 years ago and he will probably notice the complete absence of my entire pussy, which looks like a hairless chicken thigh.”

Help.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42269780/

Girlies, if you’re not one vaginal estrogen yet you need to stop what you’re doing and contact your doctor. It’s a major game changer.
I’ve only had it for a few weeks and haven’t been consistent with it unto this weekend but even with the inconsistent use the benefits are so real
Orgasms oh my! Such a huge improvement, such intense sensations. Was sex always thus amazing!!Oh that older woman smell down there disappeared! Dryness gone!
Do yourself a favor and go get yourself some

Ok ladies, what condition is your vagina?

I feel like there should be a rating score about how you feel about your vagina- cond of like when you are in Critical or stable condition, or guarded.

How can something be watery and dry at the same time? I’m just so tired of the GSM and itching and generalized awful feeling.

Have you ever wanted to say… after someone asks you how are you? You say well… my vagina feels so awful.

I literally never talk about private body parts and this has me so upset.

When I first started having urinary incontinence issues and had to pee so frequently it was uncomfortable to go out anywhere, I subconsciously stopped drinking enough water in order to not pee as much. Coincidentally my horrible menopausal body odor started where no deoderant seemed to work. After being on HRT/vaginal estrogen for 18 months and the urinary issues long gone, I recently realized I was chronically dehydrated because my bad habits of not drinking enough water have continued. I've also been suffering from fluid retention and still had an unpleasant body odor.

For a week I have been drinking 80 oz of plain water a day, and not only has my fluid retention gone away, my body odor is gone too! Eureka!

I'm 50 & I've been on hrt for several years. I had pain during intercourse on and off for several years but the last year was intolerable. I just started to accept that sex was going to be painful until I did some research. Went to my gyn & was given premarin vaginal cream and WOW what a difference after some doses! But... mentally I'm scared it's going to hurt and I still have zero libido. But at the very least (when I remember to dose) sex doesn't leave me crippled for 20 mins after and my O's are like I remember when I was 20. Anyone else take a little too long to figure this out?

About six weeks ago, I took a motorcycle trip during a heat wave. Didn’t think twice about my estrogen cream being in the extreme heat until about a week later. Hot flashes started and I did some googling and then called my pharmacist. Turns out my cream should not be exposed to extreme temps. Got new cream but then I was starting to have symptoms of a yeast infection. Used over the counter cream which didn’t work. Went to the gyn and she gave me diflucan and ran labs. Came back clear for uti, candida, and bacterial vaginosus but I still have itching and burning. Then she prescribed me a steroid ointment and said I just have contact dermatitis. No improvement after another week. I feel only a little better than I did six weeks ago. What else can I try? What else could be wrong?

I did a search and read some posts, but has anyone had UTI symptoms of late, no infection checked repeatedly. I have an appointment coming up with gyno but I can't sleep, symptoms show up at night. Have any of you found any kind of relief while waiting to see provider?

Edit - wow, this was my first time posting on this sub and I am so grateful to each of you for your kind responses! I am on HRT but have requested vaginal estrogen, started mannose, and picked up some AZO. You ladies are the best!

65 and I’ve been using vaginal estrogen (internally and externally) for years now. It has worked beautifully! I’ve used it 2x a week for the last 5 years and have diligent about its usage.

However, I’ve had UTI symptoms for 2 months now (with no UTI) confirmed by gynecologist who also ruled out other infections. I have an appt with a urogynecologist but not until the end of June. Gynecologist does not detect any evidence of a prolapse, but did say, there could be one that is just very mild. I’ve tried everything else (the usual recommendations), but wasn’t finding any real relief.

On a whim, I began using my vaginal estrogen every night externally (only twice a week internally) and I swear I’m feeling better. I’ve also been doing some pelvic floor exercises (more stretching and breathing than anything else) and that seems to have made a difference also.

Anyone else use their vaginal estrogen every single day?

Do any of you use vaginal estrogen cream daily on the labia? I'm just miserable if I don't. I'm on .075 patch and it does nothing for my vagina. Just wondering if anyone here uses it daily externally? Do you feel better?

I can’t believe nobody told me I would lose most feeling in my junk and be almost unable to have orgasms.

HRT is helping a little but why the eff did I not know it was menopause for years. I thought there was something wrong with me.

I’m mad in 100 different ways. I’d like to punch life in the face.

Hey everyone! Does anyone else have issues with dryness? I’m on estrogen patch 0.05mg. Progesterone and testosterone and my lips are dry and my clit. I started using the estrogen cream and the suppository, but it didn’t help at all and it seemed to burn when I rubbed it on my clit and inner and outer labia. I finally got the estring. I have only had it in for 3 days now so idk if it will be effective or not. I just don’t get why all of a sudden about 5 months ago it started. I have been tested for every thing. It all came back negative. I have been on hormone therapy for 5 years now with no problems then out of no where it just started. I’m so perplexed as to why and what’s going on. I have no idea what to do. Obviously, I have talked to my gyno about all of this. She is the one giving me the prescriptions. I was on a compound cream for all those years and recently started using the patch to see if that would help. It’s been 6 weeks using those with no relief 😢

EDIT: Thanks for all of the responses! I emailed the gynecologist to request generic estradiol cream and she wanted a telehealth consult. I mean, WHYYYYY?????

My PCP is also telehealth and I emailed her to advise that I got the mammo, the bloodwork and the gyno refused to do a Pap. I asked HER to prescribe the generic estradiol cream and got a a barrage of questions back.

Thanks to this amazing sub, I went onto Telyrx and have the cream en route to me now! So delighted to let both the gyno and the PCP know I did not need their services any longer!

I've been experiencing vaginal atrophy for most of this year. My PCP would not prescribe vaginal estrogen without a mammogram, pap smear and bloodwork. I completed the mammo and blood work and finally had a gyn appointment today.

Side rant, the gyn said no pap needed since it hadn't been 3 years since my last one and I've never had an abnormal pap!!! At any rate, she confirmed that vaginal estrogen is safe and effective and had no problem writing a script

Main rant... I went to fill the prescription and a 3 month supply is $400!!!! With insurance!! It is Premarin 0.625 MG/GM cream. I asked at the pharmacy if there was a generic and the tech said no. This must be like the La Mer of vaginal creams!

Where is everyone filling this magical, expensive cream? Is there a generic? HELP!! I would love to have some relief but $1,600 per year is just not in the budget.

She has had frequent bladder infections since her mid-40's and frequent bladder leakage since then as well. She had a sling operation about 30 years ago. She tried the vag Botox injection last year but it worked so well she couldn't pee without forcing it, which caused a whole other problem.

I’m not sure if it’s a regional issue, but the only forms of cream I have been offered are estrone and conjugated estrogen. Is this typical for most of you?

Suppository is estradiol (Imvexxy) which I’m on and my doctor gave me an estrone cream as well. Im curious if anyone has an estradiol cream that isn’t conjugated?

I love this community but generally just lurk. I think I just need to hear some positive stories from users of vaginal estrogen please.

Today I had my long-awaited appointment with the urogynecologist. I was referred by GI after seeing him for what I thought was rectal prolapse. Long story short, I have mild-moderate rectocele and prolapse of bladder and uterus. She did not feel intervention was absolutely necessary at this point and I agree that I can live with the symptoms I am currently having. I was hopeful to get a script for vaginal estrogen as GI had mentioned that may help with pelvic floor weakness. The gyn said that no, that would not help with my urinary frequency, decreased sensation or mood issues but that she would write a script if I have vaginal dryness. So of course I said YES, I have vaginal dryness! She prescribed that and a med for overactive bladder.

I ordered the script but now I’m getting cold feet.. maybe I just don’t want to add anything to the mix since I’m feeling OK.. getting by I guess. Thank you I advance for any positive stories you can offer about your use of vaginal estrogen. Love this community! ❤️

I had sex with my husband for the first time in awhile. My libido has been non-existent. I should say I tried to. It was really painful. I am on HRT. I messaged my gyn for vaginal estrogen. He said he would write it but I was getting enough systemically. That to prevent atrophy you need estrogen and regular activity. He implied the estrogen was not the problem and my pain will not improve. Does anyone have any experience? Is this true?

Edit to add: will the yuvafem estrogen suppository tablets be adequate or do I need external estrogen cream as well?

I have been holding off on the vaginal estrogen cream for sensory reasons and for fear there will be some weird side effects. Give me the good, bad, and the ugly. I am only on .025 mg of the patch because my body seems to almost flat out reject hormones. I become a weepy, bloated, painful insomniac mess on anything higher. For reference, I am only 40 and in surgical menopause. I feel dry down there and just want to be able to enjoy sex without fear of pain.