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period pains with 10mg Vagifem

Posted , 7 users are following.

heidimairim
heidimairim

I had my menopause at 48 , 8 years ago . Last September I got my first regular sex partner in 16 years . 1st December we had first unprotected sex , having used condoms for 6 weeks . I then got repeated infections - thrush twice , bacterial vaginosis twice , external labial mini boils , right labia & groin became diffusely swollen & purplish red . Saw GP three times ,hospital walk-in clinic twice, STD clinic once . No overview , no exam , just 3 courses of antibiotics & no prospect of seeing gynaecologist . Then a week off , followed by urinary symptoms for a week - urgency, peeing repeatedly at night , frequency , feeling there was a tennis ball in my bladder , unable to start peeing , small volumes which felt incomplete . This was a textbook case of Genito-Urinary Complex of the Menopause . Last week I went to gynaecologist at the private Portland Hospital & have been taking 10mg Vagifem oestrogen pessaries for 5 days . I had 3 days of continuous period pains but all the previous symptoms have already resolved except urgency . But the pains come back if I am late with the pessary & go 28-30 hours .

Will these pains continue when I switch to maintenance dose of 2 per week from daily ? Gynaecologist says use Vagifem daily for a week then maintenance , but the product literature & online forums say use daily 2 weeks .

1 like, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • tracy12090
    tracy12090 heidimairim

    Posted

    All your symptoms are as you say text book. I'm not sure if your saying the Vagifem are causing the period type pains, I can't say I experienced any while on them at one point I was on 30mg. It is true usually you take them for 2 weeks then a maintenance dose. I would continue and if your still not comfortable then go back and discuss it again.
  • chris00938
    chris00938 heidimairim

    Posted

    Just be careful that you don't take too much Vagifem.  My GP overdosed me with it (three times the recommended dose) and I got endometrial cancer after that, and you can see the warnings on Vagifem's page: http://www.novo-pi.com/vagifem.pdf but I appreciate sometimes we have to take risks to solve a problem and it does, at least, sound as though it's worked for you, which it didn't for me (hence she kept upping the dose!).
  • jools72842
    jools72842 heidimairim

    Posted

    Hi Heidimairim , I am on Vagifem have been for a while , they do take a while to work , I started on a 2 week continuous regime every day , then after the two weeks twice a week .

     

  • rosedee
    rosedee heidimairim

    Posted

    I'm on my 8th week and it does get better. I was like you in the beginning wanted it to work ASAP. I was told it would take 12 weeks and then it back to normal.
  • jean0078
    jean0078 heidimairim

    Posted

    I use vagifem every other  day. My Gyno said that was ok. I have tried dropping to twice a week and the symptoms come right back. The vagifem took almost 6 MONTHS to help. Everyone is different.
    • chris00938
      chris00938 jean0078

      Posted

      Jean did you see Vagifem's recommendations on the link I sent to Heidi above?  My GP kept telling me it was safe at the dose she'd given me but it was only after I found I'd got endometrial cancer that I read prescribers instructions on that link, and SHE ASKED ME WHY SHE'D DOSED ME AT THAT AMOUNT!  Vagifem are a very helpful company and were very interested to hear the dose I'd been on and wrote to my GP about it.  She left the practice.  But I'm wondering if it could be worth you asking them about their opinion of using it every other day, and how long that should be for.  They do stress that it should be used for the shortest period, and this is something I don't understand because I'd guess that a lot of women find the problem comes back if they stop using it.  But, at the end of the day, the choice is yours, but make sure it's YOU making the decision for YOUR health, if you know what I mean.
    • jean0078
      jean0078 chris00938

      Posted

      I am not worried. I am also a stage 3 breast cancer survivor and my oncologist said I could use it everyday if I needed it! I own gyno said it was ok as well as two practioners at two major centers where I went for second and third opnions. I have been using Vagifem since May and expect to be off of it in another couple of months as I have scheduled the Mona Lisa procedure in early March. I am so uncomfortable when I try to use it only 2x a week that this short term risk is worth it to me.
    • chris00938
      chris00938 jean0078

      Posted

      Do let us know how the Mona Lisa treatment goes:-)  Sorry to hear about the breast cancer - that must have been a tough time, but I'm glad you're OK now.
  • peg30370
    peg30370 heidimairim

    Posted

    I had really pain menstrual type cramps when I started with Estrace cream everyday. Took awhile for my body to adjust to the estrogen surge all at once. I stopped it for a few days to see if the pain went away, and it did. Once I was over the initial load and switched to 2-3x a week, the cramping is all gone. I too am debating whether to have the Mona Lisa treatment done, since the estrogen has Finally started to help after 4 months. Be so nice not to have to mess with all of it for sure!
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