The Mona Lisa Treatment Worked!!
Posted , 11 users are following.
I am 66 and have had LS for 15-20 years. In the last year, it gave me constant flare-ups for no apparent reason (stress maybe). I followed discussions on this forum for many years and found it helpful, moreso than my Dr at times. Seemed like he only knew clobetasol and more clobetasol. So with the now constant LS issues I was having, I started desperately looking all over the eastern US for an LS specialist and only found one that insurance would not cover. Later I found another that was a few hundred miles away and could see me in 3 months. So instead I started searching the Mona Lisa treatment and found a local gyno that could do that for LS.
Ladies, I have been remiss in not getting back on this site to tell you that it worked wildly well for me!! I finished the third and final treatment in April and once that healed up, I have not even had to think about my vagina. Every day in the past, either pain, itching, sores or some form of the LS was in my mind and bothering me horribly. If you can afford it, (mine was $1700) you should give it a try. I pray that it will work for others too. I went on the Mona Lisa website to find a provider then called the local ones and found one that would do it for LS, so it was not that hard to find after all. Do it if you can, if it doesn't remove the whole problem it would hopefully alleviate a lot of it. It was an amazing change and maybe some day insurance will start to cover it, we can only hope for that. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer. This forum has been a Godsend from the day I found it. Woozie
1 like, 13 replies
Rowley1 woozie
Posted
What is the Mona Lisa treatment please?
beverly52803 Rowley1
Posted
Rowley, if you google you will get much more info than a poster can supply. It has been discussed a lot on this site with discussions involving atrophy which the ML is typically used to alleviate.
My own gyn advised against it because of the thinness of menopausal skin, but many have had success re atrophy. Not too many have had it for LS that I know of, but I'm glad to hear of any options that work.
sarb73328 woozie
Posted
Good to hear some positive results from treatment, thank you. Did you have fusing and if so can this treatment reverse that?
woozie
Posted
I don't think it changed the fusing in the clit area but it may have stopped the progression. I have not had a partner for ages so no action happening for any sex. That was why I was baffled when the LS had been flaring up so much since it was never being challenged with activity. The laser stimulates cells that promote the skin to thicken up, not thin it. I had both inside and outside skin treated since I had breast cancer 20 yrs back and taken femara for 10 yrs causing the inside tissue to also deteriorate. I think it helped both.
beverly52803 woozie
Posted
woozie, the burning actually stimulates the formation of collagen which creates that "thicker" healthier skin. There are posters here that have had good luck and bad. When I asked my gyn about it for AV she said she had been following a local doctor's results which she said were inconsistent, but that was a year ago. Some post menopausal women don't fare well perhaps because the skin is too thin to withstand the burning (according to my doc). We never discussed it for LS.
I've heard of just a few people who have had it for LS. I spoke with another MD recently who said she uses a combo of laser and PRP injections for LS, but it is a different laser than the Mona Lisa. She has a cosmetic Spa and is not a gyn. She said there are three different ones.
I found only " CO2-based or erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) lasers and radiofrequency (RF)-based energy devices . By harnessing laser or RF waves to heat the connective tissue of the vaginal wall to 40 °C to 42 °C, these energy-based devices aim to induce collagen contraction, neocollagenesis, vascularization, and growth factor infiltration that ultimately revitalize and restore the elasticity and moisture of the vaginal mucosa". So I'm not sure about the third laser.
I would post the link but links get blocked by the moderator. It's from an NIH site on vaginal rejuvenation.
Glad to hear you've had luck with the procedure. I'd rather not use hormone cream and steroids forever. Would certainly be helpful if insurance in the US would cover the lasers.
cynthia40883 woozie
Posted
what did it feel like, pain wise, from the ML treatment? Were there any negative side effects from the procedure? Is there a certain level of laser strength that was used bc of the LS? May I ask what state you live in. I live in Fl. Traveled to see Dr. Newman a few months ago. I am not as miserable at this time as most, but I have been. Hard to consider rocking the boat. Some fusing an lots of tightness. Itching, sec not possible. Anything you can share about the procedure is much appreciated!
woozie cynthia40883
Posted
Cynthia, the second treatment was said to be stronger than the first, then the third went back to first strength. They are 30 days apart. The first one felt like not much, the third one for some reason felt quite stingey. But it felt healed up in a few days totally and was very worth the uncomfortableness. Absolutely no side effects, other than that bit of a burning feeling just after. You will know when you are fed up enough with the daily issues to want to seek out treatment of the Mona Lisa laser. It is being done in all states, I live in VA. I would have traveled out of state to get it but after I looked up and called gynos that the Mona Lisa website showed, I found a great new gyno here that was doing this. For me, best money spent since dx, even though out of pocket.
cynthia40883 woozie
Posted
thank you, can you gi v e an idea of cost amf how did ypu decide on this course of action as opposed to stem cell treatment. Do you think the strength of laser is universal for this disease. I would want someone who isn't overly zealous as too powerful would be disastrous!
beverly52803 cynthia40883
Posted
cynthia, for what it's worth I've been trying to find MDs who give the PRP injections. The one I found in my area said to get the PRP not in conjunction with laser (not Mona Lisa) is a waste of money.
Found an MD in a neighboring state who gives the PRP injections, but only on serious cases and did not mention laser being required. Anyone else I spoke with didn't inspire a lot of confidence.
My gyn did not recommend the laser. She was following the results of a local doc using it and felt that burning thin menopausal skin just didn't seem like a good idea.
I have done neither (yet), but think PRP injections seem less likely to have a damaging result.
kc75268 woozie
Posted
Im going to check this out Ty
Debbz1989 woozie
Posted
That's so exciting!!
Cmcm1987 woozie
Posted
i am so thrilled to hear of your success with the mona lisa procedure. i just had my first treatment a couple weeks ago and already the pain and itching feel better. my doctor said 4 treatments are the average but he will do as many as he needs too. i am 68 years old and my LS is pretty severe. do you go back once a year for a touch up if needed? your post made my day!
alistar woozie
Posted
Hi there! I'm hoping you're still checking responses to your post. Can you tell me, with regards to the Mona Lisa Touch treatment, did they insert the laser or was it a treatment of the external skin? I'm asking because I've found treatment of the MLT in Thailand (I'm living in Vietnam), and of course they've never even heard of LS. Anyway, I had my first treatment and the laser was inserted, but now I'm wondering if the treatment for LS with the laser should be externally. I'd contact a treatment center doing the MLT but I feel like they will just want me to travel to them to have the treatment done and well, that's not an option...and for anyone reading this, treatment at the clinic I've found in Bangkok, who have been doing the MLT for about 10 years now, is $1000 USD for 3 treatments. I just need to know if I have to ask them to alter their treatment format.
Thank you for any help you can give!