Mona Lisa touch

Hoping it is successful for you. Keep me posted.

Don't understand that concept Main reason I searched out Mona Lisa was to get off estrogen.

I still use the Vagifem. My Dr. Says it is all individual. Some can get by without any estrogen and others can't . In my case I was able to cut the use of Vagifem by half which was ok by me. Ask your Dr. Why you might need both.

Hi Jean

How many Vagifem do you take in a week now?  I need 2 a week and sometimes wonder if I will eventually need 3 in the future.  I tried to go down on the Vagifem to stretch it out but started to feel the uncomfortable feeling again so I guess my body won't let me  needless to say I am back to 2.  My doctor pretty much said I may very well be on Vagifem for the rest of my life.  I am "watching and listening about the Mona Lisa Treatments" .....if you still have to do Vagifem with the ML treatments then I may pass on the treatments..Time will tell.  Looking to hear how you are and how you have been.

thank you for sharing,

wendy

Before the ML treatments, I needed Vagifem every other day. Since the treatments I am able to get by with two. I think that is how it will remain. So I cut my presecription cost in half.

Even using Vagifem every other day it really did not take care of the probelm. The combination of ML and Vagifem makes me feel normal but I know I will never be 20 again. I am 69 yrs old and the older I got the worse the probelm became.

Thanks Nancy , It didn't make any sense to me either ?! If I don't have pain I'm not going to use it.

Exactly. The least medication the better

Hi Jean

Were you using the Vagifem every other day for Atrophic Vaginitis discomfort or did you have other issues as well?

Wendy

Just for the atrophy.

Hi Ellen,

Vaginal atrophy is also known as genito-urinary syndrome of menopause; in recognition of its effect on the urinary bladder and urethra; all these tissues suffer when the estrogen levels are not sufficient. So one of the ways the bladder shows symptoms is urgency. My understanding is that the Mona Lisa does improve urgency; urologists seem to be performing it more and more, so that is also an indication. Have you tried googling Mona Lisa and urologists and see what comes up? There are some informative videos on YouTube. Good luck.

vaginal atrophy effects everything... I would think the mona lisa would help this but would talk to your gyn and then google mona lisa in your area.  Truly mona lisa gave me back my quality of life.  I had uti's and urgency for years.  

good luck, it is an epidemic I never knew about.  

Hi KKay,

Thank you so much for responding (was feeling especially desperate about this VA today, so your message was a bright spot in my day!) and for giving me the encouraging news that the Mona Lisa does improve urgency. It's good to know also that urologists are using the Mona Lisa more and more. I will google Mona Lisa and urologists in my area and see what I find, and I'll take a look at those videos on YouTube. Again, thanks!

Hi Nancyo,

Yes, vaginal atrophy does feel like it affects everything. I never knew about VA until my GP diagnosed me; I thought meno entailed nothing more than hot flashes and profusive sweating. It's my belief that a comprehensive menopause educational campaign is truly needed, because, as you say, VA is an epidemic, but it's a silent one, a taboo subject. I know more about rare disorders (from all those pharma commercials on TV) than I do about the my own menopause. And it's 2017!

I was thrilled to read that the Mona Lisa gave you back your quality of life. That's so great. I assume you have to go back once a year for a treatment.

I will google Mona Lisa in my area. Thanks for responding! I'm feeling so much more hopeful now. 

 

Ellen. Keep me posted on your outcome. I agree there is no information for VA. I found out more in this site than all my doctors. I told them what I earned

Nancyo, I found a reputable ob-gyn in Boca Raton, Florida, who does the Mona Lisa, so I'll be going for a consultation ASAP. I will keep you posted as I move forward with this. Thanks for your support.

Hi Ellen and ladies

I agree that there is not enough out there about VA...so many questions and not enough answers......why are some menapausal women affected with this and other not?........what causes VA?  (Just lack of estrogen??) My VA could have been caused by the Lupron injections putting me in Menapausal state for 9 months in my 30's due to endometriosis....maybe we can all share and try to understand the causes.  Surprising, my urologist didn't know too much about the Mona Lisa Treatments!   I am 65 and I'm the only one out of my friends that suffer from VA.....others just have the dryness with intimacy.  I am currently on Vagifem 2 x a week....sometimes feel I may need to bump up to 3..or use Estrace cream on outside in addition .......some of us are on Vagifem 2x week while others are on 5 x week.....waiting to hear more results of the ML treatments and hopefully in time insurance will pay for treatments for VA suffers!!!.....if it helps and heals they should cover this!

 I am just searching for answers........this site is truly a blessing!!

thank you for sharing everyone!!

Wendy

Wendy. Agree with you. None if my friends suffer with this as I did. Yes some have discomfort but not to the degree I had.

Hi Wendy,

A lack of estrogen seems to be the catalyst for VA (and I think I read that upwards of 50 or 80? percent of women do experience some symptoms of VA), but perhaps one's genetics play a role in the severity of the symptoms.

Genetically speaking, I have always been on the thinner side (and have remained so in menopause), and since estrogen is stored in body fat, I think my estrogen stores are probably far less than those of other menopausal women. Also, thinner skin and skin allergies run in my family (on the Irish side), and I have both. Perhaps this thinner skin is an indication of less collagen internally, too, including in the vaginal area. Also, I never had children (which is a risk factor for more severe VA, I think). By the way, I was never in a menopausal state before I hit menopause, so that is not a factor for me. I never used any birth control pills.

I also wonder if some women have more symptoms of VA besides dryness with intimacy and don't even know it or refuse to share out of embarassment. My symptoms started in my bladder, so I was convinced initially that I had a bladder problem (like overactive bladder, interstital cystitis, or bladder stones). The vaginal symptoms kicked in a year later. I simply had (and still have) the sensation that I gotta go, but in actuality, I can hold it for hours and hours, though that's uncomfortable. I wonder if some menopausal women's bladder problems are really vaginal atrophy, like with me, and they just don't know it. (I know that a lot of menopausal women who suddenly get IC after menopause are helped by vaginal estrogen creams, so they probably never had IC in the first place.)

Also, I have noted that some of my women friends who are my age, 55, seem to have to use the restroom alot, though they are not incontinent and they don't race to the restroom (a sign of OB). Maybe this is from VA. 

Anyway, I see my Boca Raton Mona Lisa 0b-gyn next Friday, and she may even do the first treatment the same day. I will report back with my results. 

Ellen

I agree with you. I had no menopausal/VA symptoms until I lost 60 lbs after getting breast cancer. I also took those anti-estrogen pills. My oncologist even agrees. It has been three years and all this started two years ago !!. My mother had it I am pretty sure. I remember her saying how itchy she was but it was not a yeast infection, her sister ( my aunt) was always uncomfortable and had to wear pants about two sizes too big. We wondered why !!!  Now it all seems expainable and they had virtually nothing to help. I am also very fair with that Irish/Scottish/English heritage and as I get older I can fell my skin getting a lot drier. 

One reason I think this seems like an epidemic is that most of us are baby boomers and there a ot of us and we are demanding answers and treatments,  unlike our parents and generations before who just suffered and accepted.

My sister has all the bladder problems and I have al the vaginal ones !!

Thank you so much ladies for sharing I think this will help others as we all share and try to understand this Atrophic Vaginitis problem......and it is a problem robbing many of us of quality of life!  Fortunately the Vagifem for now is helping......much better than without it as without I felt like I had constant UTI all the time and was so uncomfortable.  It took many weeks for the low estrogen in the Vagifem to work but was a blessing when it finally kicked in.  Yes, every now and then I feel like a UTI coming on or feel like I have to pee but not severe.....may need to go to 3 Vagifem.

I too am on the thin side as the past couple of years due to some stress and I am part Irish, Scottish...faired skin.I am concerned for my oldest daughter as she did not have children and has been on birth control for many many years she is now 41. Wish I had advice to give her of something she could do now to try to prevent VA......that's the problem.

wendy

Hi Ellen

Please keep us all posted after your GYN appointment....would love to hear!

thank you

wendy

Hi Wendy, Nancyo, KKay, Jean, and all,

I returned from my consultation/first treatment just a few hours ago. My doctor was great and really put me at ease!  She completely understood my VA problems and my physical intolerance of estrogen therapy and said I am one of those people who is extremely sensitive to medication. She is forty-eight aand has even used the Mona Lisa Touch on herself for incontinence due to bearing three children.

Anyway, she really numbed me up with lidocaine and then did the vaginal laser treatment. It felt like a massage, and I had no discomfort whatsoever. It took about five minutes. Since I did so well with that, she also did the outer (vulval) treatment, and again I had no discomfort, though she warned that the vulval treatment might pinch. She seemed to do a very thorough job on the outside parts.

I have had a lot of vulval burning since the lidocaine wore off, but I have been using lots of Aquafor and ice packs, and gradually the burning is subsiding. 

I'm looking forward to the coming days, when I'll be able to access how much progress I have made.

I thank all of you for your support as I take this journey.

Ellen

Hi Wendy,

What you said about your daughter has been replaying in the back of my mind since I first read your post. I am hopeful that the technology geared toward postmenopausal women's gyn health will accelerate as more postmenopausal women (and women with a cancer history) utlize the existing treatments and demand a greater variety of treatments. Perhaps the day is right around the corner when postmenopausal women will go for their yearly "touch-up" (be it laser or something else) and it will be no big deal.

In the meantime, if I were your daughter, I would be proactive and would consult with a gyn about any measures she can take now to stave off VA. I would also try to gain weight (in a healthy way) if she is on the thin side like you (though this is easier said than done for us thinner women--I eat like a teenage boy some days and barely gain an ounce!). If I could rewind the tape and do all of this over, I might have incorporated phytoestrogen-rich foods (soy milk, tofu, flaxseeds, etc.) into my daily diet in my forties, instead of having them intermittently.  

Anyway, these are just some thoughts. Your daughter is lucky to have a mother like you who is thinking ahead for her. 

Ellen

Hi Ellen ... so glad for you that your first treatment was painless.  I hope you have the success I did, grateful every day.... keep me posted

Hello Ellen

Thank you so much for keeping us posted on your journey with ML.  It sounds like the procedure did go quite well.  We will all be anxious to hear how it has helped the VA discomfort in time.  It sounds like you have a wonderful doctor....so good!

Also thank you for sharing about my daughter. And yes I hope that there will be more help for her than there is now for all of us.  I believe she is still on the pill and has been for many years.  You mentioned about you may have wanted to have changed your diet to soy milk, etc.  actually good you didn't.  My sister did drink the soy milk into her diet and she ended up with breast cancer and wondered if that may have caused the cancer.  She was all organic, healthy, and excercised. Just a thought.  I will meantin to our daughter about talking with her GYN doctor now.

yes, this is a wonderful blog for all of us!

thank you again Ellen......please continue to let us know how you are doing.

Blessings,

Wendy

Nancy, Wendy, KKay, Jean, and everybody,

An update: As I noted in my previous post, I had vulvar burning (and urinating really stung the first few times) after the procedure yesterday. Thankfully, those symptoms disappeared by late afternoon, with the help of Aquafor and ice packs. I also had a little discharge with a pinkish tinge, but that, too, disappeared, and it was very minor.

Today everything feels pretty good. I do have swelling (everything really is plumped up!), but I'm sure some of this will go down and some with stay (regenerated tissue should be plumper than atrophied tissue). I can't really assess the VA discomfort yet, though I do have a general sense that things have improved.

Wendy, I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. It's so hard to discern whether we are doing ourselves good or harm when we make "healthy" choices, like consuming phytoestrogens for menopausal symptoms. All the evidence is so conflicting. We women have to grapple with so many hard decisions around menopause. I have found it all so daunting at times. All of this should have been sorted out by the medical establishment by now. (A good start would be for all doctors to at least be able to recognize VA when they see it!)

Nancy, I so glad to hear about your continued success. You really are a pioneer!

Ellen

 

Hi Wendy, I didn't have any problems until right after I had my uterus removed !? I never had pain or dryness until after my hysterectomy ?! I have asked the question before but I haven't seen any answers ? Have most of the women asking about the Mona Lisa Treatment had hysterectomies or just going through menopause ?! I would appreciate a response. Thanks, Judy

Hi, I'm not Wendy and maybe she has more info but from what I've read hysterectomies can cause dryness and MLT is an alternative to hormone treatment or at least helps reduce the amount of hormonal creams or supplements to a minimum,

I attended a meeting at my gynecologists (see my separate post); the woman sitting next to me said her dryness started with her hysterectomy many years ago.

Other women there mentioned early menopause (40's) with increasing dryness even with hormones. So this is a welcome alternative for them.

I have not had a hysterectomy but menopause at 50 with increasing awful dryness. I'm 68.

I have not had a hysterectomy but started with VA at 67. More than dryness si much pain n uti s. Mona Lisa will be cure in the future

Hi I had the beginning of VA before my hysterectomy and had taken a course of vagifem. This seemed to cure my splitting problem however once I had my TAHBSO the problem returned worse than it had ever been and seems to be permanent. I really do think Dr's should warn us of the potential problems before the operation as I feel I have swapped one problem for another. I could have chosen another option if I had known!

Hello The Judy

My VA started after menapause ........several years after.  When I was in my thirties I had Lupron injections putting me in a menapause state for 9 months due to endometriosis......maybe that could have been a cause for VA.

Hi Tracy.....I agree.  I would have dealt with the pain taking pain meds rather that putting my body in menapause state all those months.....maybe the doctors didn't know the outcome of these procedures down the line??.........

wendy

Hi, I may have missed it but since your MLT 2 years ago have you had any UTI's or urgency?

Thank you!

month after thought I had a uti but turned out not to be. Really none in two years

Hi Nancyo,

I was looking back at your posts and noticed after one treatment (3rd?), you felt some discomfort for a while. I have been having episodes of mild burning all over the lasered area for the past three days. It comes and goes. Did you experience something similar? I have been using Aquaphor and ice packs whenever this flares up. Hoping this passes soon.

Ellen

 

Hi Ellen

I had my first treatment a week ago and only had to use the prescribed numbing cream before and for a few days after the procedure. No issues at now.

L.

Hi Ellen,

I have been following your post and just wondering how you are doing?  I am considering getting this treatment. I have severe vaginal atrophy and burning urethra. I have tried estrogen off and on for years and it has not helped.. 

Thank You for taking the time to give us updates

Best

Boz1