Peri menopause and VA

Jas06, I am also peri and have been dealing with VA since Oct. 17 coming up on 1 year. 😢 I have tried several things and am on intrarosa and estrace now which seem to be helping. 

I have read that all women have atrophy to some degree after menopause. Some of us more extreme than others. But I have also read that some women barely have a vagina left and what they do have is made up of skin so thin it splits yet feel no discomfort (these would be women not attempting to have sex). Other women ar in agony with constant UTIs caused by atrophy. In my case I was diagnosed 3 years ago and was prescribed hormone cream,  but did not feel the need to use it because I was not having any symptoms (I was 67) other than painful exams.

I went for my first exam in 3 years this summer as I felt symptoms of an infection. At that time I was diagnosed with lichen sclerosis which the gyn says is a result (in my case) of too little estrogen. This is not something you want to have. I am now not only using hormone cream, but had to use steroid cream as well.

I would advise you to do as much reading up as possible on the subject of AV as well as hormone therapy. There are risks involved with using them and risks involved with not using them. Get as much info from your doctor as possible. Go with a list of questions. I assume you are seeing a gynecologist and not a GP.

I have been in perimenopause for 5 years, starting when I was 47. Menopause is actually just a point in time when you haven’t has a period for 12 months, then you are post menopause. The symptoms you experience during the menopause transitional period (i.e. during perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause are referred to as menopausal symptoms. During this transitional period of perimenopause women experience varied symptoms, common ones include irregular and heavy periods, vaginal dryness and discomfort, hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, lack of energy and constant exhaustion. In fact this website lists 66 symptoms of perimenopause! Myself, I experienced increasing dryness which was effectively treated by applying natural oils (coconut oil and vit E oil) and taking sea buckthorn oil (orally) for a few years. But eventually the dryness got to the point where sex was painful so I had to use estriol cream. In fact after just two failed attempts at sex I went to my GP and got the estrogen cream. There is a danger of leaving it too late so that dryness becomes atrophy which can become so severe the damage is irreversible. Like Beverly says, women who are not having sex may not notice the deterioration of their vaginal wall. If you are experiencing discomfort as your major symptom I advise using topical HRT applied to to vagina which carries far less health risks than oral HRT because a neglible amount gets into the rest of your system. You can get pessaries, cream or a ring that lasts for 3 months. Different methods and different products suit different women and it is a meters of finding what works for you. In my case I reacted badly to the vagifem pessaries but had very good and rapid success with ovestin cream which has made my vagina young and juicy again (and sex is amazing!).