VA symptoms back after 11month of having Mona Lisa treatment

I thought the Cleveland Clinic was doing it. Maybe I'm remembering wrong. They are taking over the Indian River Memorial  hospital in Vero Beach on the east coast. But if the FDA announced that seems unlikely it will be offered. That is bad news. 

I pay about the same amount for compounded estradiol cream. Estrace would have cost me $300!

So sorry to hear that.  It’s an awful debilitating issue. I will continue laser as long as it works. I don’t have much faith in the FDA

Hi Peg

I am so sorry to hear this.  When the last treatment didn't work after a month could you have gone back to them and had another treatment done since it did not work?? Or at least gotten your money back.  That is concerning that the FDA is not supporting the ML treatments.  My GYN doctor is waiting and giving the treatments time before he would recommend them..it's hard when something so new comes out.  I have been using Vagifem almost two years.  It's Carey to know that if this did not work which it does....that there is nothing else out there for us women

I'm sorry Peg for some reason when I went to correct

Unfortunately, the FDA is grouping all laser treatments into “ vaginal rejuvenation”.  So unfair to compare life changing treatment for menopausal women to some women who just want to make things tighter down there. I thought in FL there would be so many ML  Drs, that it would be really competitive pricing🤣. There’s a holistic center that does it, and a comestic vaginal plastic surgeon🤷???. I really had expected to see so much progression in the laser treatments. Thought creams and suppositories would be thought of as “old timey” medicine by now. Can’t help but think it’s the gender inequality issue, plus being mainly for older women...the most overlooked group on the planet😡 

I so agree.  We are invisable. This is a serious condition n we are overlooked 

Maybe it's time to resurrect the Gray Panthers!

I thought the FDA had been rendered nearly extinct due to budget cuts and the control the drug industry has over most testing. The new "right to try" law seems to be further diminishing the FDA's power. You can see that as good or bad. But it may only apply to drugs. I believe the original intent was to let dying patients try experimental drugs, but I'm sure this will lead to some kind of medical free for all. There is already a lot of that in FL, particularly re Medicare abuse.

So possibly the ML will continue to be an option. I was hoping to try it as a way to avoid hormones, but my need has become somewhat critical and my doctor is not in support of "burning menopausal skin" as she thinks it can cause more serious problems. It seems to be 50-50 re women who have posted here. It would be interesting to know the actual success rate and how long it lasts. It does make sense that if your body does not make collagen naturally due to lack of hormones you would have to keep burning the skin in order to achieve that reaction. Maybe the ML followed by hormones would be a possible solution, but many women can't take hormones at all.

Hopefully, enough women will continue to post what their status is re the procedure.

Isn't viagra for penis rejuvenation?

My gyn. said the exact same thing...”She couldn’t imagine burning delicate menopausal skin”.  Having had it done, I can certainly say it doesn’t hurt. I’m just afraid of getting in a cycle where I’d have to keep getting it done more frequently all the time.

For me it’s the only thing that works. Constant uti’s  one after another before Mona Lisa.   My gyn urologist who is a woman supports whatever gives relief. I personally don’t like hormones    Lost two friends with hormone related cancer 

Yes if it’s for men it’s covered. 

I don't think it's a forever thing. People have it done on their faces at regular intervals, I believe. Obviously it's older people who want it done to their faces for younger looking skin. Same principle applies.

It seems you were one of the lucky ones with no complications. Women have posted here for whom it did not go well. I have no idea what the ratio is nationwide, it just seems as if it's about 50-50 here on this site.

My gynecologist said she was following it very closely. She is a menopause specialist so no doubt she has to keep up with the successes and failures of the latest treatments.

I don't blame you. It's why I wanted to have it done rather than use hormones. I lost my sister to estrogen dependent breast cancer. She was on HRT for years. But I just seem to have gotten to a juncture where I had to do something quickly and finally gave in to using the estradiol cream.

I thought with time the price of the ML might come down, but it doesn't seem to be. Wonder if doctors are afraid of being sued. If the success rate isn't high they might not be able to  justify using it. Not sure how these in office treatment decisions are made.

Beverly, I lost my sister as well to breast cancer 5 years ago......actually we lost her due to complications due to the chemo.....long difficult story.  I too do not want to be absorbing hormones into my body but for me there was no choice......life without the Vagifem was horrible, no quality of life feeling like I had a UTI all the time when I didn't but I did have many UTIs because of the AV.  I was miserable as you ladies have all experienced.  I did not have a choice if I want quality of life and to feel normal again....nothing else works.. as mentioned in earlier post I see a breast surgeon because I have dense breasts and because of my sister having breast cancer and because I am using Vagifem.  I have a Mammogram once a year and after 6 months I get breast sonogram....and pray for protection.  Honestly that is all I can do as I have no other choice.  I am told that the Vagifem mostly stays in the vaginal area.  I wish there was another option.  My GYN is waiting on more time with ML as well. so for now I will need to continue with Vagifem.  Thank you all for sharing.....this is all so difficult.  I knew menapause was not going to be fun but never dreamed a woman could experience such awful pain.

hang in there ladies.....

Wendy

Wendy, your doctor's approach seems a lot more vigilant than mine have been. I do get a mammogram yearly and also have dense breasts. I think it's been twice now they've redone the pictures as they are looking closely, but sonogram has never been mentioned. 

With radical mastectomy, chemo & radiation my sister was able to live 10 years before it spread throughout her body. She was not a strong person so I was surprised by her willingness to undergo such misery, but her will to live was strong and her body was able to fight a long time. It's been a year and a half but it's still difficult to come to grips with it. I'm not sure how much I would be willing to do, but unless we are faced with it who knows?

I held off on doing anything for 3 years after the AV diagnosis because I felt no ill effects. My doctor at the time warned of possible future problems, but as doctors always are so pro medicine it sounded alarmist to me. That was when I found this very helpful site. As so many issues seemed to be centered around UTI's I thought I may be dodging the bullet till now. I still don't have them, but instead have developed LS which I would not have even known about had I not gone in re the internal itch which caused by infection. 

I see Vagifem is in tablet form; I use a cream. Not sure if our dosages would be the same as I'm not even sure how to read this label. It says Estradiol in Versabase (PF) cream in 0.015 with 30 GM on the next line. Will call the compounding pharmacy tomorrow for a translation. I am now using it only twice a week as it is causing burning after 6 weeks of nightly use. Don't know if I am to continue with this or try something else if the burning persists. 

I don't know of one woman personally who is having these problems so I do wonder about the % of women who do. But then again I think people are apt to not want to talk about it. Hence the value in sharing.. at least online.

Hi Beverly

I do not know anyone either that has AV.  Dryness but not like this with such pain and needing hormonal medications.  Beverly the same for me...my GYN told me I had Atrophic Vaginitis several years ago and gave me prescription Vagifem.....but I did not use it as I had no symptoms.......as you know at least for me...BIG mistake as last year I started to get many UTI's then started to feel Ike I was getting UTI's after that only to find out negative no UTI....and felt bladder pressure discomfort.  Went to my GYN and he gave me the Vagifem prescription along with ESTRACE cream to take every night for 2 weeks then start with the Vagifem 2 x weekly.  It did take several weeks and didn't think I would ever feel normal again but I did...thank the Lord!!  So I insert tablet before Ingo tonbed every 4th night.  The Vagifem is 10mg.  It use to be 25mg years ago but they lessened amount as lesser worked.

i have had a few breast biopsies in past years so I went to a breast surgeon so because of my sister and my fear of taking Vagifem causing stress and the density of breasts that is why he does the sonogram in between.

God Bless your sister.....she had the fight and strong will to live!  I feel for you as it's so hard to lose a sister,  it was so sad as my sister was very organic and excersized so we were all shocked when we heard she had breast cancer.  She had a lumpectomy and excellent prognosis.  Because they found a cell in her lymph node they needed to do chemo.....she did NOT want to do the chemo but the family including me talked her into it  as doctor said she needed to.....as mentioned the chemo killed her.  She had  just finished chemo but she became constipated and complications went septic........

the doctors say that the hormones stay local vaginally...unlike HRT taken orally.  Honestly what other choice do we have if we want to feel normal and have quality of life........

this site is a blessing

wendy

 

Wendy, isn't the active ingredient in Vagifem and Estrace estradiol? Why would you be prescribed both at the same time I wonder. Did your doctor say?

I think if I continued going to the gyno yearly I would have been more aware of the deterioration, but I was told only the mammograms were necessary annually. Till that time I had always gone for an annual pap smear. Maybe once AV is determined they should recommend yearly visits. I would have been willing (despite the painful exams) if I thought I was protecting myself. 

I do want to look into bioidentical hormones next. Maybe those are safer. My doctor did not mention them. I assume she thought I needed the most effective asap.

Good luck. I will continue to post any new info I can glean. 

Hi Beverly

i think he prescribed the Estrace cream first for the first 14 days as the cream covers the irrated vaginal area  better at  first...to prepare for the Vagifem tablet.  I use the left over cream on the outside if I ever feel irritated there.

yes please keep us posted Beverly.

wendy