vagifem vs yuvafem ? what is your experience???
Posted , 25 users are following.
Just wondering if anyone was on vagifem then switched to the generic yuvafem? And what were your results? Did you notice an increase in symptoms after switching? Did you have any problems with the applicators?
Several months ago I switched fro Estrace cream to yuvafem. I was doing oknay on the cream but it was messy and you had to wash and reuse the applicator. But I have had some problem with the yuvafem applicator. To begin with it does not have rounded corners on the end like the vagifem , it has sharp rectangular edges, Everytime I use it I am sore the next day and I am thinking those sharp edges are causing some damage, I have gotten very small since using this yuvafem and it can be quite difficult to insert.
Also I have had an increase in yeast infections( which goes great with the burning I already have) And I read the ingredients and the first one is corn starch, which is why we shouldn't use powder because yeast feeds on corn starch. I'm starting to think I should switch to vagifem even if the co pay is more
anyway let me know if you have had any problems if you have switched to yuvafem
1 like, 84 replies
kkimmers007 donna18720
Posted
Hi Donna,
I Had several UTIs, including a drug resistant one where I received 11 IV antibiotics, bacterial vaginosis, and yeast infections, including candida glabrata over the last two years. My nurse practitioner treated all of these but sent me to a women's clinic that specializes in difficult to treat cases. I went there in March and the Dr. thought possibly I could be low in estrogen, so she prescribed Vagifem . I was on it until the second week of July. I felt great and all of my symptoms of burning, irritation, redness and infections went away. I received a letter from my insurance company the last part of June telling me they would no longer pay for Vagifem , I was on it until the second week of July. I felt great on the vagifem and all of my symptoms of burning, irritation, redness and infections went away but unfortunately I had to switch to the generic yuvafem. I started using it in mid July when my Vagifem ran out. I didn't think anything of it until about three weeks ago when I started to get painful urination again, burning, redness and a weird discharge. I took a look at the ingredients and even though they were the same cornstarch was the second ingredient listed on the yuvafem. It was a much lower ingredient on the vagifem. I did a little bit of research online and discovered a bunch of people were having the same symptoms or a return of symptoms on the yuvafem. I honestly believe that the pill was not dissolving like the vagifem and therefore not being absorbed as well. When I went for a follow up appointment with the specialist in June she did a wet mount and my PH had gone down from 5.0 in March to 4.5 which is in the normal range. It's became more acidic from the vagifem. I started having a return of symptoms two weeks ago and went back to my nurse practitioner. I discovered I have bacterial vaginosis back again. Now I am on medication for that and trying to fight the insurance company to pay for the vagifem. I am also a registered nurse and I truly believe that the pill is not dissolving well due to a change in order of ingredients from the Vagifem. The insurance company did an override for just this month to give me time to fight this. I am so frustrated when I went months and months on the vagifem without infection ! I hope that you are feeling better. I Will not go back on the yuvafem after the return of all of my symptoms and infection! Best wishes to you Donna.
wendy62425 kkimmers007
Posted
Are you in the US? Also what insurance do you have? I hope our insurance will accept the Vagifem as I do well on it and am afraid to switch. Thank you so much for sharing your information. I live in Virginia.
best,
wendy
kkimmers007 wendy62425
Posted
Hi Wendy,
Yes I'm in the US, I live in Iowa. I have United Healthcare choice plus for insurance. They did override the generic yesterday so I could pick up the vagifem for this month. That will buy me some time to wage an appeal and try to get them to cover the brand ( vagifem) instead of the generic (yuvafem.) I think I may include the lab results that show I tested positive for bacterial vaginosis two days ago. When I was on the vagifem I was 7 months infection and symptom free while I was on it. I really hope that your insurance covers it Wendy. Let me know how you are doing
Best Wishes to you, Kim
wendy62425 kkimmers007
Posted
Hi Kim
I hope all goes well for you in getting the Vagifem you need. I will be putting in my prescription for Vagifem this week and pray I will be able to get it. Hopefully our insurance will not deny Vagifem. How many Vagifem do you take in a week and what is the cost through your insurance? I will let you know with my insurance. Evidently it is much less expensive going through a Canadian pharmacy for Vagifem with our doctors prescription but you have to order in advance as it could take up to a few weeks. I need Vagifem 2 times per week for my Atrophic Vaginitis.
I was getting a lot of UTI's and was concerned the antibiotics would eventually not work. Do you drink a lot of water and empty your bladder often? If not try it. Also drink lemon water everyday. I squeeze half a lemon in glass of water....sometimes I drink the lemon water warm.....you may want to give this a try. I have been doing well.
Lets keep in touch Kim.
have a nice day🌷
Wendy
kkimmers007 wendy62425
Posted
Hi Wendy,
You are so sweet to get right back to me! I was using it two times a week . When I first got it when my insurance paid for it this past spring and early summer it was $30. Then the generic became $30. Now If I win my appeal the vagifem will be a top-tier drug and go to $50 a month. I'm not sure how much it is through Canada I actually thought about that too. I hope and pray that your insurance company will pay for it ! That sounds like a great idea with the lemon water but things that are a little acidic flare up my bladder. After I had the drug resistant UTI I had a flareup of intercystial cystitis and had several months of bladder treatments. I was diagnosed with that in my early 30s. I have to be careful with what I eat and drink. That sounds like a great idea though. I drink a ton of water. That seems to help. The specialist I saw in March thought it might be atrophic vaginitis as well. I don't know if I've been gone through menopause because I had fibroids and went on a progesterone only birth-control pill three years ago. A side effect of that is It actually stops your periods after a while. She thought I might be low in estrogen and that might be causing all of the UTIs, bacterial and yeast infections. Thank you so much for listening to all of this you're so nice to do that. I will say a prayer and keep my fingers crossed that your insurance will pay for it. Please let me know how you are doing and stay in touch ! I hope you have a really nice holiday weekend😊
Kim
donna18720 kkimmers007
Posted
wendy62425 kkimmers007
Posted
Hello Kim
I will try to fill my prescription this afternoon. I noticed on my prescription that my doctor wrote it out for Vagifem but did not put a check at Brand medically necessary......on the bottom it says if neither box is marked, a voluntary formulary product must be dispensed.....ugh! I don't want the Yuvafem filled.....especially since I don't know how I would react to the change.
It seems like we have issues whenever we stop the estrogen whether it's from birth control or mike me when doctor put me in menapause for 9+months during my 30's for endometriosis . I am now 65. Evidentially that could have caused the Atrophic Vaginitis. Also I believe if low on estrogen that creates problems with UTI's. Since I have been on Vagifem I definitely get fewer UTI''s. I haven't had one in 4 months now.
I will let you know the outcome of Vagifem.
thank you so much for your prayers.......so important.
i hope you are having a nice day!
Wendy
wendy62425 kkimmers007
Posted
Hi Kim
sorry did not proofread my blog.....do not know why the "mike me" was in there.???? Disregard that! Sometimes "spell check " makes mistakes!
Wendy
wendy62425 donna18720
Posted
Hi Donna
Good to hear from you. Thank you for sharing about the Yuvafem tablet not dissolving well ....good to know plus the square applicator. Good news to hear that you are doing well and with less!! If I'm late in taking Vagifem by a day I get hot flashes. Are you using any cream on outside area as well ? Are you still doing the Art shows .
Take good care Donna and please keep us posted.
best,
Wendy
donna18720 wendy62425
Posted
Hey Wendy I am not using anything on the outside but occasional coconut oil. And I am doing some Fall shows may be my last year. I'm not sure. I have so many health problems hitting me all at once I'm just thinking it's time to give them up. Maybe just do a few items to sell on line.
Hot flashes wow I haven't had those for 30 years !
I come on here alot. I just remember how painful it was in the beginning for me, I felt so hopeless and terrified it would stay that way, The treatment takes so long to kick in and then there are so many ups and downs. I think it helps to have someone say this is how it was for me and this is how it got better. It was important to hear for me I was so depressed,
kkimmers007 donna18720
Posted
Hi Donna ,
I'm glad to hear you are doing better. I was prescribed to use it twice a week also but I think the consistency is very different from the brand to the generic. I totally agree with you. I hope things continue to go well for you !
Best Wishes,
Kim
kkimmers007 wendy62425
Posted
Hi Wendy!!
That makes a lot of sense if your doctor put you in an artificial menopause when you were in your 30s ! I'm sure that didn't help you at all. I really hope that they filled the brand. The ironic thing is when I checked the price between the brand and the generic there wasn't a huge price difference! I don't understand why they don't give people an option. You are in my thoughts and prayers and I hope that they filled the brand today ! I just turned 54 So I'm sure I am probably low in estrogen. It was the same with me when I was on the Vagifem, the estrogen lowered the pH and that also kept me infection free until they switched me to the generic . Let me know how you did today when you tried to fill it. I hope it went well and you had a great day
wendy62425 kkimmers007
Posted
Good Morning Kim
Thank you so much for your well wishes and prayers. When I went to fill my prescription they told me that the Vagifem brand now has a penalty if you go with brand instead of generic .....it had doubled and it was much more so I went home and called my insurance as it had changed much in a couple of months. I told them my situation and that it took over 6 months for me to feel normal again on the Vagifem and was afraid to try the generic. They advised me to have the doctor call in pre-authorization for the Vagifem .....it appears that my insurance approved it so hopefully I will be able to get the Vagifem. I am good with what I have here at home until next month so I will go in next week to give Pharmacy my prescription.
with you being a nurse and with the info that you have I would think your insurance will approve for you. I just wish the insurance companies could just go with what the doctors request on prescription so we don't have to go through all the stress and hassles that we have to go through.
This is short just wanted to keep you posted.
talk soon
Wendy
kkimmers007 wendy62425
Posted
Hi Wendy,
I'm so glad to hear that your doctor was able to do A pre-authorization for the vagifem! I hope that lowered the price significantly since the doctor was able to do that. I am going to check with my insurance company today and see how the appeal is going. With my insurance it has to be denied which it would be because it's not in the formulary now . Once it's denied then you can start an appeal. I hope it goes well when you go to pick it up and it's not very expensive for you. I'm glad to hear this! Let me know how you are doing and I really appreciate you writing back! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one in this situation and it's great to have the support :-) I hope you have a great day!
God Bless,
Kim
wendy62425 kkimmers007
Posted
Were you able to check on the appeal with your insurance yesterday? I hope and will pray that the Vagifem will get approved for you as well. Some of these insurance companies just do not make it easy for us to fill our prescriptions. I would think that because there is not a big difference in price that you should get approval. Keep me posted.
have a nice day!
Blessings,
Wendy
kkimmers007 wendy62425
Posted
Hi Wendy,
That is so nice of you to check on me about the appeal. I called the insurance company yesterday and the doctor hadn't called yet. It has to be denied first before It can be appealed. I'm going to have them send the lab results as well that shows that the bacterial came back once I was off the vagifem. It could take a little while as they go back-and-forth. I'm so glad that you were able to pick up yours! I will let you know how it goes, I hope you are doing better and have a really great day too!
God Bless ,
Kim
Guest kkimmers007
Posted
wendy62425 donna18720
Posted
Hi Donna
how are you doing! We haven't heard from you in a while. Last time you were not doing well. Please keep us posted.
best wishes
wendy