hello friends,
I am hoping someone out there can help me. I am now into my 4th year of menopause and was diagnosed with vaginal atrophy about 12 months ago. Is it common (or has anyone ever heard of...) to occassionally get sores or little ulcers around the vaginal area if you have vaginal atrophy?
I am seeing my Obgyn next week but I am in a terrible state at the moment as I'm worried that these little sores could be related to something OTHER than menopause/vaginal atrophy.
Please help me. Thank you x

Please can anyone help me? I'm desperate here for any advice. Thank you so much.

My doctor diagnosed me as having a hormone imbalance that was giving me vaginal and bladder symptoms--both inside and outside the vulva. He didn't say atrophic vaginitis in so many words, but it was caused by low estrogen. He said on examination that I had "excoriations" inside my vagina--that the area was scarlet and looked rubbed raw--and that was not from anything I was doing I am on steroid cream and estrace and it seems to be helping after a month or so, but slowly...

Dear Sissy,
Replying to your note on the steroid cream and estrace. Is that prescrption?? is the estrace a form of estrogen?
I had laporoscopy for Endometriosis in 1994 then more troubles and had laporotomy for Ovarian tumors -- they took ovaries and so I went into "Sudden Menopause" they placed me on estrogen---and 6months later I had to go off cold turkey as the estrogen made a HUGE Softball Endo Cyst grow in my side. So --- my question is: do you think (my current Doc thinks would not hurt) that taking an estrogen cream and prometrium pill -- 1 time a week for vaginal dryness would -- help the dryness and yet not be enough to mess with the endo? Also would decongestant interfere with vaginal dryness?
I feel frustrated - - as the others on here talk about estrogen or hrt and I can not have it due to old endometriosis might return.
sorry so long. I just got over..... awful pain from 2 weeks ago... thought was UTI or yeast infection when all along was from intercourse.
I also ... I know you are not a doctor... I appreciate your thoughts/input.

Hey there--

I'm not a doctor, and I don't play one on TV.... But...

The steroid cream and the Estrace were both prescription products that my doc gave me. Estrace is a estrogen vaginal cream--I used a quarter of an applicator a few times a week for several months and now maybe once a week. I guess you would have to ask your doctor whether this form of estrogen cream was safe in your case--not as much is absorbed as the oral form, but some is. I bet every doc has a different opinion on it.

One of the things that has been MOST helpful to me, recommended here on another thread, is Vitamin E vaginal suppositories--you can get them in a natural food stores, but I got mine from Amazon. They are great! Even with the prescriptions, I had red diaper rash looking skin on the outside of my vagina skin and within a week or so of starting the E it was finally gone. You can use them as often as you need to--I have been using them several times a day and trying to wean away from the stronger stuff.