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Full Version: Vagi-Fem

Power Surge Forums > Board Discussions > Your Skin: Dryness, Itching, Vaginal Dryness, Disorders, Discomfort

sanlos

Apr 7 2002, 07:18 PM

I am postmenapausal and have been on HRT for about 10 yrs, 6 using an oral tablet and 4 on the Combi Patch. Since I was diagnosed with colon cancer 3 yrs ago, I thought it be best to stop using the patch. As a result I began to experience vaginal dryness and painful intercourse. My nutritional consultant suggested I use a wild yam cream, Osta-Derm-V, which is used topically on the labia every day.It is 65% progesterone, 2% estrogen(20%E2, 80%estriol) which is working wonderfully. My gynocologist suggests I use Vagi-Fem instead which is an Estradiol tablet which is inserted in the vagina 2x wk. My concern is that is does not contain progesterone and shouldn't I be taking a combination of the 2 hormones to maintain the integrity of the uterine lining?She says I don't need progesterone and yet my saliva test indicated that it was very low. I am very confused.Has anyone had this problem? Would appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

jeansteph

Apr 13 2002, 07:43 PM

Been off HRT for almost a year and I also have vaginal dryness and very painful intercourse. Doctor gave me the Premarin cream...same concern: does it have Progest. and do we need it?? Need help and haven't received answers. Doctor told me there is a risk. ???

Kalanie

Apr 14 2002, 12:37 AM

Jean...Premarin is synthetic estrogen, made from pregnant horse urine, and is good for horses. Premarin is a risky choice at best, and pregnant mares are treated quite inhumanely in order to make it. Most doctors, being uneducated about meno and other HRT options than what the major drug companies provide them with, hand it out without thinking twice, which is pretty scary.

If you check around these message boards, as well as in all the different areas of this website, you can find some very good information about Premarin, as well as other types of HRT and meno issues. You can start by going to the top right corner of these pages to access Power Surge Quick Links... good place to start is the Recommendations page and the area called "Educate Your Body", which can be found at the main page. :)

jeansteph

Apr 14 2002, 07:06 AM

Thank you so much; I am still learning how to navigate here. I've been doing nothing but scanning all sites about this. I am definitely stopping this Premarin (you're right about the doctors--I've known this, believe it, yet I still went ahead and used it - DUH!)...I'm in the market for a vaginal cream and will look throughout your various "boards"...thanks so much !!!!!

Kalanie

Apr 14 2002, 05:57 PM

Jean... For good information about natural bio-identical homones, you can find transcripts of chats with Pete Heuseman, College Pharmacy, if you click on "transcripts" at the Quick Links bar. There is also an "Ask the Experts" area, or you could email or call (toll free) Pete at the provided address/number. Good luck to you. :)

con808

Aug 23 2002, 06:48 AM

My doctor just put me on vagifem tablets. Has anyone used these and is there any side effects. She said I had vaginal thinning which causes painful intercourse. I am still on prempro too. Any insite will help. Connie

hormoneprincess

Sep 1 2002, 07:17 AM

I used Vagifem for exactly four days before the side effects did me in ! Headache, nausea, numbness in feet...However, I could feel the beneficial results in the vaginal tissue , increased libido and the tablet was convenient to use, but since I was numb from the waist down by day four I thought any benefits were negated by these side effects. I use Revival and ProGest cream which seem to help. If you're interested in a vaginal suppository, I'd use estriol cream or one of the other natural preparations available through a compounding pharmacy.

Dearest

Oct 30 2002, 04:50 AM

You'll find many excellent suggestions as to how to handle the vaginal dryness, itching and pain associated with menopause in this article, Midlife Sexuality, Relationships and Vaginal Dryness.

There's another article called Maintaining Vaginal Health At Menopause, and another article about Atrophic Vaginitis and Sexuality.

The entire Educate Your Body Area contains wonderful articles with information to answer all your questions about these issues.

If it's impacting your sex life and relationship, you can also ask the Intimacy Expert, Dr. Sandy Scanting, and the Relationship Expert, Steven Carter.

Dearest

Sonneteer2

Mar 1 2003, 11:45 PM

I've had discomfort with intercourse for a good ten years. I'm 52 now, and got no help, no advice whatsover, from doctors till recently. Now that I'm of menopausal age, it is "okay," I suppose, to prescribe Vagifem. But I've needed something for a long time.

After 2 months of Vagifem use, lubrication is much improved but I'm still beset with pain during intercourse. It is a burning feeling deep in my vagina. I will keep trying other methods, as delineated in the recommended articles. But this is sad, you know? As it is, I've been taking an herbal complex including Chasteberry and Black Cohosh (and dong quai and soy) for four years. And Vitamin E. Recently I've added DHEA, 25 mg. per day, to my regimen. And I'm not even menopausal yet, strictly speaking. I'm still having monthly periods!

So far i like the Vagifem. I'm not aware of any side effects, I'm just pleased that I feel moist again. I'd rather not take oral HRT but this simple, locally applied low-dose estrogen makes sense to me. It even seems to have arrested my hot flashes, which had just begun to affect me before I starting using it. But doe sanyone know if it is likely to improve the pain situation in time? Can Vagi-fem really reverse vaginal thinning?

I had some trepidation about the DHEA but so far so good. Libido has improved, enough so that I'll put up with the pain. Hey, my hubby's two years younger than I am and I'd like to sustain our intimacy for as long as possible. I really resent one article's advice to "give up" normal sex and replace it with heavy petting. Give me a break.

I also don't understand why yam creams are so highly touted here. Some articles I've read imply that they are useless, a waste of money, snake oil. Evidently, it's the natural progesterone in these creams that are supposed to make them effective. Can someone explain why? Is not progesterone the nastly hormone that precipates PMS? If I never secrete progesterone again it'll be too soon. I know that sounds nutty but it's not an uninformed opinion. I've read quite a bit on these topics and have come to the conclusion that estrogen is the hormone of choice for the post-menopausal woman whose risk factors for uterine cancer are low.

Dearest

Mar 2 2003, 08:29 PM

Firstly, I'm not one of those touting natural progesterone creams. In all honesty, I tried numerous brands when I was in perimenopause and they did absolutely nothing *except* cause depression. Progesterone is known to cause depression in many women, plus sore breasts as well.

This past Thursday night when Dr. Erika Schwartz was my guest in Power Surge, she made an interesting statement. The Q & A went like this (I don't think GG will mind my posting this here. It's in the public transcript anyway):

GGc0ok: Is there a bio-identical natural estrogen cream for internal use? If so, what is it? Erika Schwartz, M.D.: GG what do you mean by internal? GGc0ok: To use for atrophic vaginitis, I'm all dried up. Erika Schwartz, M.D.: You need to balance your hormones internally into your system not your vagina. When your hormones are in balance in your blood stream, they will restore your vagina to a moisturized environment. In addition, you can also use topical testosterone and combinations of estradiol and micronized progesterone around your vagina, but you need to attack on all fronts if you want to get rid of the dried up feeling.

Mind you, Dr. Erika is not talking about using orally ingested HRT, but transdermal prescription, naturally compounded hormones.

What I like so much about her is that not only is she very, very bright, but she tells it like it is. She's agreed to join the Ask The Experts area as Ask Dr. Erika and I'm thrilled we'll be having a female physician (going through menopause herself) to answer our questions.

I've heard OTC (over the counter) progesterone creams called expensive moisturizing creams and that, for many women, they do very little or nothing. There are others who swear by NP cream, but if you follow these women through the menopause process, whatever they're experiencing with the cream doesn't last once their estrogen levels begin to decline. It's at that point that they need to add some type of natural estrogen.

So, I have to agree with you regarding the NP creams. Then again, for those who've had success with it, I'm happy they're being helped no matter what it is - as long as it's not dangerous to their health.

You might want to read Dr. Erika's transcript. There's a link above, and I'd also recommend the transcript of Elizabeth Stewart, M.D., an expert in the area of vulvovaginal health. I have her book, The V Book, and it's excellent. There's a link on the transcript.

Dearest

mariejoe

Aug 11 2003, 06:51 PM

Sonneteer2 ,

It is my impression that PMS is the result of the ratio of hormones being off, too much estrogen in relation to progesterone. Wild yam crem is not the same thing as natural progesterone cream.

Vagifem works very well, I must say. Improved the vaginal climate, so to speak. Didn't help the libido, though.I think vagifem does keep the vaginal walls from atrophying and thinning. The estrogen "plumps" the walls back up.

Now that I'm off femHRT, I take only 100mg Prometrium daily. This has helped with the libido issue. And then, vagiefm 2x weekly. My doctor has recommended DHEA 5mg, every other day, since there is very little in my system.

I have a question, Sonneteer2, is your body deficient in DHEA? I've read that too much DHEA in women can cause problems, ie higher bad cholesterol, hair loss. Have you had your DHEA-s tested before taking 25mg a day????

mariejoe

Aug 11 2003, 06:59 PM

QUOTE

Dearest

Not to be contraty, but I thought MOST women have 60% of their estrogen through menopause, while progesterone drops to alomst ZERO. If the ratio of supposed to be at least 20:1 [progesterone:estrogen], doesn't it seem likey you'll need porgesterone therapy, not estrogen therapy. Also, if you get the cream from a good pharmacy, it has the hormone it says it should.I don't think Dr. Lee would be very happy with your quoted response.

MaryO

Aug 12 2003, 04:23 AM

QUOTE

I don't think Dr. Lee would be very happy with your quoted response.

You might be surprised to learn that many people don't care what Dr. Lee thinks.

QUOTE

Also, if you get the cream from a good pharmacy, it has the hormone it says it should.

Yes, it should. Dearest was talking about over the counter (OTC) cream that is sold by MLM people, at health food stores, grocery stores and so on.

When your doctor prescribes progesterone, either in cream or other form, it should contain actual progesterone.

mariejoe

Aug 13 2003, 06:48 AM

QUOTE

Dearest was talking about over the counter (OTC) cream that is sold by MLM people, at health food stores, grocery stores and so on.

When your doctor prescribes progesterone, either in cream or other form, it should contain actual progesterone.

Thank you for clarifying what Dearest said. However, you do NOT need a doctor's prescription to order QUALITY progesterone cream. So, in effect, quality progesterone cream is also OTC. Quality progesterone cream is available on-line, as you probably know.

(Edited by mariejoe at 6:51 am on Aug. 13, 2003)

meem

Mar 18 2004, 06:30 PM

Three years ago I just about lived in my gynecologist's office due to what I thought was a never ending vaginitis or low grade yeast infection. They (my gynecologists and nurse practitioner) kept trying to get me to use Vagi-Fem or Premarin cream but I was leery. After a painful annual exam I decided to try the Vagi-Fem and noticed a difference right away (the vaginitis feeling was gone). It really helped lessen the pain of an internal examination (that plus I now ask them to use smaller instruments which they all have available). Lately I've been having problems with the irritated urethra syndrome (don'tknow what else to call it but it feels like the beginning of a urinary tract infection). I've been advised to use Premarin cream 3 x a week, esp in the outer area of the urethra. I've always express my concern about hormones in these products & I'm told that it doesn't get into the blood stream. Is this true? I've never been able to take HRT (even tried the Soy Revival & got the same side effects) so my options for treating the "pseudo UTI" are limited. Anyhow, I thought I'd share my experiences with Vagi-Fem and Premarin cream.

jag0123

Mar 22 2004, 12:30 PM

I too am on vagifem for atrophy of the vagina. I told my GYN that I was concerned about it because I discontinued HRT and am on Revival and I was not too thrilled about using another hormone product. She told me the dose was extremely low (which it is - I think it's 25 mcg) and she also said when used like this it does not get into the bloodstream. At first I was only using it once every 2 weeks. But she told me there was no change in my vagina and to start using it once a week. I took her advice and started using it once a week. To be honest, I never really had any symptoms. I am taking her word for it that I have the atrophy. She said if I don't do something about it, it'll only get worse - painful. I want to avoid that. But what I want to know is - is there an expert out there that can verify that vagifem does not get into the bloodstream? Should I be using a naturally compounded product? Can the vagifem be harmful?

lisakjack

Jun 25 2004, 09:27 PM

i take premarin vaginal cream and like it because I CAN CONTROL the dose. I know that with Vagifem is does not help with VULVAR (outside) the vaginal wall, like the Premarin cream dose, which you can use outside and inside the vaginal wall. Your most obvious dryness is probably on the outside right? Check with your doc, the systemic absorption of the estrogen VERY low and the Premarin Cream works quickly at first if you're very dry and then you can control the dose for maintenance as you go.

amanuensis

Dec 2 2004, 03:08 PM

I have had unbearable vaginal pain during sex due to menopause since almost two years ago, stopped having regular intercourse completely because of it, finally went to Dr. she prescribed VagiFem (estradiol vaginal tablets) and I just inserted my first VagiFem tablet, we'll see if it helps - I hope so! I did not want to take hormones because of the cancer risk, and the Dr. told me there is some risk with this as well (maintly uterine cancer) but risk is small. And she said some of the estrogen does get into your system but also very small amount. She said the low dose (25 mcg) makes it the best option for me, my mother had breast cancer so I don't want HRT. I'm to insert one tablet a day for two weeks, then lower the dose to two tablets per week. The 18 tablets with applicators cost $66.69.

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