I WANT MY MOJO BACK!
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Glad you all find that hilarious .....I wont be able to look at my GP anymore without thinking about THAT !!!!!
Bayoubabe ...my screen name is Pooh for winnie the pooh......I like to nap a lot a so my hubby started calling me that
when we first started going out 22 yrs ago.......but I can see the humor in the ANALogy !!!!!!!!
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After discussing vaginal dryness and atrophy with my MO, he wasn't comfortable prescribing localized estrogen. I brought up estriol cream, but he was not familiar with that, only estradiol and estrone. He suggested an OTC suppository that his other patients find helpful. I checked on line and found it had cocoa and shea butter. I'm allergic to cocoa butter, thus chocolate. There are other suppositories with coconut oil and I am allergic to that also. So I've made up my own with shea butter and olive oil. I'm worried about an allergic reaction to the shea butter. Anyone have troubles with such a reaction? Has anyone come across a suppository with palm oil w/o cocoa butter or coconut oil? Don't know what I will do if I become allergic to olive oil.
I know I'm a bit if a freak with my constant crops of hives. I wonder what it is in these natural oils that I'm allergic too. Because my vaginal lining is so dry, it's absorbing these oils directly into my system much quicker than if I'd just ingested them. So now eating these foods causes hives where this hadn't been a problem before. Had an Almond Joy and broke out in hives. Really!
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doxie you might want to check with an allergist but I believe if you are allergic to something its not that unusual for your body to react more intensely each time you get exposed. Did you ever check out that prescriptions stuff "scream cream?" I found this info on another thread.
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Here are the ingrediants...copied from page seven of "the solution to painful intercourse " thread ....
If all goes well and i get a perscription i just may be "grateful" more than once ....LOL
Scream Cream
Who can benefit from using Scream Cream?Studies have
reported that over 43% of the women in America experience little or no
sexualsatisfaction from clitoral orgasm and only 25% achieve orgasm with
intercourse. In fact, according tostudies, numerous women between the
ages of 18 and 80 do not even know what an orgasm is or how it is
achieved. Whether someone is multi-orgasmic or among the 43% of women
who are sexually frustrated, any woman who desires maximum sexual
fulfillment, greater intimacy, and enhanced relationships stands to
benefit from regular use of Scream Cream.Description:
Scream Cream contains a combination of prescription and non-prescription components described as
blood flow enhancers and vasodilators. Each ½ gram dose contains
Aminophylline 15-mg., Isosorbid dinitrate 1.25-mg, Ergoloid mesylate
0.25-mg, Pentoxifylline 25-mg. and L-Arginine 30-mg. Dissolved in a
water based hypoallergenic transdermal vehicle. The vehicle is designed
to enhance the rate of absorption and to cause the medication to be
retained locally in order to maximize local effects and metabolism while
minimizing the potential for systemic side effects.Use:
Scream Cream should be applied directly to the clitoris at least 30 minutes prior to anticipated
sexual relations and gently massaged in. Duration of effect ranges
from 30 minutes to 2 hours and heightens both ease of stimulation and
intensity of orgasm.Contraindications:
Patients with a history of sensitivity to any of the listed
ingredients should not use this product.Patients with a history of
genital herpes should use this product with caution as L-Arginine may
facilitate reproduction of the herpes virus. Scream Cream is available without L-Arginine upon request. Onset is identical to the complete product but duration may be reduced.How supplied:
Scream Cream is packaged in 30 dose multi-dose tubes.
References:
Dr. J. Kaminetsky, New York Univ. College of Medicine; Univ. of Chicago College of Medicine; J
Berman, M.D., I. Goldstein, M.D., Boston Univ. School of Medicine, Dept. of Urology/Continence
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logo,
Thankfully libido is not a problem. I've saved the prescription on my computer if I needed it, though. Thanks. It's extreme dryness I'm struggling with. Right now my shea butter and olive oil is working. Trying to find the right ratio. If I react to the shea butter, I'm going to insist on an allergist. My mom went to one and she was allergic to a huge number of substances.
You are correct. My reactions become worse each time I'm exposed. Someone suggested that the nausea I now experience with NSAIDs may be an allergic reaction. She had the same problem and had a severe asthma attack after taking some. I've turned to Ruth's suggestion of golden raisins and gin. It WORKS! I feel so much better.
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after experiencing extreme vaginal dryness, and also my very first urinary tract infection- they finally, cause i had been asking for a year! prescribed me some estrace. they didnt really want to at first, but finally they did. omg, it is expensive! and they gave me 3 refills. but i am only using 1/2 the amount they said to use, and only half as often as they said i could. i will try that first, just to relieve almost painful cracking dryness, forget about sex. we have tried a few times since the very beggining, and its not like i am totally disfigured, not at all, i just see a dent when i bend over(or am on top). but, he has seen and heard me go through so much, that he told me that it is hard for him to see me as anything but 'medical'. i intuitively knew exactly what he meant. like now i am a body with its attendant miseries whereas before, i was as luscious a body, as a 50 year old woman can be. but at least we both loved sex, and i had no problem with orgasms, i know what they are! So, i don't know, but i am sort of relieved that we are not even trying, at least for now. i am starting yoga, and plan on joining a gym, and just really not talking with him about "special effects" of treatment. i do have others to talk with about that including all women on BCO, so maybe he will stop looking at me as if i am not a bundle of physical 'problems'. this is hard, though, when what he calls 'big arm', is so evident, even at its best.
because i tried all the other oils and unguents and everything besides scream cream. but now that i have a printer up and running, i want to print that out for my onc to see. but i am wary of it, because it may be contraindicated for me. and i am trying a little harder, to not look like such a tomboy!
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A few comments.
1) Estrace and Estring are expensive, but compare them to other things that make your life more enjoyable. What do you spend per month on your dog or other pets? How much do you spend on restaurant meals or drinks at Starbucks or the like? I am not saying that everyone can afford these things, but if you can, make the comparison in your mind. If you are spending $100 per month on dog food/care or $100 per month on Starbucks, I don't think you should feel guilty about spending $100/month on Estrace or Estring.
2) If your doc won't prescribe vaginal estradiol, see what a second doc thinks. In my experience, most docs are ok with it for most BC patients.
3) Dryness is a real thing, but be aware that you may have significant atrophy as well. Atrophy means that there is, in addition to dryness, both thinning and inflammation of the vaginal walls. Vaginal atrophy can also cause shortening of the vaginal vault! Ditto for increased UTIs, urinary incontinence, and some other "fun" stuff.
4) Creams that contain no estradiol will help with dryness but it's very doubtful they will help with any other symptoms. If you're bothered by symptoms such as the above, see if your doc will prescribe estradiol.5) I tried Estrace and found it messy, inconvenient, and not particularly helpful. I am now on Estring and am extremely satisfied. It even helps with incontinence, and my vaginal vault is noticeably longer since I started it 4 months ago. Note that your insurance may not cover Estring until you've tried Estrace and found it unsatisfactory, though I believe Estring is actually cheaper!
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hey cycle-path. thank you for all the info. yeah, on my clinic notes from last gyno visit, he did write down vaginal atrophy. thats awful funny, cause i was not that before chemo etc! so i guess i will go google estradiol, it actually does sound like a better fit for me, too. i don't know if it is something they would prescribe for me, being like 98 % er pos. estring does sound better, as far as messiness goes, have pantyliners in my cabinet for the first time in years- another expense! well, but, i think i better go and trip him, and beat him to the floor! cause i do believe it is getting to be use it or lose it time..
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I have vagina atrophy also. That is a problem above and beyond the dryness. Much more difficult to resolve. My GYNE noted that. She will not prescribe localized estrogen. Her mom has BC and she sees it as too serious of a condition to play with estrogen. I have to depend on my MO. I'll see him again in two months then will battle it out if I cannot resolve some of my problems. I can go to an OTC paraben-free estriol cream if needed. Anyone use that with your MO's permission? I don't like going around my MO. If I was on Tamoxifen, he would let me have it.
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theres an otc estriol cream???
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Several on Amazon.com. Amazing, right?
From Wikipedia and restated less succinctly elsewhere:
Estriol (also oestriol or E3) is one of the three main estrogens produced by the human body.
Estriol is only produced in significant amounts during pregnancy as it is made by the placenta from16-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (16-OH DHEAS),[1] an androgen steroid made in the fetal liver and adrenal glands.
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doxie, I really really think you should ask another doc about vaginal Est--. (I am saying "Est--" because there are so many different "Ests." Estrogen, Estradiol, Estriol, Estrone...) You were Stage I and your doc won't prescribe it, but KathyC above was Stage IIIc and her doc will prescribe. I did not have invasive BC, but my doc says she does prescribe Estrace and Estring to those who've had invasive BC. So there is no hard-and-fast rule.
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... i think he did, because i complained so much. also, i think they know that there is such a minute amount in the est-"trace"!!! i would be a little leary of some found online, but i am going to go look!
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It's not *just* that there is a minute amount. It's also that it's believed that the amount that goes into the bloodstream from the vagina is extremely small.
According this this article, the amount absorbed was so small that it could not be measured. "A 10-μg dose of vaginal E2 effectively treated urogenital atrophy in seven women and did not cause endometrial hyperplasia or increase E2 levels."
http://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Abstract/...
If your doc is resistant, you might want to show him/her that abstract.
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Thanks. I have a history of giving my MO research material. He wouldn't be surprised. I gave him a glossary of eye terms and a research paper explaining eye SEs caused by BC treatment. He knew next to nothing about it. For a while I thought I was going to have to choose between AIs or my vision. I"m building a file for him now on the use of estrogen locally.
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One more thought for those whose docs are concerned about absorption of vaginal estrogen: ask him/her to do a blood test to measure your serum estradiol level now. Then try the vaginal estrogen for a specified period of time, and then get another blood test. If the level has risen by an amount with which you or the doc are uncomfortable, discontinue. If your levels are not significantly different, then everyone's concerns should be considered to have been addressed.
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I brought that up. I'd just had my estrogen levels checked because of earlier bleeding. He felt that any extra estrogen was too much. I even offered to drop to a lower BMI to offset the little that would be added. I'm 23 now.
As long as I can find a natural oil based moisturizer and keep using my dilator, I have hope. It's the stupid allergies that are causing the bumps along the way. Cocoa butter was great and coconut oil was ok. Though w/o estrogen treatment I'm afraid I can only have sex once a week. There is too much damage right now.
Adding:
If I bring in the medical evidence and complain enough, I'm sure he will reluctantly give in. Still it is concerning when your MO is not convinced of somethings safety.
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...i just think they are in denial, mostly, about how treatments affect us. thats the messy part they dont like.
cycle-path, that is an excellent idea!
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kathec I don't now if it's denial so much as not their expertise focus so they don't address it. I'm having issues with my new osteoporosis diagnosis... told no weights over 5lbs and no crunches. Already don't do planks because of LE and implants. But if I don't keep my core strong my back will hurt. My doctor just shrugged. Not that she didn't care but she just didn't know what to tell me.
Too many specialists and not one person looking at the big cancer treatment long term SE picture. PCP can only do so much.
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yeah, that is so true! but i am heartily sick of shrugs and i-dont-knows....i have learned more here from people like you, lago, than in the hallowed halls. i mean, i am glad we do have docs, and tx's, BUT. so, i do proceed with caution, and would like to regain strength i have lost over the last year and a half. i did help BF load 16 sheets of ply, out of the truck, and into the shop. i did wear backbrace, and sleeve and glove, and was just very aware that i moved my body correctly(something i did learn at museum, where they did not want to see us hurt as part of the exhibit crew). but a few months back, i did help mix 20 60lbs bags o concrete mix, for another job he had gotten. now that is some hard work! but i used to do things like that all day long.
i was wanting to do crunches, because of how these drugs have given me a middle, and i do want it to go away. was it this thread that had the eat less/move more video? ok, time to go get a haircut, see ya'll soon!
I think a museum job seach is an excellent idea!
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I feel very bad for those who feel their doctors take a one-dimensional view of them. I know that some of us have little or no choice in doctors, usually either because of geography or insurance carrier, but most of us DO have a choice.
I certainly don't mean to insult anyone, but it seems strange to me that more women don't change doctors when their current doc isn't providing answers. Does anyone care to share the reason they stick with their doc in spite of his/her lack of comprehensive answers? No offense intended, truly.
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cycle-path in my case this is my switch. The endocrinologist I saw about my issue was not helpful at all about helping me choose which drug (told me what standard care was but I had some issue so I wasn't sure standard care was the correct path). She never said anything about things I should be doing nor did she give me any literature that discussed this. I also felt she was brushing me off. This new doctor even told me not to take so much calcium and what foods I should eat so I can get more from diet... and a lot of other stuff. Maybe she should have recommended I see someone about what types of exercise but lets face it, she did cover a lot. She can't be everything.
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....one stop shopping. close. aint fighting traffic both ways. plus, i can read up. i can come here. etc
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Well I am no longer going to be able to afford Estrace or any other meds I just found out instead of 50.00 co pay it will cost me 130.00 for it. So back to coconut oil . I will NOT give up my sex life....
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ang7894, have you tried those online coupons? Right now I'm getting Estring with a coupon that saves me $100 per month. Worth a try. Take it to your pharmacy and see if they'll honor it.
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Thank you cycle-path I never heard of this I will give it a try.
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I'm using a compounded mix of estriol, estradiol, & testosterone cream, which cost about $25 for a month's supply. But I make it last longer than that. My GYN prescribed it after making sure that my ONC OKed it, in writing. My GYN has done some studying of the Bioidenticals and says this combo, as opposed to plain estradiol, more naturally replicates what the vagina was getting before menopause . I tried both and this is somewhat less messy than the estrace cream and does seem to also be more helpful at boosting the sensations as well! I really had to shop around to find this GYN.
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rgiuff, is there a name for that compounded cream? i love the price! and also did you say that it was not as messy? cause i aint diggin the mess of estrace. altho i do want to continue using what i have, and i also am not even using it as frequently or as much as they say is okay.
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Here's an interesting article. I don't know anything beyond what's here, but I thought it might interest some of the other sufferers on the board: http://www.indystar.com/story/life/diet-fitness/2014/04/10/peoples-pharmacy-lubricant-works-wonders/7519919/
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Kathec, it I somewhat less messy. It's clear, while the Estrace is white. I also try to play around with the amount so that less of it will fall out the next day.
And no, there is no name for it. That's because it's compounded - made up according to how the doctor wants it. Sometimes they decide they want more or less of certain hormones in the mix. It comes in a plain white tube with the ingredient percentages typed on the label. While the estrace is only made with one formula, probably in a factory and comes preboxed and always with the osame percentage of estradiol.
It's also not covered under my insurance like a formulary drug would be ($5). This is only partially covered because it's non formulary, so $25.
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I asked my MO for scream cream or anything that would help. I never get much from him that I ask for, and this was no exception. He said he'd never heard of it and in all his years of practice, he'd only had a handful of women using anything for libido and that it was testosterone (oral). He said testosterone used to be used to treat breast cancer metastases so it is safe. He has referred me to my OB/GYN. He (the MO) and his NP kept asking about vaginal dryness but never recommended anything for that either.
Has anybody had any luck with their OB/GYN on any of this? Suggestions?
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