May 18, 2022 11:31AM poseygirl wrote:

Hi all,

Once in awhile I check in on this topic to see if there is anything 'new' to report. I am in Canada and have seen a well known gynaecologist in this area. He tried to give me a compounded product similar to DHEA. An estrogen gets created locally within the cells in the vagina but doesn't at all circulate. I tried the product, but the the discharge was absolutely horrific. Apparently discharge is a common and central side effect, but it was literally intolerable. He said that I have to wait to try DHEA which is approved now in Canada but taking time to get out onto the market.

It is pretty much my last hope to try this product. He was pretty blunt about the fact that lubes do very little for women with atrophy. It is the lack of estrogen. Most lubes burn me. And the ones that don't burn still have such a limited effect. I find it highly frustrating. It's hard to want to have sex when it hurts. Gee, go figure. I've been having 'the other' type of sex because it hurts less. This is not how I pictured being 53. I'm not a person who requires a ton of sex, but it is truly unfortunate that we have to struggle so much to find something that works for us when we've been through so much. And since I too am triple positive (as someone else mentioned here), they won't want to give me the estradiol cream. I went into menopause when I went into treatment at 47, and after a few years on Letrozole, things got worse and worse.

Here's hoping there are developments in this regard. Because our options are truly few. I appreciate following this thread! Thank you for sharing.

May 19, 2022 10:16AM poseygirl wrote:

Thanks KBL, I appreciate it. I’m glad you are able to take it and not be experiencing any issues. I see my oncologist in June and will ask her about it. The gynaecologist mentioned it, but said he’d never prescribe it without discussing with her first. Abs admittedly, I will not want to take the chance if she’s hesitant yet willing to let me try. We will see. Thank you so much!!

May 19, 2022 01:14PM - edited May 20, 2022 06:51PM by jons_girl

I use testosterone cream. I started using 1 ml daily for two weeks, then three times a week. I do not really need any lube at all anymore. And what I do is use it before I go to bed.

I plan to add estrodiol cream. I'm assuming it will be one cream I use with testosterone and estrodiol ingredients in the cream. Both my MO and my onco gyn are fine with me using estrodiol. They watch my blood levels for estrogen and testosterone. I have been using the Testosterone cream I think 3 mo now. And my estrogen levels aren't going up tons.

I will continue with my scans every 6 mo and blood tests periodically too

I am both PR/ER+ and Her2- But they are fine with me using only cream vaginally....

I had my bilateral breast ultrasound today. May 20.all is clear. this is my 5th yr post cancer dx. Very thankful all is still ok.

May 19, 2022 02:05PM cardplayer wrote:

My BS and GYN both said no to using estrace, which I stopped when I was diagnosed. Vaginal moisturize provide very temporary relief, so I get uncomfortable on days I don’t use it. I’m post menopausal so I doubt my body is producing much estrogen. Taking anastrozole to block estrogen doesn’t help much either. 😣 Wish there were better options

May 27, 2022 04:50PM runner70 wrote:

i haven’t visited this site in years but I’m suffering from horrible dryness and thought I would check in and see what others like me are using. I went into menopause 6 years ago at 45 with chemo. It was like jumping off a cliff when the side effects immediately began. My cycles and hormone levels were completely normal prior to chemo. Anyway, I’ve finally adjusted and I rarely have hot flashes anymore. The vaginal dryness over the past year has been unbearable. It feels like I have a yeast infection all the time. I’m not married and haven’t had a boyfriend since cancer treatment and it’s partly because I’m scared of having sex and that it will hurt really bad now that I’m fully in menopause. I’ve tried every lubricant/potions/creams under the sun! You should see the cabinet above my toilet. It’s filled with products. The only thing that has helped has been an estring. I got one from my Gyn back in July and it helped so much! Since I removed it my symptoms are back. The itching and burning are so bad that I’ve been using sunburn spray on my vagina to numb it up! Isn’t that crazy?! I decided today to get another estring and to use it just for a month until the atrophy resolves then switch back to estriol cream twice a week. I’ve tried estriol cream to get rid of the symptoms but I think my problem is so severe I require a constant low dose estradiol product until I get relief. I don’t want to get a recurrence but my lady parts are so miserable it’s affecting my job and my sleep! It makes me mad! Isn’t having cancer bad enough and now we have to get thrown into menopause early and have to risk getting cancer again because our vaginas are making us miserable? Nobody understands except people here. So thank you for allowing me to rant! 😂