Ladies: How are you managing vaginal atrophy as you age?

I had a hysterectomy at 38 and the prevailing wisdom then was NO HORMONES!! So… skip forward twenty years and a divorce later and I am having icky discharge that - after I finally was referred to a young genito-urinary doc - and the discharge was diagnosed as dead cells sloughing off. Eeew -right??

I went on estradiol suppositories twice a week. Problem solved. I am a further 20 years down the road now and have weaned off the suppositories as well.

@llynch17056 If you are on Instagram or Youtube, please listen to Kelly Casperson, MD, a urologist and menopause specialist. She has all of the citings and medical journal studies to prove that vaginal estrogen does not cause cancer. The CDC has recently (last couple of months), taken the Black Box Warning label off of Estradiol Vaginal cream 0.01% ( which is the standard for pre and post-menopausal women suffering from vaginal and vulvar dryness and irritation).
Our loss of estrogen after menopause does not just affect our vaginal and vulvar mucosa, but greatly affects our urinary health (UTIs and urinary frequency and urgency). Even if you don't notice any of these urologic symptoms right now, and are just dealing with vaginal dryness (which I am happy for you that the coconut oil helps!), eventually, down the line, your long term lack of estrogen in your menopausal body will affect your urinary system. Just a fact of life. Better to be preventative I feel.

@jmfaith That's what I do. I started with 2x week and I found 3x week much better. No dryness at all anymore and I am 70 and I have never had a UTI, or any urinary issues. What we need to remember is that vaginal estradiol is not jus for our vaginas, but the cream also gets absorbed by our urinary/bladder area (not sure exactly how - but I do believe perhaps our vagina and bladder perhaps share a wall in there? 😀

@llynch17056 Yoga is excellent. I am an avid Pilates fan 3-4x a week. Highly recommend for core strength and pelvic floor health.

@kaym24 Please don't agree to sex when it causes pain and tears! iI is supposed to be mutually satisfying!! (said with love and concern.....)

@joanland Yes, yes and yes! This is Jan 2025 and the CDC recently has removed the Black Box warning from vaginal estradiol cream. It is safe to use for vaginal, vulvar and urinary health. We no longer produce estrogen sisters! Let's at least give these tissues and organs some relief!

@llynch17056 But, unfortunately, it does not help the loss of estrogen in our bladder/urinary tissues/organs. One may not have any urinary/bladder problems after menopause..... yet......but the loss of estrogen extends to these organs/tissues as well. At some point down the line problems most certainly could arise in these areas. One could have proactively been inserting vaginal estrogen cream (safely), and avoided this unnecessary eventuality. Quite a few women refuse to go on low dose hrt because they say they "have no symptoms". They don't realize what is silently going on undetected inside their bodies with no estrogen. I certainly understand people's strong desire to go natural, but at the end of the day, lack of estrogen is still lack of estrogen and the long term effects down the road are not pretty. Isn't it fun being a woman?

@beanlisa56 Thanks. I’m sticking with my GYN’s advice not to use hormones or hormone creams. The coconut oil works great. It’s easy and cheap. There was a time when we all got hormone treatment post hysterectomy. Then we were told to immediately stop it (I had taken it for many years when told to STOP). Who knows what they’ll say in the future? My GYN went to prestigious schools, she is young and cutting edge. She said not to. I’m going with her.

@beanlisa56 PS it has been decades since I had a UTI. Perhaps my yoga and clean foods? The coconut oil? I’m sticking with my very smart young GYN to not do hormone creams. I’m sticking with coconut oil. It works and is safe.

@beanlisa56 with all due respect, I and my young smart GYN, disagree and consider estrogen creams to pose a threat.