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

@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?

@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.

@beanlisa56, I used estradiol suppositories called Vagifem for years. Because I had a total hysterectomy at age 36, and was denied any hormone treatment, by 60, i was sloughing off dead tissue in a vaginal discharge. It took a while to get a diagnosis - finally found an ace gynecologist/urologist associated with Brown University Health. She was able to restore elasticity in whatever tissue was left with the vagifem. But eventually - 2-4 yrs later - the discharge resolved and a couple of years afterwards , I stopped the estradiol. All good now but it was a journey.

@pb50 yet another reason to not use hormone creams in your vagina.

@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?

@pb50 yet another reason to not use hormone creams in your vagina.

@llynch17056
So is it helpful to use vagifem (estradiol) ?
Seems to be a conflict, but I'm not sure. I have bladder incontinence, I do twice daily Keigle (sp?) exercises, but it seems to be getting worse. I hike with a group, so it can be inconvenient and even embarrassing. Help!

@beanlisa56 Totally agree, and let’s not forget our bones which rely on estrogen to maintain density and prevent osteoporosis, which is no fun at all!! Please speak with GYN if you are on the fence with the estrogen issue.