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Had vaginal fusion surgery & now beginning Premarin.
I had breast cancer 33 years ago. My surgeon said "No estrogen ever, not even in face creams". Followed those instructions faithfully all of these years. Recently, I began having urology and gynecological problems (painful urination, burning, constant pressure). I saw a gyno-urologist and he discovered that, as a result of no estrogen, my labia was fusing and closing my vagina almost completely. I had surgery to separate the labia and do a repair on a partial urethral prolapse. The doctor is having me apply a small amount of Premarin around my vagina, not inserting inside with the applicator. I have confidence in him but am trying to find someone who may have experienced what happened to me. I am only 2 weeks into this regimen. Is there anyone who has even heard of this type of problem? Every piece of literature states "do not use if history of breast cancer". Also, I have been on thyroid med for 22 yrs. I am a person who tries to get as much information on my health problems as possible, both pros & cons. TYIA.
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I don't have any advice or insights to offer but--
Congratulations on 33 years cancer-free!!!
Thank you so much. Even after all of these years, whenever I have an unusual physical problem, the first thing I think is "Cancer"! I know that I'm very fortunate that it was "once and done". Modified radical mastectomy, 6 months of chemo, no radiation.
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3 ReactionsIt seems like what you'd like to know is whether the premarin will be effective and also how much of a risk you are taking by using it. I don't know about either of those things, but I did find this one article on pubmed about using estrogen for labial fusion:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2083432/
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1 ReactionThat's exactly the kind of information I've been looking for! Thank you!
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2 ReactionsI had a similar surgery two years ago. My adhesion was so bad, that it covered the exit of the urethra. and forced the urine to tunnel under it and excit out of my vagina. This in turn, caused constant vagina inflammation and pain. The surgery (at the Mayo Clinic) corrected this condition.
I have to apply vaginal estrogen cream two to three times a week into the vaginal entrance and into the bottom of the vulva up to the clitoris. The modern vaginal estrogen creams use bio-identical, micronized estrogen in a very low concentration. I don't think it would be a breast cancer risk, at least I have not come across any warnings.
My vulva/vagina feels healthy now, and I do not experience any negative side effects.
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5 Reactionslindes, your message has encouraged me greatly. My adhesion was nearly as serious as yours. Constant inflammation & pain. Also, a prolapsed urethra that had to be repaired as well. I am looking forward to feeling healthy, as well. Bless you for sharing!
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4 ReactionsHi, thank you for the information. May I ask - I have Lichen Planus which has fused my vagina 3/4 closed and using dilators just aggrevates the LP so will need surgery to unfuse. May I ask do you know how they unfuse it and how painful is it. Also I know I will need to use estrogen cream afterwards but my gynaecologist said I will also need to use dilators regularly to keep it open. My doctor is going to refer me to our womens hospital for the surgery but I really want someone who has had it done, point of view.
My understanding of estrogen cream that is applied as @charmster wrote (just a small amount applied to tissue at the entrance of the vagina) is that this will work for vaginal dryness and atrophy. I have searched the scientific literature and talked with my gynecologist as well as my doctors at Mayo and the consensus is that this small amount of estrogen applied to skin is not absorbed into the bloodstream beyond the local application. However, when someone is a cancer survivor (mine was endometrial cancer) my doctors told me not to use estrogen cream anymore. Taking no chances I guess and with their advice that is what I will do. I have non-estrogen vaginal moisturizers that were recommended to me by my doctors.
My major problem was that my labia minora was fused, and the urine tunneled under it to exit at the vaginal opening. This resulted in constant pain and inflammation. I have some kind of vaginal fusing, but only the lower section of my vagina is fused, I have an opening depth of about 2 -3 inches left. Because of the fact I am not interested in men, I decided against a rather involved surgery to get full vaginal depth back. I use my estrogen cream to prevent further fusing. I could get a bit more depth if I would aggressively dilate daily, but, again, this would not be beneficial for me, and just cause additional discomfort.
I bet the best answers on the pain involved in vaginal surgery can be given by trans women whop had the re-constructional procedure done.
The un-fusing of the labia minora was not very painful, the maintenance of the surgical wound was less pleasant because I had to apply estrogen cream during the healing process.
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1 ReactionDid they biopsy the tissue? Your symptoms sound like Lichen Sclerosus Instead of Lichen Planus. I have LS and have had surgeries for fusion. The usual treatment for it is Clobetasol ointment topically on the affected areas daily.