this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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Menopause

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'Menopause isn't really that bad'...said no woman ever.

For those who are approaching or experiencing 'the change' (think reverse puberty), a time where hormone levels decline either through the aging process or by medical/surgical means.

Menopause and Perimenopause (the transitional time before Menopause) are unique to every person, and while there's no one-size fits all, we support each other on this roller coaster ride of wacked out hormones, absurd mood swings and random sweaty hot flashes.

Be kind. Be respectful. We are all in this together!


Menopause Wiki


RULES

1. All genders can post We are all here to learn about menopause and how to help anyone experiencing menopause, so be supportive and respectful.

2. Don't be a bully, creep, jerk or troll This means no personal attacks, no misogyny, no misandry, ageism, racism, or otherwise hateful or disrespectful commentary.

3. Read the Wiki and use the search tool before posting a new question

4. No selling products or services You can recommend products/methods that work for you, but soliciting clients or patients is not allowed. No advertising or self-promotions, including using this sub to drive traffic elsewhere.

5. Research surveys/studies are allowed ONLY after contacting the mods with details of the survey (purpose of survey, academic associations, how will the data be used, privacy/confidentiality policy) Mods will determine whether to approve the post or not. Those choosing to participate in surveys, must do so at their own risk.

6. No posting lab results We are not a substitute for medical advice. Questions about your lab results should be directed to your medical professional. Hormonal tests are not an accurate diagnosing tool for perimenopause.

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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by lovelybee11 to c/menopause
 

Hello everyone, I am quite frustrated with all this reddit stuff, I really need the menopause subreddit back. It's literally my best resource for meno info and being inaccessible has caused me some grief the last few days. I'm on patches and pills but atrophy is bad so I need info about using creams vaginally, when to have sex etc.

Edit to add, I'm on .1 estradiol patch and 200mg micronized progesterone softgel. I just started a compounded estriol and testosterone vaginal cream.

Edit again to add. My most important question is, when do I have sex if I'm using a vaginal hormone cream? Most helpful thing I found is don't use it before sex and one said 12 hours after is fine. I am confused. What do you do if you are using vaginal cream for atrophy?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is less than optimal, but I guess for now you can use https://web.archive.org/, it has most of the Reddit posts archived, and to find them you can just append site:reddit.com/r/menopause to google searches to find posts. If the comments don't appear, you need to replace reddit.com with old.reddit.com when pasting the URL into the Web Archive.

[–] lovelybee11 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thanks for this. I couldn't get it to work. Can barely figure out this site and posting and replies omg. Appreciate the response.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Okay, I'll explain in more detail:

  1. Click this link https://www.google.com/search?q=YOUR+SEARCH+HERE+site%3Areddit.com%2Fr%2Fmenopause and replace YOUR SEARCH HERE with whatever you want to search for, or just remove it to see all posts
  2. Click on one of the results, you'll see "r/Menopause is a private community"
  3. Copy all of the text in your browser address bar
  4. Go to https://web.archive.org and paste the text you just copied
  5. Before pressing enter, replace the "www.reddit.com" at the beginning with "old.reddit.com"
  6. Press enter, a calendar will pop up, click on any of the listed dates and you'll see the post
[–] lovelybee11 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Thank you for this, I'll try again.

Edit, it did work, it wasn't as hard as I thought.

[–] lovelybee11 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I should add that my doctor called in a compounded estriol and testosterone vaginal cream and just two days in, I'm having big improvement. I know compounded is like a dirty word for some, but I have to use what is accessible to me and this is all she gave me.

[–] Justme 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am using an estradiol cream 3 times a week but I am leaking at times, just a little but enough that I have to wear a pantiliner, I didn’t even have vaginal births and have never had this before. Why is this happening? Is this preventable and do I need an increase or something different?

[–] lovelybee11 2 points 1 year ago

I'm definitely not an expert here but I think you do need more or a higher dose. Part of vaginal atrophy is bladder problems like frequency, urgency, uti, incontinence. You can put the cream (as long as it's specifically made for vaginas) directly on the urethral opening using your finger and it should help. At least my two day experience with my cream says it will definitely help your bladder if you put it there. Best of luck. My cream also has testosterone so you could also try that.

[–] leftylibra 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The systemic estrogen (patch) should help significantly with atrophy, but it takes time...like months for some. So folks will also consider adding on localized estrogen, like Vagifem.

It's not that the term "compounded" is a dirty word, it certainly has its place for some things, like specifically, testosterone (since so many doctors won't prescribe it AT ALL). But vaginally, there's no telling what the cream mixture dosages are (even if the pharmacist tells you). So the "mixed"/compounded recipe might not be enough and there's no way to know. Either way, results vary, you may notice improvements after a few weeks (for atrophy) and for others it can take months. But if you're looking for libido help, then it can take months as well, and even then MHT/HRT and/or Testosterone may not work at all for some folks.

As for how long between application and sex? The longest time between vaginal applications as possible. Obviously you may not be able to plan that, but longer is better for your partner, as transfer may occur. Otherwise, if you need something for lubrication before/during, consider using a non-hormonal option, like hyaluronic acid. Here's a link to the various lubes, and one of them might help too.

[–] lovelybee11 2 points 1 year ago

Thank you, I really appreciate this information.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can relate. I feel like my menopause experience to date was recorded via my reddit account. Complete with responses from our wonderful community. If the subreddit is gone does that mean it's all lost? I do support the move though. Just wish I'd been better prepared.

[–] lovelybee11 2 points 1 year ago

I am upset really, the mods should make the subreddit read only so we have access to the information. I have questions about menopause literally every single day. I feel like it's such a huge loss of a wealth of information and I have felt it every day since the blackout.