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Afraser's avatar
Afraser
Member
10 years ago

Too private?

Hi

I opened my copy of the BCNA newsletter last night and found another article on dealing with Femara side effects. I know that some of the side effects are really disturbing and unpleasant, so I realise that these will be the ones that tend to get more comment. But with the best will in the world, drinking more water will not return any state of lubricious-ness to my vagina.

Has anyone found any solution to serious vaginal dryness, which makes penetration very painful? Most of the advice centres around lubrication preparations, which are fine around the labia, but that’s not where I need It!!  Applying anything further into the vagina is messy and in my experience not very effective at all.  It also tends to turn a pleasurable exercise into a frustrating one. Oestrogen treatment will apparently do the trick, but entirely defeat the purpose!

My partner and I have found humour, inventiveness and a disinclination to stop taking the medication (I have no other side effects, and my bone density seems to be coping OK) to be the best solution, but if anyone can suggest anything else, I will be happy to give it a shot.

Other than that, three and half years in, other treatment side effects manageable, all clear so far, aiming for the 5 year mark.

 

Best wishes to all

16 Replies

  • Hi there,

    Karen has pointed  you  in the right direction by referring you to the lost libido ladies where there is much discussion about this not oftern talked about side effect after breast cancer.  One product which was recommenced to me by a member on there was YES.  they have a range of both oil based and water based lubricants.  Some to use during intercourse and some to use daily which come in an applicator.  If used at night they are not nearly as messy as some of the other products around. 

    They are not cheap, but you can order in bulk.

    Paula x

  • I had a similar issue with severe vaginal dryness couple.of hears ago due to unrelated medical issues.

    I happen to see an excellent Gyno who is also a reproductive endcorinologist that focuses on treating women with severe hormonal.issues so many suffer from that particular trouble and he suggested a treatmwnt that may sound very unorthodox BUT worked incredibly well.

    My dryness was that bad that I was in a state of permanent thrush - no actual candida when they look under the microscope but constantly inflamed in pain broken skin and curdy looking discharge...

    Well here comes the onorthodox solution : olive oil.

    He told me to massage the olive oil.well into the wholenvaginal area and to massage internally as well. Not suggesting you pour it inside in any way shape or form. When you massage the ourside tour fingers will be pretty much soaked in it so you just then continue to massage the inside and the oil on the fingers is sufficient. He also suggested if I ever got bored of the exercise I should lwave that chore for hubby to do as most of the patients have reported their partners always happily voluntereed for the task.

    I must admit I was shocked at the suggestion and even more when he laughed and said he even recvoments it as a lubricant during sex to all his patient with this problem so that we should feel free to use that in place of commercial lubricants.

    All I can say the amoint of pain and constant discomfort I was in I definitely tried it. I religiously 'marinated' my netheregions in olive morning and night and apart from receiving instant relief from discomfort soon enougg the skin both inside and and vagina walls were better than I can remember them being in my 20s.

    My.poor mum who has suffered from severe irritations since her radical hystorectomy tried doing the same and found it incredibly helpfull. Her internal dryness was even more extreme sommuch so that her vagina walls were cracking and bleeding from dryness so when she asked her gyno about trying this he told her not just to go ahead but to also soak a tampon in olive oil and then place it internally for 30 to 40 minutes while lying still each day.

    Well soon enough mum was 'fixed' too.

    That was back in 2012. I have gone from a lot of oain and discomfort and regular reliance on canestene due to severity of dryness to using olive oil for months twice daily then as thing were pretty perfect to pretty much using it only if I ever feel any dryness or discomfort. Coincidentally, never had incident or thruhs or irritation since.

    BUT please note he did say just OLIVE oil and not other oils as apparently it also has antibacterial properties while no components that can cause irritation. And remember to keep it in a dark cabinet and sealed when not in use as you do not want it going rancid since that changes its healing properties.

    And befoee anyone asks - any olive oil (makes no difference if 'virgin' or not)

    Jel.

  • Hi there

    There is a group called the lost libido ladies on the site and this is a huge topic of discussion. For many of us the lubricants have made no difference at all. One of the ladies is currently under going the Mona Lisa treatment mentioned above. It is fairly expensive and we are all waiting to hear how it all goes for her. I'm not on Femara or any other hormone meds but the vaginal atrophy is so severe that hubby and I have totally given up on the idea of intercourse. I have been like this since undergoing TCH chemo which I finished in Oct 2014. Good luck. Karen xox

  • There are vaginal moisturisers you use all the time rather than just a lubricant when having sex...for example sylk. I've  got some free samples from my breast care nurse to try as I am anticipating similar issues. Also there is now a low grade vaginal pessurary which seems to only penetrate the vaginal skin and not be systemic so that is also an option if the moisturisers don't  work. Hope this helps.