Too private?

Anna, sounds like you are having same troubles that I was having a few years ago. Do give olive oil a chance. It cannot harm you in any way but I assure you that if nothing else it will provide immediate relief from the Thrush like symptoms.

Before I started I was the same as you as irritation was that bad that most days just walking was torture and I my skin would break and bleed often.

Olive oil kept the moisture plus treated the irritated skin and Infound literaly just applying it would provide immediate relief.

It was many months until I could skip applying it at least twice daily and not feel irritation. I mean it is now almost 5 years since prof Eden told me to try olive oil - but I can assure you that within a year the area revivered so well that I had gone from applying twice daily to just sevreal.times per week and now it has been well over a year that I needed to use it at all.

Jel

Ladies, it has been more than  a year since I  checked in on the BCNA site.So I was so pleased to see this discussion on vaginal dryness.  I finished my breast cancer treatment nearly 3 years ago and I have really struggled with vaginal dryness and atrophy.  Like others I was directed to various lubricants and vagifem.  It wasn't just intercourse that was impossible some days walking was uncomfortable.  I am nearly finished a course of the Mona Lisa procedure with good effect.  I was also plagued with what seemed like thrush and was finally diagnosed with Vulvar Lichen Sclerosis.  Treating this has also greatly improved my comfort.  Intercourse is still not possible due to pain - but at least I can walk!!  I agree that vaginal dryness is often dismissed as not serious but the loss of libido and  intercourse being impossible has been one of the sadest side effects of treatment.   Your would think that not having breasts would be the main showstopper for intermacy but that was manageable.  Once I started on the oestrogen blocker was the beginning of the end of a relaxing sex life.    My oncologist tells me I'll be on Tamoxifen for the rest of my life so   no count down to 5 years for me and the hope of symptom relief.

Lichen Sclerosis was not a side effect of the oestrogen blocker but was made worse by the vag. dryness.  That's a good reminder to not blame all sysptoms on your treatment.  Lucky us we can still get routine problems as well.

Thanks so much for the posting.  There is comfort in knowing you are not the only one struggling.

Anna B

I was also worried about serious dryness leading vaginal atrophy and wasn't ready to give up on my sex life at 48.   I also had already had a UTI.  After doing some research I convinced my doctor to give me vagifem low which is hormones delivered locally.  There is no real evidence either way to say that hormones delivered this way contribute to the cancer returning so I decided to give it a try.  At the same time my oncologist referred me to a gynaecologist.

At the visit to the gyno I described my symptoms painful sex and serious dryness but also added that the vagifem had helped things a lot.  The gyno gave me an examination and  pap smear (which I found extremely painful). I was told that it did indeed look moist but was at a loss to explain what was causing the pain on penetration, deeper up inside.  I am now to have a ultra sound to see if there could be anything else contributing to the  pain and still am waiting on the results of my smear test.  

Prior to the visit to the gyno I would have considered that the dryness was the problem and am now not convinced that there isn't another side effect that is also contributing to painful sex.

Julie

LOL, cannot take the credit as it is my wonderful Gyno prof John Eden who put me onto it :)

Many thanks everyone for so much helpful advice - lots of options. And I have just been invited to take part in a trial program too! Let's see how that goes - and I'll report back!!

ROFL - I should be more carefull what I say ????????

Couple of years ago I used the same expression when telling a colleague of what helped me when she complained of a similar problem.

You should have seen the terriefied look on her face just before she asked me "would salt and pepper not cause irritation down there". Poor woman thought I had been using an actual tradtional type marinade on my vagina ????????

We had a good laugh afterwards but her looking at me as if I was insane to be using pepper on my gentitals was just priceless ??

Jel.

I'm loving the olive oil, it apsolutely made me crack up when you said you were marinating, my idiot husband said can we throw in some bread cheese and olives . Lol thanks so much

WOW!!! good old olive oil.... fantastic

Thanks so much Jel , oilve oil is brilliant

Fantastic information on olive oil as well as being inexpensive too,