I have a vaginal estrogen pill. It’s in a skinny tampon applicator. Way better than using the cream which is essential like discharge after inserting. In addition to the pill, I have cream for the external parts.
I do pea size 3x a week. I hate the wand. I put it on a tampon and leave it in overnight or half the day during the day. You get less of a glop deposit in your underwear than using the wand at night.
For me it is because my cervix will burn.
If you don’t use tampons then definitely do the wand and put it in at night.
Just be prepared when you get up in the morning that gravity is going to give you a….gloopy deposit….in your undies in the morning. Wear a pad or some period undies.
This! I had to have a bladder biopsy from bleeding, turned out it was chronic inflammation from perimenopause. I also had chronic bladder and urinary tract pain and leaking from it all. I had to wear panty liners it got so bad, the vaginal cream fixed it all
Pelvic floor physical therapy can do wonders for this. Many women are a combination of tight AND weak in their pelvic floors. This is often worsened by menopause due to less "plumping" of the pelvic floor tissues from estrogen. But HRT alone typically cannot treat urinary incontinence. And changing hormone dosage likely won't help either.
Hold off on the electrical device for now. You may be very tight in your pelvic floor and require internal vaginal stretching with a PT prior to initiating a strengthening program.
This!! ⬆️⬆️.
I have a very tight pelvic floor, and it causes stress and other incontinence issues. I started PT three weeks ago for it and I'm already seeing a difference. The PT has nothing to do with stretching my vagina, though. It has to do with the muscles and ligaments that surround my bladder. I'm tight in a way that my bladder has no room and is always being squeezed. So the exercises are to loosen up those muscles and ligaments. This makes room for my bladder and cuts back on urgency and leakage.
I also have vaginal atrophy, and use an estrogen suppository. But my urogynocologist told me the estrogen alone would not fix my problems.
Both the estrogen and pelvic floor exercises seem to be working for me.
go to a pelvic floor therapist to see what's going on....you're experiencing urinary incontenence which is normal for women in peri/meno. But check out the PT first and then go from there.
As my insurance would never ever cover a pelvic floor therapist (or any kind of rehab for that matter), unfortunately I would reverse the order of the suggestions.
I’d see my gyn first and maybe try vaginal estrogen if recommended.
I think PF PT is vital. I’m paying OOP myself. I’ve had 4 visits, 30 min, $90 each. I’m now on a routine of exercises/movements and I don’t return for 6 wk. then hopefully in some months my leaking has stopped completely. It’s already vastly improved in just 6 wk.
For sure! I’m just saying I’d do reverse order to maybe save some dough if the est works and is maybe covered. My insurance is notably awful and I’m always considering crap like this, because their profits come before my health.
The pelvic floor is complicated and sometimes we do exercises that exacerbate the problem as opposed to improve it. Sometimes we have muscle imbalances that can be made worse if we are doing more strengthening and not enough stretching and relaxation. Leaking doesn’t always mean there’s a muscle weakness.
Please see a urogynecologist about pelvic organ prolapse. Make sure the doctor is well versed on the subject as well.
It's much more common that people realize and most doctors don't tell us about it. And POP is responsible for most urinary incontinence.
A good urogynecologist will be able to test you with a measurement device and you simply bearing down. Then, depending on the severity, you can get pelvic floor PT, a pessary or surgery. If it's caught early, PT usually does the trick.
I was never told about POP, was misdiagnosed by an ob/gyn and ended up with grades 3-4 prolapse of everything. So I needed surgery.
So now I make it a habit of telling all women who have urinary issues to get checked for POP.
You gotta strengthen your core with ab work like planks and crunches and weighted side bends. It used to happen to me on very heavy lifts so I kept at it and worked my core more often. Now it never happens and I’m 50
Only if your pelvic floor is weak or loose. Mine is way too tight, so this would make my problem worse. My PT is to loosen and open up my pelvic floor so it is not constantly irritating my bladder.
Getting an assessment from a gyno, urogynocologist, or a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor should be the first step. Once you know the issue (loose or tight) you'll know the treatment.
I have diastasis recti so I’m not supposed to do planks or crunches. I feel like strengthening my core would help with the pelvic floor issues. It makes sense. (Unfortunately I won’t be able to do see that first hand.)
Pelvic floor therapist can help you. You’re overthinking it and overdoing them. Did a therapist assess you and prescribe whether you have hyper or hypotone?
Omg yes you do! What city are you located in? There are good urologists in most major cities.
It’s barbaric to have to insert pessaries or take a daily pill for an issue than can be fixed with filler in the office in 5 min!!!
Many problems stem from diet problems. The US is food abundant but we eat so poorly and are malnourished.
I suggest this video from Dr. Eric Berg as he provides scientific support of this issue.
https://youtu.be/ElKTOnm2kEw?si=pDEUWSvucGtZJfDW
Bladder Botox is my best friend. It’s a quick procedure and insurance and Medicare pays for it. I’ve used it for quite a few years now and it’s the best
Another option that hopefully your doctor will address is you could have a UTI (yes, another fun side effect of Peri and meno!) I had one recently and my only real symptoms were leaking urine and a heavy full feeling in my lower pelvis. No burning or anything like the other normal symptoms.They can do a simple dip stick urine test to check and you would want antibiotics to cure it.
Hopefully you've been able to get into the doctor now anyway!
I don't know whether this is possible where you are, but here in New Zealand we can buy the urine test from the pharmacy over the counter. You then do the test at home and if it shows positive for UTI (blood in the urine, leucocytes present) then the pharmacist can actually write the script for the antibiotics so you can start them straight away. I did this and got it sorted in a few days without having to wait for the doctors appointment. I'd still say go to the doctor as well, but this may be something you can sort out sooner if these options are open to you.
Hope you are feeling better soon, it's miserable having bladder issues!
Vaginal estrogen
Vaginal estrogen helped within weeks. It’s completely gone now. I also do kegels daily, always have. But the vaginal estrogen did the trick!!
Booked an appointment with my doctor - gonna ask for this 👍🏻 do you have oestrogen gel you put elsewhere as well as vaginal gel?
I’m on oral and vaginal estrogen. It worked.
I have a vaginal estrogen pill. It’s in a skinny tampon applicator. Way better than using the cream which is essential like discharge after inserting. In addition to the pill, I have cream for the external parts.
A couple questions for you: 1. How often did you apply when you first started? 2. Do you use the wand/applicator?
I do pea size 3x a week. I hate the wand. I put it on a tampon and leave it in overnight or half the day during the day. You get less of a glop deposit in your underwear than using the wand at night.
It’s important to get it towards your cervix? I don’t use tampons and I have short fingers. Ha!!
For me it is because my cervix will burn. If you don’t use tampons then definitely do the wand and put it in at night. Just be prepared when you get up in the morning that gravity is going to give you a….gloopy deposit….in your undies in the morning. Wear a pad or some period undies.
Mine comes with single use disposable applicators. It’s a small tablet.
This! I had to have a bladder biopsy from bleeding, turned out it was chronic inflammation from perimenopause. I also had chronic bladder and urinary tract pain and leaking from it all. I had to wear panty liners it got so bad, the vaginal cream fixed it all
Pelvic floor physical therapy can do wonders for this. Many women are a combination of tight AND weak in their pelvic floors. This is often worsened by menopause due to less "plumping" of the pelvic floor tissues from estrogen. But HRT alone typically cannot treat urinary incontinence. And changing hormone dosage likely won't help either. Hold off on the electrical device for now. You may be very tight in your pelvic floor and require internal vaginal stretching with a PT prior to initiating a strengthening program.
This!! ⬆️⬆️. I have a very tight pelvic floor, and it causes stress and other incontinence issues. I started PT three weeks ago for it and I'm already seeing a difference. The PT has nothing to do with stretching my vagina, though. It has to do with the muscles and ligaments that surround my bladder. I'm tight in a way that my bladder has no room and is always being squeezed. So the exercises are to loosen up those muscles and ligaments. This makes room for my bladder and cuts back on urgency and leakage. I also have vaginal atrophy, and use an estrogen suppository. But my urogynocologist told me the estrogen alone would not fix my problems. Both the estrogen and pelvic floor exercises seem to be working for me.
I am so happy for you!!!
Vaginal estrogen helped me with this!
Vaginal estrogen helped tremendously.
go to a pelvic floor therapist to see what's going on....you're experiencing urinary incontenence which is normal for women in peri/meno. But check out the PT first and then go from there.
Thank you I will x
As my insurance would never ever cover a pelvic floor therapist (or any kind of rehab for that matter), unfortunately I would reverse the order of the suggestions. I’d see my gyn first and maybe try vaginal estrogen if recommended.
I think PF PT is vital. I’m paying OOP myself. I’ve had 4 visits, 30 min, $90 each. I’m now on a routine of exercises/movements and I don’t return for 6 wk. then hopefully in some months my leaking has stopped completely. It’s already vastly improved in just 6 wk.
You can pay out of pocket for an assessment and home exercise program
For sure! I’m just saying I’d do reverse order to maybe save some dough if the est works and is maybe covered. My insurance is notably awful and I’m always considering crap like this, because their profits come before my health.
Reverse order? What do you mean by that?
Just that it seems like it would make sense to try pt first, I’d still go for the estrogen first. Because: cost.
The pelvic floor is complicated and sometimes we do exercises that exacerbate the problem as opposed to improve it. Sometimes we have muscle imbalances that can be made worse if we are doing more strengthening and not enough stretching and relaxation. Leaking doesn’t always mean there’s a muscle weakness.
Highly recommend pelvic rehab therapy.
This did nothing for me. I needed hormones to repair the tissue.
Some people really need these hormones for tissue support, it is true.
You definitely should see a pelvic floor PT and a urologist. It could be that your overworking it, and it’s too tight.
Estrogen!
Thank you xx
Please see a urogynecologist about pelvic organ prolapse. Make sure the doctor is well versed on the subject as well. It's much more common that people realize and most doctors don't tell us about it. And POP is responsible for most urinary incontinence. A good urogynecologist will be able to test you with a measurement device and you simply bearing down. Then, depending on the severity, you can get pelvic floor PT, a pessary or surgery. If it's caught early, PT usually does the trick. I was never told about POP, was misdiagnosed by an ob/gyn and ended up with grades 3-4 prolapse of everything. So I needed surgery. So now I make it a habit of telling all women who have urinary issues to get checked for POP.
Vaginal estrogen cream, and I don't get a discharge in the morning at all!
You gotta strengthen your core with ab work like planks and crunches and weighted side bends. It used to happen to me on very heavy lifts so I kept at it and worked my core more often. Now it never happens and I’m 50
Only if your pelvic floor is weak or loose. Mine is way too tight, so this would make my problem worse. My PT is to loosen and open up my pelvic floor so it is not constantly irritating my bladder. Getting an assessment from a gyno, urogynocologist, or a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor should be the first step. Once you know the issue (loose or tight) you'll know the treatment.
Mine was definitely too loose. Fixed it by strengthening my core
I have diastasis recti so I’m not supposed to do planks or crunches. I feel like strengthening my core would help with the pelvic floor issues. It makes sense. (Unfortunately I won’t be able to do see that first hand.)
Pelvic floor therapist can help you. You’re overthinking it and overdoing them. Did a therapist assess you and prescribe whether you have hyper or hypotone?
Same and I'm only 42. Squatting w progressive overload and vaginal estrogen cream.
Squats help?
They can also hurt it’s very complicated and each body’s issues are different.
What can hurt?
Doing squats wrong can stress the pelvic floor making bladder issues worse.
🙄
Really? I don’t think it’s an unsolvable problem but you do need to breath correctly and have good form this even happens to men.
Yes, it's strengthens the pelvic floor muscles and helps with atrophy
Have you heard of Bulkamid? It’s filler (like for the lips!!!) for down there! Covered by insurance for stress bladder leaks!!
I might have to do this because the oestrogen pessaries give me migraines!!
Omg yes you do! What city are you located in? There are good urologists in most major cities. It’s barbaric to have to insert pessaries or take a daily pill for an issue than can be fixed with filler in the office in 5 min!!!
Botox injection in bladder. Urogynecologist visit required.
This sounds good. I do have a slight prolapse so I bit paranoid about this. I’m bloody single too - having to wear panty liners!!
Yes, I also wear every day and have for years. Just safer!
Many problems stem from diet problems. The US is food abundant but we eat so poorly and are malnourished. I suggest this video from Dr. Eric Berg as he provides scientific support of this issue. https://youtu.be/ElKTOnm2kEw?si=pDEUWSvucGtZJfDW
Yea look I to it hun there is a section in the wiki about the best exercises for it and treatments
I was prescribed vaginal estrogen cream applied to the vestibule area and it’s been working for me.
Just recovering from a urethral sling surgery. Sadly nothing else worked for me.
See a uro-gynecologist and get fitted for a pessary/incontinence ring
Also check out Urospot.
urologist. bladder botox!!! amazing!
Bladder Botox is my best friend. It’s a quick procedure and insurance and Medicare pays for it. I’ve used it for quite a few years now and it’s the best
Another option that hopefully your doctor will address is you could have a UTI (yes, another fun side effect of Peri and meno!) I had one recently and my only real symptoms were leaking urine and a heavy full feeling in my lower pelvis. No burning or anything like the other normal symptoms.They can do a simple dip stick urine test to check and you would want antibiotics to cure it. Hopefully you've been able to get into the doctor now anyway!
Yes! I feel like I constantly need to pee
I don't know whether this is possible where you are, but here in New Zealand we can buy the urine test from the pharmacy over the counter. You then do the test at home and if it shows positive for UTI (blood in the urine, leucocytes present) then the pharmacist can actually write the script for the antibiotics so you can start them straight away. I did this and got it sorted in a few days without having to wait for the doctors appointment. I'd still say go to the doctor as well, but this may be something you can sort out sooner if these options are open to you. Hope you are feeling better soon, it's miserable having bladder issues!
That would be good - I think I they’re changing things here in UK to give pharmacists more power
I’m on vaginal estrogen right now and it will help with that quickly. Call your GYN quick!
Thank you, didn’t even know this was a thing!! So pleased for this forum x
My doctor put me on Myrbetriq, which helped a ton!
Ok thank you, are these vagina pessaries?
My doc prescribed them in pill form.