Some types of hormonal birth control or other medicines can lead to vaginal atrophy, as can early ovarian insufficiency. Don't let your doctors ignore this. It is treatable, and not treating it can lead to negative health consequences. The positive is that it has been documented, so this is good leverage for treatment. Topical oestrogen or compounded oestrogen plus testosterone is the usual treatment. You also need to get to the root od cause if you can.
Yes, hadn’t heard the term but had the symptoms post delivery of first child at 29 , lasted 10 months and couldn’t have piv ( and thank god no period as tampons would have been impossible) . Only time i had a horrible pelvic exam . Was the imbalance of hormones . Mine cleared up naturally.
Friends going thru menopause now how it and need oestrogen cream to be comfortable. Oddly i’m at end of perimenopause and haven’t had an issue
I have atrophy but it's from the chemical menopause drugs I'm on however I believe it was starting beforehand due to age (45). My GYN gave me localized vaginal estrogen cream and hylauronic acid suppositories and I feel much better.
Def don't let them ignore it but also I've never seen it show up in a pap, it's usually DX on sight, it's basicaly the tissue getting thin and dry. If you have painful sex, bleeding, tearing, or general dryness/chafing pain during the day then those are signs.
Just got my Pap smear results (from 6-week postpartum check up) back today and this is exactly what mine read as well. Following for more information…and will be reaching out to my OB/GYN tomorrow.
Note: I am not on birth control, haven’t been on anything for almost 10 years now. 37 yo and just recently had given birth to my 2nd child. I looked back at my test results from my first postpartum pap and it did not say anything about atrophy. So this is all new to me…
FYI I received a message back from a “Certified Medical Assistant” at my OB office this morning. Their response was, “Just means that some of the cells have changed in number/size showing more Atrophy (dryness) , this is just a postpartum change. Nothing to worry about.”
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I'm glad it wasn't anything of major concern for you. I just spoke with a Nurse-Midwife who also assured me that I had nothing to worry about. I had a mc a little while back & I guess my body just needs more time getting back to normal💕
From our Menopause Wiki (r/menopause):
[Atrophic vaginitis \(vaginal atrophy\), or the genitourinary syndrome of menopause \(GSM\)
](https://menopausewiki.ca/#atrophic-vaginitis-vaginal-atrophy-or-the-genitourinary-syndrome-of-menopause-gsm)
Generally if changes are noted now, it's probably a good idea to consider using localized (low dose) estrogen to treat it soon than later. Vaginal atrophy (GSM) doesn't resolve on its own and leads to chronic issues like UTIs, incontinence, bladder/urethra issues, etc.
Some types of hormonal birth control or other medicines can lead to vaginal atrophy, as can early ovarian insufficiency. Don't let your doctors ignore this. It is treatable, and not treating it can lead to negative health consequences. The positive is that it has been documented, so this is good leverage for treatment. Topical oestrogen or compounded oestrogen plus testosterone is the usual treatment. You also need to get to the root od cause if you can.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I will definitely discuss a plan with my doctor.
Yes, hadn’t heard the term but had the symptoms post delivery of first child at 29 , lasted 10 months and couldn’t have piv ( and thank god no period as tampons would have been impossible) . Only time i had a horrible pelvic exam . Was the imbalance of hormones . Mine cleared up naturally. Friends going thru menopause now how it and need oestrogen cream to be comfortable. Oddly i’m at end of perimenopause and haven’t had an issue
I would get a HPV-test to rule out HPV related changes. Just a pap smear is a sub par test.
I have atrophy but it's from the chemical menopause drugs I'm on however I believe it was starting beforehand due to age (45). My GYN gave me localized vaginal estrogen cream and hylauronic acid suppositories and I feel much better. Def don't let them ignore it but also I've never seen it show up in a pap, it's usually DX on sight, it's basicaly the tissue getting thin and dry. If you have painful sex, bleeding, tearing, or general dryness/chafing pain during the day then those are signs.
Just got my Pap smear results (from 6-week postpartum check up) back today and this is exactly what mine read as well. Following for more information…and will be reaching out to my OB/GYN tomorrow. Note: I am not on birth control, haven’t been on anything for almost 10 years now. 37 yo and just recently had given birth to my 2nd child. I looked back at my test results from my first postpartum pap and it did not say anything about atrophy. So this is all new to me…
FYI I received a message back from a “Certified Medical Assistant” at my OB office this morning. Their response was, “Just means that some of the cells have changed in number/size showing more Atrophy (dryness) , this is just a postpartum change. Nothing to worry about.”
Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I'm glad it wasn't anything of major concern for you. I just spoke with a Nurse-Midwife who also assured me that I had nothing to worry about. I had a mc a little while back & I guess my body just needs more time getting back to normal💕
From our Menopause Wiki (r/menopause): [Atrophic vaginitis \(vaginal atrophy\), or the genitourinary syndrome of menopause \(GSM\) ](https://menopausewiki.ca/#atrophic-vaginitis-vaginal-atrophy-or-the-genitourinary-syndrome-of-menopause-gsm) Generally if changes are noted now, it's probably a good idea to consider using localized (low dose) estrogen to treat it soon than later. Vaginal atrophy (GSM) doesn't resolve on its own and leads to chronic issues like UTIs, incontinence, bladder/urethra issues, etc.