22 Comments

Thank you. This is helpful. If a person is on low-dose estrogen vaginal cream can they also use a moisturizer? My gyn doesn’t think it’s necessary, but my ladybits feel otherwise.

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We don't have data whether one wold interfere with the other, but you can certainly try and see if you feel better. Not all vaginal estrogen products work for everyone, and I will be covering that in another post.

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Thank you ❤️🙏❤️

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Use at a different time of day

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First, I love your news letter!!! Thanks for being a voice of reason.

Second, as an OB/GYN who serves a very poor population of women, these products are all out of reach. I find the best results and the best uptake with extra virgin coconut oil both as moisturizer and lube (if not using condoms of course). thanks

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Some people find vegetable oils work, but not everyone does. I will be addressing oil based products including vegetable oils in another post.

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I can afford them, but was irritated by the ones I tried. Menopause 20 years ago, hysterectomy at 38. Coconut oil also caused irritation. Sought medical advice, and doctor had me try plain old vegetable oil. Works and no irritation, reasonably priced. Admittedly, I’m not sexually active any longer, so no worry about condoms.

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I'm not experiencing vaginal dryness from menopause, but I use Nuvaring continuously (for PMDD) and find that it irritates my vagina and makes sex painful, especially when I've been exercising (I guess it moves around a bit). Would a vaginal moisturizer potentially help with this? I don't really have a better hormonal option at this point because BCPs make me nauseated.

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Some journals (not sure reputability?) list Hyalo Gyn having a high osmolality, along with Replens. Should we worry about this— or is that even accurate? Hard to find a product with good ph and osmolality (the Good Clean Love sounds like it is the only with both?).

Replens did work for me, but wanted to try suppository and the HA, so tried Revaree, which worked for a month, but then my vagina felt like it was going to burn away —eek.

Also, as someone who uses condoms, it looks like the Hyaluronic acid suppositories aren’t compatible, correct? Same with silicone dilators? Thx for your expertise! So hard to figure all of this out;)

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Hi Dr. Gunter, new subscriber here! Slightly off topic, but you mentioned Bonafide in this article and I was curious to know more. I'm a sex therapist and sometimes have clients that are checking out supplements to help with lowered desire and difficulty with orgasm due to SSRI use. I've heard of many supplements including Bonafide's Ristela and Olly's Lovin' Libido (primarily maca and ashwaganda). It's out of my scope of practice to recommend supplements as a mental health professional, and at the same time I try to stay informed about the medical world since a lot of my patients are seeking concurrent medical treatment. Any thoughts about these supplements? Are there any that have good evidence? I checked out the studies for Ristela and they all seem to be sponsored by the company that sells it...never a good sign... Thank you so much for any thoughts you can provide!

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Every supplement for libido has weak evidence at best, and the placebo effect is clearly a concern. As most of these studies are lower in quality, and as you said many sponsored by the manufacturer, there is a concern. I'll take a look as the Ristela product and let you know what I think.

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I’m backtracking to this Ristela comment and wondering if you have found any information on it worth sharing.

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Thank you, excited to hear what you think. The studies I was able to find didn't seem very strong but curious about your opinion. The samples did not seem terribly representative, and were fairly small.

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What about Feel Amazing from Menopause Chicks/intimate well being?

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What about Via made by SolvWellness? I’m on oral Premarin 0.625mg (total hysterectomy at age 38. I am now 71). I have no problem with lubrication and am sexually active/monogamous.

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Having a hard time finding Hyalo gyn in Canada. My doctor thinks I should stop using Vagifem so will need a product for dryness. Your articles do not mention Gynatrof . Would it be a suitable sub for the Hyalo?

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Thank you Dr. Gunter. You mention Replens in the article but don't list it with the others. I kind of like Replens. Is it not a good product to use? I'll look for Good Clean Love to try. I just use Replens as a topical since I don't want to chance interference with the estro tabs I use. Thank you.

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Thank you Dr. Gunter. You mention Replens in the article but don't list it with the others. I kind of like Replens. Is it not a good product to use? I'll look for Good Clean Love to try. I just use Replens as a topical since I don't want to chance interference with the estro tabs I use. Thank you.

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I have been waiting 3 months to see my OBGYN and my appointment just got pushed to January. I really, really appreciate the safe OTC options you've gone to the trouble to find. I'm hoping one of them helps until I can get HRT.

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Having a hard time getting Hyalo Gyn and Revaree in Canada, but keep coming across RepaGyn, is this product ok?

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RepaGyn is hyaluronic acid, but the website says it also contains tea tree oil, which can be irritating for a lot of people. Just an FYI.

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Thank you so much, appreciate it.

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