28 year old, loss of vaginal moisture

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-19-2008
28 year old, loss of vaginal moisture
11
Fri, 09-19-2008 - 12:20am
I sure hope someone can help me! THis is something that has become very upsetting to me. I had the flu about 7 months ago, which during I noticed severe vaginal dryness (no moisture pretty much at all). I also can't get moisture even when being aroused. I ignored it at first thinking that things would go back to normal after a while not being sick but they still haven't. My gyno can't give me any answer, she says I seem completely healthy and doesn't know the reason, almost dismisses me. I feel like this could be a symptom of something bad being wrong with me that just hasn't been caught yet. I've never had this problm before. It's very uncomfortable and plus it is now causing problems in my relationship because I feel unwomanly because I have no moisture and don't want to ever have sex. Help! Please does anyone have an answer or experienced this before? :(


Edited 9/19/2008 12:22 am ET by neelc6


Edited 9/19/2008 12:24 am ET by neelc6

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2006
Fri, 09-19-2008 - 11:03pm

Hi there, welcome to the board.

Are you on any hormonal contraceptives? This is a common culprit of vaginal dryness in women. If so, you may need a change.

Vaginal dryness is quite often caused by low estrogen levels. Estrogen helps to keep the vaginal tissue supple. You could try taking Vitamin E supplements, which will also help the vaginal tissue. Make sure you are getting plenty of water.

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-19-2008
Sat, 09-20-2008 - 12:43am

Hi,


No, I'm not on birth control and my estrogen levels have been checked and everything is normal. It started when I developed the flu, this is when I first noticed it. It's just so frustrating not knowing the reason for the change!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2006
Tue, 09-23-2008 - 5:09am
Did you take any medications while you had the flu? Are you drinking enough water? Things that dehydrate your body like high salt intake or caffeine can also cause dryness. What about your sex drive? Noticed a decrease, or have you noticed any drop in attraction to your boyfriend?

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-19-2008
Tue, 09-23-2008 - 2:43pm

My sex drive hasn't changed. Just don't try to have sex as much because I am annoyed and feel like a freak because I no longer have vaginal moisture. It's embarassing to me. It's not just lubrication during sex, my vagina is dry all the time. Like, at the end of the day, my underwear are still completely clean. The doctor has no explanation.


I did take 1 days worth of a flu medication, until it made me more nauseus and discontinued. It was over 6 months ago though, I would think things would have returned to normal by now?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2006
Wed, 09-24-2008 - 6:31pm

Things like evening primrose oil, Benadryl (weird, huh), and Vitamin E can help to increase your vaginal moisture, and normal cervical fluid, so you might want to try these. Also, there are products out there designed to help relieve dryness during the day, which are made from natural ingredients, so aren't chemical based like KY or Astroglide lubricants, so you might want to give those a go as well.

Try a low dose capsule of evening primrose oil first. If you do have a hormone imbalance, it can trigger your estrogen levels to go up while you're taking it. I found with it that my sex drive went through the roof! Definitely helped the cervical fluid build back up as well, sinc estrogen is a necessary component of that.

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-19-2008
Wed, 09-24-2008 - 9:08pm
thanks! I will try the evening primrose for sure. I know I don't have a hormonal balance, my doc checked that first and said everything was in normal range. That's one reason it's so frustrating, just not knowing the reason for it. I've never had the problem before and everything I read only talks about women with menopausal symptoms and low estrogen. any other ideas are greatly appreciated!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2006
Wed, 09-24-2008 - 9:21pm

The problem with hormones is that you can have estrogen on the low end of the "normal" range, and progesterone at the high end of its "normal" range (or the opposite case, for instance), and for some women that can be enough to cause an imbalance, even if on paper things appear to be normal. Some women are simply that sensitive to hormonal changes.

Example: My mother has been gaining weight for years, and she was unable to lose it, no matter what she did. Last year she was finally diagnosed as having hypothyroidism. Apparently her levels had been on the low side for years, but still just within "normal" range, so none of her doctors mentioned it, but that was enough to cause her a heap of problems that went undiagnosed. Now she's on medication, she has dropped a lot of weight without much effort, she's not at tired as she used to be, and as Dad puts it, she has her sense of humour back.

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-19-2008
Wed, 09-24-2008 - 10:11pm

well thats great. it's sad that doctors overlook at lot of things! i told mine that things aren't right...I know my own body! she just looked at me like i'm some kind of hypochondriac or something. It's very frustrating.


what kind of specialist would i see to check my estrogen/thyroid levels more specifically? i feel like my obgyn only cares about delivering babies and not dealing with these type of issues.


on my bloodwork, they checked my estradiol, which as 93 pg/ml. which on the diagraph is described as the high end of early follicular phase. not sure what that is, isn't that just where i am in my cycle? and then the follicle stim hormone is 4.3 miu/ml. not sure what this means. all my doctor

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2006
Wed, 09-24-2008 - 10:56pm

A reproductive endocrinologist is the best specialist for hormone issues. It may be that you don't have any hormone issues, but I'm just pointing out that for some women even just a slight imbalance between hormones, even if it individually they are within "normal" range, can cause some problems. You might want to see if you can find a reproductive endocrinologist that will look at your bloodwork results and give you their opinion, or at least explain it to you a bit better.

Another thing is that a naturopath might be able to work with you to come up with natural solutions to your vaginal dryness, so that's another thing to consider :-).

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-19-2008
Wed, 09-24-2008 - 11:28pm

I've never heard of a naturopath

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