Premarin vaginal cream

Rapid Genital Atrophy After Stopping Estrogen

 By Dr. Gifford Jones

Would men at any early age like to see their genitals shrink so it’s impossible to have sex? Not likely. But this is happening to large numbers of women. They’ve stopped taking estrogen after news spread that some studies linked this hormone to heart attack, stroke and breast cancer. But no one warned them about “Introital Stenosis”, a shrinkage of vaginal tissues. And few women know the problem is also associated with recurrent urinary infections.

Dr. Murray Freedman, of the Medical College of Georgia in the U.S., recently addressed an international meeting of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. His study involved 300 women who stopped taking estrogen after reading scary headlines about hormone replacement therapy.

He reported that within just 6 to 12 months of discontinuing estrogen 96 percent of women showed evidence of introital stenosis. One of the most frequent complaints was painful sexual intercourse.

Pelvic examination revealed that shying away from sex was not due to a headache. Rather, pelvic examination revealed the vaginal entrance had contracted making penile penetration difficult. The length and diameter of the vagina had also decreased in size. There was also a decrease in vaginal acidity and fewer bacteria to keep the vagina healthy.

Dr. Freedman concluded that shrinkage of the vaginal entrance is more often the cause of sexual pain than senile vaginitis. In this condition the vaginal lining, due to a lack of estrogen, becomes thin and dry as if it’s been rubbed with sandpaper.

Unfortunately, women are reluctant to report sexual discomfort and often doctors fail to ask if they’re experiencing this problem.

There’s another aftermath of attention-getting headlines. Estrogen is also needed to keep the lower part of the urinary bladder and urethra (the tube that carries urine to the outside) healthy. Like the vagina, the lack of estrogen causes degeneration of muscle and connective tissues resulting in a thin urinary lining. This often results in recurrent urinary infections.

So there’s a vital message that headlines fail to mention. That there’s much more to menopause than hot flushes and increased nervous irritability. Moreover, sexual and urinary symptoms often occur long after the hot flushes have gone.

Fortunately, introital stenosis, senile vaginitis and often recurrent urinary infections can be safely prevented and cured by the use of Premarin vaginal cream and other local estrogens.

But today when doctors utter the word “estrogen”, they’re faced immediately with a look of concern on a patient’s face. The usual response is, “But doesn’t estrogen cause breast cancer?”

Women need to be reminded that the Women’s Health Initiative study linking hormones to breast cancer was related to oral estrogen, not the use of local estrogen cream.

Moreover, this was a statistical study and if you have to prove something by statistics it’s usually wrong. Since the report was published in 2002, many world authorities on hormone replacement therapy have pointed out flaws in the study.

Menopausal women have no need to be concerned about the use of local estrogen therapy. No study in the world has shown that the use of Premarin Cream has caused an increase of breast malignancy or any other medical problem. And since it’s been available for 50 years it’s been tested by time. The failure of patients and some doctors to realize this fact has resulted in a huge amount of needless suffering.

A 58-year-old woman who had been unable to enjoy sex for five years recently consulted me. She had tried several vaginal lubricants without success. This is not surprising. Premarin cream increases the thickness of the tissues of the vaginal entrance and wall and lubricants do not.

The insertion of two grams of Premarin cream every other night for two weeks and once a week thereafter quickly cured the trouble. She was reminded to continue the cream once a week to keep the problem from recurring.

My advice to women is to be pro-active with your health. Today doctors are often too rushed to ask pertinent questions. So don’t be embarrassed to tell your doctor if you’re suffering from sexual discomfort or recurrent bladder infections.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of The Harvard Medical School. He’s been a ship’s surgeon, hotel physician and family doctor and later trained in surgery at McGill in Montreal, University of Rochester N.Y. and Harvard. His medical column is published by 60 Canadian newspapers and several in the U.S. He is the author of seven books. Dr. Walker has a medical practice in Toronto. His Web site is: http://www.mydoctor.ca/gifford-jones. He can be reached at

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Dr. Gifford Jones  Bio

Dr. Gifford Jones Most recent columns W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of The Harvard Medical School. He’s been a ship’s surgeon, hotel physician and family doctor and later trained in surgery at McGill in Montreal, University of Rochester N.Y. and Harvard. His medical column is published by 60 Canadian newspapers and several in the U.S. He is the author of seven books. Dr. Walker has a medical practice in Toronto. His Web site is: http://www.mydoctor.ca/gifford-jones. He can be reached at: