“I suffer from three different severe issues that fall in the...”
I suffer from three different severe issues that fall in the "uro-genital" area of menopause symptoms. This is an area of menopause that is awkward to discuss, but extremely important to understand. The entire pelvic region is very estrogen-needy, and all kinds of severe issues can occur when estrogen levels fall. Women can become incontinent as the bladder weakens due to low estrogen. The vagina and vulva can atrophy and shrink up, causing severe pain, irritation, inability to tolerate sex, etc. Some women experience such severe atrophy that they get tiny cuts in their skin from everyday activities like wearing underwear. If you are a man reading this, how would you feel if you watched your penis slowly shrink can shrivel up and become painful on any type of contact.
Throughout my struggles with uro-genital menopause issues, I tried various FDA-approved approved options. However, there is a major flaw in most FDA-approved options to treat uro-genital symptoms: they often contain unnecessary inactive ingredients that cause severe irritation of these very sensitive areas of the body. After trying multiple FDA-approved options that caused severe irritation, my doctor finally suggested that we try a custom-compounded cream that might cause less irritation. Thankfully, the versa-base cream was indeed the magic solution for me- no irritation! However, I am now very concerned about whether or not this option may be taken away from me. I have seen that the FDA may consider an exception for allergies, but how does one know if I will fit into your definition of an allergy? The specifics of such a caveat will affect hundreds of thousands of women like myself. Without my custom-compounded cream, my uro-gential symptoms were on track for incontinence, inability to have sex (thus also impacting my husband) and potentially needing to retire early due to severe pain from the atrophy as my skin gets so thin that it tears upon contact. Thankfully, I am now stable, but I am extremely concerned that I will no longer be able to access my low-dose cream in the custom base I need.
I hope you will consider my story. I also hope you will consider that there are other FDA-approved HRT options that fail women for one reason or another. I know many women who have turned to compounded bioidentical hormone therapy (CBHRT) because FDA-approved options did not work for them or caused various reactions and side effects. It is not accurate to assume that women can be well-served by the current FDA-approved options alone. Also keep in mind that women are further limited by whatever choices their insurance company might cover. CBHRT serves millions of women for various reasons, and placing restrictions on access to CBHRT would be devastating to the quality of life for millions of women.
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