S3 Ep146: I’m Using Vaginal Estrogen but Sex Still Hurts Like Hell

It’s a common scenario. A woman is given a prescription for a local vaginal estrogen, or DHEA and uses it faithfully but continues to have painful intercourse. In most cases, the product is working just fine and there is another reason for the pain.  

In this segment Dr. Streicher discusses:

The TOP 5 REASONS women have pain despite using estrogen
Why a WRONG DIAGNOSIS might be the problem
The importance of treating the VESTIBULE (the opening) of the vagina
Why a painful, tight PELVIC FLOOR might be the problem
The role of PELVIC FLOOR PHYSICAL THERAPY 

VAGINAL DILATORS- What they are, how they help, and how to use them. 



Soul Source Dilators
https://www.soulsource.com/

How to Find a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist

Pelvic Floor Physical therapists trained by Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute www.pelvicrehab.com 

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Section on Women’s Health www.aptapelvichealth.org/ptlocator 


For further information:
Episode 3: What's Up Down There? Genital Dryness & Misbehaving Bladders
Episode 4: Is Your Lubricant Helping or Hurting Your Vagina?
Episode 5: Vaginal Estrogen- Rings, Creams, and Other Things 
Episode 11: Vaginal Estrogen is Not Poison
Episode 63 DHEA-An Estrogen Alternative for Vaginal Dryness 
Episode 83 Get the Biggest Benefit from Vaginal Creams, Rings and Other Things
Episode 130- Are You Ever Done with Menopause? 


The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy
Episode 1: Is It Menopause or Some Other Pause?
Episode 23: Welcome to Peri-menopause

Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and the medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause. She is a certified menopause practitioner of the North American Menopause Society. 

Dr. Streicher is the medical correspondent for Chicago’s top-rated news program, the WGN Morning News, and has been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, Dr. Radio, Nightline, Fox and Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, NBCNightlyNews,20/20, and World News Tonight. She is an expert source for many magazines and serves on the medical advisory board of The Kinsey Institute, Self Magazine, and Prevention Magazine. She writes a regular column for The Ethel by AARP and Prevention Magazine. 
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Books by Lauren Streicher, MD

 Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist’s guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain

Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat

Sex Rx- Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever

The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy