Didn't find vagifem very effective for me in dealing with recurrent UTIs, dryness, itching and painful intercourse. After consultation with my doctor decided to try estring. Found it easy enough to insert using a lubricant to help. I don't notice it once in place. This is just the first week so jury still out on effectiveness. There does seem to be some slight improvement and hoping effectiveness will increase further over time. Good to be able to insert and forget about it. I also like the idea that it's a more consistent dose rather than using gels or creams etc every couple of days
I have read many reviews of the Estring stating that it’s big, and uncomfortable ect.. I do Not agree at all. I feel those ladies are not properly pushing Estring up to the cervix, and then you need to flatten it out, so that it snaps around the cervix. It was so easy, and most importantly sex no longer hurts. My hooha was so dry, that I had to wet my toilet paper with water whenever I wiped. It was awful! It also works as a pessary for uterus prolapse! Love Estring so much!
Took over a year to reach my new normal. I am healthier without the low grade urinary tract infections. Penetration is fine with slow movements and expensive lubricants. It's worth it. I'm 71 and having excellent sex with a healthy body. But it is too expensive!
Easy to insert, but impossible to remove, goes so far up it is impossible to loop finger to remove, needs new design with some sort of tab or a tool to insert to remove it, have done all tips, used lubricant, lift one leg, nothing works! Also price is exorbitant, has doubled in price and now is $200, not acceptable, at least to me.
I couldn’t insert it since it was big and hard my gyn put it in worked well for 3 yrs but then wound up with a serious UTI 3 times in one year .had to discontinue use and wound up in the hospital. Why is it so big it irritated my bladder.
A few years ago I kept regularly getting urinary tract symptoms, dryness and irritation around the urethra. I kept going to my gyn to get help thinking I needed to be treated for a UTI. My gyn would test for the UTI each time but I did't have one. Finally the gyn prescribed an Estring, it gave me total relief and relieved the dryness around my urethra. I didn't need it for sexual intercourse, KY Gel takes care of that. Since I've gone on Medicare it isn't covered and I would have to pay for the Estring out of pocket. It's so expensive, about $600, I can't afford it. Medicare doesn't cover it because it's considered a med to improve sexual intercourse. Well I don't need it for that at all. It really angers me that Medicare would deprive post menopausal women this medication for the successful treatment of this UTI symptom relief.
The only complaint that I have is the cost. However, as long as you don't have government provided insurance, go to estring.com and get their manufacturer coupon. I only had to pay $45 with this coupon.
I suffered for years with a horrible feeling of having to void. When I would use the bathroom more often than not only a few drops would come. My gyn suggested estring. It has been effective along with increasing my water intake, my only complaint would be that I am unable to insert or remove it, necessitating a trip to the doctor's office every 3 months. Why hasn't anyone redesigned this product so that older women with large abdomens would not have to travel back and forth to the doctor's office. They made tampons with applicators, why not an estring..PLEASE . Any suggestions ladies. tying dental floss on it as one lady suggested, great idea, but what can be used as a make-shift applicator???
I am on my 3rd ring. It has cleared up the unpleasant symptoms of vaginal atrophy. The one complaint I have is getting the ring out. Putting it in is fine but I have a hard time getting the darn thing out. Is there any way of putting some kind of string to help pull it down and slip your finger in to get it out. Surely I am not the only one with this problem. No partner either so I'm on my own here.
I agreed to try it. It was too large and too rigid. Women, like men, are not all the same size or shape. Whoever designed this - probably a man - needs to go back to the drawing board and use different thinner material (more flexible) for the ring and it needs to come in different sizes. I was able to insert it into position but would go no further. I can see where it might also push out in some women. Just another contraption designed to cause harm and discomfort for women. I cannot recommend anything so hard and foreign.
After menopause, had vaginal atrophy to the extent that sex was incredibly painful (think sandpaper). Lube didn't help. My GYN suggested this -- I didn't want HRT or hormone therapy, but as this is very localized estrogen I agreed to try it. I've been using it for almost two years and once again have an active sex life, which is delightful. I'm used to using a menstrual cup, so inserting it isn't a challenge. For me, it does take a while for each new ring to kick in, so to speak, and it seems more effective towards the end of its three months. As an experiment, since it's so expensive, I've left the current ring in for an extra month and have not had any problems with dryness or pain yet.
I have benefited from using it and has helped me not being sore, and my sex life.I think it is challenging to put it in and take it out.I used to have my husband take it out as I couldn't but he passed recently,but my gyno,said use dental floss and tie it on it and I can do it myself and it works for me ,so try it.
I wanted to like this. When I saw it for the first time I was dubious - it is big and hard. I tried to insert at home and it felt terrible so went to my MD to help. I wore it for a few hours hoping my body would adjust but the discomfort was so bad. Realized it was slipping and tried to force back. Read other reviews - great many benefit - seems for others theres a lot of discomfort. Not going through that. I chucked it.
The Estring vaginal ring has been a lifesaver. It makes me feel normal again in terms of dryness and irritation. My experience with insurance however, has been dismal. My new insurance carrier Cigna + Oscar will NOT cover it, leaving me with with a $550-$700+ cost every 90 days to use this product. I can't afford that, so I went looking for an alternative source. I was able to find it at Canadian Prescription Drugstore (I'm in the U.S.). My primary care physician emailed them a prescription, and I'm able to purchase it online for $89.02 every 90 days. A huge improvement over U.S. pricing.
Estring is similar to NuvaRing bc. It was easy to insert and treated my symptoms which were inflammation, dryness, atrophy, and urinary incontinence. Sexy dysfunction is noticeably less too.
I’ve had my ring in for a week. Other than cramping, which may also be indicative of an incoming period, (they are irregular, about every two weeks). I found insertion easy! Bend in half and put it in, all the way to the top! I don’t feel it in there. My husband said it feels weird with intercourse but instructions say I can take it out each time, if needed. I also read that it can take 2-3 weeks to see changes so I’ll update if things go south!
I've been using this for years and it seems to me that they vary a lot in effectiveness. One time it works for the three months, another time, an almost new one doesn't have much effectiveness on the hot flashes. Wonder about their product manufacturing and consistency. Otherwise, have no problems with it.
Imagine putting a frisbee in your vagina and that's what you get with an Estring. It's very hard to insert and in my case impossible to remove. Since I've been using it, I've had cramping and itching. And now the burning is back along with urinary frequency. I can't wait to have this miniature spaceship removed. I'm glad it works for some women, but for me it's a nightmare. I don't know who designed the Estring but my guess is it wasn't a woman. On top of the high cost of the Estring, some of us will have to pay a doctor's fee to have it removed. Here's a recap for those of you on the fence. Estring is large and hard to insert. Estring is expensive and so is a visit to the doctor to have it inserted, if you can't do it yourself, and removed. That means two medical visits each time you use it on top of the high cost for the "ring." It's a bad deal all around for women and I haven't even mentioned the scary side effects. Nope! Not for me.
Estring worked quickly to increase vaginal moisture. I would like to continue using it, but it is very inconvenient and difficult. The manufacturer says that it is very rare for the ring to fall out. I cannot keep it in! I’ve pushed it as far back as I can, but it quickly moves back down. I have to push it back up almost every time I go to the bathroom. This is so unsanitary. The last one actually did fall out into the toilet about 2 weeks before I should have had to renew it. I renewed it anyway because I don’t know what good alternatives there are. It’s extremely expensive and obviously there are flaws in the design and in the education process for patients. Maybe it just doesn’t fit well in some patients, but why do we have to pay to find out. And what can we do to alleviate problems?
Used to prevent urinary infections worked really well. A bit uncomfortable to position and take out but once inserted you don't feel it in place.