I discovered Activia myself even tho I am lactose intolerant. I take the pills in morning by Equate(Wal Mart) that are about same as Lactaid, I had tried the other 1 can't remember what it is called but it didn't help at all. I was taking lot of meds for headaches & my stomach has always been touchy(like my dad's).I had taken a number of probiotics from health food stores but I think when it is in a pill it is probably dead as never helped. Activia got rid of my hurting stomach in about 2 weeks taking 2 a day. Easy as I liked most of the flavors. It was advertised for stomach problems back then & later changed to sound more like a laxative! Now I think they say it makes "you feel better" (somebody probably sued) I had looked up what could be wrong & it sounded like I was getting where my intestines couldn't handle food any more. As with anything some things work for some & other things for others. Otherwise 1 antibiotic would be all that was needed for everybody. Our 98 or so elements seem to be slightly different in each person making it where each person needs meds just for them. Mom got her 1st UTI from them putting in catheter & leaving it in too long, that really set her on bad course. About 80% of meds act against her so it is difficult when she has to change something. Hope she does better after getting pacemaker after dr. gets back from vacation. Jan

I think it's prudent to be concerned and extra-vigilant, but so far indications are (it's only been on the market a couple years) that this drug (or, rather, its very low dose) does not, in fact, affect things much beyond the vagina and local urinary tract. This particular form of estrogen supplementation is getting favorable reviews from users just because it allows them to maintain very low (if any) levels of systemic hormone use while addressing local symptoms very effectively. If you like the idea, giving it a trial of several months to see if it a) relieves your symptoms or b) causes a recurrence of the hyperplasia might be a reasonable plan.

wow, this is unbelievable! I was looking for help finding some form of natural or herbal HRT. I am 54, done with all the horrible symptoms that come with the end of periods. I have Crohn's disease and had surgery to remove the last of my colon last September. Since my surgery I dehydrate very easily, my skin is very dry and I drink mostly water and lots of it. I thought all of this was the cause of the dryness problem with my vaginal area internally and externally. I am married and sex has become so painful and sometimes not even possible. My GYN put me on Premarin creme and I do not always remember to use it right before bed, every other night. I know you would think I would remember THAT right? The problem is 1st I am kinda scared of the whole "hormone treatment" thing because of cancer. My immune system is practically non-exsistent. 2ndly my Crohn's keeps me busy with medicating myself to prevent constant diarrhea, bloating, etc. The wrong combination of prevention meds or the wrong diet choice and I am constipated and bloated or having to run to the bathroom constently. Talk about having too much on your plate...the LAST thing I want or need is for my sex life to be screwed up! My poor Husband has enought to deal with just being married to me all these years. He is Amazing, always supportive, loving, understanding and eqivalent to a private nurse when I am "sick" AGAIN. He deserves some serious consideration, lol. Anyway, I get in this site and see the "vaginal Atrophy" comment and think...could it be? I find out it is NOT just me or my dehydration issues, I am having the same problems you are all. The Premarin creme has softened things up some and sex is sometimes possible but I am going to call my GYN tomorrow and ask about the ESTRING. I have been using moisterizing lotions and cremes on the external vaginal area just to relieve the dry, itchy, painful skin so I can walk and not cry all the time from the misery of it. Seriously. Thank God I stumbled in here, Thank you all for opening up and discussing this issue so I could find out not only What is wrong but maybe What to do about it! And Thank God for the good things the internet makes possible.

Janice, like many others I waited so long to try Rogaine. But I did try it on June 27th. Just a small amount in one spot to see if I had any reactions (the burning and itching) that some people had experienced. All I felt was just a SLIGHT burning. I gathered up my courage and used a full dropper for my evening dose and have been using Rogaine (the 5% extra strength MEN'S forumula) ever since that day. It's been about 14 weeks since I started it, and I *do* see a difference in my hair. Like you, I was scared to see more shedding than I had been going through before I began the treatment. Before using Rogaine I was shedding hair allll day long. I'm looking at my journal now.... hmmm.... okay in the middle of July (about 2-3 weeks after starting the Rogaine I reached a peak shedding incident when I counted 76 hairs that fell out onto the bathroom vanity after I had washed and just fluffed my hair very gently with my fingers. THAT was scary, but I decided to keep up the routine with the Rogaine. It took a lot of faith to do that, but then about a week later only 36 fell out after a shampoo. On Aug. 23 there were only SIXTEEN hairs that fell out. Now I have about that many shedding hairs, sometimes much less. I figured an AVERAGE is just that... some days I am going to have more and some days less, but I would say on average it is less than 16 a day, sometimes I see only 5 or 6 fall out! Wheeeeeeeee!!!! I am thrilled with what the Rogaine has done for me. I have little hairs, about an inch or two long over much of the crown of my head now. The other day I even got a compliment on my hair. Not only does it look thicker, it feels thicker, too. Just a couple more things... I had been under a very big amount of stress the last few years. I first noticed the hair loss after having surgery and having to wait for the biopsy results, negative, thank God, but the hair thinning sent me to the dermatologist, who diagnosed me as having telogen effluvium (TE). I waited and watched some regrowth, but then I had to deal with marital problems. Every time I made some progress, something seemed to set me back. I begain seeing a marriage counselor (by myself...husband refuses to go). Just talking to her reduced my stress levels enormously. i highly recommend this option to others who feel that stress is contributing to your hair loss. This has been long, but I hope it has given you some guidance in making your decision as to use Rogaine or not. I know that there were times that I was really frightened by the initial shedding, but I just kept using that great stuff twice a day. :-) take care... daisy