Menopausal Women Find Help for Painful Intercourse

September marks the start of a new season and it’s important for another reason: Menopause Awareness Month. When women enter menopause, they experience many physical changes – some like hot flashes and night sweats are widely known and are easier to discuss.

Yet, other changes are harder to talk about.Linda Williams 71, experienced painful sex due to menopause. Yet she was unaware that her experience was actually a medical condition called vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA). After menopause, hormonal changes can lead to physical changes to the vagina, including loss of vaginal tissue, loss of lubrication and loss of flexibility.

About 50 percent of postmenopausal women suffer from VVA, which can lead to symptoms like dryness, irritation, painful urination, and painful sex. While lubricants temporarily relieve pain with sex, they don’t treat the underlying cause.Painful sex due to menopause can be a difficult and awkward topic to discuss with partners, friends or healthcare providers.
"I don’t think women are comfortable talking about their symptoms which is unfortunate because painful sex due to menopause isn’t an inevitable part of aging," said Linda.Linda’s nurse practitioner prescribed INTRAROSA® (prasterone), vaginal inserts for moderate to severe painful sex due to menopause.

Prescription treatments such as INTRAROSA help treat the underlying cause of painful sex after menopause and help relieve pain when taken as directed."Painful sex due to menopause is common and treatable," said Linda’s nurse practitioner, Dr. Lisa Chism DNP, APRN, NCMP, FAANP, Clinical Director, Women’s Wellness Clinic of Karmanos Cancer Institute, and a consultant of AMAG Pharmaceuticals.

"I urge women to talk to their healthcare provider about their symptoms and find a treatment option that is right for them, just like Linda did." Indication INTRAROSA vaginal inserts are a prescription medicine used in women after menopause to treat moderate to severe pain during sexual intercourse caused by changes in and around the vagina that happen with menopause.

Important Safety Information INTRAROSA is contraindicated in women with undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding.Estrogen is a metabolite of prasterone. Use of exogenous estrogen is contraindicated in women with a known or suspected history of breast cancer.

INTRAROSA has not been studied in women with a history of breast cancer.In four 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials, the most common adverse reaction with an incidence ?2 percent was vaginal discharge. In one 52-week open-label clinical trial, the most common adverse reactions with an incidence ?2 percent were vaginal discharge and abnormal Pap smear.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see full Prescribing Information.Visit https://us.intrarosa.com for more information about managing VVA.