6d ago
Right. I've got an appointment in two weeks and I am not doing what I always do, which is sit in that chair and say "oh everything's fine" because I go blank the moment the GP looks at me. So I've started a notes page on my phone. Private symptoms I would normally skip because I'd rather discuss literally anything else. The dryness. The fact that intimacy has felt completely different for the last year or so and I haven't said that out loud to anyone, including my husband. The UTI-type feelings that come and go even when there's no infection. The way I've just quietly started avoiding situations because of it. I read something on here recently about someone writing down the actual words they wanted to use, because in the moment your brain just goes offline. I'm doing that. I've written "vaginal dryness" and "discomfort during sex" on my notes app and honestly it felt strange just typing it, which tells you everything about why I've been putting this off for eighteen months. I'm also going to ask about local oestrogen specifically because I've seen it mentioned a few times in this room and I want to know if it's something my GP would even consider. I don't know enough yet. I'm not going in with demands, just questions. The list so far: dryness and what's causing it, the UTI symptoms, whether there are options beyond lubricants, and honestly just whether any of this is normal because nobody told me this was coming. If anyone has asked their GP about GSM symptoms and has any idea what language actually landed, I'd genuinely love to know. Not looking for advice, just... solidarity I suppose. x