It’s hard to believe that something as seemingly insignificant as your reproductive hormone levels can have such a profound effect on your vaginal and urinary health. But as any postpartum or postmenopausal woman can attest, declining estrogen levels — whether temporary or progressive — can have a major impact on your daily life.
That’s because estrogen does far more than regulate your menstrual cycle and help ensure your fertility: It also plays a vital role in maintaining healthy vaginal and urethral tissues.
Our co-founder and medical director Dr. Peter Weiss is the resident vaginal rejuvenation specialist here at Rodeo Drive Women’s Health Center in Beverly Hills, California. As one of only three national physician trainers for MonaLisa Touch® laser therapy, Dr. Weiss is a nationally renowned vaginal health expert who teaches other doctors how to use MonaLisa Touch.
If you suffer from vaginal dryness and other hormone-related issues, read on to find out how MonaLisa Touch can help restore normal vaginal elasticity, moisture, and function in just three quick sessions.
Your estrogen levels start to drop sometime in your late thirties or early forties, long before you’ve given menopause much thought. As the process accelerates through your forties, your period will probably become lighter, shorter, and less frequent. You’ve officially hit menopause about a year after your cycle stops altogether.
Although menopause is often associated with outward symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, and mood changes, lower estrogen levels can also have a profound effect on your vaginal and urethral tissues, causing them to become weaker and less balanced than they were before.
That’s why many menopausal women also experience chronic vaginal dryness, pain during intercourse, urinary incontinence, and other vaginal and urinary problems that can make daily life uncomfortable.
Menopause isn’t the only time in a woman’s life when shifting estrogen levels can cause these bothersome symptoms, however.
Younger women may also be affected by long-standing vaginal dryness and other hormone-related symptoms following childbirth or while breastfeeding. Estrogen levels can also be diminished by chronic stress, smoking, excessive drinking, certain medications, and cancer treatment.
In the past, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was the go-to treatment used to address the effects of low estrogen. Although HRT can be beneficial, it’s a short-term measure that isn’t safe for everyone, including younger women and women with certain health histories.
Fortunately, advances in therapeutic laser technology have made HRT far less relevant when it comes to addressing the problems that can affect your vaginal and urinary health.
MonaLisa Touch uses fractional CO2 laser technology to safely and effectively treat vaginal atrophy and prevent its aftereffects, so you no longer have to resort to HRT or rely on messy lubricants to deal with vaginal dryness.
MonaLisa Touch can address:
The laser works by making microscopic injuries in the tissues that line your vaginal canal, which triggers your body’s natural healing response. As the cells in the treatment area reawaken over time, they begin restoring the normal elements of healthy vaginal tissue, including collagen, glycogen, and hyaluronic acid.
These cellular-level changes cause your vaginal tissues to plump up, become more hydrated, and restore normal pH levels to promote the return of healthy bacteria.
At Rodeo Drive Women’s Health Center, we’ve successfully used MonaLisa Touch laser therapy to help countless women living with the bothersome effects of low estrogen levels.
The treatment itself is a painless in-office procedure that takes less than five minutes. When the laser is eased into your vagina on a sender probe, it emits gentle pulses of energy into the vaginal wall that revitalize the mucosa and stimulate collagen renewal.
Although most women see noticeable results following the first treatment, the average woman needs three treatments for complete results. Each treatment is spaced six weeks apart to give your body’s healing mechanisms enough time to rejuvenate the vaginal tissues.
MonaLisa Touch laser therapy has a 90% success rate when it comes to addressing vaginal atrophy, which means that about nine in 10 women experience fully-restored vaginal function after just three treatments sessions.
To discuss MonaLisa Touch treatment with Dr. Weiss or one of our other OB/GYNs, call our office or book your appointment using the online scheduling tool.
