Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is a common treatment for breast cancer and other endocrine diseases, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). However, when treating these diseases, hormone therapy can have side effects that affect the person’s sex organs and cause vulvar pain.
Hormones are chemicals produced by the endocrine system that promotes normal growth in sex organs. The ovaries produce most hormones in women, including estrogen and progesterone. However, as women age, they naturally produce less estrogen and progesterone than they did when they were younger.
This typically leads to menopause, but if a woman has her ovaries removed before menopause occurs naturally, she can experience sudden changes in her levels of hormones. This is because the ovaries help regulate hormone production in the body; when they are removed, the levels of hormones plummet.
Hormone therapy replaces estrogen and progesterone in women who have had their ovaries removed. While it can be effective at treating certain disorders, it also causes side effects that include vulvar pain. In addition, since hormone replacement therapy essentially replaces what would normally be made by a woman’s body, it can sometimes cause an excess of growth or sensitivity in sex organs.
In this case, increased sensitivity in the vulva may lead to pain or a burning sensation when passing urine, which is why many women report experiencing vulvar pain after starting hormone replacement therapy.
