"Your vagina isn't broken," my gynecologist said gently.
"What you're experiencing has a name. It's called GSM — Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. And yes — it's treatable."
She grabbed a paper from her desk and started drawing.
"Look. With oestrogen, your vaginal tissue is moist, elastic, comfortable. Everything works in harmony."
She drew a line down the middle.
"Without oestrogen — after menopause — that same tissue becomes dry, thin, irritated. The rubber band loses its stretch. Your body's natural moisturiser disappears. And your microbiome? Completely disrupted. And when your microbiome is disrupted, your pH shifts — and that's when the odour starts."
"Wait," I interrupted. "So this isn't just dryness. There's an actual breakdown happening in the tissue itself — and that's also causing the smell?"
"Exactly." She smiled and circled the word GSM in pink. "Most women think they just have to live with it. They don't."