it's been done before, but i need help.

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

aunt flo arrived today, just as scheduled, according to the ovulation calendars on both webmd.com & cyclespage.com. this is pretty good news, considering my fiancee and i do not use protection. though one question i have, has anyone else engaged in long-term unprotected sex and never ended up getting pregnant? any idea why that'd happen?

i also found out recently that i have cysts on my ovaries (i posted about it a while ago), so it's making this period even more painful. i'm nearly out of the vicodin i was given for the pain, and before calling to ask for another round of it.. does anyone else have any idea as to what i could to do tone the pain down? nothing i've tried works: asprin, tylenol, ibuprofen, aleve, motrin, midol, heat pads, ice packs, warm baths, massages, etc. any other ideas and/or tips? any vitamins or anything that might help it?

ANY & ALL comments are much appreciated. thanks.

(cross-posted to menstrual hut)

Comments

[willingtofight.livejournal.com]

i had sex 4 - 5 times a week for about a year plus a few months completely unprotected using only the pull out method and never had a pregnancy scare..i most certainly thank my lucky stars for it though, as i can't imagine it would have continued like that for much longer

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

but if you had complete sex and he finished inside you every time, for over a year and half, at least once a day. and you never got pregnant. do you have any idea why that'd happen? other than pure fucking luck.

[willingtofight.livejournal.com]

=/ except for the absolute worst possibility of being infertile, i've got no clue

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

is that possible to happen when you're 18-20 years old?

[tree]

it's possible to be infertile at any age, really, depending on the circumstances. considering that you have cysts on your ovaries, you might be a candidate for PCOS, which can cause difficulty in getting pregnant.

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

these are the symptoms i have of it.

*irregular periods
*cysts on ovaries
*weight gain
*dry skin
*depression
*mood swings
*weird hair growth
*lack of pregnancy with MUCH unprotected sex

[geminigirl]

I'm not a PCOS expert, but there are a couple of things on your list that I know are sometimes associated with PCOS...you might ask your doctor about it.

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

i pretty much match up with most of the stuff i just looked at on webmd.com that is related to pcos .. horrah. who knows.

maybe i'll bring it up next time i go in.thanks.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Other than the cystic ovaries, a lot of these could also be the results of bad nutrition (read: heavy dieting), if you're into such things. I had friends in high school who kept stopping their periods accidentally with fad diets.

Obviously, the symptoms aren't normal and you should *definitely* consult a doctor about them.

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

i usually eat pretty well. i don't diet. but i eat healthy foods. i'm a vegetarian, and i take vitamins and stuff to make sure i get everything i need. i've never stopped my period before. i didn't know if the symptoms were linked or not, or if i'm just incredibly fucked up. i don't really know anymore. i didn't even know what PSOC was until about a week ago.

[serendipity133.livejournal.com]

I had unprotected sex with my ex for almost two years and never even had a scare. I know I'm not infirtile because I just had a kid, and I know he's not because he's gotten a girl pregnant before. No idea why, just lucky I guess. *shrug* So it can happen. Though I get pregnant almost every time my husband and I have unprotected sex.

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

i'm glad we're not the only couple to experience it then. it's not so bad. it's kind of nice actually. but it sort of makes me wonder about things sometimes. thanks for the comment.<3.

[tequilajane.livejournal.com]

Do you want to become pregnant?

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

from my fiancee, i would not mind, no.

[crankygirlie.livejournal.com]

If you're having ovarian cysts, your eggs may not be available as often. Basically, cysts are formed when the ovaries don't poot the egg completely out of the ovaries into the fallopian tubes. Instead, fluid builds up around them. And it hurts. :P

Bottom line, though, is the egg never gets out and becomes available to be fertilized.

So, you may be having reduced fertility while you are continuing to create cysts instead of ovulating completely.

[crankygirlie.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah and also, when I had ovarian cysts I saw my acupuncturist for the pain. She was able to help more than anything else, ever. I drank tea made of thinly sliced ginger root and brown sugar, and that helped a little bit (I originally drank it to help me with pain from the IUD insertion, which it helped a lot for), but really was quite insufficient. Ovarian cysts were one of the most painful things I think I've ever gone through. I was unable to do ANYTHING for almost a full month.

Anyway, yeah, the only thing that really helped me was needling and herbs. I dunno what I'd have done without her. :P

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

how much would an acupuncturist cost? i've never been to one, and i'm not sure if we even have one around here. these cysts ARE just about the worst pain i've experienced - they make it hard to do anything. i'm getting really sick of it. i can't even walk across town without feeling like i'm going to die because they hurt so bad.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

My acupuncturist charges $60 for an hour. How it worked with her was that I went in every week for a few weeks to sort of really get things going, and now she's just having me come in once a month for maintenance. It was difficult for me to afford, but it was very worth it. She also said if I couldn't afford to do it that way, I could come every other week - the results would just take a little longer.

If you can scrape the money together, it will probably be worth it - it's helped me quite a bit (I have chronic pain problems, headaches, and so on, and while I still get them, it has definently helped reduce their frequency.) Good luck :)

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

i really like your icon.

& thanks for the info. i'll probably look into it, after my next doctor's visit. i have chronic back pain, headaches/migraines too. it'd help with that, as well?

[crankygirlie.livejournal.com]

My acupuncturist costs $65 a session and is covered by insurance for up to 10 (or is it 12?) visits.

Nod, I know precicely what you mean. Showering is even painful. :(

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

i'm on the oregon health plan, and i'm not sure if they would cover it or not. do you have any idea?

& yes. showering is even painful for me, too. just laying there and not moving is hard enough right now.

[crankygirlie.livejournal.com]

At least in Washington, there is an Every Provider Law that says that insurance companies that cover one kind of medicine must cover alternatives as well. So that means western medicine, eastern medicine, chiropracty, massage and others.

It's been something that's been transpiring I think nation wide, as people are finding western medicine doesn't serve all their needs all the time for everything.

There are some things that western medicine just can't really help with, and states are requiring that insurance companies pay for what DOES help.

So call up your provider and ask about it. Even if they don't cover it, I find that acupuncture is less expensive than visiting my regular doctor. :P I end up having to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket when visiting a covered western medical practitioner anyway.

And now, I have visited my acupuncturist for so long and so often, and got my husband coming too, she gives me a "bulk" rate, less than the normal rate. Hee hee hee.

I found it to be mightily worth it, and she could sometimes make the pain go ALL the way away for several days. It would return, because the root problem was still there, but she also helped me kick the cysts for good, because I KEPT making them. :( After having her treat my cysts with both needles and herbs (the herbs are such an important part of it, too), I stopped making cysts and felt much better. I also began to be so attuned to my ovaries that I could tell immediately when I had formed another cyst via a failed ovulation. I could tell her right away and while it's small, it's easy to treat.

I relearned lamaze (had learned it when I had the IUD inserted) and breathed a lot, lying on my back and hurting. I think if I had to do it again (oy), I'd have someone get me some guided imagery audio tapes or cds and listen to those and try to meditate my way through it. It's so much more pain than I imagined a small fluid filled sac would be. Mine were "only" the size of tangerines. :P

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

what kind of herbs did/do you use?

i had no idea cysts could cause so much pain. i feel like i'm dying. i hope it goes away soon.thank you for all the info. i'll be sure to look into all of this.

[crankygirlie.livejournal.com]

The herbs I take are all chinese formulas specifically created for me and my condition.

Chinese herb formulation has been honed for at least a thousand years now and it's done in a way that treats you without giving harmful side effects. You never take a single herb alone. All the herbs complement or help counteract each other. For instance, some Chinese formulas will include herbs sometimes considered 'toxic', but the rest of the formula is made up of detoxifying herbs. I took an herbal formula that actually contained dried scorpions, but it also contained a lot of licorice root and other detoxifying herbs, plus I took it with a lot of honey. I have never had a formula so effective. It was when I first saw her and I was sicker than a dog. (before the cysts, by the way) I was so unhealthy and so much in pain. I had so much improvement just from that herbal formula alone, I didn't even CARE if there were dried scorpions in it, even though it sounds like the most bizarre thing ever. I was absolutely certain that she was going to be able to help me after that.

Herbal formulas are always, always adjusted to be unique to the user taking them. There are patent herbal fomulas in pill form you can purchase, but they need to be 'prescribed' by the herbalist. Raw herbs are the most effective, and also the most versatile and most tailored to you specifically. They also taste the worst, of course, but it no longer matters to me, I love them because they make me feel so much better and are noticably more effective than the pill form. Granules simply suck ass and I won't take them because they tend to feel grainy or sludgy and I can't handle the texture.

And as formulas are for you, they can easily be adjusted for you. If they're not being effective for you, or if you're feeling oddly because of them (everyone reacts differently - I can't take full strength raw herbal formulas most of the time because they're too strong for me. When I first took the scorpion tea, as I now call it, I got really emotional and moody. We reduced the dosage and I was all better.) then you can easily work out changes to the dosage or contents. There are almost never any long term negative side effects, and everything is totally adjustable and customizable. I have long wished this were the way it were for western medicine. You can rarely really control the dosages and contents of western pharmaceuticals, and they were always much too strong for me and gave me very bad side effects that lasted a long time.

I admit I'm pretty rabid about chinese medicine, and mostly it is because it has been very effective for me where western medicine has been very destructive for me. It's almost like finding religion when you find a healer who can help you and not hurt you. So while I don't embellish my stories and I don't lie and I don't make things up, I DO have a bias, because I have had nothing but very positive experiences with this.

EVEN though I have a needle phobia, which is such bizarre irony... *giggles*

If you choose to pursue chinese medicine at all, I can explain what the terms mean and whatnot, I've spend a lot of time researching it all. Contact me anytime, my email is crankygirlie at livejournal dot com, and my AIM ID is onlylaren.

Good luck, and many good wishes for reduction of the pain.

P.S. more info here (http://www.acupuncture.com/) (click the "practitioners" link for a referral, though it's apparently small. this site has a lot of good info) and here's the link to the Oregon Acupuncture Association (http://www.oregonacupuncture.org/). Also here's (http://www.nccaom.org/) another link and here's a practitioner referral form (http://wfserv1.webfire.com/mc/login.do?hidOrgID=aaom&txtUserId=guest&isencodedstring=no&mcevent=mcsubmit&txtPassword=guest) and another practitioner search for Oregon (http://www.bme.state.or.us/search.html) and Acupuncture Today (http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/), which seems to be for both practitioners and consumers alike, with links for 'ask an acupuncturist' and info links.

[miyyu.livejournal.com]

Do you mind if I email you too? This is something I am seriously thinking about trying, if I can afford it or get my insurance to pay for it. I've got a lot of questions. :)

[crankygirlie.livejournal.com]

Hey, email me anytime. :)

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

thank you so so much for all of that info! i'll be sure to look into it & i most likely will be contacting you soon. thank you. <3<3<3.

[katlynel.livejournal.com]

There are a number of possibilities. The first is that you may have a thyroid problem. All the symptoms you described in your comment to this post fit the thyroid-problem profile. I know a woman who had periods every 3 months or so until she got diagnosed with a thyroid problem and started taking Synthroid, and now ovulates every month. Tiredness, weight gain, and several of the others you mentioned are classic thyroid-problem issues.

His sperm count might also be low (particularly if by some chance he smokes pot on a daily basis). You could also have a number of conditions. There's the aforementioned chance you're not ovulating regularly due to your PCOS. You could also have blocked fallopian tubes, and/or possibly endometriosis; endometriosis would also contribute to making your periods more painful. Those are the most common things an infertility expert will test for first.

[sadiedecayed.livejournal.com]

would my regular doctor be able to check for all of that, as well?

should i just go in and explain my symptoms and ask her about those different things? i'm not really sure how to go about it.