excitement rant + questions

[snarkitty.livejournal.com]

Just recently, I realized what that smooth little sphere-ish thing in my cunny is.. My cervix! I've been so excited about this realization, that I've become obsessed with checking it, feeling the differences from day to day in my cycle. It's just so NEAT!

I've got some questions though:

My research of FAM has lead me to believe that while ovulating your cervix is more 'open' and squishy, and that it returns to being firm and 'closed' once you're no longer fertile. How reliable is this?

Another question/comment. I still have yet to feel mine in it's 'hard' phase, as everytime I have checked it it has been squishy, even right before my period, when I most definitely shouldn't be ovulating. In fact, it has seemed to open up even more over the past few days (I'd check now, but the bleeding girly bits are protesting shoving anything up there). Does the cervix open up/get squishy again before the period? It makes sense for it to during, as the blood needs to pass.. but, can anyone give me some more information other then, "Gets squishy, high, and open when ovulating, and not squishy and firm when not"?


I've tried googling this, but I'm a terrible googler so all attempts have been in vain.

Thankies :)

Period Cramping Question

[chloetude.livejournal.com]

Hi, my name is Chloe, and I'm currently bleeding from my girlparts.

This isn't something I'd normally mention, but the cramping that's been going along with the bleeding this month is really bad. It's been increasing month by month, and I was wondering- is this a natural thing, does it maybe go in cycles, or is it a possible sign of a problem?

Pap Smears and sex...

[hoodsey.livejournal.com]

I looked under pap-smears and saw nothing, so forgive me if this has been asked before. And I'll take it down.

Basically, I have to get a pap smear done on Monday and last time I got one done, I wasn't sexually active. And I kind of hinted to the nurse on the phone that I wanted to know if there were any specific directions, and such and she said 'nothing really', so I figured I'd ask you ladies. Is it ok to have sex on Sunday?

Thanks in advance.

random bleeding- not spotting

[megggy.livejournal.com]

why is it that everytime i masturbate (which isnt very often) i end up bleeding?? its not like light spotting either, its like the heaviest day of my period outta nowhere. i only use my clit too, not penetration if that helps. and i'm on the nuvaring, but this also happened when i was on kariva (a pill). any ideas? its really annoying

Edit- my period just ended on thursday..so i was thinking maybe its left over blood..but its not like the brown thick blood at the end of my period, its just like as if i was back to the middle of my period with heavy flow.
i just had a pap smear with a gonorrhea/chlamydia test in november and have no new partners.
the blood usually only lasts for 1 day

Another Diva question

[timmy-horton.livejournal.com]

I was wondering why it is that the Diva and other menstrual cups aren't associated with TSS. I'm a microbiology student so I'm looking at it from the point of view of a bacterium. How is the environment with a cup different from that of a tampon to an adventurous little microbe? Yes, I know it's silly that I personify bacteria :)

Spotting before period

[heartburn-waltz.livejournal.com]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced very light spotting 4 days before their period and NOT been pregnant. I had the very tiniest amount of light brown blood yesterday morning, and now today, nothing. I've got myself in a complete frenzy over this because I have been on Aviane birth control pills since August and read that while spotting in the first three cycles can be normal, what I am experiencing can mean "the implantation of the egg". I am just worried and confused because I have never missed a pill. I was late 1 1/2 hours one day this month because of confusion over a time zone difference, but even then my birth control says as long as I can take it under 2 hours, I am covered. Just wondering if people have experienced anything similar.

Skipping periods VS. getting it over with.

[jessicacrash.livejournal.com]

I'm on Yasmin. How many periods can I skip in a row? I'm just concidering skipping my second one in a row, and if life demands it, I might have to skip the next one, too. Will anything.. scary happen? Do the periods you have after having delayed them for a while last longer? Thanks :)

Irritation of clitoral hood

[solestria.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone, I'm having an issue with pain around my clitoral hood. I have vulvar vestibulitis, so I'm not unfamiliar with vulvar pain, but this is a new one for me.

I first noticed it after some sexual activity a couple weeks ago. I thought my partner might have been a bit rough in his manual stimulation, and it seemed not to be a problem a few days after the fact, but now it's bothering me again. Specifically, I'm having pain on the inside of my clitoral hood, right again the clitoris, and the area feels irritated and looks redder than normal as well. It's pretty uncomfortable, and I really don't like the idea of not being able to take clitoral stimulation due to the irritation here.

So, does anyone have any idea as to what might be causing this, and what to do about it?

I hurt. :(

[liz007.livejournal.com]

Okay, so my uterus is in an unhappy place, it seems, and I was wondering if anyone had experienced this. As a background, I just started atkins, and in the beginning you really can't eat anything but meat, eggs, cheese, and some veggies. No fruit. No drinks but water. No bread. No nothing. I take a daily vitamin supplement, though. I thought that might have some impact on my goings on down there.

Anyway, I'm not due for another 6 or 7 days with my period. Yesterday, it just hurt. It wasn't really cramping. It felt like that hot "on fire" sensation you feel when you're actually on your period. There was a little brownish discharge and such, but then it went away. It just feels like all of January, I've been sore in my uterus, and occasionally bleeding... well, more like browning. It's so bizarre. Also, the entrance to my cervix feels a wee sore, like I'm about to start my period or something.

Is there something wrong with me? Could it be the rapid diet change? Help!

for my friend...

[tylerdurden37.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine had sex 4 times since her last period and had some really light spotting a few days ago. She's not taking birth control and apparently all they did was pull-out. She's not due for her period for about another week and she's really freaking out that the spotting was from implantation bleeding, what should I tell her? Thanks everyone

(no subject)

[https://users.livejournal.com/-tushie/]

Hello ladies.

So, I have 2 questions this time around.

Question number one: I live with my boyfriend, and we had two of his friends living with us for a little bit, and it appears while one of them was trying to be helpful they threw away my stockpile of birth control pills. That's right, 5 months of OTC-Lo gone forever. They were in a wee black bag next to my purse, and then they were gone. I called the clinic that I get them from, and they said I can't get more until my last prescription is up. This is exceptionally unfortunate because, well, now my boyfriend is scared to have sex with me and to be honest, this is not only disappointing, it's downright devastating since I absolutely REVEL in our sex. Best ever, hands down.

But that's not why I'm here. Point is, I'm allergic to latex, so condoms are out of the question, I can't get more pills for another 5 months, and I'm just not willing to give up sex for almost half a year.

I need to know how to pinpoint when my ovulation starts, and any other options I might have for contraceptive methods. I can't find female condoms for less than $25 for three and that's too much. Gimme a hand, ladies, my vagina is counting on you!

Question number two: Ahem. All of a sudden, my boyfriend has a fixation with fisting. Not an insistent one, I doubt he'd be devastated if I never let him, but I'm the type to try anything once, I could like it, right?

He's super patient, incredibly gentle, considerate, all of the above and then some. I'm not worried about him hurting me, since after all, if a baby can come out of there, his hand should fit in, right?

What I'm worried about is the aftermath. What am I looking at for discomfort and whatnot? I don't have a whole lot of room down there, usually, and after sex I feel all stretched out and kind of tense, like a muscle ache/strain. It's tolerable, and not even close to serious enough to mention, except, well, his hand is significantly thicker than his penis :P If he can make things sore with regular PIV sex, what's a whole hand gonna do, and how do I diminish my chances of getting sore/ deal with the discomfort afterward?

And is there any possibility that he could... hurt something? I have all the faith in the world in him, he's very educated and experienced when it comes to sexual matters. I just need to know what I'm dealing with before I break out the tub o' lube and spread'em.

Sorry if I've creeped any of you out, I just figured asking you guys would get me a better response than asking my mom or something. I'm not particularly interested in knowing what my mother's experience with fisting was. :P

Thanks, girls. All the best, and tons of thanks in advance for your advice!

Diva's Drama

[hil4prez2036.livejournal.com]

I bought my Diva Cup about 8 months ago but yesterday while trying to remove it, the stem broke.  I managed to get it out but needless to say it can't be used again.  Has anyone else had this happen?

Waxing Expectations

[evilpinkbear.livejournal.com]

What are some basic do's and don't for the spa, specifically Brazillian waxes?

I'm chatting with some friends and one of our friends is all OH NO I'VE NEVER DONE IT WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT and so we're putting together a guide for her haha. She's cute.

Anyway, I've only gone once, so I'm no pro, and I figure you girls will have some suggestions for the list.

So far, we've got:
- Make your appointment for about a week after your period, you can handle the most pain then.
- Shower before you go, because that is common sense, and just gross if you don't
- Trim hair so it's no longer than 1/2", (it only takes 1/4" to wax though, right?)
- Eat bannanas and take an ibuprofin 30 minutes before going
- Wear comfortable underwear, or none at all, and a skirt (obviously not nessessary, but it seems to be the general consesus with the rest of us for what we've done or do.)
- Expect to be hairless everywhere, unless you specifically ask to keep a patch. That includes butt hair, yo. (if they don't wax your butt, or offer to at least, that's bad form on your waxer's part, right?)
* Breathe! Tensing up = not good!
- Tip your waxer afterwards! It's bad form if you don't, she's just been in your crotch. (How much? we all vary on our tipping amounts, so we couldn't agree on a percent)
* Use aloe vera afterwards, it's soooooothing!
- Don't shower/use hot water in the area for 24 hours after waxing
- Use a loofah in the shower to help prevent ingrown hairs

Strange IUD Sensation?

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

I originally wanted to ask about ghostlike "pains" from my IUD, but then I realized what I've been feeling doesn't really fall under the category of pain.

Rather, it's more like I can occasionally feel my IUD in -- or maybe even with -- my uterus. During menstruation, yes, but also during activities such as laughing, blowing my nose, or sneezing. There are even times when I will, for no discernible reason, just randomly experience this fleeting physical awareness of my IUD inside me.

Really, the best way I could describe it would be to say that I'm feeling my IUD with the inside of my uterine wall. (No matter how flexible my little ParaGard is, it's got to be less so than all of the soft tissue surrounding it.) I don't know if that's even possible, but like I said, I don't have better words for it.

I've had my ParaGard for 5 months with no irritating or even inconvenient side effects after 2 months post-insertion. (Most of the time, I don't feel my IUD at all.) So I'm not worried about anything being wrong or about how "normal" this may be. I'm just curious to how prevalent this phenomenon is among other women who use IUDs.

Cross posted to vaginapagina and iud_divas.