looking for a good gynechologist

[noodle-nose.livejournal.com]

unfortunately, i am no longer with kaiser and with kaiser i had a wonderful gynechologist. so, i'm in the market, as it were, for a good gynechologist. i've looked through the archives in the gynechologist recommendations, but my region wasn't respresented. does anyone in the santa clara/sunnyvale/mountain view area (in california, that is) know of a good gynechologist? i don't care about whether they're male or female, just as long as they're good. :) any help would be much appreciated!

Birth control and insurance or lack thereof

[otakuastra.livejournal.com]

Quick question before I rush off to class, for anyone living in California- I really do not understand how the whole insurance/confidentiality thing works here. I'm 18, living in the dorms. I don't have a job and my parents pay my rent and living expenses. I went to Planned Parenthood, checked my family's insurance (Blue Cross), that I had no personal income and that I wanted to remain confidential, and they gave me a green card that just says "State of California" and the state seal with a sticker with my name, DOB and an account number. This appears to get me free birth control pills whenever I need them (at Planned Parenthood and, now, at the pharmacy with my prescription from PP).

Can someone just explain to me what this is and how it works? Is it Family PACT or something else? I ask because I'm uncomfortable depending on a mysterious green card for my birth control, but also because a lot of my friends are making some not-so-smart choices right now and I'd love to be able to explain to them that they can get free birth control, but I'm not sure what conditions made it free in my case and I don't want to give them wrong information.

Thanks! :)

Going Commando

[hikerpoet.livejournal.com]

People used the phrase "going commando" A LOT in the the recent post about wearing underwear to bed, and on this community in general, and it got me thinking. I've known most of my life that going commando meant going without underwear, but I was always really confused about the origin of the phrase. It seemed weird to me. What do my underpants have to do with G.I. Joe?

I googled and asked around and came up with several explanations. Everyone knows you aren't supposed to wear underwear under a kilt, and the kilt was battle wear. This could also explain why this phrase was way more popular in Great Britain than in the U.S. for a long time. Research also seems to find that soldiers in other countries and/or regiments (regardless of kilt status!) often don't wear underwear because it is just another thing to carry and clean in addition to the fact it can bunch up and/or limit movements during complicated operations.
There are some more indirect theories, as well. When you don't wear underwear you are "ready for action". In this sense, it is meant in a risque manner, but soldiers always have to be ready for action as well, in a different way. Also, when you go with out underwear, you are "taking command" of the decision, not caring what anyone else thinks (or may get a peek of!).

But from what I could find out, these are just theories, and no one seems to know if there is a definite root of the phrase or if it is a combination. Has anyone heard any other theories? Also, sometimes "going commando" seems to refer to going completely naked (not just underwear) and I couldn't find any theories for that, unless it just evolved/transitioned into that.

I figure at best, we can come up with some other interesting theories, and at the least, this post can help other people who were confused like I was (unless it was really obvious and I was the only one wondering and this gets deleted). Any ideas, word and vagina lovers?

Pimples to the south >.

[devotion666.livejournal.com]

Greetings!
I've looked at most of the tags and FAQ's, but I haven't found what I'm looking for. (if it's somewhere, please feel free to redirect me ^_^).
My problem is that I get a lot of pimples in my inner thighs and my butt.
Due to my job, I have to spend a lot of time sitting down, and because of family traits, my thighs are quite close to each other (for example during the summer, they always rub together, the heat makes it worse and I get rashes. In winter as well, most of my pants end up getting wore down in that point).
What I don't know is why I always get these nasty and huge pimples! (and a few black heads too) and mainly how to get rid of them!
So please if anyone has any suggestions, ideas, tricks....etc...I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks :-)

Excessive bleeding and Depo Provera

[fakeplasticrose.livejournal.com]

Hello all!

I had my first Depo Provera injection on February 28th. I chose Depo because it seemed easiest--I have been on the pill before, and was terrible about remembering to take it and filling my prescription on time.

So far (sort of) so good on Depo. I haven't had too much of an increased appetite, and the changes that I've noticed I've been able to combat with more exercise and a healthier diet. However, I do have one complaint which will ultimately lead to my question.

For the first 45 or so days of Depo, I had no period whatsoever. No spotting, no brown discharge, nothing. It was wonderful and I figured that I was one of the lucky women whose period stops altogether after only the first shot.

Boy, was I wrong.

On April 9th I had some very light bleeding, and this had continued for the past three weeks, alternating between just a little bit of blood and just a little bit of brown discharge. Most of the time it was a light enough flow to warrant wearing only a tiny tampon or a panty liner, nothing too extreme. At one point I thought that the bleeding had stopped altogether because it was just a teeny tiny amount of brown discharge, but to my chagrin the blood appeared againt the next day. Sigh.

HOWEVER, yesterday was entirely different.

For the past 48 hours, I have been bleeding more heavily than I have in my entire life, and non-stop. I had to remove a tampon after only a couple of hours yesterday (a regular-flow one), and my pads have been soaked with blood (sorry for the description). I'm hoping that this is just a "normal" period and that I will soon stop bleeding again, but I guess we'll see.

I was made aware that bleeding abnormalities can occur while on Depo, and especially after your first shot, but that they mostly disappear by the second and third injections. I guess my question is...does this all seem normal to you? I am sick of wearing pads and tampons and on top of it all, am seeing my boyfriend for the first time in two months next week (i.e. I would very much like to have non-bloody sex). For those of you who are on or have been on Depo in the past, does this mirror any of your experiences? How long do you think it will be until the bleeding finally stops?

And also, for future reference:

If the bleeding continues like this until the end of May (when I'm getting my next injection) I think I may switch birth control methods as this is just too much for me to handle. I feel soiled and gross all of the time now, and it's driving me nuts. For those of you who have switched from Depo for similar reasons, what type of HBC did you switch to, and did you find that most of your problems were solved?

Thank you all so much for your help!

VP Icon Contest - Deadline Extension!

[queensugar.livejournal.com]

Hello again, Superstars!

We would like to announce that we are extending the deadline for our VP Member Icon Contest. The new deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 10.

We've received some great submissions, but we have a hunch there are a few more budding Picassos 'round these parts, and we want to give them a chance to get their design included!

Because this is a Member Icon contest, we really want to see icons that celebrate being a part of the VP community. Since the icon submissions are made by members, for members, we want to see something that proclaims your pride at being a part of this community!

Note: Because some people have already submitted icons, we are raising the limit to THREE submissions per person.

You can leave your submitted icon (with a link to the icon's location) in a reply to the original Icon Contest post. All entries will be screened.

Want to get in on the contest?

( Check out the rules under the cut! )

Ortho tri-cyclen lo and acne

[dizzyg.livejournal.com]

I just started the pill on Sunday and was wondering, how long does it generally take for acne to start clearing up? Weeks? Months? It's not a big deal, but seems like a nice side effect!

stabbing pain.

[anyothername88.livejournal.com]

i searched through the memories but couldn't see anything particularly relevant. after having unprotected sex (i'm on the progesterone only pill) with my boyfriend two days ago, i've been experiencing short shart stabbing pains in my vagina. it's not hideously painful just a little uncomftable, and the only way i can best describe it is the sensation that some people get in when they poke their finger into their belly button? (in a post on this a while back there were some interesting responses).
is it likely that i've just cut myself down there, or should i get it checked out? everything else is fine and normal it's just a little distracting when i'm constantly feeling like i'm being prodded in my vagina!
thank you for any advice.
[edit: apologies if this is posted twice. i did this by accident at first and then deleted one and they seem to have both disappeared. if it's just my computer it's not showing up on i'll happily delete the second post.]

The Rabbit Pearl = ???

[aftercrash.livejournal.com]

... I just bought the Rabbit Pearl, and I'm terribly confused. This may sound weird, but I feel nothing when it comes to my g-spot (well, with or without the Rabbit), and I can't seem to angle the rabbit-rabbit part (for clitoral stimulation) properly while it's inside me. Either it's too close to the point where it's uncomfortable, or it's just to far away and I get nothing. I've had to resort to my old fifteen-dollar needs-to-be-rigged-to-even-start-anymore simple vibrator, and that just doesn't seem right. :[

I guess what I'm asking is, any suggestions, tips, tricks, hints, anything at all to make this toy work for me? Has anyone else had this problem? And my god, will I ever experience a g-spot orgasm?

Thanks for your help, you guys are the best!

Lack of vaginal orgasms?

[sugarcane-moon.livejournal.com]

I'm 21 years old and have been sexually active for about 2 years. In that time, I have never once had a vaginal orgasm. Not from intercourse or masturbation. I've only achieved clitoral orgasms.

So my question is, is this even remotely normal? Do I just have a magically unsensitive vagina? Is there anything that can improve this situation?

birth control and lasting depression

[gloworm6.livejournal.com]

Hi ladies.. I have a question about hormonal birth control and depression. I have a history of major depression, although it had been pretty much under control for about 4 years until recently. I started Mircette in February, and became seriously depressed and suicidal while on it. I stopped after 1 month. Things got somewhat better when I got off it, but I'm still feeling quite depressed a lot of the time. Is it possible for birth control to trigger something like this, even after stopping the pills? It could just be a coincidence, or maybe my thinking changed while on the pills and that's maintaining the depression, but I dont know. Has this happened to anyone else?

I'm supposed to start desogen this week. My doctor suggested I try it, even with my experience with Mircette.. even though its a higer dose of hormones, she swears that sometimes the pills work in reverse of what she'd expect in situations like this, and recommends I try it. But if the first round of pills really did trigger this lasting depression somehow, I'm not sure that I want to take a chance at making it worse.

Thanks for your help.