a quick question

[ledforthehed.livejournal.com]

hi ladies,

i have been on ortho tricyclen  for about two years now. my doctor will not prescribe me any more pills until i have a pap smear &all that fun stuff. i've been sexually active for almost a year now w/ my boyfriend &we use condoms most of the time. i'm on my last pack &last week of pills until my period &then i don't know what i will do. i'm not sure what it is about having an exam but i just can't bring myself to do it. i'm terrified...not of the pain but of someone other then my boyfriend seeing me down there. cancer runs in my family &i know i should be getting everything checked up but like i said...i just can't do it. i won't be on birth control for awhile....until i can work up the courage. so my question is...after i do it all up &get my pills prescribed again...how do i go about taking them again? does it even matter that i've stopped for awhile &am starting again?

thanks!

Thin Brown Discharge

[quitlife.livejournal.com]

I got my period last Sunday which is also when I started taking birth control. My period ended yesterday but I've got thin brown discharge(or something). I don't really know what it is. Has anyone else had this happen/want to fill me in on what's going on?

Bleeding during sex

[alas-muertas.livejournal.com]

the second or third time the new boyfriend and i had sex he slipped out and accidentally slipped over to the wrong hole. it didn't go right up inside, maybe an inch? but that didn't stop me from bleeding for 2 or 3 days. it's happend a few time since then, but not for as long and he didn't slip up in there. i thought maybe we were just irritating and old wound.
then tonight we were having sex and everythign was fine until all of a sudden something didn't feel right. i didn't feel pain we both just kind of stopped and looked down and there it was. alot and alot of bright clear thin blood. like fresh wound blood. the opposite of menstrual blood. he pulled off the condom and it was covered and that's when we realized it was coming from the front and not the back. now we think that's what's happend all these times.
i don't understand how i can bleed this much without feeling any pain.
i feel like i've lost my virginity a thousand times. i've gone through a bottle of peroxide (to remove the stains) in a week and it's just really frustrating and scary.

he made me promise to go to the doctor, but i just wanted to know if maybe anyone might know what's happening?

question about Essure & age

[candyfleshgirl.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm curious to know about Essure & the best way to approach a doctor about it. I'm nearly 21 (next month) and have a 2 year old son. I'm absolutely positive that I do not want to have another child or another c-section. I've researched the Essure site & read all the posts about it from this community & I'm really excited about finding an alternative to a tubal. I'm just unsure about whether or not a doctor would perform this procedure on me because of my age. I've not seen anything to make me think it would be a problem but I've heard stories about people having problems getting tubals because the doctors thought they might change their minds. Has anyone young had this done? Did they give you a hard time about it? What kinds of questions do they ask you to make sure you are ready for such a procedure?

Soy protein and spotting

[sadhe-sati.livejournal.com]

Has anyone here ever experienced spotting due to increased soy protein intake on hormonal birth control? Did it/will it go away with time? Is there anything I can do to make it stop? I recently just started a diet high in soy, and I'm pretty positive that that's what's making me spot. I want to keep it in my diet because of all of its benefits, but at the same time I don't want to be spotting forever.

Thanks!

sunburn + aloe = possibly dangerous to vagina?

[abc-124.livejournal.com]

hey, i don't think this is offtopic because i do have a vagina-ish question with it

the other day i went to schlitterbahn (texas waterpark chain things) and got completely sunburnt, from head to toe, on my front side. it's blistering and really disgusting.

i'm constantly attempting to apply as much aloe and/or solarcane as much as possible, but am wondering what i can do for my innerlegs and close to my bikini line. i'm afraid that it might like drip onto my girly bits and cause loads of problems. should i be worried? is there something else that won't give me bad effects but still soothe my burn? near those areas it is pretty much the worst because i didn't apply sunscreen properly there, so it really hurts.

thanks for any help!!!

ripped?

[imburntt0ast.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure. I've never noticed it before, but I had sex with my friend last night...and his penis is really thick, I've never bled during sex but I bled last night, and this morning I noticed a rip in my vagina... I'm still bleeding and that part of my vagina really hurts. Does anyone have any idea how this happened/what it is? It would be appreciated...im freaking out a little bit.

boyfriend/sex/relationship/OTC-LO

[uniqueanlovinit.livejournal.com]

Lately ive been more on the depressed side and ive been yoyoing between moods. My boyfriend and i are having problems. One minute i really want to have sex and the next mintue i get all sad and i dont want him to touch me. I dont know what the hell is wrong with me and it wearinf\g on us as a couple. I recently started OTC-lo i just finished my second pack. Is this a Side Effect? WIll it eventually go away with time. I feel like im being a btich to my guy and i hate it because i used to be one of the guys and no im the moody gf... help?

cranberries & UTIs

[in-this-love.livejournal.com]

i have checked the memories.
i have researched everywhere.
i have the beginnings of a UTI & i have a couple of questions.

i bought cranberry pills & i am drinking what seems like GALLONS of water all day. the bottle says it helps the health of your urinary tract which is good. however, in my research i read something that said that you should not take cranberry after you have the infection, only to prevent it. #1: is that incorrect?? #2: will the pills help to cure the infection or just the symptoms? i am trying to kill this before it turns into something i need the doctor for, but if this is true i might as well give up on them. #3. what are the causes of UTI's OTHER THAN SEX. i am not sexually active, but this is my second one.

thanks so much! <3

Pregnancy question

[beutfulone.livejournal.com]

ok. lets say you have sex on monday, and a week later you get your period, could there still be chances of pregnancy? is this a stupid question?

Vagina Size (Labia Minora)?

[ihremutter.livejournal.com]

Someone over at sex_tips suggested that I should cross post this here:

My labia minora (I think that's what it's called), well anyway, one is larger than the other and it's REALLY noticable. It's so large that it peeks through my labia majora. I examined it a couple of minutes ago and it there seems to be a slit on the side of my larger labia minora and after the slit it gets really big. Like excess skin or something. It makes me feel really self-conscious and I feel like I'll never have sex because I'm way too embarassed by it.

So um...Is this natural? I don't think I had this when I was younger...(I wouldn't know for sure). BTW I'm only 14. If that means anything.

Please reply.

Question about acidophilus for treating a YI

[autumn-sylver.livejournal.com]

(I skimmed through the tagged posts, but didn't find the answer to my question).

For the past few months, I seem to be very prone to yeast infections. (I just finished treating one about 3 weeks ago, and now I seem to have another one). I was considering getting some acidophilus capsules, but I noticed on the bottle that it says to refrigerate them after opening. I still live with my family, so keeping a bottle of acidophilus pills in the fridge would bring on some very unwelcome questions from my very nosey mother.
So, my question is - how important is it to refrigerate the capsules? What would happen if I didn't? Will the bacteria die if I don't? Will it be less effective?

Mid-cycle bleeding/spotting?

[lorrainec.livejournal.com]

Aargh. I'm about two weeks into my cycle, and I just finished fun!time to see... brownish gook. (It's a light brown color, and pretty much the consistancy of my normal mid-cycle white discharge.) This happened last month mid-cycle, but I had a normal period two weeks later. Oddly enough, something similar also happened from April to August last year, though it didn't alternate with a normal period then, just brownish gook for four-five days every two weeks. (Last year's oddness I blamed on EC, since it started happening the month after I took plan-B for the first/only time. It had never happened before.)

So, is this just normal ovulation spotting, or could there be some more sinister cause?

Thanks.

vag issues?

[femmearchetype.livejournal.com]

i just came back from a month long trip to ireland to the hot desert where I live. My vagina doesn't seem to like it. I'm dry, and I think as a result my vag is red and a little sore. I am also experiencing some spotting. My periods are usually irregular, and the adjustment/stess from such a long trip might be pushing me a week or two early. It was brown spotting, now it's a little redder. Hardly even on panty liners...just comes out when I go. Any ideas what's up with me? Any advice? It's RAW. Tried lube, but it stings a little, and if this is an infection I doubt it helps. Can keeping hydrated re-hydrate my vagina? Anything else you think it could be, because I'm always paranoid...I know vaginal dryness is due to a hormone imbalance, usually. I did eat meat there (which I haven't in about 6 years. Could hormones be the cause? I'm far too young for menopause.(PS-sexualy active, always use condoms)

Sore Labia

[dietcokehed.livejournal.com]

Ever since I gave vaginal birth to twins 2½ YEARS ago, my outer labia get very sore and tender during my period. Every. Month. It also happens most of the time when I have sex, regardless of how gentle or short amount of time. I asked my gyno about it and he said he had never heard of such thing. He checked for bumps, lumps, rashes, any sign of infection and found none. It feels the same as it did while recovering from the vaginal birth, like from the inside of the labia rather than surface or skin related. It's achy. Feels like I've been beaten with a hammer. Of course, through recovery it was constant. After six weeks or so had passed, it happened only if I was too active, like cleaning the house or running errands. The only thing that seems to make the pain go away is Vicodin. I've tried all the otc pain relievers and they don't put a dent in the pain. I really don't want to have to rely on Vic.

Now, for some strange reason, I am sore again and I'm not on my period, nor have I had sex in like four days? I was sore right after we had sex, but it went away (as it typically does) by the next morning. Yesterday I got sore again out of the blue. I can't imagine it's from doing the house keeping this long after popping out the babies.

Anyone else ever have to deal with this or know what is going on? Is this going to be a permanent pain due to the vaginal birth? I tried to Google, but only found disease-related info. I tried to search here, and it wouldn't let me >:(

Thanks!

Sore nipples after going off the pill?

[cmenttrampoline.livejournal.com]

For the past several days my breasts (my nipples in particular) have been killing me - any contact at all, particularly when my partner touches them, but including showering or even wearing a bra and shirt is very painful.

A bit of history: I stopped taking Alesse two weeks ago after being on it for nine months continuously (skipping my period and taking the packs back to back). Prior to that I'd been taking hormonal birth control for the past four years - Alesse for just over a year, Depo-Provera for just over two years (during which time I also did not have periods), and Alesse again for the past nine months. After finishing my last pack of Alesse a couple of weeks ago I had a light period from the 14th-17th of June, which was my first period in three years. Pregnancy is extremely unlikely as I had a tubal ligation six months ago in addition to being on the pill until recently (I was taking the pill for period reasons as opposed to for contraception). I've never experienced breast/nipple pain before, and cannot find any lumps or anything suspicious in my breasts. The pain started after I'd been off the pill for about a week and half.

So, my questions: could this be related to going off of hormonal birth control after so long? Has anyone else experienced breast/nipple pain after going of the pill? If so, how long did it take to subside? If not, any other ideas about what could be causing this?

Thanks very much!

compromised protection?

[whiterabit.livejournal.com]

this is going to sound alittle weird. but i have this months pack of birthcontrol and i leave that in my purse, which due to work and gym and a otherwise chaotic life often stays in my car (and yes under the heat limits as to not tamper with its effectiveness). and another which i have that is a partial pack, i lost it and had to get another pack and later found this one.

now my question.
i am on ortho tri cyclene lo and have accidentally taken two extra days of the white pills. because of the pack i am currently attempting to take to completion has been out of my reach at the time it comes to take my pill but the incomplete pack was around so i took one of those white pills. this is all very confusing. but i managed to take two extra days of the white pills.

what does this do to my protection if anything?
or have i just pushed my period back two extra days?

protection and shaving

[shmeho.livejournal.com]

so i was just reading around on the scarleteen website, and it was saying what sort of protection you need for different sexual acts. like latex GLOVES for manual sex? who does that? i guess my question is, is that kind of stuff really necessary? like i could understand in some circumstances it is. ie. the guy is a manwhore. but if he's not? 

also, wouldn't shaving everything off prevent certain diseases? (i saw something on pubic lice...ew) or it's atleast easier to see and signs of abnormalty. what is your take on this?

i love this community : )

irregular bleeding and bc.

[jleighpark.livejournal.com]

Soo... I'm not too worried, but figured I'd post to see if anyone had any input.
About a week ago I took myself off my birth control prescription (Mircette). I'd been on it for about 8 - 9 months, after short hiatus from being on b.c. for a few years.
Obviously, I expected to start my period a few days after I stopped taking it... I'm usually a VERY light bleeder and only bleed for about 3-4 days. I was suprised that I started after missing only one pill (I was mid-cycle, so I wasn't really expecting it to be that quick) and it's been HEAVY since. I realize 'heavy' for me might be different than for someone else, but according to this 1-6 scale, I'd say I'm at a 5.5-6... whereas I'm usually around 1.5. Big difference for me. Also...it's a different color... it's more of a raspberry color (forgive the comparison) than a blood color. The smell is different, as well. Not bad, just different.
Am I being overly sensitive to the changes? Obviously, messing with hormones will do some funny things to your body... AND I've been majorly stressed over the past couple of weeks (moving, new job, boyfriend moving across country... FUN!)... but has anyone else had a similar experience? Thanks!!

Period Question

[99memories.livejournal.com]

Hello
I posted a while ago here, and just wanted to thank everyone who responded. I did finally get my period (unfortunatly I was with some male friends so I couldn't run out and make them celebrate with me lol).

I did have some small questions I just wanted to get off my chest. The morning I got my period, I had a brownish discharge (like what you get at the end of your period). I looked up discharge in the links from this site and they said it was normal at the end of your period...which it'd doing now. So is it common to get the brownish discharge at the beginning, have a normal period, then again at the end? I was worried because ovulation wasn't as obvious this month and I noticed skin on my nipples was peeling (like dry skin). I don't know if they're all connected but I'm just happy I got my period at all.

One last thing: I was thinking about getting a free pregnancy test tomorrow at "Planned Parenthood" or at least calling them. Am I just feeding paranoia since I already saw a gyno and took a home test?

Thanks again for being so helpful :)

planned parenthood

[saragene.livejournal.com]

Hey Ladies, I need some info and I think this is the right place.

I'm about to turn 24, which means i'll be booted from my dads health insurance. yay. Since i'm a fan of not having babies, it looks like i'm going to check out the planned parenthood in my area, Detroit. I've consulted the memories here as well as their website, but neither were too helpful. I guess I just need some general info on how it all works. My main questions are:

1)What's an estimate of what it might cost? I make about 1.5 x poverty. I know that it will vary, but i'd love a general idea of the range of prices. My current address is the same as my dad's--will that be a factor?

2)I'm on Alesse. I'd like to stay on it, as it doesnt make sticking my head in the oven seem like a good idea, like the last pill i tried did. If it's available there...how does that work? Do i get a prescription from them and take it somewhere else? Do it get it right at the clinic? Without insurance it costs around $40, what would it cost me at PP?

I've been lucky enough to be able to stay on my dad's health insurance this long...but there's a long road of insurancelessness ahead of me (grad school followed by a career with few full time positions available), I appreciate any info y'all have.

UTI issues.

[anoceanofagirl.livejournal.com]

Ok, I have read the UTI faq, but I am still worried.


( cut for tmi! )

weird question

[xoxomegatron.livejournal.com]

Okay so I have this weird white stuff on the outer sides of my labia. I know that it's not yeast infection. It's sort of "creamy"... I guess.. It's not too thick and it's odorless. It doesn't bother me but I was just wondering what it was.


Also, about yeast infection, about one time in a few months a get this teeny tiny spot of thick white discharge, but since it doesn't come regularly and doesn't bother me should I still get it checked out?

Thanks!

Risks of stopping BCP early...

[brs18041.livejournal.com]

Ok this is kind of tricky. I'm on Microgestin (Mircette before Planned Parenthood switched me), and last month I noticed that I was breaking out a lot more than usual. I switched from Levora to Mircette in the first place to stop these unusual breakouts from happening, so I was really discouraged, but I needed to keep taking the pill because I'm sexually active, and my bf and I don't like using condoms.

During my placebo week last week, my complexion cleared up. Tomorrow's day 5 of my new pack of Microgestin, and already, I see that I'm breaking out (and this isn't minimal, I wouldn't care so much if it was... this is like seriously breaking out). I want to stop taking this pack cold turkey (I did that with Levora and just got an early period), even if that means not having sex for a while till I figure something else out. Problem is, I had sex 3 nights ago.

So... is there a huge risk of getting pregnant if I stop taking the pill now? I really don't want to go two and a half more weeks being embarrassed about my junior-high-like acne.

EDIT: also, is it too late for plan 2 (EC), as in taking 4 pills RIGHT now (from my leftover levora, it's an EC method) and just being done with it?

X-posted to birthcontrol