Condoms & chlorine?

[twistedrizu.livejournal.com]

This is just a quick question. Thanks in advance!

What kinds of effects does chloine have on latex condoms? My guy and I wanted to try doing it in the pool (it's so freaking hot here), but we were concened about what chlorinated pool water would do to our lubricated latex condom.

yeast infection gone terribly wrong?

[pinched.livejournal.com]

I checked the FAQs and didn't really get much of an answer. I thought I had a yeast infection, but now I'm not quite sure. My symptoms are similar to that of the previous poster's minus the discharge. Last week my vaginal regions were really itchy/irritating/sore to the touch and between the inner and outer lips was thick white somethingorother that I figured was yeast. I didn't do anything to treat a yeast infection, I'm kind of a naturalist and figured that it would heal itself? Well, now there's no white stuff, but it's REALLY irritated/red/VERY sore the the touch around my vagina and all the way down toward my rectum. It's also pretty dry down there at the moment. If it's relevant, I'm also on the tail end of my period right now, but this has never happened before.

I'm worried that it might be an STD, though it hopefully and probably isn't. Maybe it's just my yeast infection being mad at me for not sticking something up there to fix it? It might be caused by my excessive swimming, but I'm not sure. STD's can't be completely ruled out, however, because I'm not a virgin, though it has been about a month since I've had sex.

I'm kind of paranoid, please help me figure out what this is?

birth control options

[diamondxavenue.livejournal.com]

I'm going off to college in a month or so, and I'll be separated from my boyfriend. We've never gone past third base, but we're thinking things might happen over winter break. Anyway, I thought I better be protected, because in the heat of the moment, we might go further than we planned. 

I've done some research on the various methods of birth control, and I'm wondering which you'd recommend. I definitely don't plan on needing birth control until December (not gonna cheat!) so I was thinking about the shot. But then the side effects sound kind of nasty - depression, weight loss, spotty skin, and so on. But what do you think is best? I need something that will definitely last me through winter break, but that won't have too much of a hassle, seeing as it's sort of going to be a one-time thing. 

(I don't really want to use a condom, since it seems a little weird for what might be the first time. I dunno. Sort of not the same, you know?)

What the heck is wrong with my vagina??

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

Okay... at first I just thought I had a yeast infection. White discharge, itching, red vagina, all that. I went to the doctor and got the fluconazole pill, but it came back within two weeks of taking the pill. So then I got lazy and didn't do anything about it. After all, it wasn't that bad.

( Here's where it gets graphic. )

I have spots on my ass.. lol...help?

[ohmanifesto.livejournal.com]

this is less of a vagina question... but i figured you ladies might know something to help..

basically, my ass gets kinda spotty.. i'm assuming it's due to wetness or something down there (although i never actually feel any wetness =/). this of course is rather embarrassing when it comes to sex, and i was wondering if anyone knew of any cream or other treatment that might work on getting rid of them? preferably quickly, too.

i also get the same kind of spots on the back of my thighs.

thanks in advance.

Period coming early

[qui-ti.livejournal.com]

The average time between my periods is about 26 days. However, mine came this morning after barely 17 days. I've had my period for about 4 years (I'm 15) and I've been having (protected) sex since February this year. (I don't know which information is relevant, so I'm just gonna paint a general picture, haha.) My question is, what can cause such a short period of time between periods? Even when my cycle just started, there was never such a small break. :( Any other questions you have, I'm happy to answer, but I need to know what's up!

ETA: This isn't spotting, it's like, my real period.

Best time to take Birth Control

[midnightsphinx.livejournal.com]

If I take my BC every morning, is it best to take it at the EXACT same time every day, or is it okay to take it 1-3 hours different everyday depending on when I wake up? Because of my work schedule I have a very shifty sleep schedule.

Ovarian Cysts and Possible Pregnancy

[mistyximage.livejournal.com]

I'm 18 years old and have had problems with ovarian cysts for the past three years. I was prescribed hormonal birth control pills to regulate my period and to treat the cysts. It was working until I went into Army basic training, where the stress stopped my periods all together for about four months. (I had a hip injury and was put into a medical holding company for five monthes until my discharge in March.) In the middle of November I was experiencing pain in my right ovary (this one had the most cysts on it and was causing me pain before HBC) so I went to the doctor, got an ultra sound and was told everything was fine. About a week after the pain started I started my period again, and until I came home in March it was regular, lasted no more than 8 days, and was not painful. After my return home my periods became irregular, painful, and lasting 10 days or more.

I have been sexually active for the past three weeks, and I am wondering if the sudden severe pain I am feeling in/around my right ovary could be a sign of pregnancy. My boyfriend and I have been using protection (condoms and spermacide, the doctors took me off HBC in the Army after my periods stopped ) and I know there's still a possibility that I am pregnant. Intercourse lately has been painful for me for the past two weeks, and the pain kept me bedridden for nearly two days when I had not had intercourse for a few days before that.

I just want to know what my possibility of being pregnant is (my period isn't due for another four or five days) and if I should worry about a cyst possibly ruptering or twisting. Thank you so much.

Centchroman- contraceptive pill

[gauvie.livejournal.com]

While doing a search for contraceptives, I came across women talking about Centchroman. Has anyone tried Centchroman before? 

Copy and Pasted from another site: 

''Centchroman is an oral contraceptive pill with a difference! Any medicine labeled as a ‘miracle drug’ may sound to be misleading – but Centchroman is a wonderful and yet simple drug that may be the perfect oral contraceptive that many women all over the world are longing for.

Unlike the more common combined oral contraceptive pills that have to be taken daily, and have many a nasty side effects, both short term and long term, Centchroman is a relatively friendly pill. It is a once-a-week pill with high efficacy and safety. It is also relatively free of side effects that are commonly seen with other forms of oral contraceptives.

Centchroman has also been found to be an anti-breast cancer agent.

 

Based on the limited data available for review, this novel nonsteroidal chemical may become an extremely important, new oral contraceptive. Johns Hopkins University says that to date, all evidence indicates that Centchroman:

·         is highly effective (only 1.63 pregnancies per 100 women during the first year), safe and easy to use (requires no pelvic examination prior to starting the drug);

·         is free from side effects commonly associated with steroidal oral contraceptives like nausea, vomiting, weight gain and dizziness;

·         does not delay return of fertility;

·         has only one adverse effect, delayed menses, but this occurs in less than 10% of cycles and with good counseling should not decrease compliance and continuation rates;

·         maintains normal ovulatory cycles because the low dose and weekly or biweekly administration schedule minimizes any effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis;

·         has no apparent adverse effects on endocrine, hematologic, liver and lipid function and, to date, has not been associated with any serious complications (heart attack, stroke or blood clots) that would limit its use by most women; and

·         does not appear to cause congenital anomalies in infants born because of user failure.

 

The CDRI (Central Drug Research Institute) adds that intensive monitoring by clinical examination, haematology and biochemical tests as well as laparascopy and ultrasonographic examinations of ovaries and uterus have shown the drug to be quite safe. Centchroman does not cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness and break through bleeding and has no adverse effect on lipid profile and platelet function as is seen with steroidal contraceptives. Babies born to use failure cases have shown normal milestones. The contraceptive effect is readily reversible and subsequent pregnancy and its outcome is normal. It scores over steroidal contraceptive pills because it does not disturb the endocrine system and the normal ovulatory cycle is maintained.''

hormonal birth control and weight?

[terrenepixy.livejournal.com]

Does anyone have information on how weight can affect hormonal birth control, specifically the pill? I know that it's typically contraindicated for women over a certain weight, but what are indications for women that are underweight?

This is more a curiosity thing than anything; I'm 5'7" and 110 lbs at the most, so it's been an issue with other medication in the past. It would interest me to know if it affects the way the hormones are processed.

Wet flavoured lube

[http://users.livejournal.com/__recidivist/]

I have several pillows of Wet Flavoured Body Glide. I have heard in the past that vaginal/vulvar use of flavoured lubricants is not ideal, as it tends to lead to yeast infections. Is this true? If it's relivant, these claim to be sugar-free.

Ingredients after the cut.
( Read more... )

Funny vagina related t-shirt: The internet is a series of tubes

[nectar001.livejournal.com]

I saw this and thought of this community. :-) (For background see this article on Ted Stevens.)

External Yeast Infection

[stardigan.livejournal.com]

I've always been susceptible to yeast infections, so I thought I knew what the symptoms were.  But, this time, I don't really have any unusual discharge, but the outer area is really itchy and a little painful.  Could this be an external yeast infection?

Also, (this isn't directly vagina related) is it possible for an external yeast infection to spread down to around the asshole?  That area is also kind of itchy. 

Any comments, experience, suggestions will be highly welcomed. 

Painful gyno visits/recurrent burnination?

[ruggafluff.livejournal.com]

Hi! I think this is my first actual post here. I don't think I saw a post relating to my problem exactly in the archives (all seemed to be about first gyno visits), so apologies if I missed it.

Anyway. I'm 18, a virgin, and have had PAP smears/pelvic exams/doctors poking about my vagina with metalbits before (a lot more than I would like to have had, because I seem to have a problem with a burning feeling in my vulva - more on that in a moment). And, despite having had them from six different doctors, 3 GPs and 3 gynos (most of them moved/retired, incidentally - I don't normally doctor-hop!), all of my exams have been extraordinarily painful, even when they use the pediatric speculum (and that bit where they scrape you with a cotton swab also hurts like hell). Even my current gyno, who is a lovely patient woman, and by all accounts gentle, still really, really freakin' hurts me. I may not be relaxing enough, but admittedly it's kind of hard when all of my experiences have been so hurty. =(

I also have this on-and-off burning feeling in my vulva (especially in the, for lack of a more technical term, lip-y areas), which has been going on for several years now. I am about as virginal as you can get, unless my fingers are somehow endowed with the ability to conjure an STD. Never even so much as kissed someone else (haha I'm a hermit, what can I say?). I usually notice it daily, or every other day at best - its intensity varies. Sometimes it's gotten so bad I've gone home from school, though thankfully this isn't too often. It's been going on for a couple years now, and I've had several tests for yeast infections, UTIs, and even herpes, all of which come up negative. The doctor-folk send me home with various creams in the hope that it clears it up (which it doesn't, it seems - it'll make it feel better for a while but it never really goes away). Discharge is rather yellowy sometimes, though to be honest I have no idea if this is just normal for me, 'cause it's been happening on and off for so long. The doctors point out that I look red and irritated down there, even though the tests keep coming up normal.

It seems to have no bearing on whether or not I'm on my period, and I thought maybe it was an allergy to my pads/tampons/detergent, but I switched to chlorine-free pads and started just wearing them for a bit to see if it made it better, but alas. No effect. Have yet to try switching detergents, that's next.

I'm taking Yasmin (which seems to have no effect on it either), and I was on accutane about a year ago, though I have no idea if that might have any effect on it.

My question is twofold; A. do any of you ladies have any idea what might be going on, because I sure am mystifying all my doctors, and B. is it possible that this burning problem is part of the reason why all of my gynecological exams have been so painful? Because I've seriously had enough of this. =( Any ideas/advice/whatever much appreciated, either on what this burning might be or ways to keep gyno visits from being so horrific.

Um... yeast infection!?

[http://users.livejournal.com/____exxxplosive/]

About 2 months ago, i got really sick with strep & i also got a really weird mouth infection. At first i figured the infection in my mouth was just part of the strep, cause all i had was the really bad sore throat,  & swollen lymphs in my neck along with all these weird white spots in the back of my throat (pus) plus on the inside of my lips i got weird white spots/sores.  Well, i STILL have the sores/spots in my mouth :\ ? 

I got medicine for my strep & it went away in about a week, but my mouth was still messed up. So then i went to my derm. for my acne medicine & he looked at it & told me it was a yeast infection... in my mouth. Which i have heard of before, i just didnt thing i would get it :\ He gave me a bunch of sample creams of Ertaczo. Its been gone now on/off. I got rid of it from what i thought was for GOOD, about 1.5 weeks ago, then i noticed i had it again on thursday. I'm SOOO FRUSTRATED!? Is it really a yeast infection cause if it was (thrush?) i would have a sore throat & it would be painful right? It doesn't hurt at all & i only get a sore throat once in awhile, nothing serious.  I'm pretty sure i got my strep from one of my friends who i fooled around with 1-2 weeks before i got it, & then i sorta proceded in dating his best friend who i THINK i infected, but hes just a carrier, not infected, which i read can happen with guys & because of this everytime i have oral contact with him I'm just reinfecting myself?

So basically, is it REALLY a yeast infection or something else? Anyone else ever experiance this? How do i get rid of it? I'm already soakin my toothbrush after every use in listerine, & cuttin off the tops of my chapsticks after i use them. Now i'm gonna have to start avoiding ALL oral contact & stop takin my antibiotics for acne. Anything else i should be doing? I just wanna get rid of this, w/e it is.

ALSO, my vagina is FINE!! I posted this a few weeks ago to beauty101 & i got reamed out by quite a few & got redirected towards this community, so please help me? THANKS

periods, exercise, stress, etc

[heartgut.livejournal.com]

So I know losing weight and other things like stress can affect when you get your period, but I was assuming that these would need to be drastic in order to have much of an impact (like a dramatic and rapid drop in body fat or some tragic personal loss). Was I wrong to make this assumption?

Because...

I have a famously unreliable cycle (for which I'm taking some herbal supplements, cod liver oil & also evening primrose oil), and it's technically "late" again (still within the normal range of my late periods).
This last month I've been working out regularly, aerobic and resistance, and devoting a lot of energy to various projects. Very rarely do I totally relax. I'm fitting into my "skinny" pants, which are a few sizes smaller than the pants I was wearing before. I haven't lost any weight according to the scale, and I've been eating strangely thanks to the stress.

Could this stuff be delaying my period this month or is my cycle just not improving inspite of the supplements?

Thank you!