2007-05-22

chronic endocervicitis?

After obtaining my medical records from my gynecologist, I found that I have "chronic endocervicitis." I was never told that I had this condition, and I am wondering if anyone has any useful information about this. I always bleed after sex (among many other unpleasant things that have been going on since my cervical biopsy) and I was wondering if this could be a symptom of this condition.

The garlic thing

What exactly does inserting a clove of garlic into the vagina cure? I keep hearing about yeast infections, but is there anything else? I've posted several times before about my annoying trips to the doctor lately and I am ready to try almost anything. To give a brief overview again, its been going on since around October. I've had more discharge than usual and there is a more noticeable odor. Not fishy or anything that really smells bad, but just not something that I want people to notice and since I notice it, I fear others do too. Some days it is a clearish brownish, other days it is like bright yellow, almost even neon yellow. There is no itchy or irritation by itself, but if I am stuck at work with no way of changing my pantyliner things can get a little uncomfortable just due to wetness being against my skin for a while. Some days it's not even bad, or won't be bad for most of the day but then towards the end of the day I can feel it and from then on for the rest of the night I am feeling like that. I am going to go broke on co-pays, I can't take it anymore. The first time the doctor said I had BV, gave me meds, it helped some but not really. I went back and the doc said there was an excess of group B strep which is normal for most women but since I was symptomatic they would treat it. She gave me more meds, they worked, I felt great while I was on the meds but within a few days of finishing them, the symptoms came back. I went back again so she did another culture (Im also getting real tired of having those done), and she said there was still bacteria but she could not tell what kind and therefore did not know how to treat it so she would call me in a few days. The lab called a few days later and said my pap and cultures were fine, have a nice day. The call had woken me up from a nap so I wasn't really coherent enough to say hey I did not have a pap and my cultures weren't fine, you're supposed to tell me what kind of bacteria it was and what kind of meds I need.

I know I should have called back but its one of those things you just don't wake up dying to do, so I have put it off yet another few weeks. I am uncomfortable, I'm scared that all this time it is something serious that they're not catching(I had STI tests done back when they said it was BV, those came out fine), I'm frustrated, I feel gross and I can't even think about being intimate without showering right before hand. My last resort is to go to my actual GYN (I had been going to my family doctor), but there are problems with that. I am pretty sure my insurance considers that to be a specialist visit (50 bucks rather than 25 co pay) and I haven't been to him for a pap in like two years, I had been getting my pap from my family doctor. He is hard to get an appt with unless I take time off work which I don't really have time available and the nurses are really quite rude there. So I'm just not looking forward to paying $50.00 to go get asked from three different nurses why they don't have a pap on file for me for the last two years, get poked and prodded some more, only for him to possibly not know whats wrong either.

These docs act like just because tests don't show anything then nothing is wrong and it drives me crazy. I am 28 years old, I have only had this problem for the last 6 months of my life so I don't think I can take another doctor telling me nothing is wrong when I walk around feeling wet, smelly and gross. Sorry to rant but if anyone knows anything that I can try, I am willing to do it (so long as it doesn't kill me). Is there a chance the garlic could help this? How do you even do it, how far do you insert it, how long do you keep it in for and how do you get it back out? Also, how long will it take before the smell/taste goes away, cause I am seeing someone and I am NOT explaining that one to him. Also, I am going on vacation this weekend and won't be seeing him, so I guess now would be the perfect time to try, so long as just people around me cannot smell the garlic.

Thank you so much for listening and any help is appreciated. I am really at my wits end.

Inducing Period

One way I can always tell that my period is on its way is that my breasts get extremely sensitive 3-4 days before my period starts.

They have been sensitive for over 2 weeks, and just today i was getting small minor cramps that also tell me that my period is coming, and i have extremely irregular periods, that its hard to say when my next one will start.

But on friday I am leaving for Mexico for a couple of days and I wanted to know if Parsley Tea can help induce my period. Or if it is just known to work for those who know they have missed their period?

blah i hope that made sense.

I would rather be on the end of my period when im on vacation, than just starting it while im there.

High-Risk HPV and Oral Sex

Hi ladies (and gents, potentially), question for you all.

So, I have a high-risk strain of HPV. In February, I had my abnormal cells lasered away (at least that was the plan) and I don't have any warts, nor have I ever. I am due to go back for my follow up pap in July.

However, a potential partner is coming to visit next week, and we want to make sure we're on the up and up about transmission, so she doesn't get it. We have plenty of dams and gloves, and are clear on the risk of transmission from finger to genital contact, but most of the information we have come across in regard to transmission risk with oral sex is in reference to low-risk HPV, or warts.

So, any thoughts on the risks of transmitting a high-risk strain of HPV through oral sex? My last partner stopped going down after I was diagnosed (not because he read anything or had any solid info, he just was weirded out by it), plus he was a dude and probably had it anyway, so it would be hard to know whether he could have contracted it through oral sex. So, we're just not sure what's necessary to protect her from contracting it.

Thanks for your help. You all are the best!

lost tampon [?] again

so, i posted a few days ago about the possibility of having a lost tampon . & im showing more and more symptoms of it so im pretty sure im gonna try and see a gynocologist this week.. i was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else here? and how do they remove it [if you went to see your doctor]? =/ do they just like reach in and take it out? &will it hurt? i know taking it out & not risking infection is definitely worth some pain, but i'm just wondering. i definitely dont think im using tampons anymore..

Current Mood: curious

orgasms and advil?

okay, so...go with me on this.

I am definitely the type of girl who doesn't have much of a problem orgasming. I go a lot, so when I don't go...it's almost strange (especially if I don't have any outside factors like stress going on).

lately I've been popping advil a fair amount (maybe 2-3 times a week for the past month or so), for period cramps and sinus headaches and the like.

and I've noticed...when I take 2 or more?

I can't orgasm.

is that not the weirdest thing you've heard in your life ever??

I can't think of any reason advil and orgasms would correlate, but last night made probably the 4th or 5th time it happened.

I just thought I'd share in case anyone could come up with a logical explaination why this might be? I can't think of one...

pill question

Hey,

I'm on Loestrin 21, am on the second day of my pack after the normal week-break; I've just had a stabbing pain around the left lower side of my belly, which I used to get when I wasn't on the pill and assumed it was an ovulation pain. I've been taking my pills correctly, within a 2-hour period in the mornings.

I had penetrative straight sex twice last night - do I need the morning after pill?

Thank you in advance for any help anyone can give me. I'm heading into town to get the morning after pill now, but won't take it until I know more.

Thank you!

Laurie.x

Cost of Gardasill

Hi ladies, I was just wondering if any of you who have had the shot Gardasill could tell me about how much it cost? Or even if you haven't had it, but you know the cost at your Planned Parenthood. My Planned Parenthood told me it costs about $132 a shot and since they don't have a genetic form, there isn't a cheaper way to go. So for all three shots that's nearly $400, which I just cannot afford. I don't have insurance so I'd have to pay the full price. I was interested to know if this cost is universal or if it's just our local PP. Thanks!

Current Mood: lethargic

On sex and periods

Hello again. First of all, thank you very much on the lovely advice I got about UTIs and post-sex peeing. I have talked to my boyfriend and he has agreed that my health is a very important thing, so he has no problems about me being careful about UTIs. Which, reallt, seems fitting. So thanks again to everyone for their brilliant advice.

I have one other question. Before meeting my boyfriend, I had not had sex since March 2006. When we decided to have sex, we were unfortunately made to wait by the fact that I was on my period. That was roughly a month ago. Since then, we've had sex several times, always using condoms. Recently, I've noticed that my PMS symptoms only include me being easily irritated. I was supposed to have my period yesterday, but it's known to be a couple of days late. Except I have no swollen breasts or cramps.

My question is this: could my recent sexual activity (after such a long break) be influencing my hormones and therefore putting me period off for a few days?

Temp, Ring, Plan B - oh my!

Hey ladies, what luck that I'd find this community on today of all days, when I actually could use some advice.

Here's my situation: I'm on the Nuvaring (love it, btw) and my boyfriend and I are sexually active. We always use condoms in addition to BC because...well, I'm paranoid. However, the ring I have in now was one that I had with me when I moved out of my dorm and back home. I kept it out or direct sunlight during the entire move, but my car doesn't have a working air conditioning system and it was pretty hot that day. My thermomoter was showing it in the mid-upper 80's and the ring says that it's not supposed to be stored at temperatures over 86 degrees. Now I tried to keep as much flow going in the car as I could, but it was likely around or a little over 86 for about an hour and a half. For lack of other options (due to timing) I had to use that same ring and put it in on Wednesday of last week. My bf and I had sex that Thursday. I contacted my GNY and she said not to be too concerned because we used a condom (for this very reason) but that the Ring is probably less effective, but not totally useless, as a result of the heat.

However, as I sit here it feels like I'm beginning to ovulate, and the 120 hour EC window is rapidly closing in on me. My question is this: do you think that I should use Plan B as a backup backup, or do you think I should just hope that the hot ring and the condom did the trick? I've heard that EC can really screw with a woman's body, and would really like some more information before making a decision. Thanks.

Extra menstrual cycle/cramps?

Hey lovely superstars --

I had my period early on in May. It was unusually long for me, lasting about a full week (usually I only have it for a few days). It ended around the 13th. Then this weekend, around the 18th, it came back! It's mostly just dark discharge and the occasional bit of blood, but it's definitely there, plus I've got some cramping going on. I usually get killer cramps for a day or two before my period, then nothing else. I've been getting on and off cramps for days now, along with the dark discharge and sporadic bleeding.

I have a Mirena IUD, but I've had it for about 14 months now and never had any problems, so this seems strange. I thought it might've been stress, but I've been feeling pretty calm over all even though there are stressful events going on right now. I've been way, way more stressed than this before and never had it alter my period. So I am confused and concerned, particularly because this is coming up on the fourth weekend in a row that I'm going to have to tell my new significant other that we can't mess around because of my period. I think it is starting to confuse and distress him, which I think is a bit fair. Four weekends seems a bit excessive, no? ;)

So any help or advice would be wonderfully well received. I'd like to avoid needing to go to the doctor, because I no longer have health insurance and I'd rather wait till I have insurance again so I can see my regular doctor, but if you guys really think this is a doctor worthy situation, I'll go to PP or figure out something with my practitioner. Thanks in advance!

pms/pmdd

For those who suffer from extreme symptoms of pms/pmdd, when do you get them? For example, week 1, 2, 3 or 4 of your cycle?

HPV immunisation reaction

Hey all.
There have been a few posts lately about people asking if there were any reactions to the HPV shot Gardasill.
I haven't had the shot, and don't intend to, but on the news today there was a report of about 5 girls from a school who had implemented it into their vaccines offered, being taken to hospital.

Although I am sure this is typical of most, if not all vaccines I thought it was interesting and perhaps important to be posted.

I found this newspaper article (from a very reputable newspaper) here:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21775027-2702,00.html

if you don't want to click on the link....

Girls in hospital after cervical cancer vaccine

May 22, 2007

FIVE girls from a Melbourne school were taken to hospital suffering adverse reactions to a vaccination that immunises women against cervical cancer.

The five Sacred Heart Girls College students were among more than 20 who reported to the school's sick bay on May 7 after being injected with Gardasil, which protects them against a virus that can lead to cervical cancer.

The national immunisation program is a federal government initiative that aims to vaccinate every schoolgirl aged between 12 and 18 years with the Australian-developed Gardasil.

A spokesman for the Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS) said it was not uncommon to have some adverse reactions in such a large scale program.

“A number of students were transported to Monash Medical Centre and two were kept overnight for observation and discharged the next day,” the DHS spokesman said.

“In these instances it's not uncommon to have some level of reaction when you have large-scale immunisation programs such as this one.”

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott told Southern Cross Broadcasting that Gardasil, which was approved for use in Australia in June last year, had been “exhaustively tested”, and 99.99 per cent of the time had proved to be very reliable.

“Parents should remember the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the side effects,” Mr Abbott said.

Spotting for an entire BC pack before period!

First off, I'd like to introduce myself. Long time reader, I've commented a few times, but this is the first time I've posted a problem.
So my issue.
I've been on HBC pills for about 5 or so years now--I've done Ortho-TriCyclen and the generic, and seasonale but more recently I switch to Yasmin (and I LOVE what its done for my face, and by recently I mean January.) And I decided to piggyback 3 packs together because I didn't like Seasonale because I always spotted with it. I'm now on pack #3 and I'm going on the sugar pills on Sunday. Now the issue: i've basicly been spotting since I started this last pack on May 6th, and I'm a little concerned that I'm not going to get my REAL period. The spotting some days has been real heavy, others not so much, but of course just enough so I have to wear a pantyliner for the day, but not enough that I would need a pad or a tampon.
Should I be concerned about getting my period or is this just my body taking care of all the stuff that wasn't expelled when I would normally have my period?

Current Mood: stressed

Adult bedwetting

I had a look through the memories and couldn't find anything.. point me in the right direction if i missed something..

Background
-----
24 years old.. pretty healthy.. on anti depressants and mood stablisers and HBC (levlen ED)
In a monogomous, healthy 9 month r/ship with a male and recently came up free of STIs and I am my partners first partner he hasn't used a condom with and we live together.
I work fulltime in a job I really dislike.. I've only been there a month but it stresses me out from time to time cause i know i could be doing something/earning more with my qualifications/experience.

Problem
-----
Twice in the past 3 night I have wet myself in bed (with my partner.. lucky hes understanding)
I went to the doctor today and he said there was nothing in my urine..
I don't have an UTI (had plenty before) - don't have any liver, kidney, abdomanal pain at all..
I've been on all my meds long enough to know its not adjusting to the medication
?
-----
Has this happened to anyone else? does it just 'go away'
Is it the stress of my job?
Should I get a second opinion?

Possible YI??? Identification?

Hi all,
I've been pretty lucky in that I have never had a YI or anything like that... until now. I feel like I have some of the symptoms for a YI, but I have no discharge at all (which means that it might not be a YI?) It does kind of smell like yeast, though. my vulva is significantly redder than usual, and I have a mild burning/itching down there. I don't really have time to get to a doctor (i'm just about to start finals week, and I'm not at home so I would have to find a new doctor), so I was wondering if you lovely ladies could help me figure out what this is/how I can treat it!

I just ended my period on Sunday, and towards the end I wore a tampon for a long period of time and the string soaked my underwear in urine. I think that this might have given me a diaper-rash sort of irritation? That's the only thing I can think of... but I don't know how to treat this.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give me about what you think this could be or how you think I should treat it!

Current Mood: embarrassed

Hypochondriac worried about pubic lice

( Cut for a dumb and irrational question )

FDA Approves BC pill meant to stop periods

See the MSNBC article here.

So, what do y'all think? I'm still not sure about the idea of halting periods altogether...I really think that seems like it could cause problems later on. We don't really know yet. Anybody who can't wait until july to go get it?

i feel stupid...

so i just got put on Trinessa, which is a generic of ortho tri cyclen, last week and i start it this sunday.

It is the first time i will be on BC pills, so I really know absolutely nothing about what to expect.

have any of you ladies been on it? how did you like it? side effects? benefits?

also...this may be a stupid question...
will there be bad side effects if i smoked pot while on the pill, or am i just being paranoid?

Hyper Sexual?

I turn to you lovely Paginers with a strange question...

Up until about 3 months ago I had been taking Depo Provera... for over 5 years in fact... to treat endometriosis. As the Depo has been wearing off I've been having some increased endo pain, but this question is about something stranger..

I'm horny

ALL OF THE TIME!

In the past week I've been giving myself over half a dozen orgasms every day and am still squirming and horny throughout the day at work. Everything turns me on from romantic songs to sexy shoes to the slightest touch or look from my fiance. I'm starting to find it kind of distracting and I'd really like it to go away (not completely of course, but at least to a managable level!)

So... how do I put a damper on my libido?

Stubble? >.>

When I shave my vag, there's ALWAYS visable stubble (although it's smooth to the touch). It's just a bit, but it's a pain in my ass to look at.
Is there anything I could do to get rid of it?

Using HBC and IUD

I know this is an unusual question but i'm wondering if it is safe to take the combined pill AND have a coil fitted?

The reason i ask this is because i'm totally paranoid about getting pregnant. I don't particularly feel safe on the pill but i like it because it regulates my cycle (albeit a false cycle), i've previously been on the depo injection but that turned me into a mad woman, and the evra patch also doesn't work - i have very dry skin so the patch kept peeling off before it was due to.

The reason i'd like to use the pill and the coil is so that the pill would regulate my periods and the coil would be there as a back-up just in case something went wrong with the pill.

I'd also be using condoms, but you've guessed it, i'm paranoid about them splitting as well lol.

*self edited for typos*

Current Mood: aggravated

Texas Laws Randomly Put into Effect

Recently my town has gone a bit crazy, from shutting down sexual businesses for loop holes found in the city's rules, to arresting innocent employees for doing nothing more that what they're told, rant to follow.

( Rant on the Local Government's Actions Against Women )

Coming-off-pill-worries, non-hormonal BC help

Hey guys. Since I've been reading the linkage of hormonal contraception to VVS, which I'm having surgery for on the 28th of next month, I'm really strongly considering going off the pill to avoid future complications. For some reason, though, I'm terrified of it; am I going to break out like hell? Is my gut going to go nuts, like it does when I try a new one? I've been on the pill for about.. 6 years now since I was 13, and I suppose it's just been so deeply engrained into me I don't want to quit for fear of my hormones backlashing or something. Is it even possible for my hormones to punish me? So, any experiences from those of you who have and been OK, just to ease my mind?

Also, I'm considering it because I just read up that generic oral contraception is, in fact, permitted under FDA regulations to contain more or less hormones than the name-brand counterpart, and my insurance only covers generics.. so it sorta spooked me. What do you guys think?

http://www.contraceptiononline.org/contrareport/article01.cfm?art=211

So, this is gonna leave me choosing another method aside from condoms, which are used religiously, but I'm not down with using them alone, and neither is my guy. IUD is 100% entirely out of the question. My cramps are horrible enough as is, and the thought of a foreign body in my reproductive organs is just plain not cool with me. Soo.. are there any choices beside the female prescription barrier-method-route? I think I might be too lazy for FAM. Any of you use cervical barriers and actually like them? I hear too much about young women having more problems with diaphragms and the like than older women, so input from that age group could be particularly more helpful.

I think I got it all! Thanks for anything you can offer in advance. :)

Dreams triggering vulvar pain?

( Behind a cut, just in case )

tyra banks, sex industry, the tyra banks show, talk shows, media, audience, infuence

I thought this would be a topic of interest to many posters here. Is it okay? If not, I'll delete.

...

Tyra Banks is a media force to be reckoned with. Not on the level of Oprah, maybe-- perhaps she is more of an Oprah, Jr.

( Wherein I get upset about Tyra's skewed presentation of the sex industry and try to do something about it. )

Am I wrong to be so upset by this? Did anyone else see the show? Was she really not being that bad and I just overreacted? I couldn't help but feel repulsed by the way she presented information on that particular episode. (PS- Don't ask me why I was watching Tyra. Haha.)