2007-06-01

Working out

Okay. So is it just me, or does anyone else feel a dire need to have sex (or at least orgasm) after working out? I started going to the gym recently and every single time, I come home, and feel like ripping my fiance's clothes off. And if we go together, it's even stronger! I'm assuming this has something to do with the adrenaline or hormones or whatever happens to you when you work out, but sheesh! About two years ago, my fiance and I went to the gym a few times a week and we'd often have sex afterwards, but I never felt such a *need* from it before! I'm not complaining, it's actually a great feeling, but now I'm worried what will happen if he's not around to have sex when I have this urge :P

tightness?

My mom doesn't "believe" in tampons, so I never tried anything except for pads. Then, last semester, a few of my friends extolled the benefits of tampons and I winded up trying one. Cue me cringing in a toilet stall with tears in my eyes. Read: Burning pain.

Fine. I file it under "things I don't need to deal with" and I move on.

I have a girlfriend. This happens to be the first sexual relationship I've had. Whenever penetration comes us, she manages to stick a total of one finger in me and even then she has to pause as I cringe, breathe deeply, and try to think sexy thoughts. It mostly fails.

This is not so fine, to put it mildly. We try several times. No go.

Then today my doctor tries a pap smear out on me. I say try, because she whipped out the speculum and burning pain right on cue. She seemed rather blase about it all and suggested I try tampons out and that we reschedule for next year.

What gives? And more importantly, how do I fix this? (The doctor mentioned that I might have to just man up the first time I'm penetrated, but wow I can't express how much I'm against that idea.)

Painful Sex

Hey Everyone,

Ive gone through the archives looking at this subject but nothing seems to match up at all with what's going on with me. I hope some of you have some ideas of what could be the problem.

I'm 21 years old and have been sexually active since I was 16. Ive always had a very active sex life and enjoy sex quite a bit. Now to the problem. Me and my ex(broke up in November) had always had a good sex life, but after 3 years it slowed down a bit(naturally). Almost a year ago, it started hurting when he tried to enter. It was the lower part of my vagina(the bottom, where it ends), and felt like a burning/tearing feeling. This continued from then on and I have not been able to enjoy sex at all, always having to stop because I was in so much pain.

There was not any other factors that changed, there was always plenty of lubrication and i can not even have any sort of penetration now(with toys etc) without pain. Do any of you have any idea what could be the problem?? Im worried because Ive been seeing a new guy and I don't want this issue to continue!!

UTI and.....bed wetting?

hi. I've been a member here for over a year now, but I'm posting under a different name cause...well, this is embarrassing.

this morning I....wet the bed.

it's the first time it's happened to me since childhood (I'm 21). I remember I was dreaming of peeing, lol, and then...I just did.

not only that but my pee smells really strong and really bad.

I haven't had any pain or discomfort while peeing, but I do have some slight pain in my lower abdomen, sort of like mild cramps.

I'm mainly concerned about the bed-wetting. do you think it was just a fluke or something I need to be concerned about?

I have a feeling this points to a UTI, which I've had once before, but I can't see a doctor until at least next wednesday.

any suggestions for in the meantime? I would really like to NOT wet the bed again, if at all possible.

ugh this is so horribly embarrassing! I'm just glad my boyfriend wasn't there (he sometimes sleeps over). that would have been worse.

thanks girls.

hpv in mouth

I know this isn't strictly related to the vagina but it is a sexual health concern. I woke up this morning with some sort of sore on the roof of my mouth, on the soft palate. when I mentioned it to my boyfriend he said he too has one. when I googled it to see what it could be HPV was mentioned frequently. Does anyone know more about this? We are monogamous but we are not each other's first sexual partner. Is this something I should see a doctor about? Thanks so much for any help or information you can offer! You guys are the best.

Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Muse â€“ Take A Bow

Yasmin + Contact Lenses

My doctor's just prescribed me Yasmin because my blood pressure was a little high with my current pill (Microgynon something something, or something, which I've been taking since October 2006). I was looking it up in the Vulvapedia and in the .pdf file about Yasmin it says the possible side effects are nausea, vomiting, bleeding between menstrualperiods, weight gain, breast tenderness, and difficulty wearing contact lenses.

It doesn't mention anything about contact lenses in the booklet that came with my pills, though, so I'm a bit baffled.

I'm just coming to the end of a month's free trial wearing contact lenses though - tomorrow I'm going back to the opticians to confirm that I want to keep them, but I'm not sure if forking out the £10/month is a great idea if my pill's going to make them a pain to wear, so...

has anyone else had this difficulty with contact lenses? What does it mean by 'difficulty' anyway?

Any personal experiences etc from ladies taking Yasmin (or anyone else in the know, of course) would be much appreciated, thankyou. :)

I'm a bit worried about the likeliness of side-effects with taking a new pill, too. I liked my old one, I had no problems whatsoever re; spotting or nausea or weight-gain or anything with it. :\ I hope this one doesn't affect me.

Paranoia - my IUD strings are MIA

Hi Everyone!

I have a doctors appointment on monday to get this checked out, but I just can't wait that long, so I've stopped by to see what you all have to say.

Here's the story: My strings have disappeared!! They've been gone for maybe a week now, which is unusual for me. They've disappeared before, but always come back in a couple of days. I'm on my period, and they are just no where to be found.

I also had a weird pain the other day (before my period started)...I sort of twisted my body and felt a sharp pain in my abdominal region. I didn't think much of it at the time, but looking back, its making me paranoid! I'm not sure whether or not my strings were there after that. I use a menstrual cup, but haven't felt any pain upon inserting or removing. I also have not noticed my IUD floating in my cup (obviously, since I'd be pretty sure what was going on if I had!)

My period still FEELS like I have the IUD in. I've had my normal (with an IUD) bad cramping, although the bleeding has been slightly less than my last periods. I've only had the IUD for 4 months though, so its possible that the bleeding is just finally calming down.

Any thoughts? The doctor will most likely do an ultrasound to see if its there or not, right?

Those of you who have IUDs but can't feel the strings, how do you feel about that? Do you feel confident that you'd somehow know if it expelled?

(Crossposted to IUD_Divas)

bright red bleeding after sex

Since the beginning of the year, I have been experiencing bleeding during and after sex. It's usually bright red in color and occurs every time we have sex. My question is, why is this happening? I've been tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea and both came back negative. My last pap smear came back normal, even though my pap in October was abnormal and led me to have a biopsy. Has anyone else experienced the same thing? I don't know what's wrong with me.

*edit* I am currently on Loestrin 24. Since October I have been on that & Yaz.

PLEASE HELP

I am an 18 year old female and have a beautiful girlfriend. Last Thursday (1 week ago), she fingered me for the first time. Being a virgin, I'm pretty sure it broke my hymen.. And yes, a day after I bled..

The thing is..

I HAVEN'T STOPPED BLEEDING.

What's going on?!?

PLEASE help :(

Vagina's and Walgreens

I was shopping at Walgreen's for my sister who had just came home from college. She needed bleach, and monistat. So, I went to pay, and kindly asked not to have it bagged. I have an injury that makes it easier for to just carry heavy things(like bleach) in my hands. Well, apparently that just wouldn't do! The manager told me that I shouldn't want to go outside and be seen with monistat! Now, to each their own. Some people want it bagged, t hey want the privacy. I neither cared for privacy nor what other thought. And it hurt to carry it in the bag. Finally the Walgreen's manager angrily took it out of the bag for me, telling how inappropriate I was! My sister told me that their required to bag those types of items? Even against your will? I use a diva cup and cloth pads so I havnet bought feminine items in years.

External G-Spot Stimulation

So, I've always considered myself down with my cunt and my girly bits and pretty informed about how I work. I'm all sorts of sex-positive and have a decent amount of experience. But, all of this experience has been with boys and men. PIV sex. Now, I've never really been all that excited about g-spot stimulation. I've done a fair bit of searching around on my own, and have tried all sorts of positions that are supposed to stimulate the g-spot, and it's either just been painful, or just eh. But the other night, I mean holy crap, it's like my eyes have been opened anew.

I had absolutely no idea it was possible to stimulate the g-spot from OUTSIDE the cunt. But ohmygod, this is something everyone should know how to do - for themselves, to teach partners, to use on partners.

Perhaps this is common knowledge if you're queer, and being supposedly Straighty McStraighterson until rather recently, I'm a little new to this all, but seriously - awesome! This is like, my favorite thing I've learned about my body since I found my clit.

Really, that's all I had to say. I needed to share with someone(s) just how exciting my new finding is. And maybe I'm not the only person who has been in the dark. So, go forth and find someone with a nice strong hip to grind with, and let me know how it goes.

Birth Control Woes

I've been on the NuvaRing for about a year and a half now, and I loved it because I can't fuck it up, don't have to worry about it daily, and it was all around great when I started it.

Now? Not so much.

Sex drive- gone
Yeast infections- rampant
Painful sex- Oh yeah
Keeps peeking out- Been doing it recently
Strange fluffy feeling inside my vagina- what the hell is going on in there?

I used to be wet all the time, now I even when I'm turned on (which is extremely rare and pretty much only when I'm drunk) I'm still almost dry. I never want sex, when I used to want sex every day or more than once a day. We have sex now between 1 and 4 times a month. I'm still attracted to my partner so I can't imagine that is the problem, but this is causing a strain on both of us.

Now, I switched off the pill after about 2-3 years because:

1. I could hardly remember to take it and missed a lot and need full protection agaisnt pregnancy right now
2. I have stomach problems (vomiting/diareeah) which I've heard can interfere with absorbtion of the pill

I had no problems with sex drive/whatever while on the pill (Mircette)

My doctor wouldn't let me go on the patch, which is why I'm on the ring. I'm going to a new doctor but still, I'm not sure the patch is right for me (afraid it will fall off/I'll forget/something) plus if it's the hormones that are whacking me out then higher hormones from the patch would make it worse, it seems to me.

Can't do depo because I couldn't live with myself if I gained weight because I'm trying so hard to LOSE weight. Also, random spotting is not my idea of fun.

IUD's sound ok except the copper T makes periods worse, which I could not handle, and the mirena has the same spotting risks. Plus it could fall out (they said it happens in up to 7% of women) and I possibly wouldn't know.

I want the implanon, but again the spotting plus the possibility of it not actually getting in there somehow. I could deal with it if it killed my period, I'd jsut do pregnancy tests every couple of weeks to reassure myself, but I couldn't deal with random spotting, I also heard that there is a possibilty of weight gain on it PLUS no one in my area is even doing it yet!!

I can't just use condoms because they rip me apart inside no matter what kind we use, and it just feels plasticy and fake and awful.

We want kids at some point, just not for at least 4 or 5 years, so sterilization is definatly out. I'm not morally opposed to RU-486 but I really don't want to get pregnant at all...

Now. I'm not 100% positive if it really is the ring doing this to me or if I'm just screwed up somehow else (but I'm pretty sure this is the ring's fault). But the sex drive has been steadily decreasing and the yeast infection goes away but as soon as I have sex it's back again (we use lube with no glycerin in it, and we've treated him with topical YI cream in the past just to see if it helps and it totally hasn't) I did the acidipholus, yogurt, you name it and nothing really helps... I have a gyno appointment next week and I just need some advice before then on what to do!

I was wondering if I ask the gyno if I could switch to pills for a month or two (and jsut be really super careful) and then back onto the ring to see if that helps, or do doctors not like to mess with meds like that? It seems to me that they wouldn't but I think it may be a viable option, maybe my poor vagina just needs a break from having a ring in it with only a one week break every 3-4 weeks?

Advice, support, comments, anything is super super appreciated.

x-posted to personal journal,

birthcontrol, and

vaginapagina

HPV vaccine

Hey guys,
I hope this isn't too off-topic; since this is about an std and cervical cancer, I figured it would be appropriate.
I work at Planned Parenthood and we have a meeting with a Merck representative about the HPV vaccine, and she told us to come prepared with any questions that we have. I thought this would be a good community to post in to see if you guys had anything in particular you wanted answered. Just comment and I will direct all the questions I can to the rep and let you guys know if I get any good info out of her.
Thanks!

When does a hymen break, if not during sex?

I lost my virginity at 15 without any difficulty. It was aone-time thing and I didn’t have sex again until almost 3 years later. I didn’t bleed when I lost it at 15 or when I started having sex regularly since.

I started using tampons immediately upon getting my period at 12. I had no difficulty inserting one at all.

I did a lot of sports as a child – swimming, horseback riding, softball, dance, volleyball, basketball, and a few others. I know that being active in sports can cause your hymen to partially or completely break before ever inserting anything into your vagina… but how does it happen? Has anyone else ever not bled or felt pain upon inserting a tampon or having sex for the first time?

This is all just out of curiosity! Thanks in advance!

Exams.

I just called in to make an appointment with my GP for a full physical exam. Being a woman, will that get across that I need a pap test and all that jazz?

Also, I've never had a 'womanly exam' before and if I'd be able to get some idea of what to expect, that would also be nice. I know about the pap test, but I don't know if they do anything else or if that's it. I should probably tell my doctor that I had an abortion too, right? If I want to get tested for STI's? should I ask him to do it then or come back later?

Thanks!

Doctor builds new, more natural vagina

I just saw this and thought it was pretty nifty...

Operation uses stem cells to help women with rare congenital syndrome

(This is from a couple days ago, but I don't think I saw it posted...sorry if it's a repeat!)

veet on bikini line

What do you guys think about hair removal cream on bikini lines? Especially Veet. What's the re-growth like? I mean, is it fit for the eyes of male things? Is it ok to use sort of.....like *directly* underneath you? Where the thigh meets the outer lips. Is there any advantage of creams over shaving?

never done anything like this before!

thanks xxx

Blood Clot Symptoms

I have been on the Nuvaring for several months now and last week I developed a throbbing dull pain in my left thigh. I've been told that birth control puts you at risk for blood clots and DVT in the legs. Does anyone know if this sound like I'm having a blood clot, of if I just pulled a muscle or something. There's no swelling or discoloration, just some dull pain that goes away and sometimes comes back. Any suggestions, or should I be rushing in to the doctor?

IUD and Longer Periods

I got my iud Feb 19 and my periods have been about 2 weeks long. I'm currently on my fourth iud period. My doctor told me that my period would go back to normal by the 6 month mark, but I'm afraid it won't. I've been a member of iud divas since right before getting my iud and I haven't seen much mention of period length. I asked but didn't get much response so I figured I'd try here. I have a feeling that most of the women whose periods go from light and short to 2 weeks long probably just have it removed and don't feel the need to stay in an iud community. So my question is, did your periods go back to normal at some point after getting an iud? In case it matters, my periods used to be about 5 or 6 days long and much lighter than they are now.

STDs/STIs

Does reading about different STDs/STIs (whatever is "politically correct" nowadays) ever freak anyone other than me out so bad that they never want to have sex again? =X lol. I know this is a completely irrational fear, and that as long as I protect myself and know my partner I should be fine.... but, I know that some of them can be painful. And oozey. And generally unpleasant. And I do not do well with pain (I cried when I got my vertical labret done), and I most CERTAINLY do NOT do well with oozey. And one might even say that I'd go to extremes (read: considering abstinence for The Rest of My Existence) to avoid them. So.... yea. Am I the only one out there? D:

Current Mood: groggy

light tampons

just wondering. does anyone else have the hardest time finding "light", "slim" or "junior" tampons? i feel like they disappeared off the store shelves over night. i have super light periods and regulars are too absorbent. after 8 hrs i barely get it 1/2 way saturated after 8 hrs :( do u guys know of any websites where i could get light tampons that have plastic applicators? ugh, why'd they have to get rid of my beloved tampax pearl lights :(

nuvaring issues

So I went on the NuvaRing about two weeks ago. I told my nurse practitioner that I didn't want to go on it for several reasons, but she just kind of vetoed me and offered me that or Yaz, and I haven't heard anything positive about Yaz, so I decided to try the ring. It hasn't been tooo bad so far, but I've had some side effects that I really don't like. I'm taking a B6 to stop depression (I was really weepy on Mircette, which I hated), but I've been kind of irritable. I have chronic yeast infections anyway, but this one seems to be resisting any kind of treatment (the nurse told me that people don't get yeast infections on the ring because it's pH balanced--- what??). The ring's always pretty near the front of my vagina, so I can feel it when I wipe, which worries me for when I'm relying on it for actual birth control. Also, I seem more prone to mild headaches (which I never got before). And my sex drive is already decreased, which sucks. The thing that worries me most is that sex is painful again. It was painful the whole time I was on Mircette (2+ years), and then it got better when I got treatment that actually worked for a yeast infection. It was only painful because of lack of lube (which is a different kind of pain, for some reason) very occasionally, once or twice, when I was off HBC entirely, and it was easily cured with lube. It wasn't even bad when I accidentally had sex with a YI. I don't have a partner right now (will in September), but when I used a silicone toy I had, after a few minutes, I felt the same kind of pain I used to feel. It was absolutely awful for both me and my ex dealing with that for a year and a half (I hurt, and he felt guilty, and I felt guilty), and I really would hate to have that with the new boy.

I leave the country on July 4, and won't really have access to a doctor without all sorts of complicated maneuvers. My question is, should I try to wait out the NuvaRing and see if it gets better after I've been on it for the recommended 3 months, or should I make an appointment (maybe with another doctor, as this one really didn't listen to me) and try another pill? I don't feel that comfortable with barrier methods or an IUD, I just hate dealing with the effects of hormones. I liked being all natural for a while :(