Lumpy McLump Lump

[la-mapache.livejournal.com]

Hey all- 
so like many I hate visiting the Dr. I've noticed that a week before and during my period my lady bits get extra swollen, I'm most concerned about a squishy lump that I feel on inside righthandside of my vagina wall. Its puffy and squishy and only on the right side. It comes and goes in size. Any thoughts?

I need to stop my period...today

[idrinkredwine.livejournal.com]

I got my period this morning 1.5 weeks early. I can not afford to have it right now and I need to find a way to end it. I have birth control pills (yaz) that I can use to stop it but I dont know how. Any opinions? advice?

IUD ... what was/is it like for you?

[subbie-bunny.livejournal.com]

i'm contemplating an IUD.

Some background:

in the past, i have had irregular and sometimes extremely heavy periods. (n my early 20's). for the past five years i have had moderate to light periods, fairly regular, and for the past two years, lighter periods (about 4 days, light to moderate flow) that are clockwork regular (due in part to my use of herbals to regulate).


i am not interested AT ALL in using any form of HBC. i was on several types early in my twnties,and the side effects were not compativle with me at all. besides, my own personal preferences are not consistent with hormone-based birth control.

i do NOT want children, and i would really like a more reliable form of birth control that is not encounter-specific. it's been condoms and VCF for me for the past five years, and now, since i have pretty much cemented the fact that i do not want children, i really want to make sure that doesn't happen. since i don't have any children already, and i am only 29, i am too young to qualify for sterilization, otherwise, i would be signing up for Essure. pretty much my only choice, then, is the paragard copper IUD.

So here's my question:
will my previously heavy periods cause an issue with IUD use? anyone who currently has or previously had a copper IUD, any information about yoru experiences would be greatly appreciated, espescially if you used to have heavy or irregular periods.

thanks in advance, VP,

~melly

Lost pill, when to start new pack?

[sleightofhand]

Last week I was preparing to take my pill before bed. I happened to be kinda drunk at the time, so I accidentally fumbled it and lost it down the sink drain. Oops. Not wanting to miss a day, I took the next day's pill instead. I was on week three of my pill pack, so I moved onto placebos one day earlier than I usually would.

Forward to this week - my period's started about the same time as it would have if I hadn't missed a day (in fact it actually came a day or two later than it usually would have... good ol' crazy body), but I'm looking at next week, when I'll be starting a new pack of pills.

My question is: should I start on the day that the placebos end (which means that I'd be starting a day earlier than I usually would - Sunday instead of Monday) or should I wait until I normally take the first pill of a new pack?

Thanks for your help!

Female ejaculation

[guttergrunge.livejournal.com]

Hello I am new,
I have a question about female ejaculation.
I am currently really sick and when I cough really hard I end up "squirting". I have no clue why this happens. I know that during sneezeing fits that some women can have an orgasm. I have made sure that this isn't urine or anything. and it happens only when I cough and nothing else, and it doesn't involve pleasure to any extent whatsoever.

have any of you heard anything about this or experienced this at all?

conflicting colposcopy information

[so-she-screamed.livejournal.com]

please help vp!!!! "colposcopy protocol" questions under cut

<lj-cut text="read more">so here's the deal. almost exactly a year ago (when i was19, almost 20) i went in for an annual exam. had a pap done and fast-forward....comes out abnormal. they test it and yup, got a high-risk strain of hpv. immediately i'm scheduled for a colposcopy. went in, had a biopsy done, doctor checks it, informs me that it's nothing to worry about (pretty sure it was low grade dysplasia). she then tells me to come in for another one 6 months later (november 2007). have that one done. she says things have stayed pretty stable and may have gotten slightly better. tells me to come in for yet another one in 6 months (this coming may). she told me that we'd do a leep procedure if there was still abnormal tissue after the 3rd colpol and go back to paps after that.

so yesterday i went in for some std testing and to get back on birth control at a different clinic. it had been about two years so i wanted to get updated on everything. as the nurse practitioner was looking through my file she asked what sti i'd had. i told her hpv and explained that i'd gotten two colposcopys and would be going in for another one in may. she was absolutely appalled at this. she told me that at my age they (her clinic) wouldn't have even done a colposcopy. they would have continued with paps and testing for hpv dna, and if it was still abnormal, then a colposcopy and possible leep.  in fact, they don't even start doing paps until 22. she said at my age most people clear the virus within a year. she was also confused at why i'd even gotten a pap in the first place. i told her i'd always thought you had to start getting them when you started having sex. she thought it was completely unneccessary. basically, she couldn't believe everything i'd had done and thought the other clinic hadn't informed me properly about what i should be having done at what age and had waaaay overtreated me. she suggested i not have the colpol in may done. i released my medical records to them sooo they'll be calling me soon with their opinion after seeing that. my big question with this is, if I had gone this route and not gotten a pap til 22 and therefore possibly never known about the hpv....isn't that a bad thing? because i wouldn't have been able to inform future partners?

now i'm just SO confused. who's right? i understand there are different schools of thought out there about treatment but geez this was like polar opposites! the latter clinic suggested i get a second opinion. i'll definitely be doing that but i was wondering what everyone here thought. i just feel really well....(to be dramatic) lost. those colposcopys were PAINFUL and if they were unneccesary, i'm really disappointed. and should paps not be done til 22? could this be a money issue on the former clinics behalf? ugh i'm just trying to figure this out. </lj-cut>

Trouble climaxing

[unknownagain.livejournal.com]

 I looked through the "orgasm" link about this and read quite a bit... 

but I have a problem climaxing. I'm not sure if I have, ever, though I do get to a point where it feels very heightened. There is no peak and release, though, if you know what I mean. It's almost as if I'm too scared to submit myself to feeling that way, out of control of my body or something. I've read that people feel like the world is crashing down around them, and I guess I feel it coming to that point, and then I'm somewhat too scared to let that happen... even though I conciously know that it is a normal thing. 

Also, to even get to that point is very rare for me. I have been sexually active with my boyfriend for around 2 years and have maybe felt that plateau 2 or 3 times. I felt it very few times when masturbating as well, which is why I don't do it much. It seems to take a long time. I have a small vibrator that helped, and last time, clenching my kegel muscles helped make it feel even better but I still never got to a climax.

I really <i>want</i> to feel an orgasm, a real one, and to be able to replicate it often... honestly, sex feels okay, but not amazing as so many other women (and tons of men =P) seem to say. I want to enjoy sex with him.  He recently moved out of state and I am going to visit him in about a week, so during the week I have with him I wanted to make it even better, for him and for myself.  Also, we sometimes use the vibrator during sex and that helps a lot, but never has been enough.

Any tips, tricks, or helpful advice as to how to let myself go? I understand it logistically but I just seem to be unable to do it. 
Also, should I try g-spot simulation more-so than clitoral? I have never really felt the g-spot pleasure, and clitoral seems much easier... but sometimes it feels just kind of less-sensitive than it should be.
Or maybe a different toy would help? What um... cheaper toys would you recommend for help getting to orgasm? 
Thanks in advance!

Possible pregnancy question

[johannah-rose.livejournal.com]

So my boobs have been really sensitive for a few days and they've grown. I'm vaguely fatigued all the time, but I have trouble sleeping at night and I cry at the drop of a hat lately. I thought I might be pregnant, but I took a home pregnancy test and it was negative. Which leaves me wondering if the test was wrong or if there is something wrong with me. I know my thyroid is fine, because I had that tested three weeks ago (it's pretty routine to test regularly in people with diabetes). I was also tested for anemia, and I'm fine there too. I called my regular doctor and my OB to ask how reliable home pregnancy tests are, and nobody has called me back yet. I wouldn't be so worried except for the fact that I have diabetes and so if I am pregnant, I need to see my Endocrinologist ASAP and he can be tough to get an appointment with.

X-posted

birth control

[new-bird.livejournal.com]

So, I go to the free clinic to get my birth control (Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo) and they always give me a year's supply. Apparently a year is not a long enough time for me to remember to get more pills. I'm on my period right now, and I just realized that I am out of pills.

However, I do have one pack sitting around that is missing two of the first week's pills.

My question is...if I go ahead and start taking these, will I be alright until I can get to the clinic sometime in the next two weeks? Or should I just wait until I can get a full pack and start then?

What really bites is that today was the walk-in family planning day and I didn't realize it :(

Weird Periods Related to Sex?

[x-pippin-x.livejournal.com]

So this isn't something that I'm particularly worried about, I just thought it was curious so I decided I would ask and see if anyone had an explaination.

Background-wise my boyfriend is the only person I've had sex with, and it has only been over the course of the past couple of months (since late November). 
I've also always had really irregular periods; sometimes they're 3 weeks apart, sometimes they're 6. But, for the past...maybe 6-8 months they've settled down into a closer cycle and usually are only off by a couple of days.

So here's the curious-question part:

About 3 and a half weeks ago, my boyfriend and I were having sex, and I started bleeding. There has been a trace of blood once or twice before, the first couple of times, so I wouldn't have been worried, except that there was enough of a volume that I thought my period had started. I was due for it in a couple of days (I was expecting it on Sunday and this was Friday night). I freaked for a second, but he was fine with it, so we just continued.
Like I said, I'm usually off by a couple of days, so I didn't really have a problem with being early, it was just inconvienent timing. So we finished up and afterwards I put in a light tampon, changed it when I got home later and went to sleep. When I changed it again in the morning, I noticed that there really wasn't much blood. A few hours later, there was nothing.
And that was it until a full week later (on the following Sunday) when I finally got my period for real, a week late. It was a fairly light flow, for me, but besides that it was as normal as it ever is.

So my question is basically...does anyone know what happened? Is it possible that my period started and then just took a break? Or could the blood during sex have been something else?
Sorry if this was really rambling or didn't make sense.

(no subject)

[eyelikerancid.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone! I just joined this community because I have a question...

I just found out i had an abnormal pap :/ (the woman i spoke with on the phone said something about asc-h) So, they recommended I schedule a colposcopy...which I did.

On top of this stressing me out.. my husband is due home, on leave, from Iraq on Monday (we all ready talked about this over the phone--i was worried he'd think i had cheated--- but he was so understanding and wonderful). The colposcopy is scheduled for next week thursday (I figured my husband could go with me). I did a bit of internet research... and it sounds PAINFUL, especially if they do a biopsy.... which they might....

And um, my husband has been gone for 6 months,and will only be home for 18 days, so I am not sure if I want to be painful in that area!!!

Has anyone had a colposcopy/biopsy before??? I will talk to the doctor tomorrow to see if it would be horribly detrimental to wait (I won't jeopardize my health, but if waiting a month won't hurt, i am all for it)...but I want to know what it is actually like, what to expect... and can i have sex a day or two after?????

thanks so much!!!!

Twinge in the lower abdomen

[chaton-de-neige.livejournal.com]

I'm on HBC, the pill, and I take it regularly; I haven't been more than 30 minutes late in the last 5 weeks. Today I was standing at work, I go a twinge in my lower right half, a bit in from my hip bone... It felt a lot like ovulation pain, mittleschmertz, which I used to get all the time. Is it possible I just ovulated, even though I'm on BC? If so, does that mean I'm not protected from pregnancy?

ETA I had 3 cysts on my ovary as of August of 2005, but I asked my gyno about them in May of 2007, and she said that she couldn't feel them, so I didn't have them. I've been consistently on BC since then, so ideally I haven't ovulated and gotten more...?

No Period on HBC.

[brookin82.livejournal.com]

What do you do when the birth control pill that you are on doesn't give you a period and you're sexually active? How do you know if you get pregnant (apart from all the other later symptoms like morning sickness and a bump)? For the past 8 months I haven't gotten much period if at all when I started a new brand of pill. It was fine then because I wasn't having sex. But now I am and feel unsure of how I'm going to know if I do become pregnant. My boyfriend and I always use a condom too but I've recently become a little paranoid that I could get pregnant and not know it.

I'm planning on talking to my gynecologist about how I don't get my period on the pill that I'm on but it takes forever to get an appointment and I'm starting a new job and my health insurance doesn't kick back in until April 1st. So I guess I'd just like to hear others input on what they do if they are on a pill where they don't get their period. Anyone have any input?? Thanks!

spotting for no reason?

[borderdog.livejournal.com]

My period is not supposed to start for another two weeks but today I have suddenly started spotting. It's slightly heavy but mostly just annoying like my body can't decide what's up. My cycle is never irregular, I get my period on time every month so this is weird. And I have no idea what would be causing it as I am not on birth control or any other type of medications. I haven't eaten much since Monday but I doubt that could be it..
I hope it doesn't last long. Will I likely still get my period on time even though I am spotting now? Or does mysterious spotting screw things up?

Expiration date on Diva Cup?

[doomweasel.livejournal.com]

Hey you lovely ladies!

I got a Mirena IUD inserted at the end of December, and since then I haven't had any periods. Now, I know that it's not uncommon for a woman's periods to suddenly start up again months after they stop because of the Mirena, and if mine do eventually start again I'd like to use my super-nifty Diva Cup again. Right now it's sitting in its little purple bag in my drawer... but how long is it safe to leave it unused like that? Is there a certain point where it's been too long and I should throw it out? I really like my Diva Cup, but those things aren't cheap and I'd like to avoid having to buy a new one if my periods come back a year from now.

Do pregnancy tests have expiration dates?

[tenna.livejournal.com]

Do pregnancy tests have an expiration date?

I bought two pregnancy tests about oh... 3, *maybe* 4 months ago, and used one. I'm going to be skipping this withdrawal bleed and would like to take a pregnancy test just to make sure I'm not pregnant. I checked the box (they are tests from the dollar store) and see no expiration date listed. Do you think I'm OK to use this one, or should I go purchase another one?

birth control and insurance coverage.

[aesoploveee.livejournal.com]

 Hey there VPers!

I've got a question.

So recently my free samples from my gyno of my birth control (Femcon Fe) ran out and I bought my very first monthly pack. And paid 45 dollars for it! Now, this may or may not be a lot, but I'm working with minimum wage here and my parents can't/won't buy it. My father doesn't know I'm on it and my mother is extremely against it - I can't talk to her about anything HBC related or she gets mad at me. My boy is currently out of work, though he wants to pay for it once he gets a job. Until then, I'm on my own.

The reason it's so high is because my insurance doesn't cover it AT ALL. Not even a copay. I'm a minor and currently on my father's insurance, since my mother's job doesn't offer her a plan and she's on my stepfather's. When a friend told me that her pill (Yaz) was only $2 copay with her insurance, I wondered what kind she had.

Out of curiousity, does anyone know what insurances cover birth control and which don't? Why don't some? And mainly, why does my insurance cover Viagra but not birth control? =/

A little bit of a rant, I'm sorry. Thanks! Comments = <33