Good bye, Polka Dot.

[hold-fast.livejournal.com]

On December 15th of 2007, I got the Implanon implant inserted. She was known as Polka Dot.

( This is her story. )

switch to meat = worse periods?

[puddleofglass.livejournal.com]

Hey ladies and gents~

I have been a vegetarian from 1999 until this March - so just under a decade. I didn't eat anything that had moved - no animals, but eggs and milk were cool.

However, since March I've been living in Japan, and I decided that I'd start eating meat again (too few food options otherwise).

I drew the line at mammals though - - so while I don't eat pork or beef, I happily eat chicken, fish, and seafood.

Since I've gotten to Japan, my periods have been getting way harder to manage. I cramp a lot more easily, and today my blood is a -lot- chunkier than usual.

Is this a side effect of me eating meat again? I'm very happy here and never homesick, otherwise I would guess it could be stress.

Thanks!

p.s. I did a search about five or six pages back for "veg" but didn't come up with anything, so I'm sorry if this was covered recently!

Making your period start sooner?

[pixxidust116.livejournal.com]

First time post...
....so I'm sorry if this question has already been asked.

Any ideas how to make a period start sooner? I'm going to see my boyfriend for the only time all summer, and from my calculations, my period will start THE DAY HE ARRIVES!! I have about two weeks to figure this out. ARGH!

Thanks!

Brown Goop Period

[pineapplechild.livejournal.com]

Hello there! I've a question about old blood and lining during my period. I've never had weird periods-- it occasionally skips a month or so, but normal flows, rarely cramps, mostly just is annoying and makes me crabby. I'm an omnivore, and my diet switched from school year to summer eating, but that's about it. Not terribly different.
But the last few days, my periods been all brown and clumpy. It looks like old blood and/or lining, which I've had some of before, normally at the tail end of my periods. But not in this quantity. My period has *only* been this, and with an uneven flow too.
So. Is this weird? Okay? Bad? Should I be more worried about it?

Heavy bleeding after stopping birth control

[obentomybento.livejournal.com]

There's been a gap in my insurance coverage over the last six months and I had to go off of Solia, a Desogen generic, after three years after I finally ran out of packs. I got my period early, which was to be expected I guess, but it's been really horrible, heavy runny bleeding with very large clots, and not at all the consistency of what it was before I went on BC, if that makes any sense.

I seem to be bleeding way too much, and I was wondering both if this was normal and how quickly it might be resolved now that I have insurance again, and will be making an appointment to go back on Desogen again either this month or next.

Should I give myself another few months off of BC so this will normalize before I go back on, or will it not really matter? I do want to stay on BC ultimately because it's been really great for me, so I want to be sure I'm not throwing my hormones for a loop too much.

Weird Clot...(uterus lining?)

[tangerineerinds.livejournal.com]

Okay, this is kinda long, but I really need answers and Planned Parenthood was overbooked...on a Thursday.

I started birth control on June 1st. At the time, I was unaware of the Sunday Start/Day 1 Period start, so I didn't find it odd that the lady at Planned Parenthood started me on birth control the day I went in there. It was about two/two and a half weeks before I would normally get my period. She told me I had to wait seven days, and then I could stop using a condom.

Well, those seven days passed. I didn't miss one pill, and I took them at the same time everyday. After talking about it, my boyfriend and I decided to wait longer then seven days. It seemed a little ridiculous that I hadn't even passed when I should get my period, so we decided to wait. The day of when I would normally get my period came, and went. We waited that entire week, and still nothing. So, we figured the birth control was working. Though after another discussion, we decided to just wait until I started the new pack, to be safe.

Well, last friday, June 20th, we were having sex and the condom broke. I wasn't too worried about it, as I was almost done my active pills and I had already passed the date for my period (i'm ALWAYS on time, so I knew I was good).
Then, Monday Night, June 23rd, the same thing happened. I have no idea WHY the condoms from Planned Parenthood keep breaking. My boyfriend and I are not stupid when it comes to using condoms, and we did nothing that would have caused them to break. Luckily, he said he noticed that it felt different, and pulled out almost all the way (I stood up and it started dripping down my leg...), so once again, I wasn't worried.

I had some spotting later that day and the next day. And then later on Wednesday, I got my period. It appeared to be pretty normal, and I was three days into my sugar pills.

Well, this is where my questions come into play. I was changing my tampon lastnight, and there was this really weird clot that came out as well. It was about half the length of my thumb, and thicker. It looked like mucus, and was a white color, but a lot of it was red/bloody as well. I started looking things up on health forums, and most of which I found said it was a two week old fetus, or pretty much just a hunk of tissue. I freaked out, called my boyfriend who proceeded to freak out, etc...

But after reading some more, and talking to my friend, I found out that has happened to people before and it was just the uterus lining. My period has gotten heavier, and I had really bad cramps last night but they have gone away. I'm thinking its just the combination of stress/worrying, and the fact that I delayed my period by two weeks that has made it a lot heavier.

If anyone knows anything, or has had this happen to them, I would greatly appreciate anything you can tell me.

Lack of period question!

[lovelark.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone!

I suppose it's time to start to wonder about this.
I didn't get my first period until I was seventeen. I saw a OB/GYN at 17, and they gave me hormones to make my period begin, and then I was immediately put on birth control which I took for the next 4 years. Thus, faithfully having a period every time I was on an "off week" with the BC.
(I've been on ortho, yasmin, and most recently ortho evra if anyone cares :o)
I stopped taking the birth control in December, I was no longer married, no longer sleeping with men at all, and my insurance was done. I got my last period in February, and it's been absent since.

To clear up a few things: I haven't had sex with a man since October. I'm of a normal weight, my BMI is 21 or 22. I'm not under abnormal amounts of stress, so I don't think that's what is stopping my periods. I don't especially WANT a period which is why I haven't felt pressed to "fix" the problem, but I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what would make a woman only capable of having a period while on birth control?

thanks, any insight is appreciated.

Expired hormonal birth control

[sorrentyrell.livejournal.com]

My partner's sister has some birth control pills - ortho tricyclen lo, I think - that she's never used, and has offered to give to me. But they expire in July of this year. I'm guessing it'll still be reliable enough to use, since it's not like it just switches a date and suddenly doesn't work anymore (hah) but I wanted to see if anyone had any more definite information that would help me :)

If they won't work we'll just keep using condoms. Currently I can't afford HBC myself and I don't qualify for any assistance programs in this area, since we just moved here and I'm not considered a resident yet. If they will work it'll give me three months to get my residency sorted out till I can get on my own plan. Thanks in advance!

possible missed/delayed period?

[meowkitten.livejournal.com]

Ok i'm a little concerned and have a few questions.

( Read more... )

DivaCup

[pixxidust116.livejournal.com]

Do any of you use this? Does it work? Does it leak? Better than tampons and pads? Is there a better brand? I'm thinking of switching over...

Never ending vagina discomfort

[ella7000.livejournal.com]

Hello, I was wondering if anybody could help me..
I've been getting burning/ itching vagina problems since about december now
my discharge is constantly changing, sometimes its clumpy, sometimes its watery, sometimes really thick and occasionally smells strange. I've been treated for yeast infections and BV numerously but nothing the doctors give me help and I've also had tests done which come up clear!!
I don't know what I have and it's so frustrating and uncomfortable, does any one have any advice?
Today its unbearably itchy with a watery and clumpy consistency. It's not nice.

Thank you for readingggg ahhh please help!
ella x

bump on nipple?

[stfnihippo.livejournal.com]

Since around november/december 2007 there
has been a little, white bump on the left
side of my left breast.
Its only as big as one of the bumps
you get on your areola.

It doesn't hurt or anything,
it just kind of worries me.
I'm not on birth control, or anything like that.


Has this happened to anyone else?

Need some suggestions....

[tenchikoi-76.livejournal.com]

This weekend, Saturday to be exact, I'll be heading over to Barnes & Noble to purchase my very first copy of the 'Kama Sutra'. Not sure on the spelling there. But what I would like suggestions on is what version of it would you lovely ladies (or gentlemen) suggest? I would like one that's fully illustrated yet has a good historical perspective as well. As close to the original translation would also be good. So what would you suggest?

Nuvaring side effects

[tiffownsthis.livejournal.com]

Hey all. I've been on the nuvaring for about a month and a half, and this has been my first experience with HBC. It hasn't been entirely horrible, but I've not been entirely pleased with the side effects. I'm mostly curious if anyone else had side effects in the first three months of use that eventually went away, since I am willing to stick it out for a little while longer.

I spent the first entire month spotting every single day, which I've read has been a common experience for most ladies. After I inserted my second ring, the spotting stopped completely. Some other side effects have continued though.

I get headaches a lot. For the first month or so, it seemed like I was getting them 4-6 days of the week. Lately it's been less, but I've had one today that's just killing me. They seem like dehydration headaches--like I haven't gotten enough water, but it seems like they're happening when I've had an adequate amount of water. It's like suddenly I'm hyper-sensitive to dehydration. It seems like it may be tapering off some, so I was curious if anyone else had similar headache problems in the beginning that eventually went away?

Another thing, before I went on the ring, I was having problems with depression (untreated currently because I don't have health insurance), and on the flip side of that I was having problems with arousal and sometimes didn't have an interest in sex. Before I went on the nuvaring, the lady at PP failed to notice I indicated that I suffer from depression, so she didn't warn me that the nuvaring could worsen that, and I didn't find that out until later. So I was already pretty emotional, depressed, etc before I started the nuvaring. Since going on the ring, I graduated from college and have been under a lot of stress trying to find a job and pay the bills, so my depression has worsened. So I'm unsure if that is situational depression or if the nuvaring is making me batty. I've also been kind of crazy lately when it comes to my boyfriend, starting fights with him and being emotional and moody in ways that seem irrational. Yet, I'm not sure if this is the ring, or stress in my life or what. I am supposed to start a new job next week, and hopefully the stress will level off, and maybe this craziness too. I just wonder if anyone else was kind of moodier or more emotional when they started the ring, and if that improved after their bodies adjusted?

Now, when it comes to sex, I'm not very interested in it. I am rarely aroused and I rarely enjoy anything. I do not enjoy PIV sex at all anymore. Since I went on the ring a month and a half ago, we've had sex only 4 times (down from 2-4 times a week). Three of those times, the entire time it burned horribly and I absolutely hated it (the other time, it didn't burn, but it wasn't enjoyable). I've read that other ladies have had that problem. My boyfriend thinks it's just because I'm not turned on enough, which is it's own problem. I don't know if this is related to stress/depression, the nuvaring, or a combination of all of them. Mainly, I'm curious if anyone else had problems like the burning sensation that went away eventually.

I'm willing to stick it out for three months it's supposed to take to adjust to the ring, but if some of these situations don't improve, I just don't know what I'll do. I mostly feel like I'm going crazy. There's just so much going on in my life, I'm not sure if it's actually the ring or not. So, some outside suggestions, or relating of your personal experiences would be nice to hear, just so I can't figure some of this out.

Thanks!

Ortho designer pack

[hellospaceship.livejournal.com]

So silly me I signed up for the "LO-Down" thing on the Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo website so I could get a cute little pill keeper thing. Well I didn't realize that the pills that clinics (planned parenthood) and college health centers have are different than the doctor perscribed pills.

So now I have this adorable pack that I cant use. It is for the the pills with the clicker in the middle. It will not work for packs that say "clinic" on them!

If anyone wants it let me know and I'll send it to you!

( picture! )

Nipple pain, sore breasts

[elephantus45.livejournal.com]

I looked through memories somewhat but only found things about lumps and leakage and bras.


For the past 3 days or so my breasts have been very sore.  Not so sore it hurts to put on a bra, but sore enough when they're touched, especialy my nipples.  Is this something I should be concerned about?  Is it part of a normal menstural cycle?

I've been on different types of pills for 5 years, but I stopped taking them after this last pack because A) I ran out and the company takes forever to ship them to me (stupid insurance) and B) I had my wisdom teeth out and am still on antibiotics and didn't want to "waste pills"   So I guess this is my first "normal" cycle in a while and I don't remember what they're supposed to be like.

Any input would be great, thanks!

make my period go away!

[hmmm-indeed.livejournal.com]

I hope that even if you can't help me out that some of you lovely ladies will at least be able to offer some encouraging words to make me hate my body/girl parts a little less.

I was planning on trying to stack my pills this month. This plan is most likely NOT going to work, since my period started in the middle of the day today. I still have active pills to take tonight, tomorrow and saturday. My period doesn't usually arrive til sometime on tuesday. It's just gross brown stuff now, which means it'll probably be even longer than usual, too, since it's like it's just getting rid of leftovers right now.

Is there ANYTHING i can do to make it stop? Doubling up on pills? ANYTHING?? Or, i suppose, is there any way i can make it REALLY heavy so that it's over with sooner?

I'm definitely going to have to make a doctor's appointment, since this pill is clearly not right for me. Part of why i started taking HBC was to regulate my periods and so this is really frustrating. Is it maybe because my sister started today too? My period seems to be a big joiner. Before i was on the pill, it would usually only come every couple of months, but would almost ALWAYS synch up with either my sister or a close friend. If it matters, i'm on Aviane (just switched from Alesse a couple of months ago, but this has happened on Alesse before too), and i'm almost NEVER late with my pills, just one time this month i was about an hour late - otherwise, within minutes of the same time every night.

If ANYONE can offer ANY sort of advice, that would be MUCH appreciated!! Even just some nice thoughts about your girl parts to try and make me feel better about my own...

THANK YOU!!

Condoms

[p3rs3ph0n3.livejournal.com]

With condoms, I realize I sort of just grab at random when deciding brands and I don't think thats the most logical way about it. I'm curious, what does one look for in condoms? what are some favorites? any recommendations?

Soreness after first gyno exam?

[berry-cheescake.livejournal.com]

So I had my first gyno exam yesterday and I survived it but I did experience quite a bit of discomfort. Even though I said I was a virgin I felt like the doctor just sort of shoved the speculum in. I'm noticeably sore now though I don't think there was any blood. Is this normal after a first exam?

Thanks