The Y Project

[jeg-elskerdeg.livejournal.com]

If this has previously been posted, mods, feel free to delete.



I came across The Y Project just now and thought these were wonderful, diverse photos of the vulva. Now, I'm not quite sure why the URL includes those words, but it really is beautiful photography.

missed period - reasons other than pregnancy?

[oceansofnoise.livejournal.com]

is it possible to completely skip a period for reasons other than pregnancy? i have pretty a irregular cycle, and my last period was on august 19 (48 days ago). i did a pregnancy test that day just hours before my period started, and another one last tuesday, both were taken early afternoon as they said a morning sample wasn't required, and were negative. i haven't changed my diet or anything, no particular stress other than the worry that i was pregnant, but i thought a negative test 5 days ago would have brought my period on. no sign. i feel slightly drowsy and bloated and my stomach is harder than usual, but i haven't noticed any other signs and think it's quite unlikely that i would be pregnant, given the circumstances of my sexual activity. can anyone shed possible light on the situation?

extreme lower-back pain, dryness, and full-body tingles?

[lucky4-you.livejournal.com]

Hey so first time posting =) not sure if this is ok to post, but i figure it's vag related so why not?

I just started having sex with my boyfriend. we've done it a couple times, and i'll admit it gets better each time, but there are two problems:

1) we have to use A LOT of lube because i'm just not wet enough
      --we fool around a lot before-hand, and i'll tell him to start going at it right as i feel i'm climaxing but it doesn't help and i think it's because it's all clitoral stimulation and not really focused on the other part (i don't know that name....is THAT the actual vagina?).  I never had this problem before we started having sex. in fact, i would get toooooo wet!

2) when he tries to go deeper, my *lower back* starts to hurt  A LOT.
     --it's right where i get cramps when i'm on my period (i don't know if that relates in any way...) and it's really so intense that i have to make him stop. I've tried being on top so that i can control everything and slowly ease into it, but it doesn't help.

so because of these things, i'm not really enjoying sex as much as i would like to. in fact, once he gets going, i immediately start wishing he could just get it over with. oh and one more question: we were going at it for a while and at one point my entire body started to tingle! it didn't feel particularly good, i just couldn't control my body's movements. i didn't see it all the way through because of problem #2 , but i tried to stand up and my legs were shaky and my hands could barely hold a cup of water...WHAT WAS THAT?! was that my G spot?!?! i always thought that would feel like how it feels to have him go down on me, but this wasn't like that at all.....

(no subject)

[maideleh.livejournal.com]

So, I have not had a period since June and I am definitely NOT pregnant. After a bunch of negative home pregnancy tests, I went to the school's health center and they gave me a prescription for medroxyprogesterone with instructions to take it for 10 days, see if it gives me a period, and come back for blood work in 2 weeks. I took it for 10 days, and now a week later I have started my period. However, this is NOT a normal period. I always have cramps, nausea, flu-like symptoms, and bowel irregularities, but this is just not cool. I started having EPIC drop to my knees in pain cramps around 2pm, started spotting an hour later, and now it is almost 2am and I have spent the last 12 hours laying on the couch or in bed half delirious with pain. I am hardly bleeding at all, which is odd. Like...spots of blood on the pad and a bit more on toilet paper when I pee but nowhere near normal flow. Normally, within an hour of my period starting I have a waterfall situation down there. My cramps are so bad I cannot stand or walk or even sit up properly. I have been in the fetal position more or less this whole time. The pain is extremely sharp and feels like stabbing through my ovaries, with pain radiating down into my legs and up through my chest. This is in addition to the normal crampy feelings. My bowels are sorta convulsy-feeling..it's like when you have a really bad stomach bug and you have horrible diarrhea, that awful crampy spasmy feeling. I keep getting hot and cold flashes. I think I might have a fever, but I do not have a thermometer to check. Everything just hurts...all of me...I have never had a period this awful and I used to be excused from school for my horrible periods in high school. I have taken Midol and have one of those stick-on warming patches on my stomach as well as a rice heating pad, but it is not helping.

So my questions are:
-Has anyone else ever taken medroxyprogesterone? How did it affect you?
-Why on earth is this so horrific?
-Why am I barely bleeding?
-What else can I do to ease the pain?
-Is the horrible stabbing pains a worrisome thing? Like, do I maybe have a cyst? Should I go to the hospital?
-Any advice at all? I am about ready to just down a bottle of tequila or something to get away from the OW OW OW OH GOD OW.

YI: finally getting rid of it

[jessalae.livejournal.com]

Hey VPers!

I may have finally gotten rid of the yeast infection I've had for nigh on two months. I tried treating it a few different ways (garlic, then an OTC treatment, then oral prescription medicine from my doctor) before going to my doctor again and getting a prescription topical medicine, which seems to have worked. I no longer have any funky discharge, and everything feels mostly okay. Yay!

I still have a couple of problems, though. Number one: I'm still occasionally itchy -- not really near my vagina, but on my vulva and my labia majora. Is this a sign that there could still be yeast living there? If so, what can I do to get rid of them? So far I've been using the leftover external cream from the OTC treatment I used, and it helps a bit, but is there a more permanent solution?

And then number two: I'm paranoid about the infection coming back. I've had various infections for the last four months or so; this YI was caused by the antibiotics I took for my second round of BV in a row. I'm currently taking probiotic powder, eating plenty of yogurt with live cultures, wearing all cotton undies, and switching into a skirt or looser pants as soon as I get home from school. Is there anything else I can do to make sure things stay okay? I should be getting my period in a few days; will that help sort things out enough that I won't need to worry about it?

Gardasil and your opinions

[ohkaye.livejournal.com]

Has anyone gotten the Gardasil shot? My dad really wants me to, my mom is indifferent, and something in my gut says that I don't want to. I've only ever had one sexual partner and we were both virgins beforehand... and I seriously doubt that's going to change any time soon, if ever. Has anyone here gotten it? What are your thoughts?

Hormonal itchyness?

[slave-stasha.livejournal.com]

For the last four months or so two weeks before my period is due...i get a very white discharge and some mild itching. It's more mild than any yeast infection that i have had and after my period has come and gone everything seems to be back in order. Could this just be my hormones doing that?

Also too recently since july my flow has been a little off...starting seemingly two days later than it did the month before. And spotting before hand...about two days before hand and i never have had spotting before this.

i don't know if my body is doing this just because i am getting older or what. Could it be that over the last year i have been though a huge number of stressers (two deaths, moving, going on then going off the atkins diet, on and off exercising, and being sexually active after having no sex for three years)

You might as well just call me a trainwreck.

[christemo.livejournal.com]

So, I've had a sinus infection for about the past month. I've got very bad sinuses (I've had all the surgeries you could possibly have, starting from 6th grade), so instead of the school doctor listening to me and just writing me out a script for the steroids I was on before for them, she gave me Cephalexin. I'm also on Yaz, and I know antibiotics do a huge blow to birth control.
1. Has anyone actually felt *worse* being on cephalexin then before they started taking it?
2. How badly does it kill your birth control? I know I should use a backup method, but I was wondering if this was one of those drugs where it's just not worth taking the pill for the time you're on it. Thanks. :D

pubic hair color

[fairlymonstrous.livejournal.com]

( question )

Group sex and a HBC question...

[freakin-lj.livejournal.com]

Two unrelated questions:

- A few days ago, my boyfriend and I went to a group sex event. We decided that we'd only have sex (both oral and PIV) with each other, and limit interaction with others to touching and kissing, so as to limit risk. We had a great deal of fun, and noted that most other couples seemed to be following the same rules.

But fast forward to today and I am crazy paranoid. I didn't think about the fact that other people would be giving each other unprotected oral sex, and now I'm terrified that I've upped my risks to the diseases that can be gotten by giving head because I'd probably made out with people who had given (most likely their SOs) oral sex.

Have I upped my risk to a huge degree thanks to making out with people who'd probably been giving unprotected oral? I'm not so worried about the STIs that can be gotten through making out (i.e. herpes)--I'm most terrified about HIV, which I know basically cannot spread through kissing but can through oral... maybe this is all silly, but I figured I'd ask.

- Is it possible to induce a period more than once a month? My period was set to interfere with this event, so I took a few extra HBC pills, but I'd like to have my period this month, so I was planning on stopping them today, waiting for my period, taking the remaining pills for the month and then again wait for a second period, so my upcoming packs aren't totally uneven. (I know this compromises protection, but the boyfriend and I use condoms 100% of the time--my HBC is more for PCOS concerns.) Do you suppose I will be able to have that second period, or will my body prevent that?

date rape drug symptoms

[whatwe-know.livejournal.com]

Hello VP people,

I had a really, really weird experience the other night, and I'm still trying to piece together all the parts of the puzzle. I don't have any pressing reasons to believe I was tampered with thankfully, but what happened was so weird that I am just wondering if maybe someone slipped me something, not that I just had too much to drink. (I was at a crowded pub in an unfamiliar city--studying abroad this semester.)

Anyway, the story is really long and I don't need to get into it (unless anyone's curious, it's pretty funny). Basically I have considerable black expanses in my memory of the night, and I somehow ended up 6 km from my apartment, 4 km in the completely wrong direction, wandering around in a dreamlike state for 4 hours I guess. (My friend said I left around 1 AM, I got back to my apt finally--by taxi--at 4:30 AM.) I also remember doing some very strange things (walking around people's yards, trying to get into locked doors...I think I may have gone into someone's root cellar actually!!, stealing candy from a store, etc etc.) But for the most part, my memory is gone, with only little bits and pieces coming back to me.

So I was hoping to hear from anyone who knows for sure that they had been drugged (i.e. confirmed with a test). What were your symptoms? It is really unlikely that I was drugged (I'm in quite a safe and egalitarian place, was with friends at the pub, was also just too drunk for my reduced tolerance, as I've been drinking less lately). But I am just curious, because it was honestly the weirdest, most surreal thing ever.

ETA: boyfriend says i at one point (before he left) i grabbed some abandoned beer that was left on a table and drank it. yeaaah. file that under things to never do again, no matter how drunk you are.

Murex

[thebarkingdog.livejournal.com]

Has anyone taken Murex for menstrual problems?  When is the best time to take it?  Do I take it every day or just at certain times of the month?  What was your experience?

Persona?

[sakit-kepala.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone here has used the Persona or similar fertility monitors for contraception? What were your experiences? Would you recommend it?

My cycles were irregular in the past but have been stable (26-32 days) for the past six months. I'm in a settled, monogamous relationship and an accidental pregnancy would not be a huge problem for us (although ideally we'd like to postpone it for at least another six months -- which is why we're looking for a suitable form of contraception to tide us over, so to speak).

A Question

[pagansubmissive.livejournal.com]

Hi.  Just a question here.  My BF and I are really into Fisting.  REALLY.  We only do it occasionally (like once a month or less) and I have two children.  My question is this:  Is this ok?  We use a TON of lube, and he wears gloves so he doesnt scratch me inside, and we are SUPER careful.  Can this lead to later damage?  I would really hate to give it up!

vaginal tears?

[villagetheatre.livejournal.com]

(Tares?) I think I have a tiny tear on the upper part of my vagina.. I had a lot of sex last week, is that what it could be from? Is it normal to get tears (tares?) from time to time? Thanks!

"Good Doctor" Stories

[frolicnaked.livejournal.com]

So I'm scheduled for my annual exam tomorrow with a new provider, and I have to say, I'm more than a little nervous. My former NP, who I'd seen for over 3 years, was fabulous, but before her, the last few exams I had were pretty damn traumatic. Adding to my concern is the fact that those "bad" exams were all performed by MDs, and I'm currently scheduled to see an MD. It's not a major thing, but there's this little voice in the back of my mind that's worried she's going to be dismissive and condescending like those previous doctors instead of respectful and understanding like my NP.

I've done my research on this doc and have no logical reason to believe this will actually be the case. Moreover, I recognize that this anxiety is very much not a fair anxiety; it's based on a handful of past experiences I've had and really isn't giving this doctor the benefit of the doubt. In the logical, nice, grown-up part of my mind, I know all this. But the little nagging voice in my brain is very much detached from that. ;)

I'm pretty informed about what I can do once I'm in the office to make myself as comfortable and confident as possible. And, worst case scenario, I can and will take off the paper gown, put on my pants, and walk out of the exam room. (I do not anticipate this happening, but it's comforting to know it's a viable option for me.)

What would help me now, actually, is to hear any positive stories you've had with health care providers, particularly for but not limited to gynecological concerns. (I have actually spent a little bit browsing through VP's gynecologist directory, but some more current comments might be extra helpful.)

For example, I loved my former NP because she was incredibly good at "reaching people where they were at," so to speak. She took a lot of time to understand people's sexual health care concerns, needs, and hang-ups -- and she always treated those as legitimate and worthy of respect. I'm not, as you might imagine, the easiest of patients, but she was always able to talk with me to find what solution worked best for me rather than ever talking down to me.

Why do you like your health care provider?

( Edit: I just had a pretty miserable experience with this gyn. )

Of course, the office is going to get a polite yet insistent earful as soon as I have a free moment tomorrow, but this is just... not okay.

My first yeast infection- period interfering with treatment?

[blotted-inx.livejournal.com]

I'm 16 and I suppose a week ago started noticing some things going on with my vagina. Thick, clumpy discharge being the only thing to start off with. Infact, the itching didn't start until this passed weekend and pain didn't start until today!
Well, today I bought the OTC 7day treatment Miconazole that's distributed by Equate. With it comes 7 disposable applicators; you fill them with the cream, insert, and squeeze out the cream.

Here's where I'm worried: I should be getting my period sometime this week. I was supposed to have gotten it already, but I'm late every month so whatever. The thing is, will the cream still work if, say, in the middle of the night my period decides to start? Or will I then have to wait for my period to end to recontinue the treatment?

Thank you all in advance

Seasonal changes in libido

[pinkdramon.livejournal.com]

I'm noticing a pattern here.

It appears that about 2x/year, once when the seasons roll over from winter to spring & then again when they roll over from summer to fall, I experience a spike in my libido. This one now from summer to fall tends to be the bigger & longer-lasting of the two.
My libido is still there the entire rest of the year for which I am eternally grateful - but it peaks for a few weeks about 2x year as the seasons change over.

It's been this way since high school, with a few exceptions if I've been really stressed out. Some years I remember not having a spike and thinking to myself it was probably because something was all screwed up somewhere in my life.

What I'm curious about is if there's some physiological reason triggering this spike or if it's all just in my head. Either way I'm not complaining, although I do have some inner conflict if it's fully one way or the other.

Does this happen with anybody else?

It burns.

[birduponawire.livejournal.com]

I lost my virginity to my boyfriend a little over two months ago, and finally got on birth control about two weeks ago. We had sex without a condom a few days ago and he came inside me for the first time.  When he pulled out I noticed I was burning, inside a little, but mostly the outer bit of my vagina. I rushed to the bathroom and peed and tried to wash myself down there to no avail. It hurt in every position. I went home and douched and felt better after another hour or so. When he comes in my mouth I noticed that I end up with a sore throat for at least a day or so. I'm thinking his cum is...too basic? One of my friends suggested he may be eating something that I'm allergic to? Idk. It's just that, the sex was better sans-condom, and I don't want to be prevented from having it due to unpleasant aftereffects. What's going on/ how can we prevent it?

Why am I lactating?!

[crw008.livejournal.com]

My period is two months late, but I've taken 4 HPT's and have had 2 blood tests done at the doctors -- all negative. My nipples have NEVER been so sore, they're very painful, AND they're very, very mildly lactating. I looked down a minute ago and there was some liquid coming out of my nipples! WHY AM I LACTATING?!

A bit of a stupid question...

[random-angelic.livejournal.com]

What does it mean to "stack" birth control pills? I see it used on here a lot and would like to know. Everyone I've asked IRL has no clue what it means and Google hasn't been very helpful for once so I turn to you for my answer.

Vag Issues

[laughing-dreams.livejournal.com]

So on the 19th I went to the doctor for a pap smear
I hated this doctor and this clinic anyway and knew I soon would not be going there (change in insurance provider) but figured I would go anyway since I was a bit overdue for a pap
Now when I get an exam I used to getting a pap, basic sti testing, a breast exam, and a pelvic exam
This woman basically shouted at me to relax
Jammed a speculum up my crotch
Took a swab and tried to to run out the room
I insisted on a breast exam (I have large fibrous breasts so it's really hard to feel anything myself)
And I asked her if everything looked all right down under
I was on a course of antibiotics at the time (which I told her) and she said there was a bit of discharge and that I bled when she swabbed my cervix
Basically she just said to take the diflucan I got with the antibiotics when I finished them and to come back in two months for my results
Needless to say I won't be going back there
My vagina has been rather....uncomfortable since
I did take the diflucan
I am 25, np, have a paragard IUD
but thinks just feel....off and it doesn't feel like a UTI, a yeastie, or BV
it just feels....off
there's some discharge...some odor, not necessarily bad, but not my normal sweet odor
Should I get another pap through my new insurance?
Is the bleeding when my cervix was swabbed something to be worried about?
The "off" feeling basically started as soon as I walked out of that clinic
Could she have somehow done something that could have caused this?
Ideas?

Forgotten perscription, can I start it when I get it?

[bloody-kisser.livejournal.com]

Hey girls (and I am sure a few guys),

I am on Yasmin (Well, the Generic form), I have been for two months. I just finished my period (and I had skipped the one before this). But, unfortunately, I was stupid and forgot to pick up my perscription, I can probably get it tomorrow or in the next couple of days.

Can I pick it up and start the pack on my regular start day even though my period has been over for a little while, or should I just wait until my period next month to start?

I'm taking it, mainly, because I have extremely irregular periods caused by stress and a recovering eating disorder. I barely know when they are coming and that is if they come at all. They last a day, to a week, and I can never tell if it's over except for a few days after. So, protection isn't really a concern because I am not currently sexually active.

Thanks in advance, you guys are always the best!

♥

Pregnancy scare and weird occurrence...

[somethinguseful.livejournal.com]

I am not asking if I am pregnant because I know that only a real test can confirm (or not).
I am really only asking the probability and what just happened with my body.
I took a full month's worth of birth control (microgestin, I think) and for some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to skip my next period. So, for the week where I was only supposed to take placebos, I took the next pack's first week of pills. I had a breakthrough period despite taking more hormones. I always seem to think I can skip periods but it never works for me.
Anyway, the during second week of active pills, I had sex almost every night and two nights in a row, the condom broke.
I really thought nothing of it at the time because I am very diligent about taking my pills on time and I figured since it was technically the week after my period, I would be ok.
So third week of active pills, nothing happens. No big deal.
Fourth week was placebo again. No period.
Now I am nearly done with the first week of active pills and no period still. This concerns me because my body ALWAYS breakthrough bleeds.
I took a test Friday (EPT digital, to be certain) and it said I was not pregnant. I know this is not 100% but it quelled my fears for a bit.
Now I am super sensitive to smells and eating like it's my job.
The weird thing that just happened is I was bending down to clean my cat's litter and I felt a warm wet spot in my panties.
I assumed this was my period and ran gleefully to the restroom only to find just a plain wet spot.
I don't think it was all urine but it did smell faintly of it.
I didn't feel myself urinate and it was totally involuntary. My bladder is pretty much impenetrable so to release anything like that is of great concern to me.
Any ideas?

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I was incredibly, INCREDIBLY horny on Saturday. Usually I have absolutely no sex drive and no natural lubrication at all. I was dripping and just throwing myself at my guy. What's the deal there?

Stacking Levora ok?

[blacklace19.livejournal.com]

I've been on birth control for around 7 years. Because my cramps were so bad my doctor started having me stack my pills YEARS ago. It's been a year or so since I've been to that same doctor because I was dropped from my mothers insurance. I've been going to planned parenthood since, and they put me on a different pill because they did not offer the one that I was already on.
It recently dawned on me that I never asked if that one in particular is ok to stack. I really think it is, but I'm getting nervous thinking about it.
The pill I am taking now is Levora. That's ok to stack, right?
Also, I tend to stack two or three packs at a time, depending on how I feel and on the events nearing my placebo week. Is it ok to be a little inconsistent in that manor, just varying from two to three packs?

Thanks you guys, you're always so helpful :)

Orgasms. Yeah.

[mylittlebox.livejournal.com]

I know similar questions have been asked before, but I'm having a really hard time here and I really need advice.

My boyfriend is convinced that he can make me cum through just intercourse alone. He's convinced he's made his wives cum that way and any other girl he's slept with. He sees it as a "problem" that I need clitoral stimulation. And now we're not having sex because I can't cum that way and it makes him feel like a failure.

I keep telling him that I need to be fingered on my clit or eaten out, but he just ignores it and says it makes his wrist/jaw tired. I've never had a g-spot orgasm and I don't even know if I can. I've tried to finger myself that way but my fingers are just too short. I can barely reach it and it feels great, but I can't get enough stimulation (not even from a vibrator... it has to be an up and down motion). Sometimes when he hits my spot during sex it feels AMAZING and intense, almost like I have to pee, but I either can't relax or I try to but it just doesn't happen... and when it doesn't, it's not like I get any other chance to orgasm because he refuses to try.

Can someone let me know if there's something wrong with me? Because he's making me feel like there is... and even if there's not, can I "train" myself to orgasm through sex alone?

HBC & Yeast Infections

[esotericaxxx.livejournal.com]

Do all hormonal birth control pills make you more susceptible to yeast infections, or is it only those that contain estrogen?

I have a yeast infection I can't get rid of, but I'm only taking progestin pills.

urine discolour

[artlessthan3.livejournal.com]

( this )

Placebo week cramps?

[glortw.livejournal.com]

So I had been stacking, hadn't bled in probably 2 or 3 months. I ran out and didn't have the money to get more pills, so I figured, "Fine, I'll just bleed for a week :(." Well. My stomach has been KILLING me. But I know this isn't the same as a "real" period, so could I just be like imagining I'm feeling period cramps? I mean my stomach pain feels a lot like when I would have period cramps. It's not a poopy feeling really. Can placebo week do that or am I crazy?