Misinformation in Mass Media

[thenuddpants.livejournal.com]

Hey VPers!

I'm watching "Sex... with Mom and Dad" with Dr. Drew on MTV, and I noticed some misinformation in an "exercise" about Truth v. Myth in relation to sexual health. (For those who don't know, the whole premise of the show is to get kids and parents to open up about sex in an effort to foster better sexual information and such)

The two things in particular that bothered me were:

Truth: "Anal sex can get you pregnant." The card they got said that there can EASILY be drippage down to the vagina that can result in pregnancy.

Myth: "Pulling out is effective 30% of the time" They didn't detail the card for this one, but it was presented as a "pulling out is never effective" type thing.

My issues:

We get questions regarding both of these things all the time here on VP - as far as the anal sex issue is concerned, as far as *I* am aware, it is not an easy or common thing for there to be drippage that would seep to the vagina. I understand the ulterior motive - to get kids to use condoms for any sexual activity, but does the end justify the misinformation?

For pulling out - we talk about that a LOT here at VP, and it is most certainly more than 30% effective when used properly! In fact, Planned Parenthood cites a 73% success rate for typical use. For this topic specifically, is it more important for kids to be pushed to wear condoms and think that withdrawal is not effective at all, or is it more important for them to have all the correct information? I understand that thinking "Oh, it works 73% of the time" could lead to kids forgoing condoms and such, but with comprehensive education (which seems to be the goal of this show) is the lying really necessary?

Thoughts? Comments?

EDIT: And Dr. Drew just told a 19 year old with 20-25 partners that she "undoubtedly" had genital warts/HPV, and asked her if she had seen any warts. I think there is a big difference between telling someone about their risk levels and saying "Oh I'm sure you have XYZ"

anal itching + medication questions

[so-much-udder.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone. So I've been having some anal itching at night, which leads me to believe I have worms of some sort. I was wondering what sort of medication I could use to get rid of it, and also if I *didn't* actually have worms, would it be somehow harmful for me to take the treatment just to make sure?

Thanks so much!

Swollen, painful bump in the pubic area?

[http://users.livejournal.com/__susan/]

Hello to all you wonderful, fantastic VPers :]

I recently noticed a large, swollen bump in the area of my public hair. At first, it was just kind of... annoying. But when, upon my curiosity getting the best of me and an overwhelming need to inspect it got the best of me, I shaved the area [small strokes with the razor, Egde Shave Gel, great care taken not to nick the area] and discovered... whoa. This thing is BIG.

So, here's the facts on it:

*It's INCREDIBLY swollen. I looked down at it last night and was kind of shocked.

*It's very, very painful. It's right along my zipper, so that rubs against it, even when there's a Band Aid on the thing. It hurts to get up and sit down to a point where I have to walk around with my pants kind of pulled away from it so that it doesn't touch it.

*It doesn't have a head, so there's no real chance of me being able to pop it. I don't have any straight pins to puncture it with [which would be properly sanitized, no worres :)]

*It's hard and very slightly warm to the though. I had two infected bites on my leg right before this which showed classic infection signs -- very warm to the touch, painful, had a head, pus came out when the head was messed with, etc.


I guess the bright side is that my boyfriend [who is not the same guy who accused me of cheating when I found out I'd had HPV like the guy in my last post -- I kicked him to the curb very soon after!] is showing me just how amazing he is because he's been taking great care of me :]

In terms of what I've already done for it... I sat with a hot compress on it for about an hour last night, have tried to puncture it with a sanitized safety pin, have tried to locate a head [to no avail], and I've had a Band Aid with antibiotic on it on it since after my shower yesterday.

Any suggestions/ideas? Any input is really appreciated :]

Bleeding due to anxiety / medication

[bezsmertni.livejournal.com]

Hi,

If I get a panic attack for more than a day in a row, I usually get a light bit of spotting. Well, I've had one since Saturday night, and the spotting started last night. But while there's very little blood on the actual pad (I'm using the thinnest kind), there is tons just oozing out. If I flex the muscles you use for kegels, I can feel some slide and drop out -- it's not more in volume than, say, a load of semen (only example I can think of), but it ALL goes into the bowl.

Should I be worried? I'm on HBC and my period isn't due for two weeks.

I'm thinking it might be from blood-thinners, and the medications I've had in the last 24 hrs are:
lorazepam (anti anxiety; don't think it affects the blood)
kava kava (liquid form)
valerian (liquid form)

Any ideas?

Wisdom?

[inmycrease.livejournal.com]

This might not belong here, but feel free to delete if nessicary.

I have surgery coming up to get my wisdom teeth removed, and I was just wondering what other peoples experiences were. I have heard absolute horror stories, but at the same time I know that everyone heals differently. In terms of being in a relationship, how long should I wait till I get back into the swing of things?
Thanks so much in advance.

Diva Cup...Help!

[irsmurfette17.livejournal.com]

I just got my first Diva a couple weeks ago. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I don't think I'm inserting it right. I have the size 2 because I had a baby 3 months ago, so maybe it's just that I'm... umm... "looser" than I used to be, but the damn thing slips all over the place. I need help, and soon. I just got a Mirena, so I've been having all kinds of bleeding. I just wish this stupid Diva would stay in place. Thanks in advance ladies.

bleeding after sex

[manny-bee.livejournal.com]

now i know that sometimes it's normal to bleed after sex.... but from what i understand it's usually just spotting. my problem is that i had sex two days ago and now im bleeding like im having a light period. i had to use a tampon yesterday! i had my period only like a week and half ago and this seems like there's something wrong.... (mind you it was pretty rough sex, but still)

has anyone ever had this happen?

Change from Generic Mircette to Yaz

[purplestarzzz.livejournal.com]

I attend university and they originally prescribed me the generic of mircette, because it was supposed to help with PMS and headaches, both of which got a lot worse. I didnt want to stand another month of it so i called my doctor at the health center at the university and requested to be put on yaz as i originally wanted. And so therefore now on Yaz.

Now, my question is, I missed the first pill of the new pack because I wanted to change. I have a Sunday start, so because I am switching my doctor said to use condoms for a couple of weeks, and not the normal one week... which I don't understand. I asked her and she said, because I got a late start, I need to wait a couple of weeks and that doesn't really seem right to me just because if I can never have taken it at all and wait a week and have sex without a condom and be fine, then why would I have to wait a couple of weeks? that makes no sense to me.

Also, can I just take two of the pill, like I missed I had missed a day? That way I would still be on a sunday start? or should I just take it and make my new start day monday?

Thank you much! Also, did anyone else have any problems with Mircette, I got a two day migraine and started crying when my boyfriend pretended like he wasnt going to kiss me... I thought that was a little extreme, so, haha, I wanted the switch.

thanks mucho VP-ers!

Fordyce spots?

[glortw.livejournal.com]

So I thought of another question. I was reading about Fordyce spots..I looked at the picture of them on someone's cooch..and like I am almost positive I have them, but they seem to be on my..labe. Like, both lips. A lot of them. And then I feel some of the same sort of bumps like at the top of my cooch, above my clit, too. Is this normal?

Why do I stink?!

[vivalamusica.livejournal.com]

Hey Superstars,

So, I've noticed lately that my various body parts have become particularly...pungent. Pretty much everywhere that ever has any kind of fluid (vag, urine, sweaty underarms, breath) has taken on a smell that ranges from sour to almost rotting depending on how dehydrated I am. My diet and exercise habits haven't changed any, and I don't feel sick. I can't imagine what's going on. Is there some infection or vitamin deficiency or whatever I don't know about that could cause this? I'd hate to take off work and spend money I don't have on a doctor's visit if it turns out I'm just low on vitamin X, Y, or Z. Ideas?

Wyeth grey shaded area

[asdfg-h.livejournal.com]

Hey quick question,

My doctor switched my pill to Wyeth but I'm a bit confused as to the packaging. As well as the normal yellow pills and the red pills on the red background theres also 7 yellow pills on a brown background directly after the red pills. I was just wondering why its set up differently (even though I know the pills on the brown background are the same as the yellow ones). I read the instructions and the only mention of it was "on the first day of your menstrual bleed take a yellow tablet that matches the day of the week from the grey (they call it grey but its brown) shaded area" when I first start the pack then take the pills like normal.

Also can I skip my period when I switch packets and just take a yellow pill from my new pack ?

Feel free to delete mods and point me in the right direction for answers if this has already been asked, I looked through faq and entries but couldnt find anything.

Thanks

late period; not "sexually active"

[feckhead.livejournal.com]

     This might just be one of those "I need someone to tell me I'm being ridiculous for worrying about this" posts (or might not), but here are the facts:

While I am really bad at keeping track of the dates of my cycles and can't really say if my period is that irregular (aside from not being as regular as with being on birth control), I'm pretty sure my period is 2-3 weeks late, and that seems pretty delayed.

I do not have sexual intercourse. When my boyfriend and I engage in "heavy petting" there's no direct unclothed penis-to-vagina contact. Now, I was told way back in health class that sperm getting through fabric happens (undergarments, of course); obviously this is a remote chance, but really, how remote? Am I being silly? I even ran out to get a pregnancy test just to ease my mind, but the damn thing malfunctioned: Came up negative, but the box that's supposed to have a line in it when it's done testing never showed anything.

I *have* been under various degrees of stress lately, but I feel like I've been the most stressed when my period should have already started. If you've just been generally stressed out maybe a couple weeks before your period starts, could that still push it forward?

P.S. I know about the parsley thing. I drank a mug of the tea on Saturday and was just munching on a lot of straight parsley earlier tonight.

Stacking Pills & PMS

[chowburger.livejournal.com]

I just have a quick question for y'all; nothing too major. Is is possible that using HBC to skip my next period will make my PMS last longer than it would otherwise?

I started taking the pill - Yasminelle, which I think is Yaz in the US - four months ago, and everything's gone swimmingly so far, which is why I've decided to give the period-skipping a go. The thing is, I get awfully depressed, weepy and anxious for the week before my period. It's a pretty overwhelming feeling, I'm sure plenty of you know what I'm talking about, and it doesn't usually go away until I start bleeding. If it's likely that this will last longer if I don't (bleed, that is), then I don't want to aggravate things for no reason - I'm only stacking packs of pills out of curiosity. Sobbing at the bus stop for any longer than I have to isn't exactly my idea of a good time!

Any advice? Stories to share? Am I just making up potential problems? Thanks in advance!

Extreme pregnancy anxiety despite perfect condom use

[liastrife.livejournal.com]

Hi again, everyone.

So, last Friday my boyfriend and I had sex for the first time, my first time ever doing so. It did not last long, only a minute or so, but I was expecting that so I wasn't disappointed. We used a condom, properly and effectively, and I am absolutely sure it did not break, slip, or tear - I even insisted on testing it by filling it with water afterwards, which he was patient enough to comply with, and there was nary a leak to be found.

Despite that, though, I'm absolutely wrecked. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I'm afraid that somehow, someway, I am pregnant, and my life is about to be completely ruined. I'm not expecting my period until around the 3rd of next month and I'm already anxiously checking for any possible sign of my period coming so I can relax. Every time I feel some slight change in my body that could somehow possibly be attributed to an early sign of pregnancy (even just a little bit of an upset stomach, or a slight cramp in a muscle,) I feel like fainting. I'm afraid it's hurting my relationships with everyone around me, including my boyfriend, because I can't explain why I'm jumping at shadows.

I don't understand what it means when they say that condom effectiveness is 97%. Over a year? How many times having sex is that? What's the chances with just one condom, one time, used properly and with no accidents? I feel kind of alone and worried and I'm not really sure if I should be worried, or perfectly comfortable. Maybe I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance, or some actual facts, or anything really.