Sex and the menstrual cycle

[domina-trixxx.livejournal.com]

I couldn't find this question in the archives, so here goes...

My boyfriend and I have not had sex for about a month and a half and my period had been about 2 weeks overdue. We just had sex last night and this morning my period finally came.

This happened to me once before too but at that time, my period was only a few days overdue when we had sex and I had my period the next morning, so I didn't think much about it.

But this is the second time and I'm freaking out thinking whether from now on the only way for my period to start, when it's late, would be me having sex the night before :(

My questions:

1) what's happening to my body - hormonally - that I need to have sex to get my period? I am not on any medication.

2) I masturbated twice in the past week, but it did not help me get my period, why is this so?

Also, just a side question - I noticed I've been shedding a frightening amount of hair (about 300 strands of hair a day) when my period is overdue. This morning when my period started, I immediately went back to shedding almost no hairs.

I just think I must be really hormonally messed up. I hope some of you girlies can help shed light on my situation.

Thank you so much

body changes on ortho tri-cyclen lo?

[sarahness.livejournal.com]

Since starting ortho tri-cyclen lo 17 days ago, I have noticed a few things going on with my body.

a) My boobs have grown a cup size. A CUP SIZE, in 17 days.
b) My mood is unstable, and I find myself crying for no reason (I heard "You are so beautiful" on the radio, and BAWLED, wtf).
c) Been crampy out of season (period's not due for another couple weeks or so)
d) IRRITABLE tummy, as in, having to make a beeline for the bathroom, omg urgency!

To add, I'm 12 weeks post partum, have had two periods without the birth control, and I'm not breast feeding.

Do any or all of these seem related to the HBC? This is my first time on them and I'm not sure what to think. I go to the gyno in October for my yearly, and I plan to do the whole switcheroo if it seems like the birth control is making me *not me*.

Thanks in advance!

Can lube cause UTIs?

[1girl.livejournal.com]

I feel like I've been posting a lot lately, sorry.

In the past 6 months, I've had three UTIs and am pretty sure I have a fourth now.  (All I have is some stinging when I pee, so I'm going to wait on it for 24 hours to see if it's just dehydration or irritation before dragging myself to the urgent care tomorrow.)  Prior to these UTIs in the past 6 months, I have only had one other UTI when I was a really little kid.

I've been trying to figure out what in my lifestyle has been causing them to crop up all of a sudden.  I've had the same sexual partner for longer than 6 months, haven't upped my intake of caffiene, and drink about the same amount of fluid generally.  The only thing I can think of is that my boyfriend and I have started using lube in about that same time frame (we use the ForPlay water based brand). 

I know lube can cause yeast infections, can it also lead to UTIs?  If so, are there certain lube ingredients to avoid?  Or should we ditch the lube altogether?  I'd prefer not to, but we don't totally need it.

(no subject)

[fore-inn.livejournal.com]

I've had sex for the first time tonight. We used a condom.

I'm scared now. I've never been on the pill before, and I actually wanted to get it before I'd sleep with him, but it just... happened yesterday. I've never been to the gynaecologist either. We slept together, and he pulled out when he came, but the condom slipped off his thing and got caught in front of my vagina (don't know how to say it differently). I went to pee afterwards, but that was all I did. Didn't wash up with water or anything.

I don't know - I know it's totally vague and none of you can tell me what it is now, but I want to get an appointment at a gynaecologist asap, to get the morning-after pill. If I won't get an appointment there by tuesday I'll go to the hospital and try to get it there.

Am I panicking too much, without reason? Sometimes I'm prone to do that. My boyfriend said he doesn't think anything happened, and my best friend says the same.

I'm just really... scared. :-?

Horrified at abdominal muscle spasms/fluttering?

[may-third.livejournal.com]

Hey Vagpag. I am particularly scared right now.

I've been on HBC since late 2007. I am very, very vigilant about taking my pills, not starting packs late, etc.

However, in the past week or so I've been getting these weird movements in my abdomen that feel like muscle spasms but sometimes they feel like what my sister said her baby kicking felt like. Like pokes or popcorn popping.

I've been having sex sans barriers since mid-may, but I tested in mid-June and the result was negative.

I've never felt/suspected anything to be out of the ordinary, have no other pregnancy symptoms whatsoever, but am very weirded out about these abdominal flutterings. Right now I'm giving my body a break from HBC, (I haven't seen my boyfriend for over a month...stopped taking my active pills a week and half after the last time I saw him and had my withdrawal bleed two days after stopping the pill, lasted for 3 days), and yesterday I *thought* I was ovulating. I was having the dull, one sided ache and a bit of back pain I always used to associate with ovulating or the beginning of my period. The strange spasms have been going on for a week or so now, though...and it's really, REALLY freaking me out.

I just moved back in to my college dorm for the year and am on my own, so when things settle down I plan on picking up a test in the next few days. I am absolutely positively scared right now, though. Help?

I've had quite heavy withdrawal bleeds when I did take my hormone free weeks, and haven't experienced any other symptoms at all so I am quite at a loss here. Watching that show I Didn't Know I was Pregnant does not help, either :((((

Extreme vaginal discomfort

[magicplateau.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm having serious issues with urinating. Every time I pee, it stops mid-stream and it hurts a lot. Like a burning sharp glass sensation. It's been going on for about 2 weeks now but it's only been a small annoyance. Tonight, however, it began to hurt like it never has before after I tried to pee. I'm not on any medication and the last time I had sex was almost a month ago. What could be wrong with me? Thank you in advance; I always get very helpful advice from here.

Pelvic floor prolapse

[stilista.livejournal.com]

I'm seeking the input of other women who have had babies. I had my son in November of 2007, I'm 20 years old.

I have mild urinary incontinence (I pee a little when I sneeze and I have a full bladder, but otherwise, no). However, I noticed that things down there are kind of "off" since giving birth. I saw my regular gyno almost a year ago and she seemed to feel there was nothing out of the ordinary down there, but I am sweating at the thought of pelvic floor prolapse. I know that different organs can prolapse and the most common is the bladder/urethra.

I noticed that sex is more uncomfortable but this might also have to do with my episiotomy scar. Can someone just fill me in if they've been diagnosed with any kind of pelvic organ prolapse or weakness and what their symptoms were?

Also, when/where are you most likely to do kegels?

grapefruit juice with birth control

[tokio.livejournal.com]

I just drank about 36oz of pink grapefruit juice from concentrate, and I completely forgot about the whole no-grapefruit-with-hormonal-birth-control thing. I also couldn't find much on Google besides forums, and, well, I only trust you guys. So, does anyone foresee an issue with this? I don't drink grapefruit juice on a regular basis. I'll probably take my pill in about three hours.

Thanks, guys! You've been awesome to me lately.

insurance and birth control

[lala-luvyou.livejournal.com]

Hi everybody,
I found out that in a couple of week I won't have medical insurance. I recently graduated college and I'm currently unemployed in Chicago. Does anybody know what I can do about getting birth control without paying the full price? I'm currently on FEMCON Fe and I don't know how much it would cost without insurance.

Do I have any other options besides switching to a generic (which I'd rather not because I'm afraid of getting horrible migraines again)? I'm going to try and apply for Illinois Healthy Women. If you know of any other sources in getting some coverage...let me know?
Thanks!

Pain during Intercourse

[spartagus.livejournal.com]

I'm going to try and make this point form, to include as much information as I can! Hopefully someone will be able to relate or something, I'm considering going to my doctor but she and I don't get along very well (She tends not to actually listen to what I'm saying) so I'd rather not unless desperate, which I very well might be soon.
I've been sexually active with my partner about 3 or 4 months now, he's my first sexual partner. He's had one previous. We always use condoms, and I've been on HBC for 3 years, starting when I was 18 because I've never had regular periods and would go up to 5 months without bleeding and then would bleed very heavily when my period finally did start.
I've always had some pain during sex. The first time was ok, but then my vagina went into overload and seized up on me, it was really really painful.
In July 2008 I was switched from Tricyclen High, which I'd been on for 2 years, to Tricylcen Low, without being told. I don't know if it was a mistake or what. I hated it. I went emotionally crazy, highs and lows, crying fits, everything. I didn't figure it out for 3 months, until I got my prescription filled, and things in my life were to crazy to change it, so I didn't get my prescription changed until late April/early May. The transition went nicely, no crazies(which had mellowed out by then). BUT what I didn't realize, because my body is amazing at hiding symptoms/I was on painkillers for a bit/I'm a bit dense sometimes is that I had a yeast infection that would crop up after every period and go away on its own, the symptoms were very mild and could have just been passed off as nothing. It never really kicked in until I became sexually active.
Sex hurts almost every time, to the point where I couldn't have it for a week after the first few times until I treated the first yeast infection. I figured out the yeast infection symptoms as they intensified to really bad and have tried a myriad of treatments-tea tree oil, monostat(NEVER again!), dexa-something, I can't remember its name, that my doctor gave me, they all worked but only temporarily. Finally after researching home methods I've started taking Acidophlius which is amazing and I'm sold! But the problem is the yeast infections still come when they never did before July 2008-I just fend them off now.
I asked my doctor if the yeast infections could be caused by my HBC, but she said that she highly doubted it-despite them starting with a change in estrogen levels? Last time I was in she gave me a pap test and did a visual check for stds and she said everything was fine.

Anyway, that's all background to my main problem. I still experience pain during sex. Sometimes it's not bad, but other times it's really bad and I have to tell my partner to stop and change positions. He's about average size, a little long but not overly. I mostly get shooting pains up my right side pelvic area. Me-on-top is never an issue, missionary sometimes is (but very rarely), but anything else-he really enjoys leverage and I hate telling him I can't lift my back or legs or let him enter from behind because it hurts so much sometimes I almost start crying, even though I'd like too because without the pain I find it enjoyable too-and I have a very high pain tolerance. After sex peeing burns a bit. I was wondering if the lube from the condoms irritates me a bit? I know it's not the latex itself.

I figure I MIGHT have a bit of a tilted uterus, just because of how I have to insert my menstrual cup, but if anything it would be tilted to the left, not the right, where the pain is. I've boiled my cup after every period with a yeast infection, but usually I just soak it in a bit of hydrogen peroxide mixed with lots of water and rinse it really well and let it air dry before my next period-but coincidentally I've used it since July 2008, but I really don't think the cup is related to these issues, except that before I discovered the acidophlius i would put tea tree oil on my cup during my period and that seemed to work well, but stung.

Any help, information, or advice would be very very appreciated! I really want this pain to go away, it's really no fun :(