Itchy/Swollen/Dry Vagina

[themagpye.livejournal.com]

I am very uncomfortable right now =(

This past year I've had my first UTI and bacterial infections ever. They took a few months each to get diagnosed and treated because I had no idea what was going on. Here are some facts for this bout of... Whatever it is.

1. My inner labia and vaginal area are swollen, itchy, dry, and sensitive to touch. It feels a lot like rugburn. I want to scratch, but it hurts so much to do so. It's starting to spread to my clitoral/perianal regions. It's not in the interior of the vagina. I've poked it a lot trying to figure this out, and I know that doesn't hurt. There's no smell or discharge at all, my vagina doesn't even seem to be self-lubricating or cleaning, which it is fond of doing.

2. This has been going on for about 4 days that I can recall, it may be longer that I just experienced a small itch. About one and a half weeks before anything started I had sex with my boyfriend, so I don't think it's sexual activity that started anything, and I can't think of anything that would cause it. My birth control active pills end after tomorrow, my period should start three days after that. I've never had this issue ongoing before, though I have had similar itchy-vagina episodes in the past, they're gone in a few hours.

3. I avoid washing my vagina directly and don't use fragranced soaps to do it. I also wear cotton undies and pants rather than tight jeans. I eat a balanced diet and try to avoid processed foods because they upset my stomach. I also just got into a hot bath and it went away almost instantaneously, which is a bit alarming.

What could this be? I just want my good vagina back =( It used to behave so nicely, and now it's acting up all the time.

bisexual

[https://users.livejournal.com/pretendworld-/]

Those of you who are bisexual - do you family and friends know? how did you tell them?

I'm having a tough time trying to aknowledge strong feelings I have for another female and I really want to explore this situation further. I have been with a girl several years ago but it was just a one night only thing. I enjoyed the experience but find myself attracted to men more often than women..so I'm really confused. The hardest part is none of my family or friends know and I wouldn't even know how to break the news (if I did pursue some kind of relationship).

Sorry if this is off topic :-/

Early Period, What To do?

[irradient.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone, I have a question that I tried to look up in the memories and didn't find an answer for. So I'm relatively new to hormonal birth control (I've been taking it since November), I'm taking sprintec (it's the generic for Ortho-Cyclen, I think, it's monophasic). My question is this - I'm really bad at taking the pills on time which usually doesn't matter because I don't have to worry about getting pregnant. However, a few days ago, I accidentally skipped two and didn't "make them up" because I've gotten nauseated before when I did that. Now it seems I have started my period a week early...it's like full on period, but I guess it could be "breakthrough bleeding" (I have no experience with that). I've only ever had about one early period ever and it was a day or two. Is it safe to assume it's because I forgot my pills?

Anyway, I'm wondering what I should do about the rest of the pills...I'm about to start my third week of them. Should I go into placebo pills to just get my period out of the way? (Will this even work?) Or should I continue with the regular pills and take placebo next week? I really don't want to get two periods if I can avoid it!
(Lesson learned re: being more careful about taking pills accurately!)

Experiences of dry sex

[tellmeimfine.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone,

To start off: I'm a virgin, and have really limited sexual experience. Last night while making out with my boyfriend, things got pretty hot and heavy. We ended up dry humping, and not in a mild way.... and it was incredibly intense. I honestly felt like I'd imagine sex to feel (not exactly in terms of physical sensations, but more generally) except with clothes on. I've since been thinking about dry sex, and wondering what other peoples' experiences of it have been. Do others find it as intimate as I did? Or is that maybe just a product of my inexperience. I found it highly erotic, and I feel a fair bit closer to him after that encounter. I welcome anyone else's thoughts and experiences. Thank you!

Painful Periods after age 50

[arcanefairy.livejournal.com]

Hi, long time reader, occasional commenter, here with a question for my Mom.
( Question and background after the cut )

TLDR: any help for 51 year old woman with painful/heavy periods, who has been taken on BC pills?