Armour Thyroid and HBC pills

[thinktink16.livejournal.com]

A question for the thyroid savvy people out there:

I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and put on 15 mg of Armour Thyroid every day. I'm getting tested again in a week to see if these are good levels for me but, if they're not, I may be going up in dosage. This is relevant because:

I was doing some research on side effects and, aside from the major ones, several places indicated that I should be aware if I am taking estrogen because that might affect how the Armour Thyroid works. I called my pharmacist (easier to get on the phone than a doctor) and told them that I am on HBC...should I ALSO be concerned about THAT being less effective? She said the only interaction she's heard of is that sometimes thyroid meds speed up your metabolism and it, therefore, may process your HBC faster than normal. Which means to me that there might be a window of the day where I am not protected.

I'm going to ask my doctor about this when I get retested but I was just curious...does anyone have any more information about this? Is there a test to see how fast I am metabolizing? I am okay with upping and upping my Armour Thyroid dosage to counteract the estrogen but I am very concerned about the possibility that my HBC might not work as well. I am using condoms with my boyfriend now, but there is going to be a time in our future where we will want to stop and I need to be SURE SURE that I am being protected.

(no subject)

[shiningstar55.livejournal.com]

I found myself wondering tonight if more pregnancy tests are bought by people hoping that they ARE pregnant, or by people hoping that they ARE NOT pregnant?  I personally have never hoped that the test came out positively when I've bought them, but obviously not everyone is in that boat.  Any thoughts about this?  Or any information (although I don't really know how you would collect data on this...)?

Links round-up: Week ending March 23, 2012

[also-warriors.livejournal.com]

Welcome to our new weekly links round-up. This is a compilation of items from the past week that may be of interest to VPers.
As a reminder, in lieu of trigger warnings, I use keywords describing the themes of the piece. Please skim these before deciding to read the excerpt or click through for the full article. Outside sources are not safe spaces, and mainstream source's comments should almost always be avoided. The links I highlight don't necessarily reflect VP's views, or even my own, for that matter. 

This week's round-up includes: Racism in fat acceptance movements; the white savior industrial complex and Kony 2012; trans Miss Universe contestant disqualified; Trayvon Martin and the deadly legacy of vigilantism; Shaima Alawadi's murder and white terrorism; why women in the US don't run for office as often as men; addressing death in childbirth.
( Read more... )

What have you been reading (or writing!) this week?

If you'd like to see an article included in next week's round-up, send me an e-mail at also_warriors@vaginapagina.com . Non-US and positive links are especially appreciated. (I can't fit all the awesome links people send, but I'll try to post any that I don't include to Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter.) You can also just take matters into your own hands and post in the comments!

Birth control, antibiotics and retroactive protection...

[xasgoodasitgets.livejournal.com]

Alright, so I'm SUPER paranoid about getting pregnant. I take my pill the EXACT same time every day, and have for 8 years now. I don't take any chances.

I'm getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow morning. The oral surgeon prescribed me some Amoxicillin to take to prevent infection. Now, I know that antibiotics can possibly decrease the effectiveness of the pill. I also know that some people say it's not ALL antibiotics, and it's not definitely the case, but like I said...I'm super paranoid and take no chances.

I'm definitely going to use a backup for the course of my antibiotics and for a month afterward (paranoid!) BUT my boyfriend and I had sex without a condom last night and he came inside of me. I didn't even consider it, because I haven't started the antibiotics yet.

I've heard that sperm can live inside of you of up to a week. So...if I start antibiotics tomorrow, am I still protected from the sperm that are already inside of me? And if so...how? I mean, don't you need s steady stream of the hormones to protect you? If that 'stream' is interrupted and sperm are inside of me...isn't there a larger chance that I can get pregnant? I'm feeling really uneasy about it, and am considering not taking the antibiotic. I mean, everyone says to use a backup for the course of the antibiotics, but no one says anything about not having sex for a week BEFORE you start the antibiotics.

I need some opinions, please! I'm freaking myself out here. Thanks!

What do you do about your hair?

[thebunnygeek.livejournal.com]

Hey people! :D

I'm curious, what's everyone's preferred method of hair control (if any)?
Do you keep it completely au-naturel, or do you completely remove it?

If you remove it, why? How do you do it?

I'm deciding on whether or not to simply trim (with those special trimmers) or just get all of it waxed. But... as my vulva is kind of irritated I'm trying to go with the least painful/irritating route.

Lump Under Breast

[alexidior.livejournal.com]

About 6 months ago I noticed a small lump right below my left breast. It felt like one of those gross hard pimples that sit just below the skin and was quite sore for a few days. After a couple of days it got a bit smaller and once the soreness disappeared I forgot about it. It's starting to bug me again as it's starting to get a bit sore from the bottom of my bra rubbing against it.

Is this worth checking out or can I expect the soreness to disappear like last time? Thank in advance

truly the most magnificant cake you will ever see

[gregariouspeach.livejournal.com]

So my friend runs an amazing cake making business Sweet Ruby Cakes and casually mentioned to me the other day she'd made a new cake that was 'too rude for facebook'. Naturally I was intrigued and demanded she email me photos.

Well! As soon as I saw it I knew you guys would love it!

( behold the wonderful vagina-cake - she's pierced too! )