Withdrawal Method

[jenn360.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this and answer my questions.

To start off, I know this method doesn't come highly recommended by everyone and I know anytime there is "penis/vagina contact" there is a chance for pregnancy.

I went off BC a couple of months ago, had a horrible experience, experienced crazy hair shedding, etc. So I've been hesitant to go back on a pill now. This month my bf and I have been using the withdrawal method when we have sex. He always urinates before we do anything to clear out any sperm and he pulls out well in advance, I'm talking he pulls out at LEAST 5 - 10 minutes before. He is very good at controlling it, he's older and knows what he is doing when it comes to that. It's never like we have sex and he pulls out right as he is about to ejaculate or "oops I happened to ejaculate a little inside you". That has never happened. His semen never goes anywhere near my vagina. Now I know pre cum can possibly contain sperm, but I hear a lot of conflicting reports and opinions on this. I guess what I am asking is, how likely is it really for me to get pregnant from this this month considering he urinates before (making his pre-cum sperm-free, right? and he pulls out much before ejaculation)? I'm assuming we did this once or twice near/during my fertile time. Just curious what your thoughts are. I know there is always a chance anytime you have sex, but how nervous should I be, is it likely enough that I should be concerned?

Thank you!!

Am I doing this right?

[funkyfresh.livejournal.com]

I know I know, another parsley tea question! I just started a vitamin C/parsley tea combo last night.. I took 3 1000mg vitamin C pills at around 8:00 pm, chugged a cup of parsley tea (boiled water, took off hot stove and threw a good amount of dried parsley flakes in there, let it sit for about an hour then chugged... ugh) and around 10:30 I took 2 more 1000 mg vitamin C pills. Went to sleep, had some very mild cramping (could have just been gas lol) and drank a parsley tea infu sion upon waking around 10 am this morning. I'm about to down 3 more vitamin C pills. If I continue to do this and if it WILL work for me, how long until I should expect to get my period? I really hope I get it soon... I go on vacation on the 8th and am set to get my period the 9th or 10th so I'm trying to start it and be done with it about a week early. Wishful thinking probably but it's worth a try :/

For those of you who have successfully done this, should I be doing anything differently? Adding anything? I've been hearing about black cohash and dong quai but am worried about totally messing up my hormones. Any and all help/advice greatly appreciated!!!

What do you think should be included in "the talk"?

[celery-soda.livejournal.com]

I used to babysit the lovely girl of two dads. One of her parents called me today to tell me that she got her first period. They had prepared for this for a while -- they had pads of various sizes on hand, a small calendar to record her cycle, and had told her why she gets a period before she had one. She's seen diagrams and knows the mechanics of it -- eggs releasing, uterine lining shedding.

Just to clarify, they have already given her the "sex talk." They called me because he thought it would be a good idea to have a woman she was close to on hand to ask questions of. He also asked if I could talk to all three of them about vaginal/vulvar care, as well as other miscellany that has to go along with having a vagina and vulva.

Other info: they will be asking her if she wants them to be there or talk to me separately. If it's the latter, they asked me to pass on to them what I told her so they can become references as well.

Also, she decided herself that she wants to use pads. I let them know unscented was best -- turns out, that's what they have and will be purchasing from now on.

They also said she is very comfortable with her body. They raised her with an "ask and ye shall receive policy;" ever since she was a toddler, if she asked a question about her body they answered honestly, with as much specificity as she was mature enough to handle.

So I thought I would come to you guys to ask what YOU would have liked to know during your period talk. Thus far I have, in no particular order:
1. Homeopathic remedies for yeast infections (I asked and they are in favor of them, and already know a bit about them. "God, my mother hated that store-bought stuff. She called it Moni-shit."), and when to expect them (like after/while you're on antibiotics).
2. What kind of odor and discharge is normal, and what kind indicates that something might be off-balance.
3. They've already told her that hair is normal, but I thought I would reinforce that by repeating it. (Some girl in her sixth grade class got a bikini wax and now she is self-conscious about it.)
4. Hygiene. I talked to her dad about how many options there are. Both her parents did research about hygiene already, which makes sense since vulvas don't magically start needing cleaning as soon as menstruation begins. They said she had only had problems when she used soap on herself, so I will tell her that the vagina is self-cleaning and for her it sounds like it's enough to splash water on it.

I'll also reassure her that if she feels it is not enough later and begins noticing odors that she and her parents can first make sure it is not something like a yeast infection or other medical problem. If she needs products to clean, I directed her parents to find fragrance-free, dye-free soap like Dr. Bronner's baby soap.

Anything ya'll would like to throw in? Also, she's a big bibliophile, so her parents thought having a book on hand would be helpful for her. Any suggestions?

EDIT: Thanks for the help! The talk happens today. Please feel free to keep sharing any helpful tips you might have, in case someone else needs help creating a good talk for a child. I hope this thread becomes a resource for many more people!

BV and Boric acid

[demiraks-world.livejournal.com]

I am on my 4th bout of BV in about a year. (well, I'm pretty certain I have/am getting it again - so much discharge!)
I've done the antibiotics. Take probiotics and Vitamin D nearly every day, as suggested by my Dr. Yet, here I am again.


So, I've seen information posted here about using boric acid. Information on the internet seems to be torn - some say yes it helps with BV, some say it is only used to treat yeast infections, and one article I read suggested that you should get treated with anti-biotics and THEN use the boric acid to keep it way.

There's just so much conflicting information and I want to know if there is anyone here who was DIAGNOSED with BV and who actually USED boric acid to treat it. I'm at my wits end here and cannot afford to keep going back to the Dr. with this!

Puzzled... and slightly freaked out

[thalionhiril.livejournal.com]

I have a history of very irregular periods and was diagnosed with pcos by my midwife (who I'm waiting to hear back from, but freaking out and need some reassurance...).  My periods have been getting more and more regular after following an herbal tincture/vitamin regimen prescribed by my ND but overall my experience with typical menstrual cycles is limited.  My last cycle began on the 19th and I stopped bleeding on the 24th.  Two days ago I started spotting, very lightly, mild cramping.  Yesterday I didn't really notice any.  Today the spotting is a tad heavier with some teeny, tiny clots and a bit heavier cramping, but not unbearable.  Also quite a bit of discharge... very eggwhite-creamy in consistancy.  No YI or BV symptoms that I can think of, but I did read that bleeding can be a sign of infection.  

I'm 99.9% positive I'm not pregnant.  I haven't had sex with my husband since my last period, but he did use his fingers inside me a day or two before the spotting started.  That is what I originally attributed it to, but now... no idea.  A brief google search has left me feeling completely freaked out and I'm sure it'll be at least a day or two until my midwife gets back to me.

What is the possibility of pregnancy

[welniuke.livejournal.com]

Hello. I seem to be having a bit of a pregnancy scare right now... So I ended up having unprotected sex with my boyfriend two times in one day(he urinated in between and I also urinated both times almost right after, sorry for tmi) and I should mention he pulled out both times. It was right before my period, technically about 3-4 days before it, but it started 2 days after intercourse. It was a normal period, light(but it's always like that) and really red. After that I have been feeling absolutely the same as always except for being stressed about the unlikely possibility of pregnancy. Also by my cm I'm quite sure I know that there was no possibility of me having a very late ovulation I can kind of count back as to when it might have happened by my cm. I should be expecting a period around August 12th. The reason why I'm asking is to know how likely I am to get pregnant? The problem is that I'm underage and as You can see not the brightest of minds... I've missed a period last month because of a pregnancy scare(even though it was impossible I even had a negative test). Thank You for any answer I might get.