Aunt Flo is visiting me this week, and my husband, being the wonderfully virile guy that he is, has opted to perform the one handed tango daily until things clear up. I've never minded his overactive sex drive (I enjoy it 24 days out of the month), but he has constantly rebuffed my offers to "assist" which disappoints me a little bit. Maybe he wants some alone time, hearkening back to pre-marital bachelor days? Or maybe he feels guilty about me not being able to enjoy it?

Is there anything I should be doing to encourage him? He's squicked out by the thought of vaginal sex during my period, and I am too, so that's out.

(On the other hand, I'd much rather he enjoy the alone-time at home than seek out the company of other ladies. For this I suppose I should be grateful.)

Current Mood: disappointed

Hello there VPers. I've been enjoying your community for quite some time and hope that I can find some guidance in your caring and wonderful environment.

Okay. I know that all women are different and the whole period experience is subjective, but
what defines a "normal" period in terms of cramps, pain, etc.? I have the whole cramps and bloating thing, but I've also been experiencing things that really concern me but don't seem to raise awareness in my doctors or family members. I can't tell if I've somehow angered the vagina-gods and now mine hates me or my concern is geniune.

( Why is it so angry? )

Is this is what some (healthy) women really experience during their periods? Does birth really solve bad periods? Am I alone out there? :[

Alright, so I will try to keep this tidy and logical. After browsing through the "pain during sex" entries nothing really seemed to match what I'm feeling.

( Basic stats )

( Situation )

soo. last annual, had abnormal pap, got colposcopy, they said "meh it's just what we thought, nothing serious, not cancer, just get a pap in a year." now PP says it's time for my annual again. what will they do when my pap is abnormal AGAIN? i do NOT want to go through another colposcopy.

also, i really really really hate exams. not just like "meh dentist-like annoyance"..but i start crying and refuse to remove my hands from covering my genitals until repeatedly asked if i want to reschedule. i am terrified of anyone, even the clinician, seeing my parts. i still don't let my boyfriend ever do anything to me in the light. how to ever ever get over this? i know that everyone's cooch is different. variety is normal. intellectually, i get this. but to ME, the combination of my huge thighs and my disgusting, huge, gross snatch just..seems like it can't be anything like any doctor has ever seen before. i worry that they will definitely judge me and go home and laugh about me to their husband or whatever. is there any way to feel any better about this besides telling myself "you're normal, everyone has different noonoos"?

So, the MenstroMonster™ (term courtesy of paraxeni) has decided to grace me with copious and extended vomiting upon its arrival this cycle. Since this has happened before and since the vomiting happens when the pain gets past a certain threshold, I do think it's my period causing it and not any bacteria or viruses. I've not kept down solid food since Tuesday night, and I don't see this changing for at least another day when my flow will probably get heavier. (Yay?)

I've been subsisting on the meal replacement drinks (Boost/Ensure/generic equivalents) mostly because the vanilla flavor is pretty bland -- important because even the liquid food is not guaranteed to stay put. Also small amounts of water frequently throughout the day. Just wondering, though, if anyone has additional tips for maintaining proper hydration, which at this point is my biggest concern, as well as nutrition, which is getting to be a secondary issue.

In the meantime, I will be writing my uterus a strongly worded letter. It already owns my pelvic cavity, low back, hips, lower GI tract, and sometimes head (thank you, menstrual migraines). It needs to know that it is NOT allowed to take over other organs and systems as well. :/

Hopefully you folks have some insight...

I recently moved to another country. After the move, I got my first period without incident, but after that, have missed two in a row. I'm definitely not pregnant. At first I thought there might be stress-related causes for the missed periods, but I think largely my lifestyle here is a lot more stress-free than it was before the move.

More complications: I stopped taking HBC in August, just before moving, and that first period in the new country was the first real period I've had in over two years, not counting withdrawal bleeds on HBC. Before I started the pill, my cycle was around 45 days, so at first when my period was late I figured maybe it'd just changed sometime over the course of using HBC...

Now, I'm in a situation where I'd like to start HBC again. Except that the start instructions all have to do with waiting until one gets one's period...

I guess my questions are, then, 1) what are some possible reasons I could be skipping periods (other than stress/lack thereof) and 2) is it possible to start HBC again without waiting for my next period, which seems oddly elusive?

Thanks!

Hello there VPers, I have two pregnancy questions..
 

Is it possible to get pregnancy "symptoms" a few days after conception? Also, is it possible to get the same "symptoms" just through hormonal changes in your cycle or worrying about being pregnant? I'm trying to avoid jumping to conclusions until my period arrives (doesn't arrive?) and I know the only way to be certain is to get tested. I'm too early for a blood test / home pregnancy test (I think?) but thinking about it is driving me mad. I have had cramps, my breasts have swollen, have been crying at the drop of a hat, exhausted all day... I had sex without any BC on 1/1/10, is it possible that this is connected? Is it possible for me to get the symptoms because I *think* I might be pregnant?

Also, I've been trying to gather as much information as possible. I hope this doesn't sound too silly, but I read this article. In the article, it has a chart that says there is only a 50% survival rate later in the second trimester. Is this true? I guess maybe I'm a little emotional at the moment, but that statistic fills me with despair. I know there is a lot of misinformation out there and I shouldn't really over think this too much - so I thought I'd put the questions to you!

Thanks in advance for any comments... : )
 

EDIT: Thank you, thank you, thank you too ALL commenters. Posting here was the best decision! :D
I'm taking everyone's advice on board. Thanks again!

Current Location: Sydney
Current Mood: restless

So I posted before Christmas about a possible UTI - I had some mild stinging and eventually convinced myself that the pain in my lower back was my kidneys, so I went to the nurse to get my pee tested. She said there were white blood cells and put me on antibiotics - however, the tests in the lab showed nothing. I had to go to my doctor at home for a different matter, and they offered to test my urine while I was there - the dipstick showed nothing at all. My pee was super diluted as I'd been drinking so much water, but they say if I had a kidney infection or anything serious, it would have shown up. I went back today just to check that everything was normal, but the dipstick showed protein and white blood cells. The nurse said she'd send it off to the lab but that it wasn't abnormal for people to sometimes have white blood cells in their urine and if there are no symptoms and no infection found, there's no need to worry. So if this sample comes back negative, should I just stop worrying about it?

hey all,
I just wanted to say thankyou to this community in general. I've been feeling really anxious lately, about a few things I won't go into in much detail. One of the main things at the moment is my body image, which I thought I wass doing ok with until my well-meaning father decided to step in and push me to lose weight. Which, yes, I need to do, but I will do it on my terms, not his. And I dont need to lose as much as he thinks I do.

Anyway, my point is that thinking about this brought on a whole heap of negative thoughts, about myself and how I feel, about how I've dealt with myself this past year and also about a pretty bad relationship I used to be in and (annoyingly) haven't fully recovered from yet... and so I went back through the archives here. there was so much love and support, and so many people caring about others here. I dont even need to post some of my concerns because guess what? other people have them too. And all of you have given reassurances and help.

so I guess this is my late night, slightly tipsy and tearful thanks to everyone here. For being the supportive community of people that you are :D

Current Mood: thankful

I was on Yaz for 4.5 year and besides a low sex drive I never really had any other symptoms. My gyno just prescribed me the Nuva Ring. I've read a lot of bad stuff about it including weight gain and a greater chance of developing blood clots than taking the pill.

Any take on this? or the Nuva Ring in general? What other birth control pills do you guys like? Do you know if the hormones are the same for the Nuva Ring and Yaz?