The Menstrual Hut

Female Anatomy Quiz :-)

2008-07-19T18:29:16Z

Hi!

My name is Manda, and I'm currently spreading the word about a fun, informative online quiz about the female anatomy that I have written and submitted to a weekly contest. I thought that maybe members of this community would be interested in taking it!

The test is here:
http://helloquizzy.okcupid.com/tests/female-anatomy-expertise-test

I'm also seeking any constructive feedback you may have regarding the test, it's scoring, or its questions!

I really hope you enjoy the test, and good luck!

-Manda

menstrualhut @ 2008-07-17T15:22:00

2008-07-17T22:26:43Z

Hello!

I'm sure this is going to be pointless, as I can summarily answer this question but I just want to check.

I recently had sex (5 days ago) ...unprotected, however he pulled out. Yes, I'm aware that pulling out is no guarantee for a 'safe escape' - and that essentially b/c, condoms, or even better- abstinence- are the best ways to avoid an unplanned pregnancy.

But...my period is now late. Which absolutely never happens- it's consistently a 28 day cycle, without fail. So, is it at all possible to have missed a period so early on after intercourse as an indication of pregnancy? I know it's too early (must be 10 days after conception) for the HCG hormone to be detected, however is it too early for it to have caused such a disturbance soas to have made me miss my period?

Pregnancy is not at all on my agenda, however I ask because I like to be prepared if this might be the case. If someone could shed some light for me asap I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

menstrualhut @ 2008-07-17T23:13:00

2008-07-17T22:13:29Z

Hey all, I have looked in the memories already but unless I've missed it, there's nothing about postponing periods?? Either way, for several reasons, I would like to delay my next period by at least a week, or just skip it. I am due on at some point between next Wednesday & the Sunday, I can't be more precise than that. So, is there ANY way I can delay this without a doctor? I am NOT on the pill or any birth control, so I can't mess with that. Also, I know about the drug Norethiterone, or something, but I can't get that without prescription, which I don't have time to get, so that's not an option. Any ideas?

Provera question

2008-07-17T14:51:18Z

My husband and I are trying to get pregnant. I went off BC a few months ago, but my period hasn’t returned yet, so my gyno gave me a week of provera. For religious reasons, we don’t use condoms, and she told me not to have unprotected intercourse before taking the provera to be sure I didn’t get pregnant before taking the medication.

So, my question is: is it safe to have unprotected intercourse (a) while on provera and (b) afterwards, before my period comes on?

Ovulating on birth control?

2008-07-12T20:33:56Z

Hello!
I'm new here.

And I have a query.

I have been on NuvaRing for 2+ years now, with no problems, no weird side effects. However, I have noticed that sometimes mid-cycle, my ovaries will give me little twingey pains like I'm ovulating. I have heard that you can ovulate while you're on birth control, but does anyone know WHY this happens?

I'm also concerned because I've been spotting for two days now (my period ended a week ago) and it's never happened before.

Does anyone know what the heck is going on?

-Amanda

Endometriosis Treatments

2008-07-04T05:53:09Z

Hello there.
Earlier this year I was implanted with the Mirena IUD as it was meant to help with endometriosis (diagnosed several months prior), as the Pills I had tried before weren't helping (Diane 35 and Juliette).

On one hand it's stopped my cycle entirely, which is a very good thing.
On the other hand...I'm still getting cramps and other symptoms (pelvic congestion, tenderness, digestive/renal problems) once or twice a month. Nowhere near as severe as before, but bad enough to be a big inconvenience.
Also, my complexion's terrible and my hair's starting to thin (things that the Pill usually took care of).

I want it out, but if I have the IUD removed I'll have to go on another treatment, and the alternatives don't look friendly.

Anyone else here with endometriosis have success with other treatments besides Mirena?

Thanks in advance.

menstrualhut @ 2008-06-23T20:58:00

2008-06-24T01:04:05Z

Alright, so, this is one of the most common questions, but I've tried everything I can think of-hot water bottles, IB Profin, tea, birth control (the pill which made it worse -___-;), other pain meds (on perscrip.), snuggling with the boyfriend, exercise-but I still get terrible pains during the first two to three days of my period and like two days before my period. And by terrible I mean me puking due to pain, fainting, curling up in balls on the floor, taking ice baths, etc. just to try and deal with it. I have talked to my doctors about prescription pain meds and all they gave me was extra strength IBprofin which did...nothing. -__-; So...any advice for me? Different bc meathods? I was thinking of getting mirena anyway just because it's practical, but do you think that would help? Thanks! :D

sore breasts due to birth control?

2008-06-21T22:04:56Z

i posted a few weeks back asking if it was ok to take 3 packs of bc in a row, and i am about to finish the second lot, due to start placebo pills this wednesday, and still intend to continue with next packet then.

this is not really part of my problem, more a sort of symptom i guess. because oh my god are my boobs sore!! hehe!!
theyve always gotten fairly sore and heavy and grown a bit, right before my period, but i guess as i havent had my period they are like storing the heavy-ness until i do? i dont know, thats kinda the theory my heads come up with! all i know for sure is that when i take off my bra of an evening they hurt and are uncomfatable and its just not good

so i was wondering if there was anything i can do to make them hurt less. also this would be helpfull on ordinary months too to help ease the normal soreness

thank you for any help =]

Progestin-Only B.C.

2008-06-12T13:57:05Z

Has anyone here had any experiences with progestin-only pills? I've been reading up on them & considering switching from Loestrin 24.

Just curious. :)
Thanks!

PMDD, Lupron, and Estradiol.

2008-06-07T13:07:31Z

I've had really severe PMDD ever since I started menstruating, yet also have this horrible inability to tolerate any sort of Progesterones.
Any sort of contraceptive pill with progesterones in it makes me completely, utterly, suicidally depressed.

I go to a Reproductive Endocrinologist for treatment, and we have worked that treatment with Lupron and Estradiol add back therapy in small doses relieves just about all of my symptoms - I'm no longer hypoglycemic, 20 lbs overweight, unable to function to 14 days out of every month, and I'm just completely healthier in general. All over. It's really amazing.

However, I'm looking for some support on trying to find the right Estradiol dosages, and side effects, and whatnot. Is there anyone out there who can help with that?

I was taking 0.05 mg Estradiol (these are estradiol patches i'm referring to here), but it makes me slightly more lethargic than I prefer. 0.0375 is optimal, but when I switched down to this, I started bleeding a week later. When it didn't stop for about 7 days (and it was insanely heavy, I guess because I haven't had a period for 6 months?) I called my Dr, who told me to go back on the higher dose of estrogen, and that it was probably just breakthrough bleeding.

That was Tuesday. It's saturday, and I'm starting to get tired and still bleeding a little. Any advice on tweaking dosages, dealing with breakthrough bleeding? I'm trying to figure out if I can obscure a small part of the patch to work out a dose inbetween the .0375 and .05.

Any advice or support would be helpful, thanks!

A question, looking in back posts but did not find anything

2008-05-29T08:17:53Z

I am going on vacation in july and I am supposed to get my period at the same time, is there anything I can do to stop my period from showing up? I get really heavy periods that last longer than a week sometimes, I don't take birth control pills or anything like that, and I am a bit scared about taking the pills anyways after reading about all the side effects and things.

help

2008-05-27T21:56:49Z

ok so heres the problem, i have been taking microgynon30ED for the past 6 months, and have had my period every month during the 4th week of sugar pills

however, this months sugar pills are due to be taken, and thus my period start, while i am on holiday, which i really do not want.

so i am planning on beginning the next pack straight away, and thus skip my period.

however, this then means that the next week of sugar pills is due to start when i am at Glastonbury festival, and having been last year i know full well it is not a place i want to be on at =P

so i would like to know if it is a) safe to start another pack as soon as second one ends, and thus skip two periods, and b) if there is anyway to stop the second period another way?

thank you in advance

13 days in between periods?

2008-05-25T17:18:50Z

(this is cross-posted to the womenhealth community- sorry if you have to see this 2x!)

i was looking through some of the other posts and though one of them sounded sort of related, this situation is still different from that one and i'm wondering if anybody has any ideas what this is.

ever since i first got my period i've been regular. always. the PMS symptoms are sometimes less horrific, sometimes horrid. but, my schedule is always about 21 days, i think. or 28. i can't recall off the top of my head but the point is, it's always the same.

sometime earlier this year i started "spotting" in between periods. sometimes i would in between 2 periods, sometimes i wouldn't. i know our bodies change and all of that, but it still concerned me and i went to the gyno in april. she told me it was just "breakthrough bleeding" and it wasn't a big deal, but if i wanted to take the pill for it, i could. i opted not to because i don't like the pill, and i am NOT sexually active.

the past few days i've had what i can only really describe as a clogged feeling in my abdomen. my BM's have been a little less frequent but otherwise, not too different. my period ended 13 days ago, and just today i found that i basically started it again. i'm not sure how better to describe it because it's more than spotting- it's really like i did start my period again. only that's boggling my mind because as i said, it hasn't even been 2 weeks. my period has never changed cycles like this, so i'm concerned. also, my lower abdomen still feels kind of clogged, and pressure on it hurts. when i sit down, there's kind of a dull pain that radiates up from my vagina, sort of?

does anybody know what this is? i can't really find any information on it and i don't know how concerned i should actually be. my pap results from april came back normal. ideas? recommendations? i'll find out as time passes if i'm still bleeding or not. i'm just really thrown off because this is not at all the usual and it's accompanied by mild pain.

any information at all would help! thank you in advance!

menstrualhut @ 2008-05-20T05:10:00

2008-05-20T04:15:28Z

Last few times I've had sex, I've been getting a shooting, sharp, PAINFUL, pain in my right side/back, probably where my kidneys are. It means we have to go softer, or change position and the pain remains after sex for a while Any ideas as to what this might be? If it doesn't go away, I will go to the doctors, but I thought I'd ask here first...
I know it's definitely not an STI/STD, because I've recently been checked, and it could also just be my chronic pain disorder [fibromyalgia] but I haven't had it before. Could it be an infection, as I had cystitis in November, although I don't have any other symptoms [yet]? So, yea, any thoughts before I go docs, if I can?
Thanks!

How to stop bloating...?

2008-05-10T13:04:03Z

I'm heading out of town for my boyfriend's graduation and my twenty-first birthday* next weekend--which is, of course, when I'm scheduled to either start my period or start bloating. I'm a slim girl, so it's very obvious when I'm retaining water and I really want to look like myself and wear clothes that flatter and so... is there any kind of pill I can take so I don't bloat up as much or at all? I know I should stay away from salty foods, but is there anything else (food-wise, exercise-wise) I can do to keep from bloating up?

Thanks in advance.

*I won't be drinking, if that matters.

Urgent (and yet impossible?) question!

2008-05-08T00:37:49Z

Hi,

I like to consider myself really knowledgable about my womb and body and blood.

But I have a potentially silly question to ask.

I feel my uterus tweaking, my pelvis is aching. I'm pretty sure (knock on wood) that i'm going to start bleeding within 24 hours.
Normally I welcome my blood, but I need it to give me at least another day.

I know that you can take parsley to induce menses, but is there ANYTHING that I can swallow, insert (lol), rub...... ANYTHING to hold it off?

Thank you thank you thank you for any response, even telling me that I'm out of my mind!

birth control question

2008-05-05T00:33:47Z

Since I was finishing my thesis and managed to forget to order the refills for my birth control. I had my period last week and I'm supposed to start a new pack tonight... but I don't have a new pack... and won't have it for a few days. I haven't been off the pill in 6 years....

So my question is this:
Should I order the pills but wait until after my next period before starting them up again since I'll have them 4 or more days late? :P it won't really be sunday-start once I get them so I might as well wait another month. I won't be having sex this month anyway, I'm pretty sure. I'm just a little nervous about not being on them since I've been on them for 6 years.... terrified my next period will be some ghastly bloody explosion! hahaha. not used to those anymore :P

Or is there a way to take the first white pill the 2nd sunday after your period? or is that just pointless and I should wait.

If I had a doctor I was familiar with I would just call them tomorrow morning and have them call my pharmacy and I could just take two pills tomorrow night and be fine. But I've only been to this Manhattan doctor once and she has a million patients and last time I called it took her two days to get back to me so that would be pointless too... oy

Really, I'm just confused about to do. Someone just tell me to order them online as always and just wait a month before starting a new pack and not to worry about a scary period! :P Also, I don't want it to destroy my lovely cycle D:

Missing Periods and Hypothyroidism

2008-05-04T06:07:05Z

First off, I want to say that I am not pregnant. Second, I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, causing hypothyroidism. In January and March, my periods were so light that I didn't even need a panty liner. In February and April, I didn't even get my period at all. Besides being pregnant, what could be causing this? I've read that hypothyroidism is supposed to increase bleeding, not decrease it. I can't take birth control pills because they make me really depressed. Any suggestions?

Birth control question

2008-04-30T03:21:08Z

I've been taking birth control (Kariva) for about a year and a half for menstrual regularity. This hasn't typically been any problem for me, until now. My prom is on May 17th, and according to my pills, I'd be on my period. I really don't want this to happen--I just hate the idea of having to change my tampon and carry them in my purse, etc.

My question: is there any way I could NOT have my period that week? Would it be possible for me to take the period pills next week and then take the ones I should be taking next week the week after? I know that sounds confusing, but hopefully some of you got it.

I usually don't have a period unless a take the pills, if that helps any. Thanks!

menstrualhut @ 2008-04-28T19:00:00

2008-04-28T23:03:10Z

hi guys, i recently finished a pack of bc pills without having another one. i ordered them, and they came in, but i've missed my first week. should i just start with the second week of pills, or start the pack at the beginning? i'm on estrostep, have been for 3 years, and i didn't have any problems with leaking or anything while i was off bc last week. thanks!

Scent

2008-04-24T05:56:49Z

x-posted to vaginapagina

Do you ever catch the scent of your body and just feel really comforted by it? Sometimes (when I'm not unclean and I'm healthy) I notice that I smell warm, sweet, earthy...womanly. It's an almost intoxicating scent. My sweat, my girly parts, my breasts, my hair...whatever. I really like it.

Tell me I'm not crazy?

keep those cups, ladies

2008-04-23T13:28:46Z

Researchers seeking new and more abundant sources of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine have identified a potentially unlimited, noncontroversial, easily collectable, and inexpensive source – menstrual blood.

link to article

how freaking cool is this?

menstrualhut @ 2008-04-03T16:46:00

2008-04-03T15:47:15Z

I have my first STD/STI test next week and have just realised my period is due that day. Sometimes I'm a few days out, but mainly not.
So what do I do?
Can I have the check done while I'm on my period?
Do I call up tomorrow [closed now] and cancel, or do I hope I'm not on?
I'm clueless bascially and all I've been told is that I can't pee for 2 hours before it...

Help?

menstrualhut @ 2008-03-31T18:14:00

2008-03-31T22:37:39Z

For the past 3 months, my period has lasted a really long time. It was always 4 or 5 days from beginning to end, but lately it's been more like.. closing in on 2 weeks..
This time around, it started really lightly, and then suddenly stopped.

Has anyone experienced anything like that before? Or have any idea what could be going on?
It's stressing me out, especially this time with it being all "Hey, I'm here.. oh wait, just kidding.."

Is there any way that I could be pregnant and start a period like that, and have it just disappear?

Sorry for all the dumb questions-- just stressing and wondering what other people have to say.

menstrualhut @ 2008-03-23T16:15:00

2008-03-23T20:32:00Z

Can being very active cause your period to be lighter and shorter?

When I was a much heavier weight, I was a heavy bleeder. I have awful painful cramps and the flow lasted 5 to 6 days. I've been on a diet and started exercising for a year and I finally got to my goal weight of 135 this month. I've noticed for the past 2 to 3 months that my periods were very lighter in flow and only lasted like 3 or 4 days. I still have my cramps, but they're not as bad.

I know I'm not pregnant; my only sexual experience was giving my (now ex) boyfriend oral sex in December and I want to wait till marriage to have intercourse...but I ended up taking 9 h.p.ts between December and March because no one believed me (even though I was having my periods...of course they were all negative). So unless I'm the next virgin Mary, we can rule that factor out :-p

I still want to work out; but only to build muscle and get my body fat down a bit more. I've read about how some female athletes lose their periods completely, but I can't find anything that supports the lighter, shorter periods theory.

I'm not really complaining; compared to what I was use it, this has been kinda nice. :-) But it has concerned me slightly. Is it possible that too much exercise can make your period lighter and shorter?