Sage

Man, I've found that there's a few things in life about being a woman that no one told me... I've had to find out the hard way.

#1- Apparently there's such a thing as Nabothian cysts that a woman can get- quite commonly in fact. So, one day I find a little bump on my cervix, and I'm freaking out, thinking OMG STD, cancer, vagina exploding, and I freak out for two days until I see my doctor, and she's all "oh, yeah, that's totally normal." WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS BEFORE??

#2- Also apparently, when you get an IUD, it's normal for it to "migrate north" a little bit, resulting in a small (but noticeable) shortening of the string. This has recently happened to me, and I was FLIPPING OUT because all I got told was "Holy crap if the string is shorter the IUD is EMBEDDED IN YOUR UTERUS!!!" So I'm freaking out, call the doctor, don't get a hold of her, have a nurse call me back three hours later to say "Well, it sounds like your IUD has migrated a little- that's totally normal." THANKS FOR FREAKING TELLING ME!!!


So, girls, are there any other little tidbits of wisdom that you have picked up about being a woman that you're like "WHY the crap didn't anyone tell me this!!!" Because there's those of us that haven't heard yet!

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Grasshopper Green

I can't really think of anything to add, but thanks so much for this little tidbit, as I am going to get an IUD soon. You possibly saved me from flipping out

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"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa

Sultana

I can't believe it was years before I was informed that taking antibiotics can interfere with BCP.
I am sooooo lucky I didn't find that out the hard way!!

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"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.
At night, the ice weasels come." -

Matt Groening

My goal? To fulfill my potential.

Elphaba

Natural menopause. 'nuf said.

Mugzy6

Wow, this is really good to know. They don't tell you this when you're put on the BCP? Seems like it's kinda important.

Sage

man, they should tell you that!

when you're on the BCP, and you are given antibiotics, you're supposed to use another method of birth control until you have your period again (go through the week of placebo pills and start a whole new pack). Something about the antibiotics interfering with the uptake of hormones.

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JustJess

Also, if you take huge amounts of vitamin C (I'm talking 1000's of milligrams), that will also interfere with BCP. Yes, really, my gyno told me that one.

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

ngdawg

AMEN!!!

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Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

genuinegirly

Thanks for passing this stuff along.

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"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

SiN

define 'interfere'?

I do know that taking such high quantities can induce a period.
(yes, I've tested it .. and no, i'm not recommending or endorsing it).

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JustJess

"Interfere" as in "make it less effective". I don't know why or how, only that my gyno and my pharmacist both told me that... plus some various web researches.

I can't imagine wanting to induce a period. Really. I wish I could just shut it off til I need it!

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

Supple Cow

You're not supposed to take vitamin C supplements within 4 hours of the pill, or it may lose effectiveness. Only one of the nurse practitioners and doctors who've performed my annual exam or dispensed refills to me in the past four years has been responsible enough to even mention it. Another confirmed it when I asked.

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"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)

SiN

when it's a bit late, one may really feel like they need it

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ngdawg

My sister always said the belly button is so useless, really, that it should be made the shut-off button. Push the button, stop the periods, stop the ovulation...

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Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

JustJess

NG - That would be a perfect spot! but what happens if you have an outie??

SC - I never heard the part about taking Vit C "within 4 hours". That's helpful, since sometimes I would be getting sick and wanting to try to head it off... but being more concerned about pregnancy than a cold... *sigh* A little help, people. They're DOCTORS, why can't they remember this stuff????

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My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

KinkyKiwi

*blink blink* i didnt know about the vitamin C or the antibiotics... for me one of the things that i wish i had been told is that stress can make you a few days late..it woudl have saved me ALOT of stress when i was 14.

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Some mornings, it's just not worth chewing through the leather straps.
Play with each other. Play with yourselves. Just don't play with the squirrels, they bite.

Rubyee

I wish that when I first started having sex, years and years ago (okay, I didn't lose it until I was 18) that someone would have explained to me what exactly an orgasm was.

For a couple months I was convinced I was having one, until one day I actually did. Then I knew what I had been missing out on.

Also, I wish that I hadn't been told some things- when I was going into junior high, some older girls I knew told me that the less I wore my bra during the day, the bigger my boobs would be. I now have double D's and wish I wore two bras 24 hours a day back then.

I wish someone would have told me that day in eighth grade that I had bled through the back of my jeans- I am sure we all can relate to something similar.

I wish someone would have told me that when they say Depo Provera causes weight gain, it REALLY causes weight gain. I was a size six all through high school until I got on that and my size doubled to a twelve. I am still struggling to lose the weight. I hate depo provera.

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You don't know from fun.

Demeter

I never knew about vitamin C. I now plan to tell everyone. Lucky for me I take my pill at bedtime, so I haven't consumed anything for a while. I believe St John's Wort interferes with the pill as well.

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I am not bound to please thee with my answers.
William Shakespeare

Rubyee

Yes, it does. So does too much Grapefruit juice.

You can find the name of your pill on google and most will lead to a site that lists all the things that interact with it. At least I could with mine- Trinessa. I believe most pills are the same in this aspect, so I will post them here:

•antibiotics or medicines for infections, especially rifampin
•aprepitant
•barbiturate medicines for producing sleep or treating seizures (convulsions)
•bosentan
•carbamazepine
•caffeine
•clofibrate
•cyclosporine
•dantrolene
•grapefruit juice
•hydrocortisone
•medicines for anxiety or sleeping problems, such as diazepam or temazepam •medicines for mental depression
•medicines for diabetes, including troglitazone and pioglitazone
•mineral oil
•modafinil
•mycophenolate
•nefazodone
•oxcarbazepine
•phenytoin
•prednisolone
•ritonavir or other medicines for the treatment of the HIV virus or AIDS
•selegiline
•soy isoflavones supplements
•St. John's wort
•tamoxifen or raloxifene
•theophylline
•topiramate
•warfarin

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You don't know from fun.

raeanna74

I've looked up the side effects and drug interactions for almost everything I or my family take.

I wish my Doctor would have informed me that Bacterial Vaginosis can be acquired from your digestive tract and is more common than Yeast. It's so terribly painful when it gets out of hand. It almost made me afraid to have sex because afterwards burned. Now that I know about it I use a special antibacterial cream ASAP when I notice any symptoms and I've not had pain like that in a while.

I wish I'd been introduced to tampons earlier. I dealt with maxi pads for 4 years before I bought my first pack and tried them. Got those cheap cardboard ones. Then had to borrow an expensive plastic one from a roommate much later. What I'd been missing out on.

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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

abaya

This is EXACTLY why ktspktsp and I still use condoms along WITH the BC!! At least until we can imagine accidentally having children (and being able to rejoice over that).

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And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

snowy

Luckily, being on the ring cuts down on the number of interactions significantly but it's still good to be aware!

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

abaya

Really? I guess I thought the Ring, the Patch, and the Pill all had similar properties/reactions, but I have no data for that. Thanks for the info, Owl.

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And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

snowy

Well, some of the interactions above are caused by the fact that these drugs interfere with the absorption of the hormone into the small intestine. Because the ring and the patch don't get absorbed through the digestive tract, some of the interactions don't exist. However, many DO because they interfere with the absorption of the hormone into the bloodstream.

I should note that Tagamet HB and its active ingredient have been found to interfere with the absorption of hormone in the small intestine. So be careful, and take Pepcid!

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rubyee

Speaking of...

this is kind of off the subject of what you wish you were told, but does anyone here find it extremely hard to use tampons?

Now I have had just as much sex, if not more, than the next girl my age, so it isn't anything about THAT, but I just can't use them properly. I can always feel them and they always get pushed out. You know what I mean, I am sure.

It could be because I have a tilted uterus, or because I am kind of small (from what I have been told). I just wondered if this happened to anyone else and if so, if anything helped you to be able to use them. I so wish I could- pads suck! Nothing like feeling like wearing a wet log all day.

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You don't know from fun.

sillygirl

I wish the doc had told me when I first started bc that you're supposed to wait 2-4 weeks before having unprotected sex. Just because he's Mormon and I was, or that I wasn't getting married for a couple of months doesn't mean that I'd never need the info in the future.

I also wish that I'd been told before that female problems run in my family. It woulda been nice if I'd known what to expect.

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Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly-Rose Franken
....absence makes me miss him more...

Sweetpea

No one told me that you can be 'allergic' to your partner's cum.

My vaginal ph is very sensitive, and my husband's cum is more 'basic' ph level... so hence, i had yeast infections and BV infections for months before my doctor and i finally sat down and talked it out, turns out nearly 1 in 5 women have sensitive vaginal ph levels and Boric acid is usually the cure. (although most doctors want you to take their expensive Diflucan instead of the nature remedy which works better)

It's fixed by a very inexpensive gelatin capsule filled with boric acid (both that you can get at any pharmacy without a prescription) placed in the vagina right after sex. I haven't had any ph problems in years.

So yes, you can be sensitive to your partner's cum and it's quite normal for some couples... why on Earth didn't anyone ever tell me?

Well... consider yourselves told now

Sweetpea

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"I am the Type of Person Who Can Get Away With A lot, Simply Because I Don't Ask Permission for the Privilege of Being Myself"

Grasshopper Green

Have you tried using smaller ones, like OB? It's worth a try if you haven't!

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"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa

Nancy

I wish someone had introduced me to a straightening iron years ago and thus saving me from many bad-hair-days

I wish someone had told me how to figure out one's correct size in bras. I used a 85B from I was about 14 til I was fucking 22 until a nice saleswoman showed me how. My correct bra size is 70C - HUGE difference!

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I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy.
I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

Sharon

I wish someone had actually sat me down and showed me how to apply makeup properly. I wore far too much for far too long.

CaliLivChick

Well shit, between that, the Tagament, and the antibiotics, I should have been pregnant a long time ago! I even take all my pills at the same time, so I don't forget to take any of them. I've never even had a scare! Kinda makes me wonder if having kids in the future is even a possibility... my step-mom found out that she couldn't have kids... made her really pissed off that she'd been having periods all that time for no reason, while (opposite end of the spectrum) my ex-best friend had an abortion as a teen, and now has twins that weren't planned for, and she's 27.

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Don't trust anything that can bleed for a week and not die. Oh wait, that's me... nevermind... you can trust me.

savvypup

I know what you mean Sharon. I haven't done this .... or at least no one's told me, but you kind of think your mum or gfs would be kind enough to drop hints or tell you out right.

My birds & bees talk so to speak, was coming home from primary school to find a copy of 'Look What's Happening To Me' on my pillow. So I flick through (the sperm looked so cute with their smiley faces - see very advanced reading. Thanks mum) and find the page that has the progressive timeline of a females body. I look at where I should be - specifically at the breast sizes. Well needless to say. I'm still waiting.

Also those diagrams you get in the tampon packets where the ladys body is cut in half and is suppose to show you how to insert a tampon. How in the hell is this suppose to be a guide???!

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ciao bella!

percy

I wish someone would have told me SOONER that my hair and clothes stunk like smoke,my teeth were yellow and my breath reeked from cigs and coffee.

The person who told me was a gorgeous boy from Venezuela who was in my life for about 3 weeks then went away. God I'm getting turned on just thinking about him.

And that was 7 years ago. No more butts, no more coffee and feeling, smelling and looking great.

snowy

OB tampons are awesome. They really do fit and work better. I thank my best friend for introducing me to them.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Sage

I'm thirding the OB tampons thing- when I used tampons I liked their non-applicator variety pack. Not having an applicator made it HELLA easy to put it in right where it needed to be, and I didn't get bloody or anything like that because my finger was on the tampon the whole time.

Or, you could just get a Diva Cup... I LOVE MY DIVA CUP!

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Evileyez

damn i didnt kno alot of this stuff....thanks you guys

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There's gonna be some things you gonna see that will make it hard to smile in the future. But through whatever you see, through all the rain and all the pain you gotta keep your sense of humour. You gotta be able to smile through all this bullshit

howatzin1

I was a very sheltered kid... I wish someone had sat me down when I was around 12 and told me what all those slang terms meant like Donkey Punching and Snow Blowing. I didn't even know what a blow job was until I was 15.

dd3953

But is that really enuf said? Cuz I am still kinda confused. is there an unNatural menopause?

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[Technically, I'm not possible, I'm made of exceptions. ]

maleficent

certain things like chemotherapy can jump start a woman into early menopause - not exactly the natural way of getting there..

Women in menopause are sometimes prescribed hormones and other lovely pharmaceuticals to help with some of the symptoms which can cause problems of their own... many women opt to go it au natural (kinda like child birth without the epidural)

Menopause can last years.. with hot flashes and other fun symptoms...) so going it naturally is a challenge..

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Elphaba

The topic didn't really ask for details so I didn't offer any. I did provide more information in the topic you started. An "unnatural" menopause is usually surgical, such as a hysterectomy.

Edit: A natural menopause is without hormone replacement therapy. Not at all fun, as Mal said.