(no subject)

[morning-stand.livejournal.com]

Dark blood, unusually thin, but very heavy.

Does it mean anything or is it just some weird thing that happened?
(My periods are usually bright red, pretty think consistency and medium heavy)

Just wondering if there was something I should be concerned about.


P.S. Any birth control methods you suggest? My mother volunteered to take me to get on some sort of birth control. I was thinking about the Pill, maybe the combination one. I dont know. Suggestions?

Comments

[sulingsi.livejournal.com]

no, periods change color and consistency all the time. do not worry. if you are concerned you can ask the doc when you go for the birth control.

you have a cool mom!
i highly recommend nuvaring, especially if you are not paying for it. it's about $35 a month, a vaginal ring with the same hormones as the pill, low dose, can leave it in for 4 weeks at a time. so low stress! i love it.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

you like yours too? my sister recommended it to me, as i have major mood swings on the pill.

hrmmm...time to call my gyno.

any idea if it's covered by insurance? my pills are only $20 a month w/my prescription plan.

[morning-stand.livejournal.com]

My mom's been freaking out because I told her that I've had unprotected sex once with my fiance because we "ran out of condoms" but we've been doing it for a year that way, using the pull out method, which, I know isn't a good idea but it's worked so far. But we've all decided it's time to go on birth control especially since I'm starting a new chapter in my life with college and I dont really feel like skipping college to take care of a baby.

[ladieophilia.livejournal.com]

On that note, you may want to preg test just to be sure, because some women comment that if they have thier 'period' that the colour and tecture changes.

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

It's just normal menstrual blood.

I suggest FAM - it can be used for birth control, contraception and general gynaecological health, advantages being that it doesn’t mess up your body with hormones, it’s easy to do, it tells you exactly what’s going on with your body, tells you if you have any infections, tells you if you have any fertility problems, tells you exactly when you are fertile, tells you when you are pregnant without needing a test, it’s cheap, it is highly effective, helps you to determine the sex of your baby, and so on and so forth.
I in no way recommend the use of any hormonal birth control method.

[morning-stand.livejournal.com]

Is there a link I can go to to check it out?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_last_serenade_/]

i googled FAM and couldn't find anything. do you have a link or someplace to get additional information?

[morning-stand.livejournal.com]

http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/fam.htm

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

The community fam is pretty good, but not much informaiton on it.

http://www.tcoyf.com
http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/fam.htm
http://www.28-days.com/FAM.htm
http://www.sisterzeus.com/List2.htm
http://www.billings-centre.ab.ca
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/2879/welcome.html
http://www.nfpteacher.com
All have informaiton on FAM, NFP and Billings method.

[morning-stand.livejournal.com]

Nevermind I found it

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

I on the other hand highly recommend hormonal birth control. It has extremely high efficacy even with typical use, low side effects, it regulates your cycles, gives you lighter/shorter periods and helps prevent certain types of cancers. FAM is highly effective with perfect use, but considerably lower with typical use. Most studies I've read have a great deal of trouble keeping women in clinical trials because of the time and regulation involved in using FAM - if you can do perfect use, great, but it's much more prone to user error than almost any other method.

Planned Parenthood (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/medicalinfo/birthcontrol/) has an excellent website on birth control options, hormonal, barrier and other.

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Hormonal birth control hardly have low side effects and certainly does not regulate your cycles, side effects are a mile long, I was lucking in only having mood swings, migraines, depression and IBS as a result of the pill. Hormonal birth control suppresses your cycles, it does not regulate them, plus there are other ways to regulate your cycle and adjust your cycles if you wish to do so, although I don’t see a problem with heavy or longer periods.
It’s not much more prone to error, it hardly takes any effort, it’s only a little lower than the pill when it comes to effectiveness and it doesn’t matter if you forget a day, plus of course you have many more advantages.

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

You're stating your opinion and your experience- I'm stating facts and my opinion and my experience.

On the right pill she could have no side effects whatsoever, hormonal birth control does regulate your cycle - it gives you predictable regular periods. There's nothing factually bad with suppressing your cycle - there's no scientific evidence that suggests that it causes any problems whatsoever, and plenty of scientific evidence to support its health benefits.

You don't see a problem with heavier or longer periods, but the OP might, and the fact is that typical use with FAM runs around 80% versus 92-97% with hormonal methods. Common sense would tell you than anything that involves more steps is going to be more prone to user error - FAM is simply more prone to user error. If you can use it correctly, that's great, if the OP can use it correctly, as I already said, that's great, but I believe in giving all the facts. I directed her to a website where she could see the pros and cons of all her options.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with FAM, other than the higher user error rate, why can't you let FAM stand on its own without giving out non-factual information about hormonal?

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Sorry but that is not fact, the pill does not regulate your cycle at all, it regulates your periods. You are the one giving non-factual informaiton on hormonal methods.

[mslaynie.livejournal.com]

Hormonal birth control was a lifesaver for me. I had endometriosis, and the pill is the only thing that made life bearable for me. Even having a child did nothing for my endo. Hormonal birth control made it possible for me to put off having a hysterectomy until I was 28.

Also, I had no side effects. No weight gain, no migraines, no depression. My IBS was actually more under control on the pill than off. FAM would have done nothing for me, as the pill not only protected me from pregnancy but also from the hell of endometriosis.

What other ways would you suggest to regulate your cycle?

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

I'll add - if any one of the following applies, than FAM is not right for you.

If you consume more than moderate amounts of alcohol, or if your alcohol usage is frequent, but not uniform (like, say, if you binge one or two nights a week).
If you do not sleep on a regular schedule.
If you are not monogamous.
If you sleepwalk or frequently wake in the middle of the night.

I'd love to hear what methods, besides hormonal birth control, are available to regulate one's cycle. FAM tracks it, certainly, but I know of no way to control it besides the introduction of artificial hormones.

[redwitch13.livejournal.com]

Ditto! The longer you can stay away from artificial hormones, the better.

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

Thank god there is at least one person out there who agrees, I get treated like a nazi whenever I even suggest anything other than hormonal, let alone point out it's faults.

[notlookingfor.livejournal.com]

No one has any problems with you suggesting something other than hormonal, least of all I. It's when you try to present your personal problems with hormonal methods as fact rather than subjective experience that I personally have a problem.

[babybloodheart.livejournal.com]

I'm expressing my personal experiences, not as fact, but side effects ARE fact, you are the one attempting to make out like these are not a problem, the majority of women who use the pill do suffer the side effects

[redwitch13.livejournal.com]

Jeez, even if I hadn't read the literature, the amount of bad experiences among my friends and family would have warned me off long ago.

My mother has been on HRT for nearly ten years and is *always* having to have her levels tweaked. My mother-in-law had to stop HRT due to the side-effects. Depo-Provera made me bleed for two months solid. The Pill has affected friends terribly ... everything from massive weight gain, to complete cessation of periods for over a year after ceasing, to causing a minor stroke.

I've never believed that all chemical medicines should be sworn off ... but there are *much* better ways of birth control and looking after yourself with regard to your menstruation. Running for the medicine cabinet is something we're all well-conditioned to do ... we have to learn how to break that.

[eras3r.livejournal.com]

With that said, I'm guessing you have your own little farm and garden and have tapped your own well?

[redwitch13.livejournal.com]

How interesting ... an automatic assumption that I am some kind of technophobic hippie, with a knee-jerk hatred of pharmaceuticals.

For a woman with a serious problem like endometriosis, birth control drugs can be fantastically useful. But menstruation - contrary to some opinions - is NOT a medical condition. Estrogen/progesterone do NOT "regulate your cycle", they shut it down and institute a completely artificial cycle via introduced synthetic hormones.

Women can learn to recognise the signs of impending menstruation without resorting to a calendar (which, more often than not, is misleading anyway). Cramps and mood swings can be accommodated and if necessary, relieved without recourse to medication. More severe cramps can be helped with painkilling drugs. And if it's any worse than that, I'd be the first to say, 'go see the doctor/gynaecologist'.

[weezette.livejournal.com]

I have been on Trinessa, the generic form of ortho tricylcin, for almost two years now, and I love it. I used to get awful, awful menstrual cramps - they're gone now. I know exactly down to the day and hour when I'm going to get my period and exactly when it will end. I would recommend seeing your Gyno though and asking her what she thinks is best for you. Best of luck!

[ricevermicelli.livejournal.com]

Combination pills were absolutely miraculous for me. I don't have the serious problems that some people have, but my unregulated cycles were bad enough that I was fasting about six days a cycle and couldn't gain enough weight for my body to be more self-regulating. I had no cramps on the pill, and very few side-effects. Once I was rid of the worst of my menstrual symptoms, I was able to gain the extra ten pounds I needed to be healthy.

Contraception and totally predictable periods were great side benefits.

You should take your mom up on her offer and talk to a doctor about your options. It's great that she's willing to take you.