(no subject)

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Well, I've been a member of this community for quite a while now, but I've never posted before. Today, though, I would love to have the support/guidance/advice of all the lovely women of the menstrual hut!



I'm 25. My period appeared soon after I turned 9, and from the very beginning there were issues. Cramps, heavyheavy bleeding....PMS up the ying-yang, you know the drill.

In any case, the symptoms were awful (for a young kid like that, anyway) but I grinned and bore it, mainly because, well, what the hell do you give a child for that stuff, right?

Anyway. Shall we fast-forward to age eighteen or so? Sure. Let's!

Well. Since that age, my cycle has been totally whacked. Like, ridiculously so. As in, there's no point in marking my periods on a calendar or charting them or anything like that. My cycle can be anywhere from 28 days to --- whenever the hell it feels like beginning. I've gone months without a period (the longest I have ever gone is seven months, when I was about fifteen). I can always tell when it's coming, but I'm never sure ahead of time, you know? My cycle is just totally unpredictable.

And then, about a year ago, I had the worst period of my entire life. I was fine for the first two days. The cramps were barely even noticeable! But then --- oh God, then --- day three hit, and I prayed for death. Honestly. I have never been so sick. Cramps (constant knotting in my uterus, to the point where I wished I could tear it out with my bare hands), chills, cold sweats, migraine, diarrhea, nausea, the works. I felt like I wanted to walk around (totally inexplicable), but I couldn't because I was just in too much pain. I wanted to go to sleep so badly, but couldn't, because the pain just wouldn't loosen, no matter what I did.

I drank ginger tea. I took extra-strength Advil. Finally, in order to knock myself out, I took two extra-strength Advils and a Gravol tablet. I went to sleep and when I woke up, I was okay again.

I felt that I had never been so sick in my entire life.

Until four months ago.

And two months ago.

And last week.

So. Four occurrences in the past year of the worst pain of my life.

Now, while I'm suffering through this pain, I don't bleed much. And when I do bleed, it's not free-flowing blood, it's clots. Really disgusting stuff.

So I made an appointment with the campus clinic for Thursday morning. I'm kind of hoping that she'll put me on the pill, mainly because from what I hear, that could help with just about all of my symptoms.

Now, what I'm wondering is: How many of you are on BC? What kinds do you take? And do you find any major side effects?

Also -- okay, I know this is going to sound silly, especially since I'm 25 years old, but I've never actually gone to a doctor for this (mainly because my family doctor at home was a sexist bastard who told me I should "suck it up and learn to deal with it" when I went to him about my severe cramps). I'm not sure what to expect from this. If I ask to be put on the Pill, what's the usual procedure for that? Does it require a pelvic examination? I'm really kind of nervous about this, so any advice/suggestions/sympathy would be appreciated.

I'm sorry, too, that this post is all over the place....

Comments

[superho.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry your former doctor was such a dick, but you should definitely see someone. Ask your friends or family members for recommendations for good doctors (preferably women doctors, then tend to be more understanding about such matters).

I've been on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, Trinessa, Tri-Sprintec, and Levlen. The worst side effects I had were some stomach upset and heartburn that I attributed to taking the pill due to not experiencing heartburn before. I'm now on Levlen and feel it is the pill that has had the least side effects. I was put on it specifically because it's supposed to help reduce bad cramps, which it largely has.

Most places will give you an exam and do a pap smear before writing you a prescription for pills (Planned Parenthood is one place that I know does not require an exam). I would definitely get an exam though to make sure your cells are normal and you don't have any serious problems (if you're scared to get an exam take a friend!). Best to address your problem now before it gets worse and even more unmanageable.. you still have to live your life.

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice...I'm not really *nervous* about having a Pap smear, as long as a female doctor does it (and the doctor I'll be seeing on Thursday is excellent, my best friend was her patient during our undergrad days).

I don't care what tests she has to do, I just want to get something done about this. I don't want to go through pain like this if anything can be done to lessen/eliminate it.

[enallagma.livejournal.com]

Wow. That sounds awful. I've found most campus drs really nice and you can usually always get a female one for gyno exams.
I just started my first hormonal birth control last month. I'm on the nuva ring and I love it. I haven't had any side effects at all. I may have been more moody when I first started it, but I can get quite moody anyways and I also had other stresses, so I'm not too sure if it was from the NuvaRing. I'm pretty sure you have to get a pap smear before you get a prescription, but I've personally found them to be no big deal at all.
Good luck.

[mistress-yuna.livejournal.com]

I'm on the patch. I love it. No side effects for me.

[skeptictank.livejournal.com]

Definitely an exam, especially if you haven't had one in the past year... your doctor will probably ask if you had any particular type of birth control in mind and then discuss why that may or may not be the best option for you.

I was on the patch for about... I don't know maybe 8 months - I spotted for the first 2½ or 3 months but after that I liked it. Unfortunately by month 7 I was starting to be a crabby bitch and I was having mood swings like nothing I've ever experienced before so I stopped using it. My only other issue was that Planned Parenthood wouldn't help cover ANY of the cost so it was $46 a month and once my bf and I broke up I couldn't justify spending that much to regulate my period.

Then I started with Kariva (which is the generic version of Mircette). Straight from the pharmacy it costs me between $21.60 and $26. I've been on it about 9 months and haven't really noticed ANY side effects from it at all. Plus, instead of having a week of sugar pills it only has a few so I don't really get headaches from Estrogen withdrawls.

[crazybassist88.livejournal.com]

I would suggest getting a blood test done.

My cousin is obese and would never get her period and when she would she would have extremely bad crams, she had really bad acne and has a lot of facial hair.. it turned out she has Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and some thyroid problem..

But definately go for a blood test. *nods*

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

I've heard quite a little bit about PCOS over the past few months, especially from some of the people in online communities I'm involved in.

It's definitely something I shall be mentioning to Dr. Wellwood tomorrow morning, especially since my mom had numerous ovarian cysts and had to have a total hysterectomy at the age of 38.

Plus, I do have an issue with facial hair, too, and acne (not too severe, but it flares up MAJORLY during the two weeks before my period arrives).

Thanks for reminding me of that, though...I would surely have forgotten about it.

[cathubodva.livejournal.com]

I agree, it sounds like you might have PCOS. There's also the possibility of endometriosis.

Good luck at the doctor.

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Yeah...endometriosis...sounds like real fun. Also a real possibility, since my mother suffered from it. (*Suffered* being the key word). Not looking forward to tomorrow's appointment, but it has to be done, right?

[cathubodva.livejournal.com]

Oh, I understand the "suffered" part. I'm twenty and I have it, too.

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

You do?

I can barely remember when my mom had it -- I was pretty small when the worst of it was going on, and she had her hysterectomy when I was maybe five. All I can really remember is that she used to have shots every so often because of ovarian cysts.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up with that diagnosis, since Mom went through all this fun period stuff, too. I'm not sure what to expect *after* the diagnosis, though, because like I said, I was little when Mom went through all that.

What has been your experience? What treatments have you had, or is it just something you kind of have to learn to live with?

(Sorry for all the questions; I'm just trying to gather as much info as I can).

[cathubodva.livejournal.com]

I can't give you much information on PCOS, since I don't have that, but as for endo..

Well, I've had trouble since the beginning (I started my period when I was 10). I was unofficially diagnosed and put on birth control pills at fourteen. I had a laparoscopy - the only way to definitively diagnose endo - at 16. I've been on pretty much every treatment there is, including at least ten different kinds of BCPs, Depo Provera, and a bunch of other stuff. It's not been pleasant. I had my second lap to remove as much of the endo tissue as possible back in May, but my doctor now suspects adenomyosis, which is when the endo tissue gets into the muscle walls of the uterus, in addition to regular endometriosis. There's not much that can be done about that.

My symptoms are: pain with sex, extremely heavy bleeding, an irregular period - when I'm not on medication, I bleed for two weeks, and then go two weeks without bleeding, and so on. Depending on what meds I'm on, I'll do this even when I'm on the pill. When I was on Provera, I bled for 5 months straight, no stopping. I'm in near constant pain: mostly cramping and lower back pain. I've had a few ovarian cysts as well (I'm dealing with one now), but I don't have PCOS.

Right now, I'm on one of the last hormonal treatments available, in addition to some really strong painkillers. We're looking at a probable hysterectomy next year. I'll be 21.

We have a community at endometriosis that you might want to check out. I know there are a few aimed at women with PCOS as well.

It's definitely best to be informed about it before you speak to the doctor, as some doctors aren't as knowledgeable as they like to pretend to be.

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing that information. This whole thing is kind of freaking me out right now, as this is really the first time that I've ever actually gone in to see someone about it. As I said in my original post, my family doctor at home was a bit of a bastard, and I really didn't want to discuss it with him. When you combine that with the fact that there are MAYBE three female doctors in my hometown (tiny little spot, don't you know), it made things very difficult.

I'm hoping that my appointment tomorrow will shed some light on things -- because I definitely do not want to go much longer without knowing a little more about a)what in the hell is wrong with me and b)what, if anything, can be done about it.

Again, thank you so much for sharing! And thanks for the link to the endo community. I'll definitely be checking them out -- although I guess it would be premature to join until I find out whether I actually *have* the condition? Would it be okay to join anyway, do you think?..

Anyway! Thanks so much. You've helped immensely.

[cathubodva.livejournal.com]

There are quite a few women who joined before a final diagnosis, and there are some there who still haven't been officially diagnosed. It can be helpful, because we can give you ideas of what to expect as far as the tests that your doctor might want to run, and such. Please feel free to join!

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I will. :o)

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Oh. And.

I just sneaked a peek at your userinfo, and saw that you're working on a BA in English and Psychology. GO YOU! That's what I did my undergrad degree in. :o)

As one of my friends so aptly observed: "Better watch out for those English/psychology people. Not only can they analyze the hell out of you, they can describe your various maladjustments in the most poetic and grammatically correct ways..."

Damn right. We rule!

*Sorry! Sidetracked*. It's just that I don't see many other people with that degree combination. :o)

[cathubodva.livejournal.com]

Haha! I sometimes feel I'm the only one in the world working on English and Psyc. I'm the only one I know of at my school. So the English club thinks I'm weird because I'm continuously psychoanalyzing literature, and the Psyc club thinks I'm weird because I'm continuously making literary analogies.

What are you doing with your degree now? I want to teach literature in college, I think.

[ex-lovelybon869.livejournal.com]

Right now I am working on a degree in Intermediate/Secondary Education (i.e., junior high/high school). Eventually I plan on getting my Master's in English and landing myself a nice professorship someplace. :o) Here in Canada, though, it's much easier to land yourself a spot in a good MA program if you have a few years' teaching experience. Hence the reason for the BEd.

Even though my major was English (and literature is my first love), I have to say that there were times when my psyc studies were much more interesting. (Especially the courses I took in abnormal psyc. Fascinating stuff, that!)

:o) So no, you're not alone. It is amazing to me how many people don't realize that it's even possible to combine English with psychology...I had that very conversation today, actually. :o)