Today I hate being a woman.

[lto.livejournal.com]

So I went in for my yearly pap today.

( A rant. Cut for gory details and a large amount of bitchiness. )

kinda polluted stream of thought

[deerhoof.livejournal.com]

i read this really cool thing today. scientists somewhere or other did this test were they had women wear t-shirts when they were ovulating and when they werent. a group of men then smelled the shirts and were asked to talk about the women they thought of wearing the t-shirt. men described the shirts worn during ovulation as "sexy" and didnt think that of the non-ovulation shirts of the same woman. i dunno, i thought that was really interesting, especially cause everyone has that day when yr like "man, im on fire!", but a lot of it is just pheremones.
also, i had my first gynocological exam. it was weird, but it wasnt as bad as i thought it would be. and i dont have any diseases, which is nice.
also, my period is late, like always. its weird, ive had pms for way longer than usual, like i even had a little day-before bleeding and everything. its like its there, it just wont come out for some reason. i think tonight i might make a little tea bag of parsley and just stick it on up there. i read about doing that once, and i tried it but without the bag, so it was really just messy and hella uncomfortable. has anyone tried this? did it work?

good reasons to chart your menstrual cycle

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

grumpy, hungry and my breasts are sore. entry to the hut is clearly imminent. i got the following from my friend starmama in response to my somehwat rhetorical question as to why i bother to keep track of my "dot" when it's never regular anyway... made me feel better. thanks, maka. you rawk! also, that horny thing happens to me, too...!!

"i have been teaching fertility awareness for more than 5 years. some of the reasons you might want to chart your cycle, aside from family planning (and charting *IS* effective for birth control as well as for assisting with conceiving when it's desired), include identifying anovulation - which can sometimes be a symptom of important health challenges, helping to diagnose hormonal imbalances, determining whether breast lumps are cyclical or more problematic, determining whether spotting, abdominal pain, etc. is normal or something that should be checked on, enriching your self esteem and self-respect, pinpoint PMS symptoms and perhaps identify the causes - helping you find solutions for them, knowing exactly when to expect your next period to start, recognizing when menopause is beginning, knowing the best time to schedule medical exams and contraceptive fittings and more...the list goes on and on and on!

one of my friends points out that just before she ovulates, up to the day after she ovulates, she is so horny she wants to have sex with everyone she sees. she never realized this was an ovulation pattern until she started charting. she says it's great to have that information so that she doesn't make any stupid mistakes because she's listening too much to her hormones and not enough to her head ;)"

effects of soy on the menstrual cycle??

[ellettra.livejournal.com]

yo.
anyone know anything about the effects soy can have on one's menstrual cycle? i've heard conflicting info and i don't understand it anyway... something about soy containing estrogen?

-kristen