Where to start? I am currently 2 weeks into my period and there seems to be no end in sight. Sure, it had been 9 weeks since my last bleed (which was from a D&C for a molar pregnancy), so I expected it to be a bit different and perhaps a bit longer, but seriously I've had enough now. I've heard of things like Parsley for inducing periods, is there anything natural to make one stop!?  I am on Depo by the way, still have a few weeks left before the next shot is due.

Also, any ideas on an itching/soreness I have? It's currently on the inside of my labia minora. It looks red and bumpy. The exact thing happened last time I bled after the D&C about 14 days into it, just like this time. Last time it developed into the most extreme itch I've ever experienced and also spread to the entire inside of my vagina. I'm wondering if it's a hormone thing or if it's a change in the blood that I'm reacting to. I saw my doctor last time, but by the time I could get in to see her the worst of it was over and she had no idea of what it could be. These two times are the only times I've experienced anything like this. I use cloth pads, but I use them even when I'm not on my period so that can't be it (also, the fact that it's inside doesn't point to that being the cause). I wasn't using anything other than pads after the D&C either. No signs of a YI either, although I did get one last time, but that was only after all the skin from inside my vagina peeled off after the itching episode was pretty much over for a few days. I'm baffled, so any ideas would be appreciated. 
Oh, something of note, back when I used disposable pads I used to get a rash on my labia majora near the end of my period which I always put down to the disposable pads, but now I am kind of thinking it sort of fits in with the idea of hormones or reacting to the blood...

Is it normal for cycles to suddenly become much shorter? I'm 16, have had my period since I was 10 and after a year or two of irregularity it's settled down into a very regular 28-30 days long cycle. My previous period came 2 weeks early, but lasted for the normal 5 days. Now I've got my period again, and it's 1 1/2 weeks early. I'm definitely not pregnant, not on any birth control and I haven't had any major weight changes recently, so I don't know what's causing this. Is it something to be worried about or will it just settle itself down again?

The past day or so I've been feeling a kind of weird sensation in my lower abdomen area, at the level of my hips, pretty much where I would assume my ovaries to be. It's concentrated pretty much to the right center area (in the middle of my hips, but more to the right side, if that makes sense). It's not painful, and not a cramp... it just feels kind of like pressure... it's hard to describe. My period, which was totally normal, basically ended Sunday and has been kind of trickling to an end since then (also normal for me). I've never really experienced anything like this before, and while it's not painful, it just doesn't really feel "normal" to me either. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I don't have insurance so I'd like to avoid going to the doctor if not necessary... But I'm worrying about what this could be. Hopefully it's just me being overly paranoid because I recently lost my health insurance. Or is it actually something I need to worry about? I'm not sexually active so I know it's nothing to do with pregnancy. I'm also not on any kind of birth control. Thanks!

My mom just bought me a load of very expensive ginseng supplements, which I've read can interact with HBC (I'm on Aviane which is a generic version of the estrogen pill). Does anyone know what these effects are?? I feel really guilty not taking the ginseng since it was so pricey. :P

According the The Knot, we're 500 days out, so I thought I'd do a progress post!

Karen & Anthony
May 21, 2011
Colors: Brown, white, pink and green
Theme: Vintage, elegant, garden party on a budget.

( Us and my ring )


We signed the contract for our ceremony and reception venue tonight!

( Venue details )

( A bride and thrifter's dream )


( Miscellaneous )


In other news, my bridal party (although I have yet to formally ask them -- I want to do cute cards -- but I pretty much told them they're my 'maids) and I are going to a bridal expo in Novi on the 17th. I'm really excited!

And in other, other news, I started a website at The Knot. It's a work in progress, but let me know what you think.

Hey guys,
I'm pretty scared right now. I shaved for the first time today in a few months and I have a few pimple like spots. I get cold sores and this doesn't really feel like it nor is it in clusters. I have been looking online to see what genital herpes looks like and this doesn't really look like the graphic photos I've seen. I really am a paranoid person and I know you guys are not doctors but maybe you can help. I have included some links of pictures of what I'm experiencing because for some reason my lj- cut does not want to work and I'm feeling frantic. Please let me know what you think. Thank you thank you thank you. 

 i47.tinypic.com/5ybygp.jpg
i46.tinypic.com/33yp2te.jpg
i49.tinypic.com/1t27t3.jpg
i46.tinypic.com/2z5vvi0.jpg

Hey - So I grew up being told that I'd get TSS (or whatever it's called) if i wore a tampon to bed. Now I hear that you can have one in for up to 8 hours? I never sleep more than 8 hours, so is it okay to wear tampons to bed now? I just got new fleece sheets, so it'd be really awesome if I didn't stain them! Thanks!

Hello, first time posting here.

So usually my period is very consistent and on schedule (last few days of the month and sometimes going into the first few days of the following month). I started my period November 28 and lasted about 5 days - nothing unusual.

But then I got my period around December 12th (give or take a few days) which was right before finals week started so I figured I might of been a little stressed out from that which induced a period.

Today (January 5th) I started my period again.
so I'm trying to figure out why I've had three periods in a short amount of time.  At the moment I'm not any more stressed out than usual.  I don't think my diet has changed much - maybe I might be eating a little more because of the holidays. but I don't really think I'm eating that much more than I usually do.

So I'm thinking stress most likely caused this (even though when I've been more stressed out in the past I didn't have more periods than usual), but it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion.
Are there any other things that can cause more frequent periods like this? and should I be worried?


some info about me: I'm 21 years old, not sexually active (so that rules out pregnancy/miscarriage), and not on any birth control.

Thanks in advance.

Today in yoga we were about to do a shoulder stand and the teacher told us not to do it if we were menstruating. I couldn't figure out why. Is there a medical reason not to spend too much time upside down while menstruating?

Hi all! I joined a long time ago and never filled one of these out (or posted at all...) so here we go:

Name and/or LJ userID: ordinaryfool, aka Tiffany
Wedding Date: June 19, 2010 (the day after I turn 25!)
Bride/Groom/Other (please specify): Bride
Age: 24
City/State/Country you live in: Horicon, Wisconsin
City/State/Country you're getting married in (if different): Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (my hometown)
Your song/First Dance song: Unsure. "Our song" is "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher, but we might go with a Carpenters song because I love them and their music seems a little more "wedding-y". My fiance doesn't care about music for the most part, so he hasn't really given much input, but he does like the Carpenters, so he'd be okay with one of their songs. Or Sonny and Cher. Or something else entirely, and I've thrown a lot of other ideas at him, so we'll see.
Wedding Colors: Blue and yellow
Formality: Mildly formal. If someone shows up in jeans I might be offended. But at the same time I want the wedding to be fun.
Theme (if you have one): In my wedding planner my MOH wrote "Traditional with a game theme" when we first started planning. My fiance proposed while we were playing Scrabble by putting the ring in the letter bag, and in general we love games. Practically our entire wedding party is obsessed with Nintendo Wii, so we've been toying with the idea of setting up a Wii at the reception, but I keep going back and forth as to whether that would be fun or tacky. Anyway, my future MIL has been collecting used boardgames from Goodwill, like Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, etc, and we're going to try to incorporate game pieces into our decorations.
Number of guests: Unsure. 200, maybe?
How'd you meet your fiance?: We did theatre together at the college he attended, which happens to be in my hometown. I wasn't in school at the time, just working full-time, but I had some friends at his school who convinced me to come to auditions, because it was a pretty casual theatre group. They did a collection of short plays that semester, so I didn't meet him right away because we weren't in the same plays, but we instantly hit it off once we met.
How long have you been together?: A little over 4 years
Do you have a personal wedding website?: No
Have you read the community rules before posting this survey? Absolutely
Anything else you'd like to tell us?: The reason I'm posting: I'm starting to freak out a little. Which is probably a good thing, because our wedding plans have severely stalled. This might get long so I'll put the rest under a cut:

( Both of us being procrastinators is not a good thing )

I've been taking Estelle HBC (I'm in Australia) for about 2 years now, mainly to help clear up my skin and make my periods a bit lighter. But one thing that I'm finding extremely frustrating is how long it takes for my period to come. I take my last pill on a Friday around 6pm; it's now Wednesday morning and STILL no period. How come? is this normal? I usually will either get it sometime today or even tomorrow. My period normally lasts maybe 3 days. It's just strange because I have to start my next pack on Saturday night - is that OK to do when I'm in the middle of my period?

For brides who live in or near the Triangle area of NC: http://www.gorgeousgownsanddresses.com/

I just heard about this wedding/formal gown consignment shop today. It's located in Cary, NC. I haven't been there myself, but I thought I'd pass it along as another option if you're in this area looking for a more budget-friendly dress source.

From a local news story about the store:

The selection includes gowns by popular designers and range in size from zero to 24. All are three years old or newer. Some of the dresses are as low as $99; the average cost is between $300 and $650. Owner Liz Pogue says, "All the dresses are priced half of original retail cost, so it's a really good way to stay within your budget."

The consignment boutique also carries veils, accessories, flower girl dresses, plus a large selection of mother of the bride dresses. Most of them are all under $100. The store even has all different choices of brides maid dresses in all different styles with the average price tag of $65 to $85.

Even though my FSIL is making my dress, I think I'll check them out for jewelry and accessories!

This entry is a long time coming. Lol.

We got married June 20th, 2009, in Milwaukee, WI, and I've been lazy so I've waited until now to do a post-post. We'll start with the wordy part, which I will try to be brief about:

The Good
-We got married!
-It didn't rain! (it POURED the day before)
-People loved the glow bracelet favors.
-My husband's friend who had recently been diagnosed with several forms of cancer was able to come, despite having started radiation that day.
-We finished under budget.
-I got laid!

The Not-so-Good
-The boys' car locked them out so we missed out on one of my “must have” pictures
-My sister showed up in a slutty dress to my conservative church wedding
-My longline bra kept poking me in the side.
-It was so hot and humid! (which is why people may look sweaty)
-I got bitten up by mosquitos while we were taking pictures, and they swelled pretty tremendously.

Vendor Reviews
-David's Bridal: B. I had no problem whatsoever in customer service, but my bustle was different from the way they had it when it was pinned...so it dragged a little.
-Tuxedo Alley: A. They had lots of options and discounts, and were really easy to work with.
-Elizabeth's Cakes: A+. This cake was so deliciously awesome and affordable (3 tiers and a half sheet cake for under $400), and Elizabeth was super nice and easy to work with.
-Best Western: B+. Everything with the Best Western was perfect and the sales and catering rep Jean was easy to work with; she even cut me a deal when more people than expected RSVP'd no and we were coming in under the minimum amount required. Except that it took them forever to clear the buffet off the dance floor. So instead of having the wedding events start at 8, they started at 9.
-Bob and Kathy Kapsy(photographers): A. This married couple was so nice and professional and had a great sense of humor. I know my pictures aren't OMG-AMAZING but, in all honestly, I couldn't afford photographers that were. I am extremely pleased with what we received for what we paid, especially after I forgot to make sure discs of the pictures were included in the contract, and they gave them to me anyway.
-DJ: B-. Dan was great leading up to the wedding with keeping in touch and feeding into my neuroses, but he didn't play all the songs on my “must play” list. He kind of had really bad breath too, lol.

( and of course....PICTURES! )
And then we galloped away into the night.

Advice?
Don't take anyone's bullshit...Just do things the way you want them (within reason).
Give yourself plenty of time for everything.
Make your slutty sister show you her dress ahead of time.

( EDITED TO ADD SLUTTY DRESS!!! )

Hello my fellow wedding planners!

My husband just informed me that Modern Bride or Brides and The Knot had requested permission for our wedding website www.wedohearts.com to be in their magazine a few months ago. It may have been as far back as June 2009.

He couldn't remember when they were going to publish the article. He thought it was going to be in an August or a fall magazine. The magazine was writing an article on top personal wedding websites. He thinks The Knot just has something on their page.

I've tried searching online at Modern Bride/Brides and The Knot but I can't find reference to it. Since I stopped receiving the magazine back in June 09, I was wondering if any of you came across the article!

I would love to know when it came out and if anyone would be willing to sell me their magazine I'd appreciate it!

Thanks so much!

Found on Not Always Right:

Me: “Thank you for calling [bridal store], how can I help you?”

Customer: “Yes, I bought a bridesmaid’s dress from you a few days ago and I need to return it.”

Me: “Okay. Well, our dresses are non-returnable, but we could do an exchange or I could give you store credit. May I ask why you need to return the dress?”

Customer: “The wedding was canceled.”

Me: “Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Can I have the bride’s name, please?”

(She gives me the bride’s name and I find that the bride hasn’t called to tell us the wedding is canceled.)

Me: “I’m looking at the information now, but it looks like the bride hasn’t told us the wedding is canceled.”

Customer: “Yeah…that’s because she doesn’t know yet.”

REMEMBER Ladies and germs: It could always be worse: You could be on fire.

I'm signing contracts for my wedding, and I'm realizing: I have no clue what time I want everything to start and end!

My ceremony site will be used for less than 1 hour (ceremony and photos).

My reception site is open for decoration all day, but once the party begins (time I declare), I have 4 hours of time on site. Of those four hours, two hours have buffet style food served. Regardless of the time of day, the food will be the same.

The wedding is on Saturday, 12 June. There will be plenty of daylight (sunset is approximately 8pm in June). I have a lot of guests with an hour drive to the site and another hour back home. Some of the more elderly guests won't drive after dark. I also don't expect too many people to stay the full four hours. I'll have music and dancing, but no alcoholic beverages.

I originally had said the wedding would be around 3PM, but now I'm thinking of putting it later.

I'm starting to feel the wedding should begin at 4PM, reception starting at 4:30 (we'll arrive at 5:00 or later) and ending at 8:30PM. Dinner buffet would be open 5:30 to 7:30.

What time is your wedding starting? Is there a lag between your ceremony and reception? Are you serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, or hors d'ouvres?

I hope I'm not the only one worrying about timing!

**Edited to Add**
Thinking about too much wedding stuff right now!

When are you doing your big "send off" with rice, bubbles, birdseed?

I'm considering doing a receiving line with our parents at the ceremony site. While doing the line, I'd ask my bridesmaids and groomsmen to "wrangle" the guests as they leave the doors and pass out bubbles (I'm doing bubbles...). After everyone has passed through the line, Hubby and I can run out the ceremony site (there's a straight sidewalk), through the bubbles, around the back, and get back in the church for final pictures.

Or should I just wait for the bubbles for the end of the reception with not all the guests there?

It feels sort of surreal being 3 days away from your wedding, on saturday 9th january, it will be our turn!

( Read more... )

A friend of mine just got engaged, and she and her FH really want a small wedding...but they're afraid that FH's family will feel it necessary to invite an additional 50 - 100 people over their desired guest list. I proposed that they have a small ceremony followed by an intimate reception for about 30 people only, and then do a second, more casual (and cheaper) reception the following day (or post-honeymoon) for the extended family. She really likes the idea and plans on talking to her FH about it tonight.

The idea, of course, came from some of you guys! So I'm wondering if, for those of that have done (or are planning on doing), could you please post a bit about your plans and maybe pictures of the invites to the second reception? I'd love to be able to provide her with some ideas to jump-start her planning.

I looked through the tags and didn't see anything, but perhaps I missed it...so if I did, please point me in the right direction.

Hi, I have somewhat of a question to ask all of you! It's kind of hard to phrase so I will just go right in, hopefully you all can follow along.
So as background info to my question, it should be worth noting that I am 18 and have been in a monogamous relationship with my boyfriend of 2 and a half years and we intend on staying together/getting married if our situations work out to our advantage. I've been on and off birth control since I was 16. I first went on depo for 9 months, then went off for about 9 months, then went on Lutera, which I've been on since June of 2009. We always practice 'safe' sex (That is, consistent use of birth control + withdrawal).
Now, my mother found my birth control pills approximately 3 weeks ago. She wasn't surprised but at the same time didn't know I was having sex. She acted supportive and told me to just practice safe sex and she would be happy. After that, she told my Dad. He proceeded to treat me like a child and then tried to have the 'sex talk' with my boyfriend and me. Also, it's worth noting that every time I told him I was going to my boyfriends house, he asked if his parents were there, which is extremely out of character.
During the 'sex talk' he had with my boyfriend and me, he treated the idea of sex with this...almost fearful sort of attitude. He kept saying that I was gonna have a baby and that I wouldn't be able to do anything and that it would all be terrible.
What I don't quite understand is why 'older' people don't trust birth control? I'm on birth control and use the withdrawal method, so I don't have any fear of pregnancy. At all.
I heard him talking with my 20 year old brother about sex this morning, and he said the same thing. It's like he doesn't understand the concept of birth control.
It's almost humorous that my dad would have the sex talk with me after I had already been having sex for two years.

So now that I've rambled on about my back story, here's my question. Why is is that some people don't trust birth control? And why is it that parents have such a fearful view of sex? I think it's beautiful and it's something I have educated myself on without either of my parents help. Why must it be something looked down upon?
I don't know if I will get any of these questions answered but it certainly helped getting all of this out. Thanks :)

Name and/or LJ userID: Jamie poooooot

Wedding Date: June 19, 2010

Bride/Groom/Other (please specify): Bride! :)

Age: 28

City/State/Country you live in: Niles, Ohio

City/State/Country you're getting married in (if different): Youngstown/Austintown, Ohio

Your song/First Dance song: Dunno yet. Nothing cliched though, so DEF no Beatles, Mariah, or anything like that. I'm a huge Journey fan so I'd like to go in that direction, but we'll see.

Wedding Colors: Green and white. (White? - Are you a virgin? Hale no! We have two kids! I'm wearing white and idgaf! lol)

Formality: Wedding party is formal attaire, but we're having the ceremony and reception outdoors in this really beautiful pavilion at Mill Creek Park, so it's not a "casual" affair, but definitely not formal. I guess you could say "laid-back."

Theme (if you have one): No theme. Just what we like and looks good with the surroundings.

Number of guests: Guest list is at 250 :O - I'm hoping only about 150 show up though. I get nervous sweats thinking about that many people looking at me.

How'd you meet your fiance?: We've known eachother since 3rd grade. We dated in high school, but reconnected in Spring 2006.

How long have you been together?: This time around, 3 1/2 years. Will be 4 years 2 weeks before the wedding. :D

Do you have a personal wedding website?: No, but I've been ljing about the stress of planning, if that counts.

Have you read the community rules before posting this survey? Yeppers

Anything else you'd like to tell us?: Not really. I'm sorta overwhelmed trying to plan and pay for this whole thing by myself (I'd say ourselves but when I ask my fiance for his input, he says "which one is cheaper? I like that one." So he's no help. lol), so I'm gonna need a lot of advise and I'll probably sound like a mad woman in the weeks before the wedding. :)

Okay, so slight change of plans so far as the whole marriage thing is concerned.... we're going to get married in Vegas on Valentine's day :)  We're still going to have the big October wedding for the family Hopefully we can reserve the ala cart chapel time at the TI, but if not we're just going to do the courthouse thing and party on accordingly.  Honestly, I'm relieved.  This is way more my kind of jig, just the two of us somewhere fantastic followed by food and fun.  I mean, I'm looking forward to the big wedding too (in a way), but this is pretty much what we wanted to begin with.  Hehe, Vegas elopement... so that being said, I am trying to decide what to wear.  I don't want to be so casual that it's jeans and t-shirts or whatever, Imean, it is our wedding and all, but I also don't want to be so dressy that the FH feels the need to show up in more than a nice shirt and slacks.
( So here's a few ideas I've had :) )

So... I think I have a reoccuring YI. At least, I think thats what it is. I got tested for STIs a while back and came up positive for chlamydia (sp?) but everything else came back fine, so I don't know if it's possible it's another type of bacteria-related issue? I'm going to get this checked out. I was on antibiotics for YEARS for my acne and I'm wondering if this messed up my ph levels? My real question is, realistically... I might not be able to get an appointment for a few weeks. Would it be okay if I treated this YI (or at least, thats what I think it is), for now, and still go in? Or would that defeat the whole purpose? Even if it it clears up, could they still tell if there was an issue with yeast? Is there anything I can do to keep my PH levels in check? Maybe I should do some home remedies? I've always used the creams but I think I've built up a tolerance to them, tbh. I use them and it seems to come back a month or two months later. I just dont think I can go a few weeks with this mess. Grrr.

Another question... (I'm not sure if this is an appropriate question, but I think it is). I came out of an emotionally abusive and destructive relationship a little over eight months ago and I'm having trouble regaining my sense of self. Could any of you recommend any good empowering literature, particularly directed towards females? (I'm in therapy and am exploring medication right now)

Thank you.

Married already or not - I'm looking for information on all locations except for Wynn and Maggiano's (I've taken care of that!) in Vegas. Chapels, hotels, anywhere you were married or are getting married - and where you had/are having your reception. We need info - pricing, any details you can give us. :)

blueirisheyez  might be getting married in Vegas, so lets give her lots of info!!!

So I posted about a dress i was interested in Here i ended up booking a appointment and visiting the two Maggie Sottero stockists in my area. the dress wasn't available to try on, but alas i tried on a whole heap of others.
I managed to have a friend take some photos
Excuse the quality. Camera phones truly do suck.


( Clicky here for dresses )

I was on Yaz for 4.5 years, and stopped taking the pill in September. I had clear skin until October, and have been breaking out like crazy ever since. I had clear skin before the pill and while I was on the pill. I was going through a lot of stress in November, and thought maybe my skin was acting up, but now I'm feeling a lot and better and my skin is atrocious. I had a normal period for the month of September, October, and December. I think I skipped November's period due to stress.

Has the bad skin happened to anyone coming off the pill? How long should I give my skin to go back to normal? will it ever go back to normal or should I get back on the pill?