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Geolicious posted:I thought my sounding and my insertion were two separate things. Maybe not. Sure felt like it, though. When I had my Mirena put in (10 years or so ago), it was a two step procedure for me. Maybe the packaging/whatever has changed?
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Jun 24, 2013 23:03
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I was warned for two sets of different cramps, I think I was assuming that since I wasn't on my period I might need a dilator or that they had to do something else. I made a couple of weird faces and had to remind myself to breathe, but other than that I was fine. Totally worth not having to worry about birth control until I'm 27. I took it easy this afternoon with a kitty deciding that she would make a better heating pad than anything else. I'm feeling fine now other than a little bit of soreness that has been greatly reduced by taking 400mg of ibuprofen.  According to the Mirena prescribing/insertion information, sounding and insertion are two different steps. http://labeling.bayerhealthcare.com/html/products/pi/Mirena_PI.pdf (Page 3/4 details the insertion process) I found it comforting and reassuring to read through as much prescribing information and watch videos of insertions to be familiar with the process. That might be a little weird for some but it was really helpful for me to know everything I could including the risks and side effects.
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Jun 25, 2013 00:56
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Absolute Evil posted:When I had my Mirena put in (10 years or so ago), it was a two step procedure for me. Maybe the packaging/whatever has changed? Yeah I am pretty sure my sounding and my insertion were two separate steps.
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Jun 25, 2013 01:23
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Does anyone have any experience with getting Mirena removed? I've had it in for 2 years and it's hardly gotten any more tolerable. I'm still having nasty cramps, bleeding, and my period every 2-3 weeks. I'm ready to go back to to back to birth control pills. I miss my pain free, 2 day, barely there periods. I'm just hella nervous because insertion was awfully painful and I had trouble walking for close to a week after.
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Jun 25, 2013 01:27
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Silly Kitty posted:Does anyone have any experience with getting Mirena removed? I've had it in for 2 years and it's hardly gotten any more tolerable. I'm still having nasty cramps, bleeding, and my period every 2-3 weeks. I'm ready to go back to to back to birth control pills. I miss my pain free, 2 day, barely there periods. I'm just hella nervous because insertion was awfully painful and I had trouble walking for close to a week after. I've experienced removal with Paraguard. Crampy/ouchie but not nearly as much as insertion. See if you can have it removed as close as possible to when you're on your period/bleeding. Things are already dilated then.
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Jun 26, 2013 14:15
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Silly Kitty posted:Does anyone have any experience with getting Mirena removed? I've had it in for 2 years and it's hardly gotten any more tolerable. I'm still having nasty cramps, bleeding, and my period every 2-3 weeks. I'm ready to go back to to back to birth control pills. I miss my pain free, 2 day, barely there periods. I'm just hella nervous because insertion was awfully painful and I had trouble walking for close to a week after. When I had my Mirena removed, my midwife told me to cough as she was pulling it out. Other than a weird sliding sensation, I didn't feel a thing. Perhaps try that?
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Jun 27, 2013 03:02
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Absolute Evil posted:When I had my Mirena removed, my midwife told me to cough as she was pulling it out. Other than a weird sliding sensation, I didn't feel a thing. Perhaps try that? Coughing does help! My doctor told me to do that while she was clamping on the tenaculum during my insertion and I honestly didn't even feel it. I didn't know it had happened until I realized she was starting the sounding.
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Jun 27, 2013 03:49
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I just had my annual check-up on Thursday, so I was finally able to talk to my (new) doc about my sex issues (this was the first exam I'd had since starting to have sex a few months ago). I have incredibly low (practically nil) sex drive, which, as a newlywed, is not making for happy times with the husband. I'm currently on Jolessa, and I do love only have four periods a year. I also deal with depression/anxiety/OCD, although I'm not currently on meds. Doc said (predictably) that the pill and the depression are contributing to my low sex drive. So basically I have three options: 1) Try a different pill, such as a one-month one, which may help my sex drive some, maybe. 2) Don't use any hormonal birth control. Yeah. Right. Cuz I want to risk babies. 3) Get an IUD. She recommended Skyla since I haven't had any babies. #2 is not an option, we are so not ready to have kids. I'm considering switching pills, but I really don't feel like dealing with a monthly period again either. I'm also considering the IUD (she already took a culture swab to see if I am a candidate or whatever that was for), but I'm concerned about (a) the pain and insertion, (b) my acne going nutsy like it does when I'm not on the pill, and (c) all those potential nasty side-effects. I've talked about it briefly with the hubby and he is more-or-less like "Do what would make you feel best." Advice?
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Jun 30, 2013 02:02
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What about a copper IUD? In my experience it's just a matter of trying different things until you find something that works for you, which I'm still working on. If I were you I'd try a different combined pill first, which could help with your sex drive and still handle your acne. Monthly periods are (IMO) a pretty insubstantial price to pay, and if you switch to a progestogen-only option it can gently caress with your cycle in all kinds of ways. It works for some people (like no bleeding ever) and doesn't for others (irregular bleeding or ALL THE TIME).
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Jun 30, 2013 03:07
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The Schwa posted:What about a copper IUD? In my experience it's just a matter of trying different things until you find something that works for you, which I'm still working on. If I were you I'd try a different combined pill first, which could help with your sex drive and still handle your acne. Monthly periods are (IMO) a pretty insubstantial price to pay, and if you switch to a progestogen-only option it can gently caress with your cycle in all kinds of ways. It works for some people (like no bleeding ever) and doesn't for others (irregular bleeding or ALL THE TIME). Having the copper IUD has helped my sex drive immensely (and I didn't even realize the pill was lowering my sex drive until I switched to the IUD). So on the upside, she'll lose the hormonal side-effects. On the downside she'll have monthly periods again and for the first few months they'll be pretty heavy and crampy. I guess it's just a matter of whether or not a better sex drive is worth having heavier bleeding/cramps for a while. It was for me, but it's an individual thing. For whatever it's worth, I'm at the 6 month mark with the IUD and while my periods are still fairly heavy, it's only like a one day thing then it's pretty much business as usual. The cramps have improved to pre-IUD levels except for a few random super cramps. I know it's not a perfect method, but if you're interested in something like Skyla or Mirena, I've heard of some women "test driving" the side-effects of the hormones in the IUD by taking a progestin-only mini-pill for a few months. The only problem with those is you have to be super strict about taking them at the same time as they have a much smaller margin of error than pills that also have estrogen. Kimmalah fucked around with this message at 03:48 on Jun 30, 2013 |
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Jun 30, 2013 03:45
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I would take that in a heartbeat if the other problems would stop. I have pretty bad luck with contraception in general, so I'm really hoping my implant plan works. The other issue for justFaye would be that if she switches to non-estrogen BC she loses the effect it has on her acne, and progestogen alone can play hell with your skin.
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Jun 30, 2013 06:38
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Kimmalah posted:I know it's not a perfect method, but if you're interested in something like Skyla or Mirena, I've heard of some women "test driving" the side-effects of the hormones in the IUD by taking a progestin-only mini-pill for a few months. The only problem with those is you have to be super strict about taking them at the same time as they have a much smaller margin of error than pills that also have estrogen. Fingers crossed; my period stopped completely when I went on Cerazette and hasn't come back 
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Jun 30, 2013 14:17
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My girlfriend has had a number of problems in the past as far as extreme mood swings and depression on birth control so she really doesnt want to go back on the pill or patch. we currently just use condoms but I worry about not having a backup just in case. Do some of the other options have "less" side effects as far as mood than others or is really just a person to person thing. Also where the hell is male birth control. I would take that poo poo religiously.
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Jun 30, 2013 21:59
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The Spookmaster posted:My girlfriend has had a number of problems in the past as far as extreme mood swings and depression on birth control so she really doesnt want to go back on the pill or patch. we currently just use condoms but I worry about not having a backup just in case. Do some of the other options have "less" side effects as far as mood than others or is really just a person to person thing. Unfortunately it's a lot of trial and error for some to find the right hormone combo. Although the Paraguard is a copper IUD with no hormones in it. Perhaps she could try talking to her doctor about that or the cervical ring/NuvaRing? Apparently the hormones in that are not as touchy for people.
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Jul 1, 2013 02:53
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floofyscorp posted:I did this test-drive thing when I asked my GP about getting the implant(I was moving to progesterone-only pills anyway because I get migraines) and was prescribed Cerazette, which doesn't have the super-strict timing problem - the window is more like 12 hours. I still managed to miss two in 3 months(augh) so I am super glad I have the implant now. To echo to this (cause I'm on mini-pills too) and to The Spookmaster, I've been taking Jolivette for like two years, which is a POP like Cerazette but has the error margin of +/- 3 hours. I haven't missed any and obviously YMMV, but the minipill is kind of awesome. You CAN have mood swings and depression on minipills and some people still get their period, but I stopped getting mine (except some random spotting like every couple months) and I didn't have any of the mood side effects I did with Yaz. Yaz made me go absolutely bonkers, I had really bad emotional lability and would just start sobbing randomly even though I didn't feel like crying at all/even feel sad. I also had the shortest fuse ever. Switched to minipills for a few reasons and holy poo poo, I do not regret it. Like SilverSliver said it's totally a trial and error thing, but if your wife has only taken combined pills it's totally worth giving the minipill a try. And, like floofyscorp said, Cerazette has an approved 12 hour window in a lot of countries. If your wife doesn't hate the daily pill thing, it's worth a shot.
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Jul 1, 2013 04:11
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I think I've asked about it once before, but I was wondering if anyone in the thread had any experience with heavy lifting and having an IUD? I'm considering applying for a warehouse job where I might be lifting some pretty heavy stuff on occasion (job description says anywhere from 20-something up to maybe 60 pounds on occasion) and I'm kind of paranoid that it might shift out of place or something. I asked my doctor once and they didn't seem to concerned, but she seemed like she was kind of in a hurry that day too.
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Jul 1, 2013 13:15
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My last job required me to lift heavy core boxes (40-70lbs). I had no issues with my IUD. And I was never advised against heavy lifting in any way. I mean, it's pretty well tucked up in your uterus, and unless you have a huge uterus, it's pretty snugly inside there. Here's the wiki image on what the Mirena is supposed to look like in there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mirena_IntraUterine_System.jpg
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Jul 1, 2013 13:20
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Kimmalah posted:I think I've asked about it once before, but I was wondering if anyone in the thread had any experience with heavy lifting and having an IUD? I'm considering applying for a warehouse job where I might be lifting some pretty heavy stuff on occasion (job description says anywhere from 20-something up to maybe 60 pounds on occasion) and I'm kind of paranoid that it might shift out of place or something. I asked my doctor once and they didn't seem to concerned, but she seemed like she was kind of in a hurry that day too. I regularly lift motors that are like, 150-250 lbs and it ain't no thing.
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Jul 1, 2013 18:38
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So, has anyone found a way to control acne as a side effect of hormonal IUDs? I seem to have no luck with Flexi-T; I seem to have somehow managed to expel my second one after just three and a half months. I previously had Mirena for a year or two, which I suspect caused increased acne. Do you think the smaller dose of hormones in Skyla (Jaydess in Europe) would cause less problems with acne? I really, really like the convenience of IUDs but I'm not too hopeful about my chances, to be honest...  So depressed right now. I wanted so badly to go hormone-free but it just doesn't seem to be happening.
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Jul 1, 2013 21:41
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As I've posted before, I got very good results with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide cream. I took a few months, but now my skin is as good as it was when I was 20.
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Jul 1, 2013 22:00
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Geolicious posted:My last job required me to lift heavy core boxes (40-70lbs). I had no issues with my IUD. And I was never advised against heavy lifting in any way. Thanks (to you and bobula)! I kind of figured there was nothing to worry about since I've heard of weight lifters and the like using the copper IUD, but I love this thing and wouldn't want to ruin it.  You also have a good point. I always see IUD diagrams from the frontal view, so I tend to forget that it's actually kind of tucked/angled up in there and it's not a straight shot out. Also according to the doctor, I have a very small uterus haha.On a non-birth control related note, it's also reassuring to see some ladies in here able to do some heavy lifting. I admit I've been a little worried about being able to handle the weight (no health problems, just skinny girl arms  ).
Kimmalah fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jul 1, 2013 |
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Jul 1, 2013 22:28
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Geolicious posted:As I've posted before, I got very good results with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide cream. I took a few months, but now my skin is as good as it was when I was 20. Sorry, my bad, I forgot to add that I did try 5% benzoyl peroxide but it only dried out my skin and didn't seem to do much else. Perhaps it was too strong and/or I didn't use it long enough. Still, I'd love to hear other suggestions if anyone has them. Skincare products, vitamins, anything.
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Jul 1, 2013 23:18
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mau posted:Sorry, my bad, I forgot to add that I did try 5% benzoyl peroxide but it only dried out my skin and didn't seem to do much else. Perhaps it was too strong and/or I didn't use it long enough. Still, I'd love to hear other suggestions if anyone has them. Skincare products, vitamins, anything. I've had a few minor problems with acne (mostly of body kind though) both before I started and after I stopped the pill. I've had a lot of luck using body and face washes with salicylic acid in them. It helps wash away the dead skin cells that clog your pores along with the usual excess oil etc. It's not a miracle cure, but I have noticed a significant improvement in the acne. And don't let the name scare you, even though it's called "acid" it's not going to burn your skin or anything.
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Jul 1, 2013 23:27
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Salicylic acid also works well for me. And everything dries out my skin. I only use it once a day though or it will cause too much drying for me. I also had good luck with doing a few months of antibiotics when it got particularly bad halfway through my first Mirena. It's never gone back to being as bad since then. I know not everyone is in favor of taking them for that long, but it worked well for me in the long run and I had minimal side effects from it.
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Jul 1, 2013 23:53
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mau posted:Sorry, my bad, I forgot to add that I did try 5% benzoyl peroxide but it only dried out my skin and didn't seem to do much else. Perhaps it was too strong and/or I didn't use it long enough. Still, I'd love to hear other suggestions if anyone has them. Skincare products, vitamins, anything. 5% didn't work for me as well because it made my skin supa dry and irritated, but 2.5% worked really well. I know it sounds silly, but that's my anecdote! I had to use it for a solid month - 2 months, though before I saw awesome results, but I was seeing better results within a month.
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Jul 2, 2013 01:10
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I'm getting conflicting information via Google on this: I started my period on June 14th-15th and finished on the 18th. I was supposed to start a new pack of pills on the 19th but forgot my first one and started on the 20th instead. I had unprotected sex the night of the 20th. Should I be worried? When can I take a test? I'm due to get my IUD inserted on Wednesday, so of course I'll consult my OBGYN too, but ugh.
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Jul 2, 2013 04:47
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Acne: 2.5% works well for me as well. I also like to put some tea tree oil on my face before I go to bed. Tshirt Ninja: You *should* be okay though it's never a for certain thing. You should not worry at all because it's not going to help you to, and does no good. :P Two weeks is the norm for a test, just be sure to get one that detects the potential early pregnancy hormone or go to your Dr/local birth control clinic for a test. (Ps: wassamatta you?! Condoms girlie! Unprotected sexin' is bad. Bad Tshirt Ninja. Bad!  )
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Jul 2, 2013 06:32
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mau posted:Sorry, my bad, I forgot to add that I did try 5% benzoyl peroxide but it only dried out my skin and didn't seem to do much else. Perhaps it was too strong and/or I didn't use it long enough. Still, I'd love to hear other suggestions if anyone has them. Skincare products, vitamins, anything. 2 years into mirena and I have the worst acne I've ever had in my life (yay cystic acne). No strength of benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid has worked, so hope for the best but it may not work out. God I can't wait to get this iud out....
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Jul 2, 2013 08:04
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mau posted:So, has anyone found a way to control acne as a side effect of hormonal IUDs? I have *super* sensitive skin, and most products I tried tended to cause awful breakouts or rashes. I've been using Neutrogena Naturals Acne Cream Cleanser for 3 weeks or so now after not finding anything for a long time that my face could handle, and have seen significant improvements! It's only got 1% salicylic acid, but apparently that's enough for me to get some cleansing in without destroying my face further. I still have to use a moisturizer to stop my face from completely drying out (Neutrogena oil-free, sensitive skin), but I'm really starting to feel better about it all.Kimmalah posted:I think I've asked about it once before, but I was wondering if anyone in the thread had any experience with heavy lifting and having an IUD? I'm considering applying for a warehouse job where I might be lifting some pretty heavy stuff on occasion (job description says anywhere from 20-something up to maybe 60 pounds on occasion) and I'm kind of paranoid that it might shift out of place or something. I asked my doctor once and they didn't seem to concerned, but she seemed like she was kind of in a hurry that day too.
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Jul 2, 2013 15:33
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Aceofblue posted:I've had my Mirena for 3 years, and I also experienced increased acne breakouts. Only negative side effect to this wonderful thing. You may have already tried it, but I have fairly sensitive skin on my face and the regular old Clearisil cleanser works well for me and also has salicylic acid in it. I started using it because my brother had terrible acne as a teen and all the other stuff was way too harsh on his face, but this stuff was fine. Thanks for chiming in on my question, I feel a lot less apprehensive about applying for that job. And I do need to get in better shape really, so I appreciate the link. Maybe some weightlifting would make me better qualified for the job. 
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Jul 2, 2013 18:56
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Thanks for all the replies to my question about Mirena and acne, you guys have been so helpful. I had no idea that there is such a difference between 2.5% and 5% benzoyl peroxide. I definitely need to get something with salicylic acid in it. I saw a gyno to remove my expelled Flexi-T and everything went really smoothly because the IUD was sitting very low in my cervix. The gyno recommended the implant as a better (at least in terms of acne) alternative to Mirena/Skyla and prescribed me a three-month dose of Cerazette to see how my skin reacts to the hormones. If all goes well, I'll have the implant inserted and if not, Skyla is the next best option. I guess I'll have to go back and re-read the thread with the implant in mind.  I'd be so happy if I could finally find a birth control where I don't have to stress about side effects all the time.
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Jul 2, 2013 20:26
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justFaye posted:I just had my annual check-up on Thursday, so I was finally able to talk to my (new) doc about my sex issues (this was the first exam I'd had since starting to have sex a few months ago). I have incredibly low (practically nil) sex drive, which, as a newlywed, is not making for happy times with the husband. I'm currently on Jolessa, and I do love only have four periods a year. I also deal with depression/anxiety/OCD, although I'm not currently on meds. Doc said (predictably) that the pill and the depression are contributing to my low sex drive. So basically I have three options: I was pretty much entirely in your boat until I got the copper IUD. I had mine inserted when I was 22. Never had any children. I've got chronic depression and and had zero sex drive. I also gained weight from the BC which made me more depressed and unsure about my body. I'm about to hit 3 years and still loving it. Kimm - I also do weight lifting (I am squatting about 130ish) and am very active. Zero issues.
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Jul 2, 2013 23:07
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I don't do any heavy weights because I hate gyms, but I do a lot of body weight exercises/other stuff on my own time, and I also spend a lot of time slinging around random heavy poo poo at work (especially the last couple days; I work in a theater and we're striking the whole thing). So far it hasn't caused me any problems. And weight lifting is so good for you! (As long as you do it properly, etc.) As far as the acne goes--I have never had super severe acne, but back about six months ago when I was juggling around a lot of medications, my skin got bad enough that it was seriously bothering me. I had the most luck with switching to super gentle cleansers and moisturizers--I was using harsher ones to try to get rid of the acne but I think it was actually making it worse. I use a Cetaphil facial cleanser and then some kind of moisturizer, also from Cetaphil, that's specifically for oily skin; I've had good luck with both of those. But successes with face products are just so ridiculously variable between people.
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Jul 2, 2013 23:56
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mau posted:Sorry, my bad, I forgot to add that I did try 5% benzoyl peroxide but it only dried out my skin and didn't seem to do much else. Perhaps it was too strong and/or I didn't use it long enough. Still, I'd love to hear other suggestions if anyone has them. Skincare products, vitamins, anything. I'm going to throw in that I use a face wash called Frownies and it seems to have really helped with my acne without drying it out. Follow it up with a gentle (alcohol free) toner and a good moisturizer. I do use a salicylic acid/tea tree oil spot-treatment when I have a breakout (I am allergic to benzoyl peroxide, so no input there). I'm going to consider what everyone has suggested; I just got a refill on my Jolessa so I have some time built-in to consider things before I make a change. I don't think I'll do a mini-pill as a test-run though as I'm pretty bad at taking a pill within a small time window. At this point an IUD still sounds scary (mostly the brochure for Skyla sounded rather horrifying, and they are trying to get me to get their product!). I'm more inclined to switch to a one-month combo pill and try it out for a few months and see if there's any change.
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Jul 3, 2013 06:19
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justFaye posted:I'm going to throw in that I use a face wash called Frownies and it seems to have really helped with my acne without drying it out. Follow it up with a gentle (alcohol free) toner and a good moisturizer. I do use a salicylic acid/tea tree oil spot-treatment when I have a breakout (I am allergic to benzoyl peroxide, so no input there). If it helps, I think drug companies have to disclose every little side-effect that comes up during clinical trials. Even if it's not entirely clear whether it was caused by the IUD and the weird ones that only very rarely happen. So taken at face value, brochures and pamphlets can make this stuff sound a lot more horrifying than it actually turns out to be. And while insertion is different for everyone, it's usually not too bad. Definitely uncomfortable (in my case it was like two really strong period cramps), but it's usually pretty tolerable and only lasts a minute or two at the most as long as your cervix is "cooperative" as a nurse at Planned Parenthood put it. I understand though. I was super freaked out about the idea of something being inside my uterus for a long time. The only thing that changed my mind was when the side-effects of the pill became intolerable and it was basically my only reliable non-hormonal option at that point. And when I was trying to decide between IUDs, the side-effects list for Mirena also freaked me out a lot and an IUD is a lot different from a pill that you can just stop taking anytime. So do whatever you think is best.
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Jul 3, 2013 20:23
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SilverSliver posted:Acne: 2.5% works well for me as well. I also like to put some tea tree oil on my face before I go to bed. Not pregnant! IUD placement scheduled 2 weeks from now when I've had my period. Best OBGYN visit ever.
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Jul 3, 2013 22:11
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Tshirt Ninja posted:Not pregnant! IUD placement scheduled 2 weeks from now when I've had my period. Best OBGYN visit ever. If it's anything like mine (which was also done the week of my period), they'll probably do a pregnancy test immediately before the insertion just to be safe anyway so you'll be extra sure by then.
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Jul 3, 2013 23:14
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Kimmalah posted:I think I've asked about it once before, but I was wondering if anyone in the thread had any experience with heavy lifting and having an IUD? I'm considering applying for a warehouse job where I might be lifting some pretty heavy stuff on occasion (job description says anywhere from 20-something up to maybe 60 pounds on occasion) and I'm kind of paranoid that it might shift out of place or something. I asked my doctor once and they didn't seem to concerned, but she seemed like she was kind of in a hurry that day too. I've competed in strongman comps with mine in, it's all good in the hood.
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Jul 4, 2013 01:29
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Tshirt Ninja posted:Not pregnant! IUD placement scheduled 2 weeks from now when I've had my period. Best OBGYN visit ever. Yay!  Which one are you getting? Either way you're gonna love it. Take some ibuprofen about an hour or two before hand and enjoy your baby free sexin'. (Condoms condoms condoms for new partners though! Did I mention condoms yet? Condoms.)
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Jul 4, 2013 06:44
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Has anyone had the experience of getting a cyst while having the Mirena?
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Jul 6, 2013 01:55
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