Decidual Casts #2

Well, I had another decidual cast last night. At least this time I wasn't as alarmed, since I knew what the thing was. It is now in a bag in my purse; if I get a chance to see the doctor soon, I will show him (yes, my doctor is male. I do feel slightly uncomfortable talking to him about some things, and this is why I need a gynecologist- preferably female... But ah well, when I bring up my vagina, he does try to help out the best he can and doesn't seem too awkward about it all. I wonder what he would do if I did end up showing him that piece of my uterine wall...). So anyway, I need to do more research on these things, and see why exactly they are formed. I'm wondering if it's because of my seasonale (the birth control that only makes me have my period 4 times a year). Maybe my uterus was getting tired of not shedding it's lining, and so decided to do it in one swift move. I am honestly hoping having more than one in a few months is not a symptom of some disease or cancer or something. I'm sure I'm just overreacting, as always. More to come on this. Oh, and this may be gross, but here's a picture of what a decidual cast (my decidual cast) looks like: (squeamish people, don't look at these)

Now I've just gone too far, right? Oh well, if you want to know about decidual casts, you should know what they look like.

Vaginitis

So, I think I may have vaginitis. I went to my doctor a while ago and let him know that I had a red, itchy pubic mound, labia and the surrounding area, and he said it could be caused by a number of things: a yeast infection, perfumed soap/bubble bath/laundry detergent, rough sex, itching vigorously, or wearing non-cotton, too-tight underwear.

Well, I was treated for a yeast infection with this topical/vaginal ointment, but the itch never went away (it's itchy right now). Anyway, so I suppose I might have to go back to my doctor and see what else he has in mind that may cure it. Until then, I may possibly go and get an over-the-counter treatment for a yeast infection (such as Canesten) and see if that helps at all. I looked it up online (on this PubMed Health site) and it says on there that a treatment can be used without a prescription if there is no fever, if this is your first yeast infection (which it is), and if you are not pregnant (which I am not). It says then if that doesn't help, see your health care provider. So that's what I'm going to do!

I wonder though if I should quit going in the hot tub, as it says that hot tubs can sometimes case vaginitis (there is lots of chemicals in there, as well as hot water, which can just dry out the skin anyway). Silly infection that I may have... More to come on this!

I think another course of action that I'm going to take is to start using dandruff shampoo/conditioner down there (non-scented of course). We'll see if any of this works.

Oh, I've also started to bathe in tea tree oil, but haven't tried this enough times yet to really tell if it's making a difference or not. My mom swears by tea tree oil, so you never know, it could help.

Stress Periods

So I think I may be experiencing what is known as a "stress period" right now. It also could just be my seasonale being silly and making me spot (for those of you who are unaware, seasonale is a type of birth control that is so gracious to let me only have my period 4 times a year). Whatever the case, I definitely have been under a lot of stress lately.

According to the experts, regulation of the menstrual cycle (I'm going to be a linguistic feminist here and ask why the word 'menstrual' has the word 'men' in it) is attributed to a hormonal balance within our bodies. The bodies reaction to stress changes the level of many of these hormones. The most common type of stress period is the missed period or late period, but getting your period early because of stress is also a possibility.

Birth Control & Boys

I have a question: why are girls the ones who are normally solely responsible for using birth control? Yes, I know, there is such a thing as condoms, and it usually is the guy's responsibility to wrap his willy in one of those, but seriously, do many guys even use condoms anymore? I think maybe there should be a birth control designed for guys to have to remember to take each and every day at the same time. And yes, I know, this puts us girls in less control over our bodies and whether or not we're going to get pregnant. But I mean if you're in a committed relationship with a guy you can trust will take a pill every day, why can't something be designed that makes his sperm count less or makes it more difficult for a fertilized ovum to attach to our uterine wall? Or jack him full of hormones, see how he likes it and how bitchy he becomes. Maybe we could just trick boys so that they start shootin' blanks. So girls, get your man into a hot tub and give him a 2 litre bottle of Mountain Dew. That'll teach 'em and make us not have to be the responsible ones in the relationship. My apologies, I am a little angry today... at boys! I'm still turning my anger into something constructive though, right?

Decidual Casts

Decidual casts... frankly,they're disgusting. They're also rubbery, soft, stretchy little bits of tissue. When I had one, I was extremely alarmed, a little concerned, and very confused. My first thought was that my labia (the little lips) had fallen off. I'm not even kidding. Then I proceeded to check and see if my labia was still intact, and it was, and that relieved my panicking a little bit. Still though, there was this thing in my pad that I has no idea what the f*&% it was. I wrapped the thing in saran wrap, then a paper towel, then put it in a plastic bag with every intention to take it to the doctor, but I ended up just forgetting about it in my purse (yuck), threw the whole thing out a few months ago, and didn't learn until yesterday what the heck the thing actually was. I know now that it is called a "decidual cast", and that it was just a piece of my uterine lining that was shed along with blood and stuff while I was on my period. I found out they're actually pretty common, and that some girls freak out when they get one because they think they've just had a miscarriage. Well girls, worry not, because it's perfectly normal if you find this rubbery looking thing in your pad while you're on your period. You most likely haven't had a miscarriage, and probably just shed a bit more of your uterine lining than you usually do. And sorry if I provided too much information about myself in this blog, but perhaps my experience might help others. The end.

Pregnancy and Abuse

Such a sad statistic:
"It is estimated that 1.5% to 17% of all pregnant women experience abuse"
And oh geeze, I thought the 17% was 1.7%. Even 1.7% is too high...

Pee After Sex

Seriously girls (and boys), let me give you a word of advice. Go pee after you have sex. This may prevent the occurrence of a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) because when you pee you are able to remove many of the icky little organisms (bacteria) present your urethra that may cause a UTI. But, I also caution you that peeing after sex DOES NOT, I repeat, DOES NOT prevent any sort of STI's (STD's for those of you who are still living in the stone age... I still don't understand why they had to change that...) or a pregnancy. Use a condom and/or birth control to prevent pregnancy and STI's, and pee after sex to prevent UTI's. You could make that into a little poem or a song, so that you never forget. That's all I have to say for now.