Happy days are here again!

[slemslempike]

The coil is not the agony I had feared it might be - I have one day where it is quite painful, but even if I don't have any painkillers to hand it is not actually incapacitating. However, it has changed my periods, so I have a few days of small amounts of blood in discharge (enough to need a liner), and then about four days of actual bleeding, including two nights where I overflow my larger capacity cup and need back-up, and then about three/four days of bleeding gradually tailing off. I've only just started using an online tracker to work out when things happen, but this currently only leaves me with about a week in the middle where I don't bleed at all. I am mildly grumpy about this. According to monthlyinfo I'll be rageous about it in about two days.

Comments

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

I am slightly addicted to monthly info. It never gets it right, bless it (not even super computer algorithms can predict my body), but it tries. And it has handy info to share with me.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I am looking forward to the eventual graphs when I have given them enough information! My last cycle was apparently 27 days (and actually, both started while I was staying with lsugaralmond - perhaps sleeping on very nice white sheets precipitates it), and today I have a corpus luteum. But I think that this cycle will be significantly shorter than 27 days. I also don't really know what's meant to be the start - the first show of blood, or proper tide-time?

[notmarcie.livejournal.com]

I put in the first proper day of my period, but write in the spotting as well. I also write in mittelschmerz and any other interesting things I notice.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

What is mittelschmerz? I should try to keep better track as well. People keep recommending Taking Charge of Your Fertility for finding out what your body does at various times.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

AFAIK, it is ovulation pain, though not everybody gets it (I don't, and I'm fairly sure I've ovulated in the past, what with the pregnancy).

That book is really very good, I add myself to the chorus of recommendation.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

... I have absolutely no idea when ovulation is meant to occur.

Oh, monthlyinfo informs me it's the bit just before now. I wonder if this bleeding is from that instead - that would actually make sense, as it seems to be distinctly blood in discharge rather than a bloody discharge.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

Some people do get spotting at ovulation, so yes, it could be that.

Get the book!

[notmarcie.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what I get when I ovulate. Normal clear discharge with small amounts of blood sort of umm...suspended in it. It lasts about 36 hours. It sort of rmeinds me of when you buy hens eggs and there is a bit of blood in the albumen.

I definitely get the pain, it's not bad, but it's distinct and quite weird! Just on and off for a couple of hours. I had no idea what it was until I trooped to the doctor and she told me that some women get ovulation pain.


Having been on hormonal contraception for about 10 years when I switched to the IUD, it's been rather fascinating to see how my body really works. Especially the effect hormones have on me, barring the three menstrual zits on my chin and jaw.

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

I keep meaning to have a look at that.

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

I have graphs! Of some sort...they are very up and down, since I go from anywhere between 30 days to 45. It likes to average me out though.

I take it from the 'Oh look, I'm on my period' moment.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I think I will go for "need mooncup" as moment of starting. But I shall mark the other bits and pieces as well.

30-45 days is quite a stretch!

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's fairly annoying.

[notmarcie.livejournal.com]

I've had my IUD for over 5 years now and my periods have settled pretty much until about a four months ago. Last month my period lasted about 13 days, arrrrrgh, mostly spotting and then three very heavy days. This month my period is back to how it was, 8 hours of sporadic but intense cramps then a regular flow. Except it's 7 days early!

My period was pretty screwy for the first few months and when I was stressed my body went onto a delightful 17 day cycle for about 3 months, I basically stopped bleeding for about 4 days. Fun times.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

7 days??? Eugh. I didn't keep track of my periods at all before the coil, so I don't know how much it's changed, but it's a fine trade-off for peace of mind (not that I am under the impression that it's infallible, but technically better than sterilisation is good enough for me).

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

I suspect that someone I know was aware of my bad experiences - not every time but sometimes, and having it changed was sheer bloody agony - which is why she went for implants.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

The implant was fine for me - I had two over about five years, but I didn't want to have the hormones any more. The insertion of the coil was unpleasant, but a lot of that was anticipation rather than actual pain, so I am not too worried about the eventual change/removal.

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

Oh, monthlyinfo looks better than mymonthlycycles, which is where I've been tracking, but I can't be arsed to move sites, especially as I imagine there is no 'friend' feature and so we can't be menstrual buddies.

I've got totally obsessive about tracking too. I never paid much attention before, but I've been tracking the last two months and now I'm FASCINATED. It also provokes angst - I never had much of an idea how long my cycle was, but it turns out it's around 35 days, and so for the last few days pre-period I was getting super-paranoid because I thought I was late, and oh man, what if I was pregnant, and Tom wouldn't believe it was his because I've had a period since coming to Sudan but I totally haven't had sex with anyone else and maybe I am just one of those freaky women who has periods all through pregnancy oh god. Had a total internal freak-out while teaching, came home and found my period had started. Hurrah!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

There isn't a friend feature, and now I am quite sad. I could have seen who I was synching with! It would also be handy for keeping track when you worked/lived with people and knew who to approach if you found yourself in need of a tampon or pad.

On the one hand I feel slightly guilty that I have so little idea about how my menstrual cycles work, but on the other hand I sort of like that I haven't had that thing of feeling that I should absolutely know when things are going to happen to try and contain/control them. But now, GRAPHS. Also, the flow is so heavy that I can't just grab toilet paper in an emergency any more.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I just signed up to monthlyinfo and plugged in the dates as far as I could be bothered to go back and fetch diaries from the bedroom, and am surprised that my cycle is much more regular than it feels.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I was surprised that my first one was 27 days, it felt shorter. I am looking forward to finding out what it's like long-term, though this does rely on me remembering to update it.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

It thinks mine are 27 days on average with data going back to early 2008, which surprises the heck out of me - I would have said it was more like 25 if asked, though I can't think who would ask me.

Does it send you the reminders automatically or do you have to turn them on? I really don't want it sending 'check your breasts for lumps' emails, as I am already paranoically conscientious about this and don't need the Internet getting in on the act.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I only get "approximately 2 days to your period", and although there are others I think they're absolutely all opt-in.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I suppose 2 days to period might come in handy in an 'Oh, that's why I want to bite the world's head off and spit it back in the direction of the world's groin' sort of way, though I do normally manage to work it out for myself eventually.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

My friend just had her coil removed due to random pain and also period bleeding problems, and she's the healthiest/most insensitive person I know, heh.

/anecdata

Also, I've seen an extremely problematic but "fun" bus advert in Worcester, featuring a sexysexynurse, which I'll try to photograph and post (I could've photographed it the first time I saw it but my brain wasn't in gear and I haven't seen it since).

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

It's going okay for me at the moment, barring a short bacterial infection that might not actually have been the coil itself (I suspect it was partly due to paranoid checking of the strings, which I have now weaned myself off).

Ooh! That would be ace.

[chiasmata]

I love monthlyinfo! I get it to send me an email a week before my period is due. It reads: 'Please to be taking the evening primrose oil if you wish to avoid the homicidal urges.' Also, it means that as well as the mean length, I can tell my GP what the standard deviation is. This is now apparently in my medical notes; I saw her write it down!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I think I might try keeping some sort of mood record to see what tallies. It might be useful to be prepared for absolute despair if at all possible.

I am so excited about the statistics in my future!

[chiasmata]

lizzip drew my attention to the fact that my really grim moods coincided with high progesterone week, which I totally hadn't realised. I find all this endlessly fascinating!

Mmmm, statistics...

[antisoppist.livejournal.com]

I always marked days on the calendar and when trying to get pregnant charted mucus and temperatures too, which was very useful for convincing midwives to base my due dates on a 35 day cycle and actual ovulation date rather than their standard 28. I'd have been induced far earlier otherwise. They also base the blood tests for Down's syndrome on a 28 day cycle unless you insist otherwise. I know you're not planning on getting pregnant but in case anyone else is, having evidence of an unusual cycle length can avoid a lot of stress.


Monthly info sounds good. I've had the mirena hormonal coil for 18 months with random spotting and now 2 months after stopping breastfeeding just had 9 days of bleeding. My last period was November 2006 and I'm going hey, I remember this... I quite fancy a high tech way of working out what's going on now.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Interesting that you're having periods with the mirena, I think it stops them altogether for a lot of women?

[antisoppist.livejournal.com]

They said it varies. I never had periods on the mini-pill so thought I might not have any but maybe it was breastfeeding switching it all off instead.

[leedy.livejournal.com]

...while I bled all the time on the mini-pill and hence have decided that progesterone-only contraceptives are not for me (I also decided that hormonal contraceptives in general are not for me because the combined pill makes me loopy).

Hormones, they is weird.

[anglaisepaon.livejournal.com]

I love monthlyinfo. Mostly for the statistics, which makes feel very tidy and organized, but also because I can look at where I am on the chart and find a valid reason for that particular mood. Enjoy your rageousness.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

YOU CAN'T MAKE ME.