posted
I must disagree with Richard, based on what my obgyns and other doctors have told me. Birth control pills prevent ovulation. That is why they must be taken daily - to prevent an egg from being released that may later be fertilized. The "breather" in between packages does produce menstruation in that your body expells the lining of the uterus that would have been used had an egg (which is absent in this case) been present and fertilized. It is not true that a woman can go without a period for years with no side effects. Women can go for 2-4 months safely (depending on the doctor you ask) without a period. In the past I have had to have periods chemically induced to prevent toxicity, endometriosis and other problems that can occur when menstration doesn't occur frequently enough.
posted
Odd sign of pregnancy as reported by my mom:
Food tastes different: she loved diet-coke, but when she got pregnant, the dc tasted flat and bad.
Missed periods as reported by my cousin: Weight - I guess there's some magic weight that if you drop below, your body turns off the periods.
Hormone troubles- my cousin has a pituitary tumor that is causing too much of a hormone (progesterone?) to be released. She didn't have a period for 6 years. Dumb girl thought it was just the weight thing!
Posts: 19 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Here is a good demonstration of the differences between taking the pill and a natural cycle. They have similarities, but they are not the same thing.
Here is a (not strictly professional) website on the need for periods or lack thereof. For women with many conditions, extended time between periods may not be healthy. There is not enough evidence to say for sure how prevalent these needs are, but they are certainly overstated at the moment. By contrast, menstruation is not always healthy:
quote:In a letter quoted on the Museum of Menstruation Web site, Dr. Patricia J. Sulak, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Texas A&M, wrote, "Incessant ovulation and menses, month after month after month, is associated with many health problems, including a proven increased risk of ovarian cancer, anemia associated with heavy menses, ovarian cysts and endometriosis."
After all, experiencing several hundred periods in a lifetime is a rather recent phenomenon.
Posts: 1839 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
"Weight - I guess there's some magic weight that if you drop below, your body turns off the periods."
I can attest to that one. I only weigh about 105 lbs so, for about a week before my period, my body starts conserving any and all fat in whatever I eat so that there's actually something there in case of pregnancy. I realize my body thinks it's necessary, but it's definitely annoying because there is not going to be any "in case" for quite some time now.
Anyway, yes - If you've recently lost a lot (or even just a little weight, depending on your size), that could make you skip your period. Also, I know from my years as a dancer that any sudden shifts in diet or excercise habits can make you skip as well.
Posts: 1548 | Registered: Aug 2002
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In the first four months of pregnancy, I was violently ill, or almost violently ill, all the time. The smell of coffee. I loved it, b.p.(before pregnancy)
When I was pregnant, the smell of coffee was the most vile smell around. I can still remember what bad coffee smell smelled like, even though it smells good to me again.
It started with a craving for this cabbage pie I (used to) make, with kielbasa on top. I wanted it, made it, and then became violently ill as a result of it. From that time forward, my illness got increasingly worse. I started to get sick opening the fridge. Next, I got sick after walking by the fridge. Finally, I got sick when I walked up to the door of the house, just thinking about the fridge. I was feeling nauseaus from the moment I awoke to the time went to sleep, just anticipating smells.
Lemon saved me. I just got lots of lemonade, lemons, and lemon flavored stuff. When that time period passed, I moved on to chocolate. Then, to food in general.
quote:From that time forward, my illness got increasingly worse. I started to get sick opening the fridge. Next, I got sick after walking by the fridge. Finally, I got sick when I walked up to the door of the house, just thinking about the fridge. I was feeling nauseaus from the moment I awoke to the time went to sleep, just anticipating smells.
Elizabeth, I hear you! I wasn't quite that bad, but I did get to nauseous just thinking about the fridge. Also, I dependably lost my breakfast every morning right after walking into work. Something about the change of building, either temperature or smell or both, I could never decide. The worst part was that two of my coworkers were also pregnant and neither they or anyone else I talked to seemed to have EVER had any problems with nausea.
The building issue might have been some cleaner they used, that your warped pregger-nose detected and rejected. I remember the smell of floor wax during that time.
It is so strange. It isn't that you are bothered by smells you used to love, it is that the smells have mutated into an evil entity.
After the first month or so, I did not get sick as often, but I still felt sick all the time. All of a sudden, at four months(first pregnancy) and three months(second), I was fine, and could smell anything safely.
I read a very cool article about morning sickness, and how it takes us back to some primal, natural state. Many of the things I couldn't stand, which were on the list, were potatoes, peppers, coffee, chocolate, onions, and cabbage. They have trace poisons(some are nightshade plants)and this theory states that it is nature's way of keeping you away from them.(What is "trace" for an adult might be harmful to a fetus.)
I will see if I can find a link to that article.
Edit: Ironically, i wanted potato chips all the time. And lemonade. The article said that craving is because potato has something in it(potassium, vitamin c), and lemons have folic acid.
[ June 10, 2004, 08:33 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Christy, I was always jealous of women who managed to sail through pregnancy with little or no nausea/sickness. Then I actually experienced a pregnancy like that -- and it didn't last long. So I welcomed the nausea when I got pregnant with child #3. For me, it seems to be a sign that everything is well. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Rivka, I did take heart in that. And I did sail through my 2nd trimester, but it was a VERY long first trimester.
I also have craved lemons, but nothing could make me crave potatoes! People look at me funny, though, when I suck on the lemons in Tom's iced tea or my water.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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