Posts by copperraven53

Yeah, I bet it’s even worse in small towns than in big cities. You have zero options for gynecologists, and if they’re loaded with old-school prejudices, you're basically stuck because there's nobody else to go to...

It actually just hit me today—when I was at the hospital for my pre-op checkup, one doctor looked at my swabs, saw I hadn't been able to shake these bacteria for months, and decided to lecture me. She told me that when I wipe after using the bathroom, I have to make sure I'm wiping from front to back. 🙄 Like, seriously? As if I'm some toddler who doesn't know how to wipe my own butt. 🤦 And I literally wash up every single time I go.

Because apparently, she concluded that since I can't get rid of the bacteria, I must just be totally incompetent at basic hygiene. ☕

Sophia Wells72 said:She keeps asking me the same damn questions about her sister's unknown situation like, what, thirty times now? And every single time, she’s all like, "Oh, she wouldn't catch that," because apparently, it only happens to other people. I guess.

Honestly, I feel like some women just straight-up refuse to learn about gynecological health on purpose. Like, they actually want to stay clueless because, in their heads, being uninformed is proof that nothing is wrong. They think if they start asking questions or actually educating themselves, it somehow makes them look promiscuous. It’s wild. 🙄

Sophia Wells72 said:Ugh, people seriously need to get it through their heads: national borders aren't some kind of biological boundary. They don't stop aerobic or anaerobic bacteria, or anything else like that. It just doesn't work like that.

🙏

Someone needs to engrave this somewhere. 😁

Lisa Nelson70 said:When women's health comes up, you get all these questions from girls and women who even have kids, yet they don't even know how to track their own cycle. Some have been having sex for years without ever seeing a gynecologist because they're too embarrassed—which is weird since they aren't too embarrassed to have sex... and stuff like that. I guess those of us who actually know things only know them because we're considered "sluts."

So, I have this coworker, maybe 55, and her company just set up these systematic checkups where everyone gets a physical, including a gyno exam for the women.

Now, we're talking about it, and she’s basically bragging about finally going, because hey, if it's being offered, why not? Especially since she hasn't stepped foot in a doctor's office in 40 years—like, ever. 😲 She never married or had kids, and since she never had any issues, she figured she didn't need to go because she knows how to stay clean enough. 🤦 Basically, she thinks those of us who actually go regularly are just dirty. 🙄

Honestly, it really bugs me when someone claims they don't need a doctor because they're "hygienic" enough that everything must be fine. ☕

And yeah, what you said, Lisa Nelson70—if you show even a little bit of knowledge about gynecological stuff, people just label you a slut. 😳

Terrible 😠 Honestly, doctors these days act like they own the place.

I mean, you already have to deal with all the judgment and prejudice out in the world, but you’d think when you walk into a clinic, you’d get some actual humanity instead of a lecture. But apparently, these doctors are just 🙄

Taylor Thompson68 said:I saw it with my own eyes, believe me or don't, I have zero reason to lie... about a year ago on the subway, this girl who looked maybe 19 or 20 turns to her friend and asks if syphilis is actually spread through skin contact??!?!??!?!!😕😲😠🙂🙂
just look at how informed people are these days...

🤦 Honestly, what can you even say? Today's youth are just something else. 🙏 They know everything there is to know about Taylor Swift or the paparazzi, but they don't know a single thing about sex, even though they're out there doing it constantly.☕

Amanda Roberts2 said:Right in the middle of all these complications, I end up in the hospital, freaking out about my health, and then this doctor—some younger guy who’s supposedly "highly respected" and "expert"—instead of actually helping me through it, acts so aggressive that I literally burst into tears right there in his office. 👎 He didn't even ask me anything. Out of nowhere, just based on my test results, he starts lecturing me like I'm some dirty, irresponsible person. He starts yelling about how I need to wash my hands before and after using the bathroom, because "that's how he does it," and basically said it's good this happened to me so I'll think twice about who I let treat me next time! 😲 And during this whole lecture and super awkward personal attack, he kept calling me "you" like we were childhood buddies or something. I've never felt so humiliated and pathetic. Thank God I was just sitting in a chair with my paperwork; imagine the stress if I had been in the exam room with him. It was inhumane and totally unprofessional... Can you even believe an expert would act like that?

That's terrifying, what an absolute idiot! 😠 People like that shouldn't even be doctors 👎 No wonder so many girls and women are scared to go to the OBGYN when they have issues, because they're terrified of being judged or reacted to like that. With doctors like this, it's honestly no surprise. Such a disgrace to the medical profession.

Amanda Roberts2 said:A lot of women also think that if they're married, they're somehow protected and don't need regular checkups, which is a huge mistake. There are husbands out there cheating around, sometimes without even using protection (speaking from a friend's experience), and then they bring diseases home to their wives. But even with couples who are strictly faithful, it doesn't mean you're safe, because a lot of people aren't informed about these things—like how HPV can stay hidden for years with perfectly normal results, and then suddenly flare up later and cause damage.

Exactly, we finally need to realize that even in a monogamous relationship, we aren't 100% safe. It's just like Taylor Swift said—stress, a weakened immune system, or taking antibiotics for other stuff (like a throat infection) can trigger some nasty infection in the vagina. That's literally what happened to me. And then people immediately tried to convince me that my husband was definitely cheating. 🙄 But he did the swabs and came back clean, while I had one infection after another. Stupid prejudices.

Sophia Wells72 said:Like, hello? You can't just show up and claim "I'm totally fine because I don't have symptoms, my pelvic area feels okay, my Pap smear came back clean, and I've been in a monogamous relationship forever." As far as I'm concerned, you can toss that whole argument in the trash. Until you get everything else checked out, you can't say you're in the clear. Period. And honestly, being in a long-term relationship or having only had a couple of partners isn't some kind of magic shield against all this stuff.

People seriously need to get it together and stop acting like "She must have an issue because she probably had tons of partners" or "I'm definitely safe because I'm not promiscuous." It's just dumb. 🙄

My OB-GYN puts it perfectly: when you go to bed with someone, you're basically going to bed with everyone they've ever slept with before you.

Sophia Wells72 said:What really bugs me is how much time people spend scrolling through the internet, Facebook, or whatever, yet they can't spare even one minute to actually learn about STIs—what they are or how to deal with them.

It blows my mind. Back in the day, when sex was still somewhat of a taboo topic, we used to buy those teen magazines in middle school just to read the Q&A columns about gynecological issues and periods. But now, when you can literally Google anything in seconds, women are still so clueless. 🤷

For example, a coworker of mine—who's 30, by the way, and we were talking about ultrasounds yesterday—had never even heard of the corpus luteum. 🙄I mean, I thought that was basic biology. 🤷 Especially for someone in their 30s.

Amanda Roberts2 said:It seriously bugs me when even doctors look at me like some kind of hooker just because of those two nasty viruses. I guess a lot of people are just uninformed and full of prejudices..

So, here’s my experience. I’ve been in a monogamous relationship for 7 years—I’m faithful, and I’m pretty sure he is too. About 2 years ago, I picked up some bacteria on my cervix. I tried antibiotics, but things just got worse. For like a year and a half, different bacteria kept popping up in my tests, and nothing worked. Honestly, having a huge ovarian cyst at the same time probably didn't help either; my immune system was totally trashed, and I ended up needing surgery.

Anyway, I went to see this practitioner—some holistic guy, doesn't matter who, I was trying alternative stuff—and when he saw my test results from the last year, he goes, "Do you switch sexual partners often?" I told him no, I'm married. Then he asks if I'm sure my husband isn't cheating. I said yeah, I'm sure, plus we hadn't even had sex for a while since my OBGYN told me to wait while treating it, yet the bacteria just kept changing every single time.

Then he actually asked if I had a lover. 🙄

Like, it just wouldn't click for him that my bacterial issues weren't caused by being promiscuous. ☕

I bet a lot of you have dealt with similar crap, so feel free to share 😉

Not yet. They've got me scheduled for 2.5 weeks out. I'll let you guys know how it goes. I'm feeling this occasional stinging near my right ovary, but I'm hoping everything's fine and it's just that incision pain. 🙂

🤣

Lol, my bad for laughing, I totally read that she meant her hands were flooding at first, but I think she actually meant heavy flow, like massive flooding 😁

Jason Nelson64, you probably just have some spotting before your period starts—like maybe one or two drops. That doesn't really count as the actual start, just until the real bleeding kicks in.

It’s good that your cycles are regular, though honestly, dealing with heavy, painful periods is super common. I mean, I'm right there with you on that one.😉

Have you had an ultrasound done yet?

Maybe go back and talk to your OB-GYN again. Get an ultrasound just to rule out cysts and get some blood work done. If everything comes back normal, it might just be the pill. But yeah, whatever your doctor says is what matters.

Thomas Roberts9 said:They suspect something similar in my case too; depending on the report, they call it a heart murmur or mitral valve prolapse... and my doctor mentioned it's quite common in younger people. However, I can't quite wrap my head around why the symptoms seem to vanish, or become so faint, when I skip my medication, yet once I take them, I get this stabbing sensation that forces me to take shallow breaths because any deep inhale triggers it again... it lasts maybe 30 to 90 seconds before things settle back to normal, which is honestly such an uncomfortable way to feel 😢.

Anyway, I spoke with the gynecologist's nurse, and she advised me to keep taking the pills and to come by for my referral in the next few days.

Same exact thing happens to me.

I gotta say, even though I've known about my heart condition since I was a kid (congenital defect), my gynecologist didn't see it as a reason to skip the pill. So, I was on birth control for about a year (eventually stopped due to other issues—my bilirubin and liver tests went south, so I had to quit)

BUT, and I mean this, the stabbing didn't happen more often while I was actually on the pills. Like, I still get that sharp pain today, even though I haven't touched the pills in ages.

Since yours only shows up while you're on them, as you mentioned, that's weird to me. Whether that pain is linked to the heart prolapse, the pills, or something else entirely? I guess we can't really know. Best bet is probably just getting some tests done to figure out what's actually going on.

Thomas Roberts9 said:@ Samuel Morgan40: It was my mistake not to categorize this under 'health,' though I assumed it would be moved to the women's health section regardless...

Anyway...
My doctors don't believe the issue stems from my birth control. Throughout my life, I've used four different brands—Diane, Yasmin, Logest, and Triquilar—and I always made sure to take breaks every six to twelve months. The pain specifically occurs while I'm taking the pills. During a cardiology exam about three years ago, they found a minor deformity in my heart valve, and my doctor suspects the discomfort is related to that valve rather than the medication, but I can't help wondering why the pain only surfaces when I'm on the pills.
My blood work is fine, though my cholesterol levels tend to creep slightly above the normal range whenever I'm using them.

So, does anyone have any insight?

Thank you.

What kind of deformity are we talking about on your mitral valve?

So, I’ve got mitral valve prolapse—basically just a "heart murmur." It’s not even something you actually treat, really; you just get checked out every couple of years at the doctor. But sometimes I get these quick little stabs of pain in my chest for a few seconds, maybe when the weather shifts or whatever. My cardiologist told me it’s totally normal, though. I guess it's nothing to sweat.

Whatever, we can just sit here guessing diagnoses now, which is pretty pointless. I’m with the girls on this—you really need to get some thorough testing done. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be touching birth control again until I figured out why my chest is hurting.

Brenda Watson65 said:I went to see this private specialist, dr. kos, who was basically the pro at breast exams... but he passed away recently.. 😢
we talked about how if my breast tissue changes too much, we might look into surgery..
and that's pretty much where it ended.. 🤷 but lately, I've been talking to people who've totally freaked me out, so now I'm just completely lost.. apparently there's this tinyyyy chance it could turn malignant, and honestly, it's messing with my head 😢 plus I have all the predispositions for it.. fibrocystic issues, and then there's the genetics.. almost everyone in my family died from cancer 😢 😢 and yeah, I'm a total hypochondriac too.
Also, I really want to figure out my level of fibrocystic disease, which I don't know... I just know I have it.. and my breasts hurt so bad. Like, seriously bad!

If you've got breast cancer in your family on your mom's side (that's what dr. Batinica told me, said you only look at the maternal line), then you definitely need regular checkups, like getting an ultrasound every 6 months. My grandma (on my mom's side) died from breast cancer, so I should probably be getting checked every 6 months too. I actually just went recently, even though I skipped two years before that. 🙄 I'll stay on top of it moving forward.

I know it sucks, but try to stay positive. If I were you, I'd grab a second opinion. Maybe you could go see dr. podolski, like Linda Ward312 suggested, or some other top-tier oncologist.

Brenda Watson65 said:So, I figured we needed a thread just for breast stuff.. 🙂
I’ve seen bits and pieces scattered across a ton of different threads about girls having issues, but I couldn't find one single spot that covers everything..

I need a recommendation for an ultrasound in New York City.. maybe at a private clinic. About a year ago, I was diagnosed with fibrocystic changes and a benign tumor on my left breast, so now I have to get checked out regularly to keep an eye on things.. 🙄

Do you guys think it's better to just go ahead and have surgery right away, or should I just leave it alone and watch for any changes?

This here is a general thread for fibrocystic issues, so you can find advice, support, whatever..

There’s also a specific thread about fibroadenoma and benign tumor surgeries:

If you want to dig deeper into breast ultrasounds, you can check this out

I actually just went to Quest Diagnostics to see Batinica recently (used a referral, so it didn't cost me anything), and honestly, I was pretty happy with it. The exam was super thorough—did the manual check first, then the ultrasound.

As for your other question, I guess I really don't know what to tell you, since I haven't dealt with that myself. Hopefully, the other girls here can weigh in with some advice.
What did your doctor suggest?

Why don't you just call the hospital and ask 🤷

Here’s their info from the site:
Women's Clinic at Mayo Clinic, 200 First St, Rochester, MN 55901,
Tel. +1 (507) 284-2500

It’s probably the fastest way, I guess 😉

Yeah, I picked up my results at the clinic and took them down to the Department, but the resident doctor there just scribbled the findings onto my discharge papers and told me to follow up with my own gynecologist 🤷 So, I don't have a checkup scheduled until January, then I'll figure out what the next move is.

So, I've tried hitting up the hospital a few times now, but I just can't seem to catch anyone in their office. 🙄

Finally managed to pull it off yesterday. Here’s what the cytology report says:

''The centrifuge sediment from the cyst puncture shows old, broken-down red blood cells, some fibrin, and just a single histiocytic cell. No epithelial cells were found in these samples, and the findings align with the initial diagnosis.''

Okay, so nobody actually explained what this means, so I guess I'll just be sitting around waiting for my follow-up to get any real answers. Also, I don't really get why they didn't bother measuring the volume of the fluid they pulled out. 🤷

Not yet, looks like they totally forgot about me 🙄

I’m just gonna head down to the hospital on Tuesday and ask them myself. Honestly, there's zero point sitting around waiting for some letter to show up in the mail 🤷

Uh, I’m honestly crossing my fingers that the results are actually reliable enough.

Look, I still think laparoscopy is probably the better call since you get the whole cyst removed at once. But for people who can't do surgery or find themselves stuck in our situation, I guess a puncture is better than just sitting there in pain.

BTW, I haven't even gotten my results or discharge papers yet 🙄 They told me they'd mail everything to my house, but so far, nothing.