Laura Mendoza said:I’m with them on this one. You really don't need any intense, structured regimens just to add a little activity to your life. 😂 You're only 13; I highly doubt you have any major issues to worry about. Like they said: play soccer, ride your bike, drink plenty of water, and just stay active. Eventually, you can toss in some sit-ups or similar exercises to build strength, but I don't see why you'd need to run for thirty minutes every morning before doing core work when you don't even have much body fat to begin with. Your body is still growing, so there's no reason to stress over diets or obsessing over an extra inch of waistline. It’ll take a few more years for you to fully mature, and you've still got growing to do—you might even hit a massive growth spurt soon. I know several guys who were pretty short and then suddenly shot up around age 14 or 15. Bottom line: don't sweat it.
If you actually pay attention, I didn't have any idea who he was after that first post... that’s exactly why I asked how old he was and why I brought up those other questions in the first place... I mean, for all I knew, we were talking about some 30-year-old guy weighing 220 pounds... And regarding the whole thirteen-year-old thing, look, there are people out there born with heart defects they aren't even aware of... so getting a full checkup from a doctor isn't exactly a bad idea... It's certainly better than just telling a kid to knock out a hundred crunches every single night and calling it a day... because if they actually do that, you're just asking for physical issues elsewhere... The way an organism actually develops... it’s all just a series of complicated, messy little steps... nothing ever happens all at once, really. You look at the biological progression, the sheer complexity of how a single cell decides to become a functioning system, and it feels almost too deliberate... or maybe it's just chaotic luck? Hard to say... It’s like watching a slow-motion construction project where the blueprints are constantly being rewritten on the fly... quite a lot to wrap one's head around... Especially at thirteen... there’s so much ground you could cover there... I mean, from what I can gather, the kid isn't even looking for advice on which sport to pick up or how to hang out with the other kids in the neighborhood. He's focused on getting rid of belly fat. That shouldn't be something a thirteen-year-old is even stressing about... really...
Look, Jacob Baker23... you should probably just go talk to your PE teacher. I’m pretty sure he’d actually be happy to help you out if you just asked...
Rachel Torres said:Well, apparently—at least according to what doctors tell you—a regular cycle falls somewhere between 25 and 31 days... mine was usually pretty steady, hitting every 28 to 30 days... if it falls outside that window, it’s just considered short or long...🙂
A standard cycle runs from day 21 to something... I can't recall the exact number right now... but anything from 21 days up is technically within the norm. 👍 Mine's a bit on the shorter side, but hey, it's fine... it's normal...
By the way, I deal with endometriosis, and I never actually had those bloody spotting issues in the middle of my cycle... though I did have incredibly heavy periods that lasted 10 to 12 days straight... and then I'd end up getting another massive one just 10 days later...
Maybe try having a quick chat with your Physical Education Department instructor... they might actually have some decent advice on how to reach your goals. You're still pretty young, and look, I get it—wanting to take care of your physique is fine, even commendable... but you're still very much in a growing phase...
Honestly, if you want someone to map out your entire meal plan and design actual workouts... you probably need an online personal trainer 😕
But then again, how much do you actually weigh? How tall are you? What's your age, what's your heart health like, your hormones... maybe your joints can't handle the impact from running, and you end up doing more harm than good to your ankles My advice, since you seem to have a goal in mind, is to either go see a pro for some guidance or just share a bit more about yourself so someone can suggest a routine... also, take a look through that recreation and fitness PDF 👍 there’s honestly so much solid info in there that I find it hard to believe none of it answers your question—which, no offense, is pretty much the most common one asked 👍
So, how many times a day are we actually eating? If you aren't giving your body enough fuel, it just starts hoarding everything... everything... because it thinks there's a shortage coming. I hear people asking all the time, "How am I gaining weight when I only eat twice a day?" Well, that might be exactly why...
If everything else is dialed in—consistent meals, working out, staying active... and I can tell you move around quite a bit and stick to healthy stuff—then maybe it's worth getting your thyroid levels checked out somewhere like the Mayo Clinic.
It might not be anything major, honestly. I'm thinking it’s just your body reacting to coming off the pill... since now your system actually has to kick in and produce its own hormones again. That can cause all sorts of shifts right in the middle of your cycle, maybe during ovulation or whatever... but still, go see a gynecologist as soon as you get a chance. It's the only way you'll really stop worrying if everything turns out fine, and if there is something—God forbid—then you can actually deal with it properly... 😘
I honestly don't think you need to stress about a ruptured chocolate cyst... I mean, if that actually happened, the pain would be so intense you wouldn't even be able to type a post on this forum, let alone function. You'd be in an ER somewhere instead 🙂
Anyway, do you even have cysts? And why were you even taking those pills in the first place?
Big Pharma ethics, conspiracy theories, all that jazz... people will make up anything to justify it.
Exactly. They just write about bloating, breakouts, and feeling "great" while on the pill... I mean, what about how messing with one hormone triggers a domino effect on everything else? Like, I get it... if you have PCOS or some actual medical issue where it's necessary, fine. But if your hormones are totally balanced? I’m personally not interested in popping pills just because of cramps... though, hey, to each their own 🙂
Alex Foster6 said:The pills help with the cramps... a little bit, I guess, but honestly, they still hurt like hell. 😢 (And my flow isn't exactly light either, which is weird because some friends claim they barely have anything at all when they're on them...) 😢
mistytiger38 said:Well... obviously things hit differently when it's your own doctor giving you advice—someone who actually knows your history, right? But I’m not surprised anyone would suggest it here either, since it's common knowledge that it's the go-to solution for painful cramps. If you're considering it based on an idea you picked up somewhere, just go talk to a doctor or ask a pharmacist first.
I'm pretty sure any doctor or pharmacist will answer your questions... plus, you get all the info in the printed instructions that come with the meds, which people might actually want to start reading! And before that, you know, for Yasmin tablets, you can find everything on their official websites...
Unfortunately, that "best solution" didn't really work for me... it still hurt... okay, maybe a little less, but I still had to reach for the Tylenol... And honestly, people can recommend whatever they want, but I wouldn't suggest them to anyone unless they specifically have PCOS 😉 The big pharmaceutical companies keep the real data behind closed doors for professionals, while here on the internet, we're missing countless facts because they wouldn't want to hurt sales...😉
mistytiger38 said:I mean, I'm with you on that one regarding the pharmacists... at the end of the day, they actually know their stuff when it comes to pharmacology...
But this...🙄 A doctor can make a recommendation, sure... why not? But at the end of the day, it's your call. You can go ahead and ask about the side effects beforehand, or whatever... then you decide if you actually want to start on birth control, or use it for any other reason. It’s your business...
Look, what they suggest is just a suggestion... if you want to take it, that’s on you. But still... there really should be some kind of heads-up beforehand. You need at least the basics about the medication, especially the side effects and what you can actually expect to happen to your body... I guess I just expected more from an online doctor forum... like, recommending pills when they haven't even met the patient yet... it feels a bit off...
It’s not exactly easy to get anyone to talk... most people just go straight to their doctors or specialists when they have questions, and honestly? Those guys aren't exactly known for being open books. They rarely share much information... though I guess there are always those rare exceptions... 🙂
Look, doctor or not, let’s be real here—you can’t truly grasp the kind of pain someone is in 😉 unless you've actually lived through it yourself (so, lucky you)... and honestly, even from a medical standpoint, I don't think anyone should just blindly toss around recommendations for birth control pills, even if that happens to be the easiest route for gynecologists to take. Personally, when it comes to medications and all their side effects, I tend to put more trust in pharmacists... specifically those who actually have access to the major global drug databases, rather than just relying on doctors, no offense intended.
wiredhawk said:I didn't say that... Maybe instead of just popping them whenever it hurts, you should actually consider taking them consistently for a set period... until things actually start to stabilize. There’s a chance that if you stay on top of it, the pain might not even come back once you're through the worst of it. I mean, just constantly poisoning yourself with every random analgesic under the sun without seeing any real results—especially since nothing seems to work for some people anyway—isn't exactly a sustainable solution. Not in the long run, at least...
And men know it best... how much it hurts, and how that pain doesn't just come back once the Tylenol wears off... 😂 So, after I... I guess I should have... just maybe... spoken up sooner... but there you have it. I'm still popping Tylenol, but honestly... I feel like I’m just dying from the pain anyway. Pills aren't exactly a long-term fix... not even close... 😉
Look, I’m going to hedge my bets here again... if there’s an actual medical issue involved—say, something like PCOS—then obviously that changes the whole conversation regarding birth control pills. It's a different ballgame entirely...
redorca11 said:Why not? Is it really better to just suffer through the pain every single month? Besides, heavy, painful periods can lead to anemia or might actually be a sign of PCOS (which I have, for example)... You just have to be incredibly careful with birth control; you absolutely need a full blood panel done before anyone prescribes anything or you start taking it. For instance, I started my first month on Logest, and the cramps and nausea were honestly the worst thing I've ever dealt with. But once I complained to my OBGYN, they switched me over to Yasmin, and it was a completely different story—zero side effects and about six or seven positive benefits. 🙏
PCOS is a whole different ballgame. Taking birth control pills just to stop the pain can actually make a lot of other things much worse... but hey, at least she won't be hurting during those days. Who cares about hormonal imbalances and all those various side effects from taking pills without a specific medical reason, like PCOS or endometriosis...
I usually just take two Tylenols at once, then when the pain starts creeping back, I'll switch to one at a time... but if you're looking for the whole "natural remedy" thing, honestly, nothing organic works for me, so 🤷
(not that I actually got any sleep last night because of the pain 😢 ))
driftingfox33 said:Tylenol was my lifesaver back in the day... my periods used to be absolutely brutal, and you need something heavy-duty for that. I also found that just staying warm helped, like wrapping myself up in a thick blanket. Lately though, I haven't even needed it. The pain is barely there on the first day. It’s actually kind of weird since my cycle used to be so loud and obvious about its arrival. 😬 Now it catches me off guard because I'm so used to those pains being my warning signal. 😁
Tylenol😕 works like candy for me... totally useless... I wouldn't exactly call it a heavy hitter for intense pain... but whatever
Susan Vaughn46 said:That’s just facts. Once you let the pain really start to set in, you're basically done for. And you know my little trick? When it starts acting up, I grab something warm for my stomach. I used to heat up a towel with a clothes iron and lay it on, but since I can't be walking around all day anymore, I just use a hair dryer. Hold it against my stomach so it stays warm... usually stops the ache in about 15 minutes.
Yeah, heating the stomach feels great... unless you're dealing with appendicitis 😉 Back when I still had my appendix, they told me absolutely no heat allowed. Now that it's gone... 👍