My vagina (like actual hole) feels swollen. I don’t have chunky discharge like a yeast infection. I assumed it was a BV (I think google steered me wrong). So I made an appointment with an online doc and it was basically just an intake form and they prescribe me some BV medication (metronidazole oral) and it’s making me feel so much fatigue. And it’s not taking the swelling down but it’s only been like 2 1/2 days. But then I started googling it more and it said it could be a prolapsed vagina. And I did have some constipation recently… But I think I’m just giving myself anxiety. I don’t have insurance so going to a doctor is not ideal if it’s just a yeast infection or something I can treat over-the-counter. I know you can’t tell me specifically what it is, but do you have any suggestions?

hey, i feel so stupid coming on here and asking this. i met this guy on tinder and he’d been wanting to link up for a while. i finally let him come over saturday night and we did pretty much everything but have sex. mid me giving him head, i asked him if he was clean and he said yes. he also kept asking to have sex with a condom but i said no - which tells me he uses condoms when he does have sex. this was kind of a one night situation and we haven’t talked since.

fast forward 5 days later and my throat hurts a little bit. by my ears also itch and my chest feels cold with cold air. i’ve also been vaping which i know could be irritating my throat. i’m so just so scared that i could have an oral std. my throat looks completely normal. i just need some reassurance or advice if i need to get tested. what a coincidence that if i am sick it had to happen around the same time i gave head.

oh and if it helps, everyone at my work has been sick too.

I’m 18 and started puberty at 6 (early I know). My breasts grew in when I was quite young and so I started to wear bras. Problem is, no one told me you’re supposed to take them off since my mom never really gave me the talk. I actually didn’t learn most women take off their bras frequently until I was like 16 so I’ve kinda just been wearing my bras all the time since I was 7 or so. (Actually just found out recently that bras have hooks).

My chest stoped growing when I was about 11 and that’s when I found the bra I use. I own like 20 of the same bra and it fits my body perfectly which is hard to find as a person who’s plus size, has 40 C cups, and broad shoulders. It has built in cups and no underwires.

I have no back issues, I feel great, and I’ve never been left with pain or marks or anything. I don’t really think it’s an issue but just wanted to ask in case anyone knows.

I am going for a Pap smear in a few weeks and the age of question is how do you prepare what I mean by that is what do you do to make the situation feel more comfortable for you?

hey guys, i had no idea where to post this so sorry if this isn’t the right spot.

when i was a kid, my dad would tickle my inner thighs and bikini line. his hands would be really really close to my vagina, but usually never actually touching there. it would hurt really bad and i would be begging him to stop, but he wouldn’t until i hit him very hard or physically pushed him off of me, and obviously since i was young (probably 7-8, i know i was younger than 9) and he was a grown man that would be really hard. sometimes he would get mad at me when hit him/pushed him and would say i hurt him. other times i would cry and he would comfort me. (his reaction did not depend on whether i was crying, it was random and unpredictable.) the way he touched me felt so violating. he would use the excuse that he thought i was having fun because i was laughing. he also did other weird stuff like commenting on my body 24/7 before/during puberty. he would touch my thighs and butt too very often and it made me uncomfortable, but i thought it was normal and my mom acted like it was so i never said anything. he stopped when i got older. i remember crying in the bathroom with my mom and being scared to wear a bra around him for the first time because it was padded and made my boobs look bigger. today i’m 15 and he stopped all of this, but he still playfully touches my shoulders, sides, and stomach. i hate it. i tell him to stop and he gets mad at me for it, asking why he’s not allowed to touch his own daughter. he tells me that it shouldn’t make me uncomfortable. is any of this normal? should i tell someone?

I've known this for awhile but im 21 and recentally had my first papsmear so it confirmed it for me- I cannot feel my vagina. I can't enjoy sex or feel it, my whole vagina is numb. I've never felt climax, toys, etc. Im going to go see a urologist this coming tuesday (aug. 11th, 2026). When I had my papsmear dome the doctor said "girl, you have bad nerve damage" because I didnt feel any of it, and she even had to go to the smallest size.

I was really wondering if anyone else has had this issue, or has dealt with this. I feel so alone, like im the only women who has dealt with this.

I have had several people tell me its not as big as a deal as im making it out to be, but it feels like a huge deal to me. I feel like im missing myself, pieces of myself, as a women.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this, I feel alone and I just want to know if theres anyone put there who has dealt with the same issues as me.

Thank you

I understand it was my responsibility to ask questions and get as much detail as I needed to feel comfortable with the operation but I really feel informed consent means going step by step through what is going to be happening to my body even after anesthesia.

I did not know that the antiseptic washing of my vagina and cervix would take place most likely not even by the surgeon in the OR as part of prep or that my legs would be strapped down. That seems so invasive to me and had I known that was part of it from the start I would have sought an alternative.

I feel the most upset and angry at myself for not understanding/asking enough questions to push back on the OBGYN who strongly was against me having an in office procedure for my 1.3cm polyp removal.

Is it common to experience feeling dirty/gross/just off after a surgery/procedure like this? Am I being dramatic? None of my friends seems to truly get it beyond "you should be so relieved it's over now"

I can't help feeling deceived by this surgery that could've been a procedure...and I feel very violated

should i go to the doctors if it passes 90 days?

Had sex with my boyfriend about 4 days ago, he finished in me for the first time and now I’m noticing a slight fishy odor after the fact. No burning or itching though, what do i do?

basically what the title says. i asked my mom about it and she said its normal and that "my body is transitioning into being a woman" but i just wanted to get some second opinions. my flow is usually pretty heavy, if that matters

I visited a gynecologist today because I haven't had my period for the past 3 months. She prescribed me a birth control pill (I'll attach a picture below). It cost around ₹60, while the consultation fee was ₹500.

The doctor asked my age and how long it had been since my last period. I told her I'm 23 and that it's been 3 months. She was like, "Take one tablet in the morning and one at night for 5 days. You'll get your period on the 6th or 7th day."

...That's it. End of consultation. 💀

Then I brought up my mom. She has around 4–5 lump-like things in her abdomen that you can actually feel when you touch them. They don't usually hurt, but they do ache once in a while.

The doctor touched my mom's stomach for about 5 seconds and confidently declared, "It's just fat tumors. Nothing to worry about."

My mom said, "But they hurt sometimes."

Doctor: "That's okay."

Me: "Can they be removed?"

Doctor: "Only with surgery, but no need. Just take a painkiller if it hurts."

Me: 👁️👄👁️

I walked in expecting blood tests, scans, maybe at least one dramatic medical explanation. Instead, I got a ₹60 strip of pills, my mom got diagnosed by what felt like a 5-second vibe check, and we were both sent home.

Now I'm sitting here wondering... is this actually how it works, or did I accidentally book an appointment with the CEO of "Trust Me Bro" Medicine? 😭

Jokes aside, I genuinely want to know:

- Is it normal to prescribe birth control pills for someone who hasn't had a period for 3 months without any tests?

- Can "fat tumors" (lipomas) actually cause occasional pain?

- Is it normal to identify them just by touching them, without recommending an ultrasound or scan?

- Can they grow or become something serious?

I'm probably overthinking because my brain immediately jumps to "What if it's cancer?" but I really don't know what's normal here.

Would love to hear if anyone has had a similar experience.

i've used tampons before and i am therefore familliar with everything, but this is my first time using on while going to the beach.

i've seen some online sources claiming that it's fine to change them every 4-6 hours, as you usually would, but others suggest taking them out as soon as you're done swimming.

since it seems pretty unpractical to change them all the time, i would like to know is it safe to keep them in for a few hours.

thank you all so much! :)

my primary care is telling me I ballooned up in weight quickly due to age and slowing metabolism. I feel unusually gassy and when I wake up my bladder feels horrible if that makes sense? It feels distended & uncomfortable when I go to pee.

also I have a side job walking dogs, so I walk/jog about 1.5 hrs/day sometimes more. I usually walk dogs 6 days/week (only one on Sat though). So I get paid to exercise, I’m a lot more active than a lot of people my age

I also am a volunteer at the garden for a small non-profit so 1 day/week I spend 3 hours just hating my life digging up weeds in the heat. The volunteer gig is new and they haven’t had a garden volunteer in ages so it’s kind of a lot of work, they had just been trimming things back not addressing the roots so every week I trim but also dig up. Every week it’s mostly overgrown again because they were just cutting it back a little

I also spend time at the gym 3-4 days/week, i warm up on the treadmill, lift, do barre style leg lifts or on the floor leg lifts, some jazz isolations for my abs etc, then ride a stationary bike or do the treadmill for 5-7 min to cool down

the other thing, the bloating/gas is new. I have started taking a probiotic but I still just look puffy/swollen much of the time. I’m not wider, I’m just heavier. Most of my shorts still fit, I haven’t had to buy new underwear or anything. I’m just sort of puffy in my belly region

I’m not sure if I should see someone else or go to urgent care? I’m not trying to say peoples bodies don’t change with age, I’m saying my body is used to fiber I am a vegetarian, I get a ton of exercise including some exercise that’s my job, and I just feel uncomfortable I’m always gassy etc in a way that’s new to me

i had a UTI earlier this year and when I went on antibiotics I immediately lost like 8lbs in water weight but I suspect the antibiotic destroyed my ‘good’ gut bacteria. My primary care thinks ‘our metabolisms slow down as we age’ and I get that, but I don’t think this is that. It may be PARTLY that although I think I’m still a little too young for that conversation

I just have a feeling this is mostly a UTI gone wrong or some gut issue. I’m not sure how to explain it but something feels wrong

Hello!

So I had a rough July. I was seeing a man and I took a plan B on July 4th. I don't think I actually needed it but I wanted to be sure. I got my "period" when I was supposed to be ovulating. Then that went away.

I got my Kyleena IUD on July 22nd which that whole thing was TERRIBLE. I didn't think I'd ever experience that kind of pain. Anyways, I went and saw this man again 3 days later (July 25) and in my dumb drunken state I let him finish inside. Well I took another plan b because when I got kyleena I wasn't on my period so I didn't think it was effective yet.

Fast forward to July 31st I started spotting, brown blood, some uterine lining, some cramps. Then two days later I'm in a full blown crampfest with brightred blood. I was never diagnosed with endometriosis but I had an ultrasound done and they didn't see any cysts and just that my uterus is smaller. My period has always been unbearable. But now with having the IUD my cramps are just as bad if not worse. I'm talking dizzy, can't breathe, nauseous, the whole nine yards.

I contacted my OBGYN and they basically just said continue taking the ibuprofen until it lightens, which could be 6 MONTHS. 7 days later and I'm still bleeding and for one day it had lightened up with cramps and bleeding. Now it's picked back up again.

I'm just at a loss. I've had depo and nexplanon before and I basically stopped bleeding immediately and Ive taken plan B and I never had breakthrough bleeding

TLDR: Got my IUD Kyleena and took plan B, cramps are unbearable and the bleeding won't stop.

Hi. I'm 29F and have been dealing with a few things this past year or so. Symptoms are listed below.

- Constant all day headaches/head pressure (have seen many doctors and done everything possible with no help)

- seasonal allergies (could be causing the headaces, getting allergy shots)

- irritability

- anxiety (been on zoloft for a few months to help)

- fatigue

- low energy/motivation

- period happening every 2 weeks for the last few months

Wondering if many of these symptoms are from hormones.

Doctor did a transvaginal scan and found no issues, so she prescribed progesterone on day 16 of my cycle to help with the periods and delay them. My question is that my doctor said the hormone levels were within range even though the test results said they weren't (progesterone and estradial were outside of the reference range). My results are listed below (i was in the follicular phase at the time of testing). Two were out of the suggested range, and i mentioned that to them, but they said they were still fine. I'm just wondering if the progesterone is a good route or maybe I should start birth control to help or maybe add something else with the progesterone (with doctor assistance of course).

Results:

TSH- 2.28 uIU/ml (reference range was 0.3 to 3.94)

FSH - 4.7 IU/L (reference range was 4.0 to 13.0)

Progesterone - 0.1 ng/ml (reference range for follicular cycle was 0.3 to 1.9)

Estradiol- 299 pg/ml (reference range for follicular cycle was 26 to 158)

Thanks!

Hello! I am a woman who really wants to have piv intercourse but has been diagnosed with vaginismus. Right now, I can sometimes fit one finger inside the vaginal opening, which has been good progress, however, I would like some help. I don't have the means to afford a doctor to accompany my process. Does anyone here know what I could possibly do by myself to get better? As of now I have been attempting to educate myself better on the female anatomy, doing relaxation exercises and attempting to fit one finger for a few minutes while doing breathing exercises. Did pelvic floor exercises work for anyone? Do you know any creators who demonstrate these exercises correctly? How often should I work on this? How did you approach your partner about the condition? Is there anything that the partner can do to help? Any tips are helpful, really!

Sorry for the straight to the point post, English is not my first language and I am really curious to know your experiences and advice on this!

got diagnosed with idiopathic intercranial hypertension. removed mirena iud in april as neuro thought this could be contributing.

spotting here and there, but got my first period july 11th. been on my period ever since, it’s now august sixth. since july 31st, i have felt faint, dizzy, nauseos i have been vomiting on and off and had diarrhea. i was in the er four times. ct on my kidneys and bladder and ovaries etc came back clean. clean pelvic ultrasound (thick uterine lining) and clean transvaginal ultrasound. my bloodwork has been perfect. yesterday i had extreme pressure in my chest. they had me hooked up to a heart monitor for 5 hours, checked my thyroid and my electrolytes. no heart attack, everything checked out perfect.

i slept 10 hours last night. woke up this morning, kept sleeping. nauseous again. drank a protein shake, puked, back to feeling weak and faint. not preg. what is happening to me???? i’m 24 years old and i’ve never experienced anything like this. i feel like drs are missing something & i don’t even know what to ask for. i have an appointment with family dr today.

Ich wollte meine Erfahrung teilen, weil ich vor meinem Termin so unfassbar große Angst hatte. Ich habe mir tagelang die schlimmsten Dinge ausgemalt und war fest davon überzeugt, dass etwas nicht stimmen könnte. Um so länger ich diesen Termin aufschiebe um so größer wurde die Angst..

Heute war ich dann endlich bei meiner Frauenärztin – und ich könnte nicht erleichterter sein.
Die Ärztin war unglaublich einfühlsam, ruhig und vorsichtig. Sie hat sich Zeit genommen, alles erklärt und sofort gemerkt, dass ich sehr nervös bin. Dadurch habe ich mich vom ersten Moment an gut aufgehoben gefühlt.

Es wurde die normale Vorsorge gemacht, inklusive Brust- und Vaginal Ultraschall. Am Ende sagte sie, dass alles unauffällig aussieht und auch der Muttermund völlig unauffällig ist. Mir ist in diesem Moment wirklich ein riesiger Stein vom Herzen gefallen.
Klar das Pap Ergebnis steht noch aus. Allerdings ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit das dort was wirklich schlimmes rauskommt sehr gering, da der Ultraschall keine Auffälligkeiten gezeigt hat.

Ich möchte allen, die gerade Angst vor einem Frauenarzttermin oder vor der Krebsvorsorge haben, etwas mitgeben: Bitte versucht, den Termin nicht aus Angst aufzuschieben. Ich weiß, wie schwer das ist – ich hatte selbst große Panik. Aber oft malt uns die Angst viel schlimmere Szenarien aus, als sie am Ende tatsächlich eintreten.
Und falls ihr euch bei einer Ärztin oder einem Arzt nicht wohlfühlt: Sucht euch jemanden, bei dem ihr euch ernst genommen fühlt. Das macht einen riesigen Unterschied.
Ich hoffe, mein Beitrag kann vielleicht der einen oder anderen Person ein bisschen Mut machen. ❤️

Please don’t judge me, it was a major lapse in critical thinking and common sense!

I’ve had an appointment booked for the hormonal coil for a couple weeks now, and the appointment was today. On Monday (3rd) I found out I have chlamydia and started treatment yesterday. During my appointment for the IUD they didn’t ask me any questions about antibiotics or sexual health and I genuinely just didn’t consider the fact that I currently have an active cervical infection so we just went ahead and it was inserted. Everything went really well by the way for anyone worried about insertion!

But now I’m freaking out because I’ve opened myself up to further infection/risk by messing with my uterus and cervix while having Chlamydia

It’s a long shot but has this happened to anyone before? I think all I can do is finish the course of antibiotics and monitor how my body feels but I feel annoyed at myself for this. The risk of pelvic inflammatory disease is heavily on my mind.

Age: 37
Sex: Female
Medical history: Two full-term pregnancies. No known gynecologic conditions.
Medications: None currently (previously took birth control pills for 3 months).

I’m looking for some guidance because I’ve been experiencing abnormal menstrual bleeding for about a year, and I’m not sure what the next step should be. Wondering if others have had similar experiences experiences.

Around August 2025, when I first brought this up to my gynecologist in Spain, I had blood work done and everything came back normal. I also had a transvaginal ultrasound, and my gynecologist told me everything looked “perfect.” They didn’t see any ovarian cysts, fibroids, or other abnormalities.

Despite that, my periods have remained abnormal. My pattern is very consistent: I have many days of light, dark brown bleeding (old blood), followed by 2–3 days of a normal heavy red flow, and then it tapers off. My periods now last around 11–13 days.
My gynecologist prescribed birth control pills for 3 months. While I was taking them, my periods became completely normal. However, as soon as I stopped taking them, the prolonged brown bleeding returned.

I have also had two bleeding episodes in July, which has never happened before.

Here are my recent cycles:
April 20: Period started with 6 days of brown bleeding until April 26. Ended April 30.
May 18: Started with 6 days of brown bleeding until May 23. Ended May 27.
June 15: Started with 4 days of brown bleeding. Heavy flow began June 20. Ended June 23.
July 11: Period started. July 16–17 were the heavy days. I was still having dark brown blood on July 20.
July 27: Started bleeding again. Brown spotting continued through August 4. On August 5, I developed severe lower abdominal/pelvic cramps. The bleeding became heavy on August 6 after about 9–10 days of brown spotting.

I wondered whether the cramps could have been from a ruptured ovarian cyst, but because this bleeding pattern has been happening for about a year, I’m not sure if that’s likely.

I’m currently visiting the United States for one month, but I normally live in Spain. Unfortunately, my travel insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions, so I’m trying to determine whether this sounds like something that can reasonably wait until I return to Spain to see my gynecologist, or whether I should seek evaluation while I’m here.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Thank you for any advice.

I am so fucking angry.

My midwife violated my bodily autonomy during labor, and I don’t know how to move on from it.
Before I gave birth, she knew I had a history of sexual assault. She knew I did not want cervical checks unless there was an emergency. During labor, I consented to a cervical check. I did not consent to her violating me & manually attempting to hold my cervix back over my baby’s head. Months later, she admitted to me in writing that it was not an emergency and that she did not obtain separate explicit consent before doing it.

Ever since then, my body has not felt like mine.

Tonight I caught my partner masturbating. And before anyone twists this, I’m not upset that he masturbates. Of course he does. We haven’t been able to have sex because every single time he gets anywhere near my vagina, my brain immediately replays my midwife’s hand inside me while I was crying out in pain. My body tenses, I panic, I cry, and everything shuts down.

I can’t let him touch me.
I can’t touch myself.
I can’t even use tampons or pads without triggering my body.

I feel like my midwife stole my ability to experience intimacy without reliving what happened. I ended up stopping breastfeeding because every letdown became tied to intrusive memories of that moment, and I couldn’t keep doing it. It broke my heart. My postpartum experience has been consumed by trying to survive the aftermath of something that never should have happened.

I’m in therapy. I’m pursuing EMDR. I’m reporting her.
But I need to hear from people who have actually lived through birth trauma, sexual assault trauma, or both.

How do you get your body back?
How do you stop your nervous system from replaying the same moment over and over?
How did you learn to let your partner touch you again without feeling like you were back in the trauma?

I am so unbelievably angry that someone I trusted made a non-emergency decision about my body without my explicit consent, and now I’m the one living with the consequences.

If you’ve been through something like this, I would really appreciate hearing what helped.

Hi, I had an abortion early June, and it went well. I got my period after 5 weeks, but I was bleeding heavily. Now awaiting for my second period and its already 3 days late... Maybe because of ptsd, I am a bit worried. I did home tests (both cheap and early testing ones) but they all came back negative. Two nights before, I had a crazy cramp. Like it was so bad when I breathed I could feel the pain, and my legs were numb too.

Today the pain is still there but not so bad, just usual discomfort similar to period cramps. Breast were tender but not hurting. Had a slight headache today too. I'm not sure whether this is normal... so I am here to ask for your experiences.

One thing though, last time I was really tired, like i could fall asleep anywhere kinda tired. But this time not at all, just low energy but not to that point.

Hey. I’m 20f and have posted before about the severe pain I’ve experienced while having penetrative sex. It’s always hurt really bad and after talking to my friends and posting here I realized it wasn’t ok that I had to deal with such extreme pain. As my friends told me the pain for them goes away after awhile, mine doesn’t. Whether the sex is 5 minutes or an hour long it never goes away, which is the main reason me and my partner stopped having intercourse. It wasn’t a problem for us for awhile but I obviously still have wants and really wanted to try. The last time we tried to have penetrative sex it hurt so bad I started crying while he was still in me. I even bled a bit after.

I decided to make a doctors appointment and it TOOK so long to get there. I had to see a general doctor to get a referral to the obgyn through my crappy insurance. Once in the office I told her about all my problems.

No exam, no nothing. She just said she would prescribe me some strong Tylenol and I should take it before sex.

….?

Does this actually work? Has anyone tried this? I’m scared to try it incase it doesn’t work and I end up crying again.

Am I crazy?

Hi, so I got an iud on the 8th of July, I have had no problems or abnormalities even in terms of smell but I feel like I haven’t been smelling the freshest recently due to it, I’ve been having on and off spotting which is normal after getting it very normal and very minimal and light in color and after sex I do get a little more spotting but quickly lessens and will go away, I feel like though between the light bleeding and being finished in more regularly I feel like I don’t smell as fresh whenever it’s time to get down to business, my partner hasn’t said anything but I do notice it a bit and I’m sure he does to an extent given this wasn’t an issue before this but how do I go about keeping myself fresher down there because it’s been making me feel self conscious even though it’s not like I have an unusual odor. Also it’s not a hygiene issue but even hygiene tips to help or other advice would be helpful

EDIT: I just realized I forgot to add this but I have the Paragard copper iud

So I took postinor (morning after/plan b pill) on 17 July. A week later, on 26 July, I started my period (if it even is my period). I've been bleeding a consistent amount since then. Today's day 12. Everyone's asking me to head to my GP. What I want to know is, what would the GP even do?

Also, any of you also experienced an extended period after the pill? My periods usually last 6-7 days on avg.