Archive for April, 2009
Going off Birth Control
Monday, April 13th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I’ve been off birth control for about two months now. I had been on some form of birth control for the past ten years–primarily the pill. I made the decision to go off birth control because I was really getting tired of all the side effects. I felt it was seriously affecting my sex drive and contributing to my vaginal dryness, plus the headaches. During the first month of going off birth control my sex drive increased like crazy. I was pretty much horny every waking moment. Of course this made my husband very happy. He wasn’t too keen on the idea of me going off the pill in the first place, but once he realized my sex drive was going through the roof he started to love the idea of no birth control pills. My vagina was much much wetter. I couldn’t believe the difference.
My first period came right on schedule. It was pretty normal compared to what I was used to while on the pill. It was a day or two shorter. My PMS cravings were worse, but I didn’t have super sore breasts like I did on the pill. After my period, my sex drive seemed to have tapered off some and I wasn’t quite as wet (still wetter than when I was on the pill). Since I stopped taking the pill, I also don’t have those horrible headaches I once had. This month’s period came on schedule, but was not a normal period. I still had strong PMS cravings. Once my period started, the first and second day were heavy. Then I was spotting for a day or two and then it disappeared. Once it disappeared, my sex drive seemed to perk up. We’ll see how this month goes. So far it looks like the pill was making me dryer as well as affecting my sex drive. I read that it can take up to a year for your periods to become normal. So far my experience hasn’t been bad. I’ve read horror stories of people going off the pill and having irregular periods or bleeding for long periods of time. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
Yet Another UTI
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I’ve been doing the low carb low sugar thing for so long, I thought it would be ok for me to be a little more lenient on my diet. One of the things I miss having in large amounts are the sweeter fruits–watermelon, apples, pears, and especially grapes. I can eat a whole bag of grapes in one sitting. I love to freeze them too and eat them frozen. Since I can never seem to have these types of fruits in moderation (I always over indulge), I thought I might go on a little fruit fast for a few days. In my mind I was saying to myself, “I’ll be peeing so much, there’s no way I could get a UTI.” I think I knew deep down that I was probably wrong. I lasted about two days with my fruit fast. I ate apples, pears, and grapes. I think the grapes are what really killed me. After day one I felt some stress on my bladder, and I had eaten a lot of grapes that day. I kept on though, thinking maybe it was just my imagination. By day two I was not feeling too hot down there. I had sex with my husband in the evening. I knew before I did it that the grapes combined with a sex session, would probably give me a full blown UTI. To be honest, I got so wrapped up in the mood, I didn’t care.
The next day, it was starting to really hurt when I peed and not much was coming out. I took a few days worth of the antibiotics that my doctor gave me for flare ups, and it took care of the problem. I didn’t detect any yeast problems as a result of taking the antibiotics. Thank God! I’ve been off of them for several days now, I’ve been sticking to my diet, and I even had sex. Everything down there feels great. I guess there is no chance I’m ever going to go back on a high carb high sugar diet. It’s just not worth it. This is the second UTI I’ve had in two months. I went a whole year without having one, and the second I slack off on my routine of preventing them, I get one. It takes a great deal of will power to do low carb for life, but preventing UTIs is a great motivator.
I think one of the reasons I strayed from my diet was because I didn’t have anything I could eat in the house. I was hungry when I went to the grocery store and that made my cravings even worse. Lately I’ve been keeping the fridge stocked full of eggs, chicken, pork chops, and steaks. I also keep cheese and macadamia nuts handy. The macadamia nuts really seem to help when I get a craving for something I’m not supposed to have. They are so satisfying. It’s getting close to my period, and I always have strong cravings the week before I start. Last night I indulged in several handfuls of macadamia nuts. The best advice I can give to anyone who falls off the wagon and flat on their face, is get back on quickly!!
