Hi there everyone :)

I have been struggling to find a well stocked, (preferably) female oriented, reasonably priced sex store in Australia (online or otherwise). It's really disheartening, I've ordered online from http://www.femplay.com.au/ but their prices aren't great. My biggest disappointment has been that I simply can't buy the magic Hitachi Magic Wand vibrator here for less than around $200-$250 :(. I can't import it either, apparently it has the tendancy to explode in wall sockets even with correct adaptors. It has been licensed here under the name Medisil magic wand and you can see it doesn't sell for anything close to what it sells for on Amazon.

I also recently discovered that I can't buy sex toys on Ebay due to being outside of the US. This is getting kinda frustrating...I really want to look into getting something high-quality that is made of proper silicone, not that crazy jelly crap. We also don't have a massive range of lubricant here, I'm looking to get something other than Aussie Gold/Durex/Four Seasons brand stuff, as I've tried literally all there is to offer. This is turning into a rant, so I'll stop here.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

ETA: I've just come across http://www.naturalcontours.com.au/ ... thought I'd add it on to the post as it seems to be a very good brand. Just have to see what the prices are like now!

I checked the memories to see if there was anything on this, but I couldn't find it. This is a bit embarrassing for me, so I'm posting from my secret journal.

I got a call from Planned Parenthood today saying that I have HPV. I'm aware that it's fairly common, and usually not serious, but I'm still a little freaked out. I called my holistic doctor and she told me not to worry about it, and to come in and she'll put me on some antiviral supplements, and again emphasized not to worry.

I'd like to hear if any of you have any experience treating HPV naturally. I know that I need to boost my immune system, but if there's anything you guys know about that can specifically help viral infections and/or HPV I'd love to heard about them.

if its not my first cycle on nuvaring and i put it in the sunday i am suppose to, how long before the nuvaring becomes effective? is it 7 days, a day, a few hours?

It seems like all I post about here is my yeast! sorry

So I treated my persistent yeast infection with gentian violet a few days ago and then I got my period. I'm not sure if I still have the yeast infection (I can't tell because of the blood), but it is a little bit itchy down there. No redness though.

I haven't had sex (oral or regular) with my (relatively new) boyfriend in a fews weeks since I was properly diagnosed with a YI and put on Diflucan. It is a mild YI, but resistant to everything I've treated it with so far. Before I went to the gyno to check to see if it was in fact a YI, my boyfriend had done oral on me. The other day he was sucking on my nipples quite a bit, and now they are sore and rough. Underneath one nipple it is dry and flaky/cracked. I put lotion and oil on them and the flakiness has gone away, but they are still rough.

Do you think my boyfriend has oral thrush? Or could this nipple situation be caused by something else? I haven't noticed any really obvious white spots when he's talking, but I haven't told him to "say Ahh" and looked in there with a flashlight, either! I haven't seen him a lot lately since he's been working a lot. I guess I could call and ask him if he has any spots or a sore mouth? But I also heard that oral thrush could be symptomless.

Has anyone ever had any experience with their partner having oral thrush and passing a YI back and forth? Was the oral thrush obvious, and how did you treat it? Planned Parenthood is the only thing we could afford if he DOES have it, unless we could find a free clinic. The Planned Parenthood website for the one near me says it will only screen/treat guys for STDs, but a yeast infection isn't a STD. Do you think they'd still check him out and treat him?

Can you have a mild case of BV for a long period of time that could cause painful sex?

Painful sex as in burning on penetration?

I'm 22 years old and i'm still a virgin, i met my boyfriend two years also a virgin and we both were ready to have sex until something happened in our relationship we have now come around this obsticle and are now once again ready to have sex. as it is both of ours first time we are unsure of what to do we have talked and talked about i am not on the pill yet and may not be for a few months yet however we are planing to have sex soon i suggested using a condom and him pulling out, would that be safe? what would be the safest thing for us to do as i am worried about getting pregnant. he was asking me questions like do i want lights on or etc but i really dont know i keep telling him i know as much as he does but i dont think he understands this also i want him to be on top but he wants me to be on top because he read somewhere that this is what women perfer what do you think should i be on top or bottom? i think i would prefer to be on bottom

any tips or any help or advice would be greatly appreciated thanks.2

(I'll happily delete this if it's off-topic, but I've seen posts about depilation and non-vag-related topics, so hopefully it's okay!)

I put on a lot of weight when I was on HBC. The extra curves don't bother me as much as the stretch marks! >( I've got them everywhere. Inner and outer thighs, around my nipples, even on my ARMS, and today I was trying on a dress and noticed stretch marks on the back of my knees, inching toward my calfs.

I'm working on getting the weight off, but is there anything that will get rid of the stretch marks? :( They're bright goddamn red too. I've tried this cream by the Body Shop that claimed to reduce their appearance but I didn't notice any change. What have you tried? What worked?

Alright folks, I'm trying to wean the people in my household off of pinesol, lysol, bleach and the assorted crap and push them towards natural cleaning methods and products. What I need is something that relatively easy to find (in the NYC/LI area, basically, can't be too hard, right?) and something that WORKS, since if it doesn't clean as well(or near as well, atleast) as the other crap they use.. they won't use it.

I'm trying to convince them that natural products can clean just as well and won't make you gag from the fumes like the other stuff does. I'm checking out Seventh Generation products since they seem to be the most widely available. I'm looking into general household cleaners, laundry detergent and fabric softener. Something that isn't heavily scented and won't make sensitive skin break out.

Does anybody have any suggestions? Seventh Generation seems to be safe and reliable but I'm found a few cases of people saying they are a greenwashing type sham and they were caught doing blahblahetc, but I haven't found any hard facts.

All and any help is appreciated. Cheers! (Oh, I did check the memories but alot of the posts about this were sort of old so I figure it couldn't hurt to get a new take on it)

I posted a couple days ago about some vagina pains/itching. I went to the gyno today. I'll get results on monday as to whether it is an STD, but she says she highly doubts it. She just tested me anyway because she knows me and knows how my anxiety gets. She says she really thinks it is bacterial vaginitis, and gave me antibiotics.

The antibiotic is called Metronidazole, 500mg twice a day. I asked her if it would affect my birth control, and she said it shouldn't. But I'm a bit paranoid that it might.

After class I'm going to do my own research, and if I find the answer I'll just delete this post. But, I thought maybe I'd try to post here and see if anyone can answer by the time I get back from class. I'm just super paranoid and I wanna know ASAP 'cause I'll be worried about it all through class (damn anxiety disorder).

I'm so upset. My doctor just called me after giving me a pap smear last week and told me that my pap was "normal" but that the lab work showed that I have HPV. She told me not to worry about this because my pap was in fact normal and that I should come back in six months to see if the HPV was gone by that point. I asked her about the risk of cervical cancer for women with HPV and she said that I would only have to worry if my pap had come back abnormal.

Is this true? I'm so scared right now. I've never had an STD or anything and I'm pretty horrified that I'm going to end up with cancer. I also did a search here and read that some people with HPV have things like genital warts and lesions -- do I have that to look forward to, as well?

I thought my partner and I were super responsible because we both had a the full work up of STD testing before becoming sexually active, but of course there's no test for HPV in men. Geez -- this makes me want to become celibate.

Any words of wisdom out there? I'm so miserable right now.

hi all
(let me just say i am loving this community so much for all the wisdom and information here! yay!)

on to the question.

I have been making my own laundry detergent for a while now using the recipe found here

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/03/15/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent-and-save-big-money/

and it works great. i highly recommend it. we havent bought detergent in perhaps a year maybe?

but i have to say i miss the fragrance, the pretty smelling laundry...

now i know that clean doesn't have a scent. yes i know that. but that doesnt mean that i dont want things to smell pretty or nice. the detergent is completely void of any and all scent.
it's gotten to the point where our friends give us hand me downs i just linger over the smell of the clothes.. it's probably purex lilies and linens or something. but still i miss it.

so my question is: would it be terrible if i put in a couple drops of some pretty scented essential oil into the big batch of detergent when i make it?

or should i put a drop or two of essential oil in with the individualized cup of detergent when i do my laundry?

we have cloth diapers for the baby, so you dont want to use any brighteners, or softeners or anything that could make the cloth less absorbent. It's because of the cloth diaper thing that i would hesitate to add a few drops to the entire batch... but it seems like if i do a drop or two in ever load of laundry - that's not diapers - i would go through the oil faster, and it might be overpowering in scent..

I dont use essential oils very often so i bow to your wisdom..
thanks in advance!

Hi VP, I apologise in advance for the length of this post, but I am on the verge of despair here, so if anyone can help me, that would be awesome, because I don't know what to do next.

I have been having chronic, non-cyclic, unexplained pain in my right ovary for the last 18 months, which has gotten worse in the last 6 months. My gynaecologist back home thinks it's little cysts that probably burst or vanish on their own. But there's no proof of this, so I'm starting from scratch since I'm now living in Wales. I'm covered by the NHS so insurance isn't an issue and neither is medical access.

So far this year I have had... two or three pelvic exams? I had a regular well woman one, I believe the doctor who removed my copper IUD also did one, and then I had ANOTHER at the end of August when I got checked for STIs.

I am definitely not pregnant; my latest period just finished a week ago. My periods are regular although there has been some funky timing since having the IUD removed: August was a week early, September was a week late and October was three days late. November was bang on, but lasted a long time with a break in the middle.

I have also recently had an abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound to check for cysts, which turned up nothing, but they messed up and told me the wrong instructions- I should have had a full bladder but they told me not to drink anything so maybe it wasn't accurate. I'll have to rebook, in that case.

I had the IUD removed to see if that would eliminate the source of the pain- it didn't. Now I regret getting it removed because I loved it, it was the best form of BC for me. I'm going to get a new one once all this is over.

I had the STI test because I slept with a rebound guy in August who turned out to be a creepster, so I thought I would cover all bases. It was negative. I have never tested positive for anything.

VP, I need to know what you think I should do next!! I am SO FRUSTRATED. On top of this pain which WILL NOT go away (it is bad today, and the pain almost travels down my right leg, and I am not a happy bunny), I am having major issues with depression/sleep/weight fluctuations (I have lost a stone in two months, that is 14 pounds, with no explanation).

I do plan to get my thyroid checked because I am at the point where I am either going to try HBC or antidepressants to get me out of this HOLE. But I want to rule out thyroid concerns as a possible cause of the depression I find myself ensconced in, since HBC can faff with your thyroid levels and I don't want to use antidepressants for the wrong condition. Also, I have been diagnosed with PMDD since 2006, which means that HBC could be great or terrible; antidepressants have helped in the past but I am currently on no medication for anything whatsoever. I wasn't kidding when I said I was starting from scratch.

I am really upset and miserable that no cause or solution seems anywhere in sight... I was hoping they would find cysts and that would be the magic bullet that would allow this to be treated and stop hurting, but on top of physical pain I am not in a good place headology-wise, either, and I have a big thesis deadline at the end of January that I would like to exceed, not barely meet. Wah. Help.

So, I've been having lots of trouble with my goodies lately. I went to the doctor on the 20th for ongoing problems: irregular periods, constant severe cramping (like, only maybe a week out of my entire cycle was I not cramping), occasional pain during sex, pain during BM when on my period, pain urinating while on my period, spotting for two weeks before my period, frequent yeast infections, dizziness, etc. After a pelvic exam and negative pregnancy test, the doctor told me he didn't feel any masses (but was wary of a very tender left ovary,) and that I had a whitish discharge that was consistent with uterine infection. He said the test wasn't very accurate (I still haven't heard the results,) but he put my on antibiotics, and I have an appointment Dec 22nd to see if anything has changed. I had two antibiotics, one single dose, and just finished my last 2-pill-a-day-for-ten-days thing.

I normally get yeast infections from antibiotics, so I assumed I would this time. But everything has felt fairly normal. I started my period the day after I went to the doctor, and never had any yeasty like troubles. But yesterday I started having a burning on my vulva when I'd urinate. Not urethral pain, but pain like my vulva was irritated. So I assumed I was starting to get a yeast infection. But late last night, it started burning in my urethra, so I considered UTI. I've had UTI's before, and usually, it feels like I have to pee all the time, never feel like I've peed enough, and a sharp burning pain as the urine stream ends, sometimes with small amounts of blood. Now, I have the not peeing enough feeling, but the pain comes right before the urine stream comes out, burns horribly the entire time, including on my vulva, and feels better when the stream stops. My urine isn't dark or cloudy or foul smelling.

So here's my question.

Could it be a UTI? Can you even get a UTI when you're on antibiotics? What else could it be? I literally just took my last pill this morning. I'm pretty careful when wiping, because of previous UTIs. My boyfriend and I had vowed to stay off sex until the antibiotics were done and the inevitable yeast infection was cleared up. But we failed. We had sex last Thursday, first with a condom (we've never used one before because I have a mild latex allergy,) but before long it felt like my vagina was on fire, so we took it off. He did ejaculate inside me, but I peed immediately afterward like I always do and wiped properly. Everything still seemed fine after that. Sunday night we had sex again, condomless, and he ejaculated inside of me, same follow-up drill of peeing and wiping. Still felt fine until yesterday.

Has anyone here used a female condom? What did you think about it? Dan Savage recommends it for het couples where the guy has difficulty feeling through the condom, but in reviews, it seems like the condom actually decreases sensation relative to male condoms. Maybe the material has improved?

Hi all!

A day or two after I treated my persistent yeast infection with gentian violet, I got my period. Since my discharge was dark purple and then turned into blood, I'm not sure if I still have any yeast or not, and was wondering if it is ok to use the Diva Cup while I'm on my period if I do still have a YI? Will using a cup make a yeast infection worse or will it not matter?

Thanks!

This year, my fiance and I started engaging in PIV sex. We were both virgins at the time (at least, in terms of penetrative sex I guess) but we had a comfortable and lengthy history or manual and oral sex. It's been about two...maybe three months since then, and everything seems to be going fine: we both enjoy it, it doesn't hurt, etc.

But boy howdy, the kid orgasms fast.

I would chock this up to age, but we're both 23, and like I said, we've been sexually involved for some time now. We've tried blow jobs up to an hour beforehand, and it doesn't seem to help much. Once we just put on another condom and kept going, but I could hardly feel anything, and he was already spent, so that didn't work either. He is usually really good about satisfying me beforehand, but other than that, we're at a bit of a loss, and at point we'd both really like for it to last a little longer than the usual 5 minutes.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? I tried looking at sex_tips , but I could hardly follow anything that was going on over there.

I'm getting over-normal amounts of dark brown/reddish discharge, and have been for about a week now. However, it's really, really thin (almost liquid, but mucusy asnd very slick) and not opaque. It's kinda like.... dark reddish brown Jello, after it's been mixed and is just starting to cool. Yeah.

I'm not really sure why... my girly bits feel fine, my BC has been on time, no sex in the last month and a half, not pregnant, no additional stress...

I doubt I'm going to get much more of an answer than "vaginas do that" but I thought it was worth posting here. I'm kinda wtf-ing about it. Especially since I slipped a finger up there in the shower and ended up with enough discharge on my hand that when I moved my arm too suddenly it actually flew off my hand to the shower wall. Not my favorite experience ever.

Hey vagina owners!
This is half question half comment, I guess, but I've heard so many stories of people being frantic about being out of tampons/pads/buckets to prevent period catastrophes.
I've never run into this problem, mainly because if Im in a public bathroom, regretfully tampon-less
i just fold some toilet paper in half, tightly roll it in a tampon-y shape, wrap the outside in a sheet to smooth it out and use that!
works in a pinch and i'm worry free for two hours or so, usually.

I was just curious if anyone else has ever done this, or this is only possible because maybe my flow
is unusually light?
(I've never needed anything over a small or regular size, and i've never had leak problems)

Hello everyone, a little background to precede my question. I'm 24, married, not currently on any type of birth control, just using condoms or a diaphragm. I am new to diaphragms, probably need to go in for a resizing cause mine seems too big (so I haven't used it for a week, just condoms). Anyway, for the last few days, I keep getting crotch boogers. Meaning, that sticky gooey stuff that usually comes about whenever you ovulate. Except, I got it one day, thought that was normal, then I got it AGAIN the next day, and now, two days later, I had it yet again! So, I know it's normal to get it once for ovulating, and I know it's even normal to get it twice cause sometimes women ovulate twice in rare circumstances. However, getting it this often... Could that mean pregnancy? I just want to be careful, and not drink till I find out for sure if there's a likelihood that I could be pregnant. I'm just not sure if that's even a symptom of pregnancy.

Hey there,

I'm asking this on behalf of my brother, who's been battling a persistent cold and cough (that morphed into a sinus infection and bronchitis) for the past three weeks. He's much better now after a course of antibiotics, but the only thing he hasn't been able to get rid of is phlegm buildup in the back of his throat.

In your experience, what works as a natural throat decongestant? He's tired of making hawking up noises and spitting into the sink every fifteen minutes and frankly, I'm tired of listening to him do it :P