Because I am a Woman

I’d like to share my experience with other folks. <:3

Personally I felt a bit traumatized after my first TVU, but that’s because 1) I have a phobia of actually having sex and 2) this exam was to see why I was having so much pain in my ovaries and vagina. The lady was extremely nice, but the ultrasound, for me, was extremely painful. The lady inserted it herself and I had tears streaming down my eyes due to the pain and weeks afterwords I didn’t even want to think of anything even remotely sexual even though normally I greatly enjoy fantasizing and such, I just don’t want actual sex but this pain was concerning me since I have a history of having a tumor. After going to therapy for my PTSD and other issues I found out I may in fact have vaginismus which was causing all of my issues, so a lot of my physical pain is more than likely been caused by my intense anxiety and stress building up over a number of years. I was also told that it’s actually quite normal to feel “traumatized” after the procedure if you’re someone like me, so a person shouldn’t feel like they’re some sort of nutcase if they end up feeling this way after the procedure. The TVU wasn’t a good experience for me pain wise but like you said, it’s very good to have a nice person helping you through the procedure, the lady that did mine was very understanding of my physical pain and my emotional mindset at the moment. My advice if someone is going to get a transvaginal ultrasound is to be upfront and completely honest about yourself, like have you ever had sex, have you ever penetrated via masturbation, let the physicians KNOW that your scared so they can help you through it if you do indeed go on with the TVU because my physicians let me choose whether or not to get the TVU, and mentally prepare yourself as much as you can before the procedure. Also, if you’re scared ask if you can see the probe before having to do the procedure, after I broke down crying in the waiting room the ladies took me into the ultrasound room and let me see the probe, which is actually quite a thin and small object and it made me feel much better knowing it wasn’t some king dong sized pipe. The ladies there were so nice they gave me tissues and consoled me when I was crying, I felt very well taken care off and that they understood my anxiety about the situation. No one made me feel like I was an idiot for feeling scared. So just be prepared and don’t feel like an idiot if you end up crying before or during the procedure, these emotions are normal and you shouldn’t feel ashamed for expressing your worries!

Submitted by Fuckyeahsexeducation: The problem most people have with statements like “transgender/gay rights are the civil rights issue of our time” is that the civil rights issues of the past, especially the persecution of POC is still happening today. Although gay and trans rights are a civil rights issue, civil rights in historical context means the struggle for POC people. A lot of people don’t realize that POC are still being discriminated against and those comparisons ignore that.

A lot of POC have asked us to stop saying things like “the trans/gay struggle is like the civil rights issues of the past”, “you know who else couldn’t get married? POC”, “gay is the new black”. Although I understand where Biden was coming from, Trans rights aren’t the civil rights issue of our time. Because we still have so much to work on on gay rights, POC rights, womens rights that were the civil issues of other times. Statements like that can really come off as dismissive to the civil issues that still plague us, especially since many people think for some reason that racism is no longer an issue. I know you’re aware of the issues of other groups, and this is something that a lot of people who mean well still do but we’ve been asked not to do it because it can be dismissive of other civil rights movements that have been put at a stand-still in many cases because people seem to have forgotten that there is still a lot of work to do.

BCiamawoman: I understand where you and that anon were coming from- I do think that a comparison between trans issues and the Civil Rights Movement is inappropriate, problematic, and downright illegitimate. However, I don’t really think that the anon in this case read it as you did- It seemed that they saw Biden making a direct comparison here to the Civil Rights Movement, which simply wasn’t there. I whole-heartedly think that this is a civil rights issue, (although not the civil rights issue as you pointed out and are definitely completely right about). I was not trying to imply that we are not still working on civil rights issues with other groups, just that this is one not enough people are talking about and that hopefully our government will be doing more to protect and give the same rights to this group that we grant others. I apologize if it came off as anything else. Thanks for taking the time to submit this. I feel a lot better about responding to a post like this than the way anon went about it.

I have been on NuvaRing for contraceptive reasons and to prevent my ovaries from forming any more cysts. I had been using it on a 3 weeks in, one week out basis for over a year with no major issues. But because the scarring from my first ruptured cyst is so bad, my periods were very painful, so I am now using the ring 4 weeks straight, then replacing it with a fresh one, per my gyno’s orders. I have been on it consistently for 4 months and i have had some spotting. but for the past 4 weeks i have had a consistent albeit super light flow. Do you or anyone else know what could be causing this? It’s getting really obnoxious to have to constantly empty and clean my poor menstrual cup, and I feel kind of gross.

Thanks <3

BCiamawoman: Honestly, I would call your doctor and let them know what is going on. It sounds like its just breakthrough bleeding. Many people have experienced extended flow while on birth control. It may just be your body adjusting to it. It can definitely take more than 4 months. If it continues, it may be that this method is not working well with your body and there is something else that could work better for you. Call your doctor and let them know what is going on!