I’ve been on birth control since I was 17 years old. For a few years I was on Ortho Tri Cyclen, then I changed to Ortho Tri Cyclen Lo because my body reacts crazily to any kind of drug. The Pill has served me well over the years; keeping my periods semi-regular, keeping them relatively short and light, and you know…keeping the babies away. But here’s the thing: I’m kind of tired of it.

The biggest reason I’m tired of my Ortho Lo is because whenever I miss two pills in a row, no matter what freaking color they are, I don’t just get spotting — I get my period for two whole weeks. It’s just about the opposite of fun, and it happens a lot. Oh yeah, and additionally? Sometimes even when I don’t miss a pill, I’ll get my period early. No warning. Just BAM, welcome to cramps and have a great day!!!

I haven’t had a long term relationship for a while and I’m really over my hook-up days, so the only reason I’m still on BC is to keep my periods regular and short, and if that isn’t really happening…why the crap am I even bothering?

After doing a little research online, it seems like getting off birth control can be a tricky thing. It can throw your body wayyy out of wack, give you headaches, and possibly cause your face to break out — something I am never ever going through again.

So here I am, stuck at work, pissed off that my period is almost 2.5 weeks early, but scared to actually do anything about it. This is where you come in, lovely readers. Are any of you going through this? Have you gone through this in the past? Do you recommend taking a break from birth control?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to satisfy my second chocolate craving in three weeks.

Like many long term relationships, my relationship with the birth control pill had many ups and downs.

Up = no babies.
Downs = weight gain, extreme emotions and severe migraine headaches.

For a while, the ups far outweighed the downs, but it soon got to a point where the headaches became debilitating (thus making me unable to have sex anyway), and I had to call it quits with the little pill. I tried other forms of birth control – the Nuva Ring, which was just too weird, and abstinence, which was just not realistic – and none of it worked.

I figured I was doomed to be sans BC forever, until my doctor told me about the IUD.

What is an IUD?

Basically, it’s a small object that is inserted through the cervix and placed in the uterus to prevent pregnancy. The doctor inserts the IUD onto your cervix where it stays for up to 10 years. If you want to get pregnant, you simply head back to the doctor and have it removed and your period and ovulation schedule return to normal. The IUD is 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy and you never have to remember to take a pill again! Read More »

I have a love/hate relationship with my Aunt Flow (the only love is the fact that I get it, hence, no pregnancy worries). Periods are not pleasant; the back aches, lower stomach cramps and nausea is enough to make me want to call out of work for one week a month. Sadly, my schedule and bank account do not permit such activities and I am forced to suck it up and deal.

After getting my period at the age of 10 (yes, feel sorry for me), I have had over ten + years to perfect dealing with this monthly nuisance. I am one of those chicks that gets her period BAD, like, cry on the bathroom floor bad. So, here’s how I’ve learned to deal (and some of my favorite, get-me-through-this-week, tips):

Pain Reliever. Any type of anti-inflammatory will work fine, but Pamprin is the best solution for those bad back and tummy pains. You’ll feel like new in no time!

Exercise. While it may be the last thing you want to do, any type of exercise will raise your endorphin levels and alleviate the tension in your lower area. My favorite is to jump on my treadmill and, while I feel like a mess on there, I feel much better when my workout is over.

Heat. Applying some heat to your pelvic area will break up the muscle cramping. If you can’t have a hot blanket wrapped around you at all times, the Heat Factory warmers or ThermaCare Heat Wraps are perfect to stick on the inside of your underwear for eight hours of warm, soothing comfort! Read More »

30-year-old, Dallas resident Brian Davidson made his debut on last night’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance. Though he was on camera for less than three minutes, he managed to offend, sully and for all intense and purposes ruin the following things for the viewing public:

- Dancing
- The state of Texas
- America in general
- Long-underwear inspired shirts
- Muhammad Ali
- People who sound freakishly similar to Thomas Haden Church
- and periods…because they didn’t have a bad enough rap already.

Watch Brian shake his moneymaker/ruin the art of dance forever in the clip below: