I am curious if anyone else has an irregular monthly cycle, even though I'm embarrassed about posting this. Mine has been this way ever since it arrived at age 13. I get it at different times of the month or not at all for 2-3 months at a time. Then when it does show up I have it 3 times in 6 weeks. I have been to the female doctor and they tell me it is normal for me because it has always been this way. They suggest the pill, but I'm not interested in taking another pill !! One other embarrassing thing I didn't want to ask about but I will because I'd like to hear others opinions and experiences. Trouble with sex-- dryness (even when using lube), no feeling or complete inability to want to have sex. Is it because of Diabetes? I can't find much info. online about this type of stuff so I hope someone here can help.
yay im not the only one. yeah i will have stretches of time where my cycle is on time every month then all of a sudden it stops. for years it happened every six months or every 3 months. it was random.
I never had issues with irregular cycles, just heavy cycles. I took the pill for years until finally last year my gyno suggested that I get an IUD/IUC. I chose Mirena and have had no problems. The best part is that I have not had but three short cycles (2-3 days) in a year! The second best part is that the Mirena lasts for 5 years. I think they used to not recommend IUD's for women who had not given birth, but there are meds available to assist in insertion. I have a friend who recently had an endometrial ablation to stop heavy cycles and she has been very pleased.
So there are other options available to you besides the pill (I'm sure there are more) and you may have to ask your doctor instead of it being suggested to you. I don't care what your doctor says, 3 times in 6 weeks is not normal for anyone. Just because it's always been this way, does not mean it's normal or should not be addressed. Since you are a Diabetic, we already know that your endocrine systems does not fully function, so your ovaries could be affected as well.
The dryness issue can definately be yet another great complication of Diabetes. Yippee, right? Here's a link to some info on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) site: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/sup/index.htm
Good luck,
Lisa
Okay, now this may sound perverted but please take this as straight honest talk. Here is a page for diabetes and sex (for women) http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/sexual-healing-women-with-diabetes.html
Saddly, it doesn't go into detail about getting aroused. Luckily, the complete inability to want to have sex is something that you can probably overcome.
So for the moment, lets not worry about sex with a partner. Why not just play at feeling good by yourself? Don't set out to get aroused like it is a job, its not a job and not a destination. It is Play! Really, treat it like play: laugh, smile, stretch! Lie down then stretch out your back, arms, and legs on clean sheets, close your eyes, and smile. Playing at just making your skin and mind feel good. Rub your legs, arms, then tickle or rub you hands, and feet. Just play =)
have a good time helping the rest of your body feel good, by getting the blood moving under the skin and letting your mind and body play. Also pick up books on sex ***nice ones.
I'm definitely not a profession on sex, but I like it a lot, and I find that when I can't have sex that these things feel just as wonderful if not better AND make sex even better when it is time for that!
I hope that this is modest enough for this site *blushes.*
... I'm not fully happy with my above post. Although I think that these things are very important for sexual function, you may want some medical info too. So I got this from www.medscape.com
May 4, 2009 — Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in women with type 1 diabetes and affects all aspects of sexual function and satisfaction, according to the results of long-term findings from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT)/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study cohort reported in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
"Diabetes has long been considered a major cause of impaired sexual function," write Paul Enzlin, PhD, from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven & University Hospitals Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium, and colleagues. "Sexual functioning of women with diabetes, however, has received far less attention in research, and results are less conclusive than those of studies in men. In general, studies of sexual dysfunction in women have lagged behind those in men, likely due to several factors, including a lack of standardized definitions of sexual dysfunction in women, absence of well-validated scales, and societal taboos regarding female sexuality."
The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors predicting sexual dysfunction in a well-characterized North American cohort of women with type 1 diabetes. At year 10 of the EDIC study, 652 female participants were asked to complete a validated self-report measure of sexual function and to undergo standardized history and physical examinations, laboratory evaluation, and assessment of mood.
Criteria for female sexual dysfunction (FSD) were met by 35% of sexually active women with type 1 diabetes in the EDIC study. Specific problems noted by women with FSD were loss of libido (57%); problems with orgasm (51%), lubrication (47%), and arousal (38%); and pain (21%).
In univariate analyses, FSD was directly associated with age (P = .0041), marital status (P = .0016), menopausal status (P = .0019), microvasculopathy (P = .0092), and depression (P = .0022). The only significant predictors of FSD, based on multivariate analysis, were depression (P = .004) and marital status (P = .003).
"FSD is common in women with type 1 diabetes and affects all aspects of sexual function and satisfaction," the study authors write. "Depression is the major predictor of sexual dysfunction in women with type 1 diabetes. These findings suggest that women with type 1 diabetes should be routinely queried about the presence of sexual dysfunction and possible co-association with depression."
Limitations of this study include analyses presented from a cross-sectional analysis of data obtained at 10-year follow-up; applicability of findings only to white, relatively young women with type 1 diabetes; exclusion of sexually inactive women from the analyses; and lack of a nondiabetic control group of women.
"In contrast to findings in men, our results showed that in women with type 1 diabetes, depression and marital status are the main predictors of FSD, whereas glycemic control and complications were not associated with FSD," the study authors conclude. "Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these differences. Considering that FSD can have an important negative effect on quality of life and partner relationships, the sexual difficulties of women with diabetes warrant more attention in both research and practice."
The DCCT/EDIC project is supported by contracts with the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK); National Eye Institute; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; the General Clinical Research Centers Program and the Clinical and Translation Science Centers Program; and National Center for Research Resources and by Genentech through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the NIDDK. The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Contributors of free or discounted supplies and/or equipment were LifeScan, Roche, Aventis, Eli Lilly, OmniPod, Can-Am, BD, Animas, Medtronic, Medtronic MiniMed, Bayer, and OMRON. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges, mandating that it must therefore be marked "advertisement" solely to indicate this fact.
Diabetes Care. 2009;32:780-785.
Stilledlife, Thank you for your posts they're very interesting. The second post is right on for my situation (paragraph 4, criteria). It can be depressing dealing with this type of problem. The monthly cycle deal is just frustrating for me, but I'm glad (well I should say it's good to know) that I'm not the only one with issues !!
Thanks, Melissa and Lisa for your posts also.
All information, (which is all very helpful) will be taken into consideration : )
I AM 13, and I've got the same problem! I'm so crazy with my cycle. I get it twice in 5 weeks and then none for 4 months, or some other insane pattern!! AGH! Any suggestions?
Hey, but on the sex thing, I got something for ya. I get this daily health updates from Reuters, and I got this. I read it anyway, despite the fact I don't need to know any of it for a LONG time. Anyway, try this link. Aparently, you're not alone.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5466WC20090507?feedType=nl&feedName=ushealth600
Hope this helps,
Maria Rose
You are not alone. My cycle has always been irregular. I sometimes go 2-3 months without having my period, and then other times, it comes every month. I've never gone in to see a doctor about this. I just figure it's how my cycles are.
i used to skip months at a time when i was younger..the pill actually helped that for me.
i don't take the pill now, because it actually gives me morning sickness. now i'm on the birthcontrol PATCH and it's amazing. I love it. don't have to remember to do anything but change it on the same day every week and leave it off for a week. http://www.orthoevra.com/index.html
I've been using it since my abortion in September and haven't had any problems with it. Love love love it!
I was given the choice between all the birthcontrol options when I had to get back on(I had gone off the pill under my endo's recommendation after it gave me morning sickness everyday for almost two months straight..and then less than two weeks later ended up pregnant!) but i choose the patch because its more convient. after about a month, you almost dont need to think about the day you change it.
My mom had the IUD when she was in her 20's after her first pregnancy and shortly after it got put it, she had to be admitted to the hospital. It had scratched her ovaries and she was told by the hospital Endo at the time that she would never bare another child. luckily enough for me and my brother, a few years later she got pregnant with him and then years after that, pregnant with me. My mom is extremely against them though because of her own experience. I don't like the idea of them anyways, I'd rather have a minor thing like remembering to chance it once a week over having something in me that MIGHT not work.
as for getting aroused, maybe its only me, but i usually skip foreplay for the most part for myself cuz i get over aroused haha. i get waaay to wet down there and it sucks lol.
i have that problem too! mine will be normal for 2 months, then it wont come for 2 months or so. i havent had sex or anything like htat, so so i cant help ya there.
i dont think that ill get on the pill. it makes you sterile if you take it for a long time. thats not why i dont wanna take it, i dont want my aprents thinking that im having sex with guys.
How old are you melanie?
Blah hit enter too soon…meant to end that with:
I donno what its like where you are but here you can go to a clinic setup for youth to get birthcontrol, pap tests, plab b(emergancy birth control), std and pregnancy testing without parents permission and at a reduced cost(for the birth control and plan b everything else is free). My mom didn’t know I was on birth control for over two years. Just told her on the days I went after school(sometimes I went during my spare block) that I was at a friends and would be home late.
So, it was a little erratic for me when I first started at age 11. Since I was about 12 years old I get it every 26 to 28 days and it lasts about 7 days! For about 8 years or so now (since I was about 22, when I was diagnosed) I have had a tendency to bleed additionally between periods. No one can figure out why. But here are things that I have noticed will trigger it. 1. Really intense and strenuous workouts. 2. Emotional/ Mental times of Stress. 3. Excess consumption of dairy products, especially yogurt. 5. Soy products!!!! If I have a single glass of soy milk I will bleed the next day! I have read that it is because it is high in estrogen. 6. Splenda! I just quit using the stuff, it makes me feel like crap and makes me bleed...
I think I just have a really sensitive system!
Sex can be a roller coaster... I am usually up for it though. Do you feel sexy? That is important. I have noticed that when my husband and I are both on a fitness upswing and we are working out frequently, our sex life is greatly enhanced. Getting the blood flowing gets the libido flowing too... haha :P
[quote user="Batts"]How old are you melanie?
[/quote]
im 16
[quote user="Melanie Marvin"]
[quote user="Batts"]How old are you melanie?
[/quote]
im 16
[/quote]
I donno what its like where you are but here you can go to a clinic setup for youth to get birthcontrol, pap tests, plab b(emergancy birth control), std and pregnancy testing without parents permission and at a reduced cost(for the birth control and plan b everything else is free). My mom didn't know I was on birth control for over two years. Just told her on the days I went after school(sometimes I went during my spare block) that I was at a friends and would be home late or something. your parents don't have to know, if you think they will freak out that you're sleeping with boys....though i'm sure they'd rather you be on BC than not if you were right? i was 14, almost 15 when i lost my V card, and i bet your parents are expecting you to be coming to them sometime soon to talk about going on it anyways :P
Well I am not sure how well this fits in, but I was in college when I got diagnosed. So I had been having periods for years. You could set your watch by my monthly cycles. I mean almost to the hour. However, 3 months AFTER I got diagnosed my cycles went crazy. I started getting my period 3 weeks out of the month. So, I went on birth control. I have changed pills 3 times, but the last one I am on seems to be the best because it has varying amounts of hormones. It is called Necon 7/7/7 for anyone who is interested. I asked my doctor if it was related and he said you definitely couldn't rule it out. He also said that most of our questions won't get answered because there isn't as much money being spent on Type 1 research as there is on Type 2. Anyway, that is about all I can pass on. Hope it helps.
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