You are equally protected at all times during your cycle with the pill, including during the week of sugar pills. There's more about why that is and how the pill works here if you're interested: How do birth control pills really work, even during the placebo period?

You can always try a dental dam, which covers the vulva and prevents your partner coming in direct contact with your discharge or menstrual fluids. It really depends on what your partner is comfortable with, though, and that's something you can only find out by asking. Other people's preferences can...

Condoms can fail even without any error on the user's part by breaking or slipping off: it's not common for those things to happen if they're used properly, but it can happen. We can't say that any method is 100% effective, but if a condom was used correctly with no slips or breaks, then you can tru...

Do you have a friend or family member who could help you with that? Maybe someone you could get in touch with if/when you're having a hard time sticking to your plan?

Your doctor is not allowed to communicate anything to your parents without your permission. (The exception to that is if your doctor has reason to believe that you are being abused, in which case they have to report it.) Whether or not your doctor encourages you to talk to your mom and dad isn't rea...

Sorry about that, I'm online now!

So, implantation bleeding is actually pretty uncommon, and is very light - not enough blood to fill two pads a day. One side effect of taking Plan B is some irregular bleeding for a couple of months, so what you're describing isn't at all unusual. Whether or not it's your period is impossible to say...

Hi Elise, and welcome to Scarleteen. I'm so, so very sorry that this happened to you and I totally understand that you want to go home. First things first: if you feel like your safety is at risk right now, calling 911 is always an option. Your wellbeing is the most important thing here. If you have...

Hey, Liz. It's great that you made a choice that felt right for you, and felt supported in that choice by your family and your partner. I do have to disagree, though, with a couple of the things you've said here. Sex can help with emotional connection, sure, but saying that's what it was 'designed' ...

You're welcome. Hope you figure out what the problem is!

You can find a list of things that interfere with the pill here: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/bodie ... th_control

I've already answered your question here: http://www.scarleteen.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2636

Please don't double post, it's against the guidelines you agreed to when you registered for the boards. Thanks!

Masturbation doesn't affect the menstrual cycle, no. Cycles do shift and change over the years, though, so it's likely that you're just going through one of those changes now.

Lube does a couple of things. It helps keep condoms from breaking, because even if you produce quite a lot of natural lubrication, it tends not to hold up to condoms so well, and a drier condom = more friction = increased risk of breakage. It can also help with sensation, like Heather said: putting ...

It has been launched! It's on tumblr, here: http://www.scarleteen.com/about_scarleteen_confidential

Or you can find all the pieces on the main site under the "Scarleteen Confidential" tag, here: http://www.scarleteen.com/tags/scarleteen_confidential

The articles you've read: what do they say about the risk of pregnancy when both people are wearing clothes?

Side effects of birth control can happen any time, it's just that they're most common and tend to be more noticeable when you first start using a method. It isn't impossible that this is due to your IUD, but breast pain/tenderness can happen for a bunch of different reasons, and since it sounds like...

Hi, YamiSphinx. Sometimes I really wish I had a 'hug' button on my keyboard, because it sounds like you could really use one right about now. I'm sorry you found such horrible comments (you're right, 'shemale' is a very offensive term); the internet can be a great resource but unfortunately there's ...

Hi Lucy. I'm so sorry you've been so freaked out about this. Unfortunately, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what steps you can take. Maybe one of the other volunteers or staff members will have a better idea of what risk there is, if any, and what you could do about it, but I just wanted to let ...

It's common for people on the pill to have lighter bleeds, and sometimes those bleeds can be very light. If you're concerned, then your next step is to talk to a healthcare provider.

Hi, niallujah. I'm sorry to hear you're feeling stuck in something so crummy. It can definitely be tough to end a relationship, even if you know it's not good for you and you're not happy in it, so kudos to you for taking the first step to ending this. Reading your post, it sounds like maybe part of...

A UTI is actually not an infection that can be passed back and forth between partners (pretty much everything else can, but not UTIs). It's caused by bacteria getting into the urethra, which can happen as a result of sex, but it isn't contagious, so you don't need to worry about giving it to your pa...

Without being able to see the package, there's no way to know for sure, but if the packaging doesn't look compromised then I'd say you're fine. You can always call a pharmacist and double check, but it also doesn't sound like your pills have spent any significant length of time by the heater so it's...

Welcome to Scarleteen, CatastropheCat. It sounds like your doctor has ruled out physical causes, and it's not terribly common for there to be physical causes for a lack of arousal in young people. What's probably going on is that you just don't have a terribly high sex drive at the moment, and that'...

It sounds like you're feeling pretty confident discussing this with him, but if you do need or want some help with how to get that conversation going, we're happy to help.