(Also, a hormonal IUD like Skyla isn't, primarily, a hormonal method. The hormone it contains is a small amount of localized hormone to counteract some common side-effects of an IUD; that hormone isn't really a part of how it works as a contraceptive method. So, the vast majority of people won't exp...

A healthcare provder isn't going to ask you to wait and see how things go for another 3 months if they have any reason to think that it might endanger your health.

Did you ask your doctor that question?

I'm glad that you're feeling better, and I don't think it's weird at all Sometimes venting and having a few caring, thoughtful responses can be just the thing to give someone what they need to get out of a bit of a funk. And, well done you for those lists, the thinking and the art gallery!

It's fairly common to continue having some breast changes throughout puberty and into the 20s, and, in different ways, throughout a whole life. It wouldn't be surprising if your breasts were a little different now than they were before you started any hormonal birth control. Too, bodies usually don'...

If your only health concern is your absent period, it's much more likely to be no big deal than it is to be any serious issue. Like Heather said, the advice is to ask a healthcare provider about it only after your period has been missing for a whole three months. It sounds like you're having some on...

I'm all over the map with attachment style - I'm basically a combination of different extremes, applicable in different contexts (and no, that doesn't sound very healthy!). Although happily, one of those extremes is security, so I do have some positive baselines to work with. Very roughly, my head s...

It's sounding like you're feeling pretty Done with being or feeling alone. I think I get that; I know I've felt one version of Done myself when I just couldn't face going and doing things I liked and wanted to do by myself any more, when it felt like that's the only way it'd been for years. You're a...

I'm glad that venting helped! I'm also very deeply happy to be "one of the good people in the world" - I hope! - and contributing to creating a space where people can feel like that about others. What lovely compliments for all of us, thank you. I'm fortunate enough not to have had a bunch...

Hi, xmetalgirl. I hear you, and I care. I think perhaps I'm not best placed to offer you a whole lot of advice, but I'm thinking some other folk in our community may be, if that's a thing you want. Your first post especially was pretty expressive, and I hope it maybe helped some to just put some of ...

You're very welcome!

Really, only he can say whether or not he's asexual, because only he knows what kinds of desire and attraction he does and doesn't feel and what framework best fits that. There's still plenty of information that you and we Can work with, though. I feel like I need to be a bit clearer about a few thi...

It's very common for facial and body hair to be uneven - and to develop unevenly - in the teens and early 20s. There's no physical concern here, and there's every expectation that you'll still have plenty of changes to your facial hair in the coming years. Different people do have different amounts ...

Hi Olivia, when intercourse is new - either between the two people, or also entirely new for someone with a penis - it's not unusual for an erection to be a bit off-and-on. Partly that's to do with getting used to which physical things match up well with desires in the mind and what feels good, and ...

Sunshine, I'm so sorry you went through this. Those are horrible things those people did. Even if - and in line with what Heather said above, that really is even if - some strategies other than the ones you used would ever have helped, you didn't make a mistake. None of us can use strategies that we...

Mo's response is so beautiful! I have a few thoughts, too. I feel like I often see forgiveness presented as saying "it was fine" or "it's fine now" or "it's in the past"; but that's not what forgiveness is. Forgiving someone doesn't mean saying or thinking that what the...

Do you love social media AND Scarleteen? Your Scarleteen Needs YOU! If you've ever done a British History class, you'll know that's a much-repeated formula from 100-year-old propaganda posters. If you haven't, I, er, apologise. We would especially like to receive volunteer applications from people ...

No worries, the conversation's here for you whenever you want and can. That's one of the advantages of messageboards, I think! Let's pass you the information you wanted. Combined Oral Contraceptives (The Pill) Condoms The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Sec...

You're very welcome, and thank you for the lovely thanks!

Okay then! A little breakthrough bleeding or spotting can happen: it's simply part of having a body that menstruates. If it's a one-off or only happens rarely, it's simply one of those random things a body does and no cause for concern. In your situation, it might have been a bit of blood left over ...

Sexual healthcare is reproductive healthcare: the kind of healthcare you get from a gynaecologist (a specialist in reproductive healthcare), or from a general practitioner when it's about your reproductive system, or from a clinic like Planned Parenthood. It includes things like check-ups to make su...

Welcome to the boards!

Is this the first time this happened, and are you up-to-date with your sexual healthcare?

If you've found some CBT techniques useful, would some guided DIY-ing of the anxiety be something you'd be interested in? If it is, I know that a book Heather often recommends is "My Anxious Mind" by Dr Michael Tompkins. That might be a more educated, expert source of 'how not to assume th...

Sure thing. I'm glad you were able to get the Plan B. It's sounded like one thing that'd be really important and helpful for you is getting your boyfriend on board with being respectful and supportive of you with your needs around pregnancy prevention, or reassessing the relationship with him if he'...

Anal sex with ejaculation does present pregnancy risks, yes. Using a towel in the way you did isn't a way of preventing those risks, because you were still having direct genital-to-genital contact. Per getting Plan B, your profile lists you as 22, so your age clearly isn't an issue. You can get Plan...

It's not at all likely, given that being on the pill makes pregnancy unlikely and makes a bit of breakthrough bleeding pretty common. Too, "implantation bleeding" is rarer than a lot of less-reliable places on the internet make it sound. Bleeding is much, much more likely to signal "n...