You know, I think there's a third option here. I do think it's important to not push and try to change her mind; obviously she didn't give you the response you wanted, and that's a huge bummer for sure, but trying to change her mind is pretty much guaranteed not to work. It's vital in general to res...

If you're taking your birth control according to directions (I assume you're referring to the BC pill here, correct me if I'm wrong!), then there isn't a reason to take Plan B at all - it's not going to to anything your birth control isn't already doing. So yes, you're fully protected - but it's bec...

Hepatitis C is primarily transmitted through blood-to-blood contact; the concern there isn't so much sharing earrings as it is improper sterilization procedures by tattoo/piercing practitioners (in situations like unlicensed shops, prison tattoos, etc.). It's very important that you let your ears he...

The pill plus an antibiotic known to impact its effectiveness would fall under typical use; if you're using any other antibiotic, as long as you're following the pill usage guidelines in all other ways, that's still perfect use.

I don't think anything you're describing here is unusual among trans folks. From what I've heard from trans friends and found to be the case in my own experience, it's pretty common for dysphoria & discomfort around body parts to fluctuate a bit. It's not always easy to know why it might feel wo...

We have a good overview article about condoms here, that mentions things like effectiveness rates & proper storage: Condom Basics: A User's Manual I'd say having your condom in your bag is fine as long as it's not being jostled around too much; is anything else in that inside pocket? The safest ...

Hi Nia-Yuki,

This article on discharge might help: Honorably Discharged: A Guide to Vaginal Secretions
Sometimes brown discharge will happen just before or after a period, so that may be what's causing it right now.

Some people disagree with the idea that things like masturbation, birth control, or non-heterosexual sexualities are ok at all, and those folks have a lot of political power to block sex ed curricula that mention any of those things from being taught in public schools. In addition, a lot of people w...

That's fantastic. Way to go!

Sounds like a well-stocked kit! It's good to plan ahead and be prepared.

Hi groudon17, and welcome. I'm really sorry to hear about your experience continuing to menstruate after being on testosterone for so long! I certainly know guys who still menstruate a few months after starting testosterone but I don't think I know anyone who's had it continue so long unless they we...

Since you've had to wait a while for this appointment, and there's a lot that you've brought up between when you made the appointment and now, maybe you'd find it helpful to take some time in the next day or two to physically write down all the questions you have for the doctor. That way it's less l...

We really can't know what's causing any of these symptoms because we can't diagnose or examine you over the internet, but if you're concerned about it you could give your doctor a call. They'd be the ones to call with any questions about medications or medication interactions as well.

When you go in for testing, you can talk this over with your doctor so they know your situation and the best things to test for. I doubt the tests your doctor will want to run will be much different, but it's certainly worth noting that you might be engaging in skin-breaking/bloodletting play. If yo...

You can read about the mini pill, its effectiveness, and how it works here: Progesterone-Only Oral Contraceptives (Minipills) I'm not aware of any connection between this form of birth control and ectopic pregnancies; this is a "correlation doesn't imply causation" sort of scenario. It's n...

For me, labels are in a mental category marked "Helpful! Until they aren't." There have absolutely been points in my life where it was helpful to have words to describe how I felt about my gender, my presentation, and my sexuality; having a label to put to how I was feeling helped me conne...

It sounds like maybe you were hyper-aware of everything after talking to your parents about your boyfriend, and that this maybe made it harder to evaluate his behavior. Do I have that right? In terms of their concrete examples... it seems easy to misremember a conversation from over a year ago, or a...

Water soluble lubes are water based, so yes, that's fine to use with latex condoms.

Hi Inchy, There's really no way we can say that intercourse carries NO risk whatsoever of pregnancy; however, when using multiple forms of birth control properly the chances are incredibly low. We have an article that shows how effective various combinations of two methods are here, to give you an i...

Generally when a doctor's saying "use backup when taking this medication" as long as they don't specify it more than that, you only need to take that into account when you are actively taking the medication; once you're done you no longer have to worry about reduced effectiveness. Every ki...

A lack of privacy really does make things harder! Are you able to bring some of this up in an email, by phone, or even handing him a letter? That might feel odd, if you're used to talking face to face, but it sounds like starting this conversation is something that's important to do.

Alas, stubble is generally going to happen, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Keep in mind that most people will also have stubble very shortly after shaving, no matter how close of a shave they can manage, because hair grows back fairly quickly.

It's likely that if you went to a general practitioner for something that turned out to be an ovarian cyst they'd refer you to a gynecologist anyway, but you could start with your general practitioner if you like.

If you're finding that lotion works, that's probably your best bet - there isn't much else you can do for dry skin than keep it moisturized.

Hi Sage and Rain, This is probably something best discussed with a doctor; they'd likely have the most up to date information on secondhand chewing tobacco issues. I don't know of any specific research about this, but anecdotally I know that it's not unusual for couples where one person uses tobacco...